Welcome back. This month I thought we might look at something a bit different; life as a Gulls billet family.
Like many Gulls fans, the Sinclair family were casual baseball fans but were very excited about the prospects of a competitive summer college team coming to Sylvan Lake. As you all know, the first season was a challenge. With American players not allowed to cross the border, the league had a very different look.
The Gulls first season, 2021, nearly didn’t happen and only 4 teams actually fielded teams that first season. But that was enough to get many Central Albertans fired up for this team. Andy and Kendra Sinclair, and their daughter, Michele, were some of the fans that got caught up in the Sylvan Lake Gulls. Andy says that his family is a sports family, mostly hockey and figure skating at that time, but the excitement around Sylvan right from the start hooked the Sinclair’s on baseball and they knew they wanted to be more involved. They decided that these players seemed to be a great group of well rounded young men who are great examples for the kids in Central Alberta. That feeling was so strong that for season #2 they became a billet family.
The Sinclair family submitted their names and were very fortunate to be assigned Matty Fung, who has been a fan favourite right from the time he arrived. Michele now had an adopted big brother and it sounds like it was good for all involved. Matty fit in well and immediately fell in love with Central Alberta. It was his first time in Canada and much different from his American home, just outside of San Francisco. He embraced Sylvan and Sylvan returned the favour over the four years he played here. Andy said that initially Matty was quite shy, but got over that quickly. Matty has an older brother at home, Chris, and that may have made the transition to having a ‘little sister’ easier. The Sinclair’s say that you could tell right away he came from a great family, and his parents, Rob and Debbie, did a great job raising such respectful and down to earth boy.
Rob Fung made many trips to Sylvan Lake, and Debbie did too, so the Sinclair’s got to develop a relationship with the whole family. They got to spend lots of time watching Gulls games together and got to do some exploring of Central Alberta. It sounds like road trips to Markerville for ice cream became a regular trip. A trip to Banff was something they were able to share and Rob said that Matty celebrated three birthdays in Sylvan. It would have been four, but one season Matty went home early after suffering an injury. I mentioned to Andy that you hear about these billet/player relationships turning into life-long friendships, and Andy agrees that he feels this will be the case with the Sinclair’s and the Fungs. They have always stayed in contact, even during off-seasons, and this didn’t change this fall, even though Matty has now graduated from the University of San Francisco and he won’t be back as a Gull. They talked lots throughout the MLB playoffs this season and closely watched the BlueJays run to the World Series.
This past season Michele became a Gulls ‘bat boy’, and it turned out to be a great experience for her. She loved her experience with all the players and instead of having just one big brother, she had a whole team of big brothers. She got to share dugout snacks and candies and probably improved her vertical jump, as she tried to high-five ball players, many that were well over six feet tall. She worked on her ‘double dip’ celebration when she was introduced each game. She even managed to get Matty, Tucker, Chatty and others out on the field to help her out. Andy said it was fun to watch her get more comfortable and gain confidence over the course of the year. The whole experience helped her out with her own ball as well, as she was able to see up close what the guys go through as they try to get better every day.
I asked Andy if they’d continue to billet Gulls players in the future, and he said that it will be hard to replace Matty, after 4 years, but they are sure they will get another ‘special kid’. From the other point of view, the Fungs, Rob says that they were more than happy with the situation here. He has hosted the Sinclairs down in San Francisco as well. They took them to see the sites, including Fisherman’s Wharf, North Beach, and the Palace of Fine Arts. They’ve taken them to some classic San Fran restaurants like the iconic House of Prime Rib. Michele was able to see the Full House and Painted Ladies Row of Home and they were all able to attend one of Matty’s USF games.
I would say that this was a great experience for everyone involved. And for me, personally, I was fortunate to meet Matty and get to know him because of my grandson, Noah. Noah attends most Gulls games and he loves to run the bases after the game. He has a knack of getting a game ball from the umps as they leave the field. After he runs he likes to talk to the players and have them autograph the ball he received. Over the course of Matty’s four years here, Noah connected with him. He always made a point of chatting with Matty. I think Noah was probably three years old when he first started talking with Matty. Those talks turned into requests to play catch. Matty always graciously accepted those requests. Over the years Matty has gifted Noah a pair of his autographed batting gloves and one of his custom bats and Noah probably has close to 50 baseballs with Matty’s autograph. Through these games of catch I also met Andy, who would also be on the field for the post game. It’s funny how these connections have turned into genuine friendships.
Until next month, Go, Gulls, Go!
