By Mike Speers The Barrie Examiner

Barrie's Roy fulfills dream and links pro contract with Boston

The story of Angus Roy is a story for all those people who have ever given up on a dream. It�s an example of how anything can happen out of the blue and how fate has the tendency of tapping you on the shoulder when you least expect it.

A year ago, Roy was in his first year of teacher�s college at the University of Toronto. He had spent the past four years attending Valparaiso University in Indiana on a baseball scholarship, but since that had done nothing to advance his pitching career, he decided to return to Mississauga, marry his sweetheart and become a teacher.

This past summer, after playing for the U of T Varsity Blues, he began pitching for the Barrie Baycats of the Intercounty Baseball League, where he had an ERA of 3.03 and struck out a league leading 87 batters in 17 appearances.

He soon became known for his blistering fastball, a pitch that made him the most dominant closer in the league by season�s end.

That pitch, which consistently hit the 93 miles per hour mark, also caught the eye of a few Major League scouts, and a few days ago, the 23-year-old signed a contract with the Boston Red Sox.

�I had already turned a corner in my life,� Roy said. �Everyone had told me I was going to get drafted out of high school, but I didn�t, and everyone told me I was going to get drafted out of College, but I didn�t.�

�In Barrie, I could tell there was something different about my pitching,� he added. �Pitching hadn�t become easier, but how it was coming out of my hand was different.�

Roy credits this change to the fact that he began working out regularly after returning to Canada from Valparaiso.

�I started to work out more because I like working out,� said Roy, whose girlfriend is a personal trainer. �I had always been told by my coaches not to get any bigger because I�d lose my flexibility, but working out added seven miles per hour to my fastball and made me a different pitcher.

�Looking back, I wonder �what if I�d done this earlier.��

Roy also said that he would have never discovered his new power had he not decided to play for the Baycats.

�Barrie gave me a chance to pitch all the time and to work things out and develop,� he said. �It allowed me to figure out whether what I was doing was just for one or two starts or would it be for the entire year.

�You play in Barrie because you love the game, and playing for the Baycats was the most fun I�ve ever had playing baseball.�

Although disappointed that they will be losing one of their best pitchers, the Baycats organization believes that this is a great example of what their organization and the Intercounty league is all about.

�We�ve always said that if this can be a stepping stone to advancing a career, then good,� said Baycats general manager Gary Calvert. �Everyone is ecstatic that Angus has been given this opportunity.�

With two �major league pitches� already in his arsenal, the Red Sox have high hopes for Roy. He will be reporting to Boston�s spring training in Florida in March before heading to Augusta, Georgia to start the season with the team�s �A� affiliate.

He�ll only be making $850 a month pitching there, but still, he can�t think of a better job.

�Is there a better life than getting on a bus, getting off and playing baseball,� he asked. �This is what I�ve wanted to do for my whole life and I�m sure it�s going to be great.�

Roy knows that the chances of him making it to the Big Leagues are remote, and so he�s glad that he has something in Mississauga to come back to.

�The fact that I have a future to fall back on should allow me to relax more and just pitch,� he said. �If I don�t make it, I won�t have to start over.�

FROM THE DUGOUT: The Baycats have released their home schedule for the 2003 season, their third in the Intercounty league. Their home-opener will be on May 10 against the Hamilton Cardinals, one of 11 Saturday games. For more information, visit the Baycats Web site at: www.barriebaycats.com