Erindale Cardinals: A total of 42 summers with Cranks ... and counting

THE GREAT EIGHT: Veteran Erindale Cardinals coach Greg (Cranks) Cranker in the midst of yet another round of throwing batting practice.

May 6, 2024

Baseball, life and laughs with “Cranks”

By Scott Langdon

Canadian Baseball Network

Greg Cranker has a very large family. Most of its members are not relatives.

Cranker, 66 and widely known as “Cranks,” is the long-time coach, administrator, groundskeeper and “father figure” of the Erindale Cardinals community in Mississauga, Ont.

He can appear to be gruff and straightforward at times, quiet and reserved, comfortable in the background at other times and fun-loving and respectful of baseball and ball players all the time. But it is his actions, more than his words, that create a positive example for his players to follow on the field and off.

What does a coach do after putting in the bases,, dragging the field and lining the bases? Throw BP.

For many of his players, baseball with “Cranks” spans much of their lifetimes.

_ Rob (Alonzo) Scicluna, a father, teacher and school principal is one of them. He started playing in the Erindale Little League at age 12 and went on to play midget, juvenile, junior and senior baseball for the Cardinals. He also played at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pa. He estimates Cranker was his coach for about 30 of these years.

“I could talk to you about him forever,” Scicluna said. “He loves baseball, but he coaches in a way that has an effect on people, teaches them to be productive, good citizens. Sports can teach character, a sense of selflessness. He is a father figure. His example is one of the reasons I became a teacher.”

Scicluna has coached Team Ontario, the University of Toronto but returned to Erindale to coach teams with Cranker. This year he will be with the Mississauga Majors.

Other players have helped coach Cardinals teams and still return to 9th Line Sports Park to help groundskeeper Cranker ensure it is in top condition with a groomed infield and outfield. Scicluna says Cranker spends hours there each day taking care of the two diamonds.

_ Dan (Mule) Estey, who has played for the Cranker-coached, Erindale Cardinals in the Central Ontario Baseball Association (COBA) Major League for 13 years, was nicknamed by Cranker because he works so hard to help maintain the 9th Line fields.

“Cranks is the glue that has held the place together for years. I help him work on the field. He should get the credit, but he doesn’t want the accolades. He is constantly there,” he said.

“He has a genuine love of baseball and he works so hard on the fields to make sure kids have a place to play and to help them love the game as much as he does. I take my son with me sometimes when I go over there to do some work. Cranks will high five him and interact while I’m working on something. It’s like a family,” he added.

The 2005 Erindale Cardinals, runners-up at the Ontario senior eliminations. Photo: Dan Estey Studios.

_ For one of Cranker’s Cardinals this will be a different summer. Aneil “Tiny” Birsa has retired from the senior team. It is the end of almost a quarter century of junior and senior baseball coached by Cranker.

“It’s like a brotherhood for many of us who have played so long for Cranks. We go to teammates’ weddings and other celebrations. It is a family atmosphere. For me, he has been a father figure. He taught me so much about playing and respecting the game,” he said.

Birsa says giving back to the Erindale community baseball program is part of playing for Cranker and the Cardinals.

“We don’t just look after the field we play on. Cranks will get some of us together and we go to the Erindale Little League field to help out when there is a tournament. Taking care of the fields ourselves is one reason why our registration fees are so reasonable. We pay less than other teams because Cranks’ effort absorbs some of the costs,” he added.

Birsa may not be playing this summer, but his number will be retired on the outfield fence.

“That’s something Cranks does. If you play for the senior team for 10 years, your number goes up on the fence. It’s an honour,” he says.

There are 50 plaques so far.

Erindale veteran INF Johnny Dewolfe, left, the moustache managern himself, and slugger Geoff Cullen on the 35th anniversary of the Erindale Cardinals senior team.

_ John McEwan, for example, played Erindale Little League up through the Cardinals’ COBA senior team. He has been coaching for 15 years and will coach the Cardinals’ junior team this season.

_ Tim Gasparotto is another Erindale player from Little League to COBA seniors. He, too, has coached for about 15 years, including the Cardinals’ junior and senior teams.

