He’s Tugged His Last Boat

[Borealis]

He’s Tugged His Last Boat
by Francis Ferry, NLN baseball beat writer

November 8, 2032: Aurora, Colorado – On March 21, 1993 Robert Smith, a part-time longshoreman in Baltimore, and his with Raquelle gave birth to their lone child. Randall Smith – who hadn’t aged far before family began calling him Randy. Nearly four months later, to the day, on the opposite side of the country, in San Francisco, William Topham was born. 18-years later, a course was set that would ultimately see their paths cross and a partnership form – with famous results. Randy Smith entered the University of Connecticut as a hot shot pitcher, destined for greatness, while the young Topham gave up a budding career in tennis to be the surprise choice for GM with the Aurora Borealis – a club his family had just taken control of.

That confluence of 39-year olds took center stage today on The Front Range as Randy ‘Tugboat’ Smith appeared before a crowd of reporters, former teammates, and rabid Borealis fans at Northern Lights Park, to announce his retirement after a 17-year career that began in Yuma, moseyed on to San Antonio before spending 11-seasons with the Borealis and ending his career in Japan with the expansion Niihama-shi Ghosts. Topham, representing the club whose hat ‘Tugboat’ will wear at his Hall of Fame induction – a shoe-in first-ballot selection, was their to announce the club’s retiring his numbers – both his 42, which had been retired mid-stream (it was worn by hitting great Cory Pierce), and 44, which he wore over his last few years at Aurora. Will Topham also confirmed that Smith will be joining the Aurora minor league system as a coach – likely at Montserrat or Mokule’ia.

Randy Smith was the first overall selection out of UCONN by the Yuma Bulldozers in the 2014 draft – and he would become by far the best player from that draft. With the Klondikes ‘Tugboat’ was 22-8, with a 2.23 ERA, striking out 405 in 302 IP – walking just 50, and he allowed just 6 HR – a collection of stats that followed him throughout the bulk of his career. He was an instant hit in Kivalina, Yuma’s Short A club and was a Surf and Snow All-Star. In 2015 he pitched at Salton Sea, and in 2016 he skipped AA and went straight to Henderson – ending the year on the Major League roster – making six starts. In 2017, Yuma looked like they had a keeper – a super star in the making, a 5-4 record and 2.69 ERA in 21 starts, when the unthinkable happened. The Yuman’s, on the cusp of their lone stretch of playoff baseball, felt they needed to strengthen their bullpen, so they traded ‘Tugboat’ to San Antonio for Larry ‘Hulk’ Taylor (who, coincidentally, pitched his last games with Niihama in the WIL). Taylor would ultimately provide the ‘Dozers what they felt they had needed, but one could make the case that the loss of Randy Smith may have cost them a shot at a Rodriguez Cup – particularly in 2020, where they made their lone PEC appearance and fell a game short to the Featherheads.

San Antonio would be home for parts of 5-seasons – being selected to the IL All-Star team in 2018, then missing most of 2019 with a torn labrum in the shoulder, but by 2021, Smith looked healed and strong – posting an 11-3 record and a 2.75 ERA for a Calzone team that would ultimately finish 32-games behind Florida. But that was when fate would call – well, that was when Aurora called. After some back and forth he was sent to Aurora in exchange for INF Jack Speed, SP Junior Cook and a 2nd and 3rd round draft pick. For the Borealis, they had their mate to pair up with Michel Provost. He was an instant hit – finishing the season 9-2 for Aurora, a 2.21 ERA, but more importantly he was 3-0 in 5 playoff starts and a 2.76 ERA as Aurora would gain revenge for their 2011 PEC loss (4 games to 3 loss to Florida) – there’s that year again, by winning their second PEC in three years, 4 games to 2 over the Featherheads.

Randy Smith was just getting started. ‘Tugboat’, so named because he’d go to the ship yards with his father when he was little and would so admire the tugboats as the moved the larger ships about, was in the infancy of a stretch of 9-seasons in which he posted sub-3.00 ERAs (2.43 over that stretch). 2022 was a phenomenal season – he was 16-7. His ERA of 2.49 led the SL. He was the SL starter for the All-Star Game. Not only was he 5-0 with a 1.35 ERA in the playoffs, he was the PEC MVP for the champion Borealis in their win over Arlington. It was during this time that Aurora management was in flux. The previous manager, Koki Kojima, left – angrily, leaving Aurora with a hole that the GM, himself stepped into. This twist of fate put pitcher and GM in the dugout every day – and it was that magical season that solidified a friendship that has endured to this day.

There would be two more All-Star appearances for ‘Tugboat’ and another title, as Aurora achieved a first of it’s kind ‘threepeat’ (beating the Featherheads again), but Randy Smith would reach the pinnacle of achievement in 2025. Although the Borealis would lose the SL title, 4 games to 3, to Crystal Lake, Smith would win his first of two Golden Arms with an amazing 21-6 record – most wins in the PEBA, and a PEBA leading 2.16 ERA. Randy would win a second Golden Arm in 2027 – ending a streak of 6-seasons that he and ‘Train Arollin’’ dominated the SL award. Smith was 17-5, with a 2.33 ERA as Aurora once more lost the SL Championship – this time to The Evil Evas, 4 games to one. ‘Tugboat’s ERA was 3rd in the SL and his wins were 2nd best, while he trailed only Provost in BB/9 and K/BB ratio.

But as is always the case, age catches up with one. The 2029 season was derailed out the gate, as a sore shoulder that crept up during spring training set him on the DL for 7-weeks. He would come back stronger – looking like the Golden Arm pitcher he had been (9-3, 2.13), but the Borealis missed the playoffs – finishing 7-games out of the last wildcard (behind Neo-Tokyo), and one can only imagine how a healthy Randy Smith may have impacted that race. Come 2030, the 37-year old began showing cracks, and brought back in 2031, hoping that he would retire in front of the home fans, ‘Tugboat’ limped to the finish line, 7-7 with a very un-‘Tugboat’-like 4.50 ERA. He refused to retire, and signed a 1-year deal with the newly revitalized Ghosts, where a combination of 39-years and a very bad team saw him lose 14 games and post a 4.65 ERA.

Not surprisingly, his best games came against his former team, but then on August 20, he tore his rotator cuff, and the writing was on the wall. He called his long friend and confident, the Aurora GM, and it was arranged for this day to happen.

So with many of his colleagues from his days in Aurora – Mike Provost, Mike ‘Big Whiskey’ Britt, Nick Giles, River Pope, Pedro Ferringo, and Nick Heath – all speaking words of praise for his success and leadership, and adoring fans cheering, Randy ‘Tugboat’ Smith hangs up his cleats and moves to ‘the other side of the desk’. It was a storied career, and fans on The Front Range hope it will be more stories in the future of Aurora Baseball that ‘Tugboat’ moves upward, through the system, to the shores of Cherry Creek Lake.

[Sandgnats]

It's sad to see him sail over the horizon. But what a great career!