Longtime rivals join forces to help Twins
Wednesday April 25, 2001
Christine Rivet
RECORD STAFF

Fireman, a flamboyant Toronto trial lawyer, is the former owner of the now-defunct Toronto Gators, winners of two world fastball championships in the 1990s.

Lynch, the City of Kitchener's manager of engineering, has been with the Waterloo Twins since 1987, as a player, coach, and later manager.

Their teams were such fierce on-field rivals, it's no wonder a little bad blood has flowed between the two men. But mostly, it was their philosophical differences which defined their rivalry.

For as long as they lasted, the fat-cat Gators -- and their penchant for luring the best fastball talent with money -- made the thread-bare Twins, who steadfastly insisted this game was for amateurs, look like their poor cousins.

Ironically, the Gators were eventually out-Gatored by their richer American rivals, who had even more money to pay players, eventually putting the Toronto team out of business.

And all the while, the Twins kept doing their thing -- fielding the best team money couldn't buy.

As for Fireman's battle with Lynch, the hatchet has been buried.

Lynch has come to the realization that in order to field a bona fide contender in time for next year's International Softball Congress world championship in Kitchener, he is going to have to spend a lot more money.

In fact, the Twins' budget this season has ballooned to about $100,000, nearly triple what it once was during the 1990s.

That's where Fireman comes in.

Starting this season, Fireman will contribute an undisclosed amount to the Twins' budget and serve as a special adviser, although he will not be on the bench with the team.

"Nothing much has changed," added Fireman, who has been out of the game for a couple of years. "We still have the best ballplayers here (in Ontario). It's my job to convince some of them to stay here and play for the Twins for a year. It's doable."

Some observers have said that nothing short of an act of God could have united such sworn enemies.

If it wasn't divine intervention, it must have been a strange coincidence. Because Fireman's daughter, Belinda, is expecting twins in July.

Twins. Get it?

"When I told Larry that, he knew right away I wouldn't want to change the name of the Waterloo Twins to the Gators," Fireman said with a laugh.

Truth be told, both men have always had a tremendous amount of respect for each other.

"I got a chuckle out of the things he (Lynch) has said about me over the years. I think Larry was deflecting a lot of stuff away from the players by being like that. Larry is a super ball guy," said Fireman.

"We won't always agree on things. I guarantee you that," said Lynch. "But I've always liked Jack as a person."

FOUL TIPS

Longtime Twins pitcher and Kitchener product Jim Schnarr has signed on with the team this year . . . The Twins open their their 32-game regular-season schedule on May 10 at Hillside Park when they entertain Innerkip, the reigning Ontario and Eastern Canadian intermediate champs . . . Soon-to-be Grand River Collegiate graduate Lindsay Trottier has accepted a full scholarship to play softball at Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., next season.

Christine Rivet is a Record reporter. She can be reached at 894-2250, ext. 2685. E-mail crivet@therecord.com