_ Drew Mullin’s number 88 is also installed on the outfield fence. He started playing t-ball at four years old in the Erindale program and is in his 17th year with the COBA Cardinals senior team. Soon to be 36 years old, his enthusiasm and laughter are reminders that time with “Cranks” is about more than baseball and life lessons.

“We have fun, man. Cranks has given a bunch of old, fat guys a place to play when we probably don’t deserve it,” he quipped. “We have an annual alumni game that connects our current players to guys right back when Cranks started. We have a Christmas skate, road trips to see different ballparks and we host the annual Hap Walters Tournament for senior teams across the province.

The 2008 Erindale Cardinals — COBA Major playoff champs.

“We play in the tournament, but, honestly, I think we spend more time being the hosts,” he laughed. “We’re dragging the infield, selling refreshments. What an opportunity to meet new guys from other teams and get re-acquainted with people you might not have seen in a while. Your network of friends can expand exponentially.”

Mullin calls Cranks “his own man” and a “unique character who is comfortable and confident in his own skin.”

“I think he loves the community and the continuity and is justifiably proud of the number of kids and adults who have played baseball at Erindale during his many years,” he concluded.

Cranks had nicknames for everyone but mentor Ron Cabot. It was always “Mr. Cabot.” That’s Mr. Cabot catching at age 74 in the alumni game. He passed at age 91 in 2022 and still holds the record for most consecutive MVPs won in the alumni games.

A baseball life

Cranker started playing ball as a child in Windsor, Ont., and had a lengthy senior career playing for the Windsor Chiefs, Milton Royals in the Halton County League and the Cambridge Terriers, Guelph Royals and Brantford Red Sox in the Intercounty Baseball League. He completed his playing career with the East York Quinns in the Labatt’s League in 1992.

He started coaching at Erindale in 1982 with the midget team and has subsequently coached juvenile, junior and the COBA seniors. His coaching plans this summer include the Cardinals’ junior and senior teams.

Now into his 43rd year with the Cardinals organization, Cranker was asked why he does it.

“I love the game of baseball,” he said matter-of-factly.

He estimates more than 17,000 registrants have played with the Erindale Little League during his tenure and “probably another thousand” with the Cardinals. The Little League is for players up to the age of 12 years. Players can then move up to the Cardinals’ program.

Matt (Bonesy) McCandless, left, Cranker and Glenn Turner.

Cranker’s wife, Ronna, thinks he has coached so many years for more than the simple love of the game.

Ronna should know. In addition to being Mom for Joe, 33, Sarah, 31 and Matthew (called Mo) 30, Ronna repairs some uniforms in the off-season, completes minor repairs to baseball gloves from time to time and helps at the Hap Walters Tournament. She earned her Smart Serve designation to work in the beer tent.

“For him, it’s the camaraderie, I think. He has made so many good friends among the players and other coaches. He gets a kick out of it when he sees former players coaching their own kids and kids in the neighborhood. And he enjoys the physical aspect of working at the park. He wants it to look the way it should for the players,” she added.

“Baseball has been such a big part of our life. Our kids would go to the ballpark when they were young. Joe still plays senior ball. It has been fun for all of us over the years.”

Former Ottawa-Nepean Candians coach Don Campbell tells of Cranker's wisdom at the OBA senior eliminations staged at Hamilton Yards in Nepean one summer.

"We got lucky and beat Erindale in either 18 or 19 innings, a heck of a game, it was the tournament opener for both teams," said Campbell. "After Quinn Peel scored the game winner, Cranks came over, shook my hand and said, 'Congrats you won -- but we both lost.’ And then we went for beers.

“He was right. Neither one of us had any pitching left."

Cranker has never been territorial. Never the type to say "you stay in your corner of the sand box, I'll stay in mine." If your team needs a diamond and no one is on his field: make a call ... then show up, the bases will be in, the infield will be dragged, the mound will be watered and the base lines will be chalked. Just don't leave your garbage in the dugout.

One Mississauga resident who knows a little about the game from coast to coast and knows Cranker well says, “Cranks is a true baseball guy. He believes in the value of community ball for kids. His heart is in the right place.”

Perhaps those would be appropriate words on a plaque should the City of Mississauga decide to install the name Greg Cranker Field at 9th Line Sports Park.

A ceremony to mark the occasion would no doubt be well attended by members of a very large family.