Behind the Plate

Hegarty was more than just the Cal Ripken commissioner

A Nevada icon is no longer with us.



The man who sparked baseball in Northern Nevada and gave teams an alternative to Little League passed away two weeks ago.



Ray Hegarty, the “Comish” of Cal Ripken Baseball, left the sports world months after watching Nevada teams battle against the Pacific Southwest’s best this summer. Now, instead of watching games from his lawn chair camped under a tent, Ray will be looking on from the high skies, rooting for players to do their best.



That’s how Ray was, though.



He didn’t care about winning or losing. He wanted to see young kids play America’s favorite pastime and most importantly, he wanted these ballplayers to have fun. Regardless of the score, Ray encouraged teams to have fun and never give up. He had a soft spot for the underdog, a team of players no large city would even consider picking for its all-star team.



As family and friends gathered at the Spanish Springs church earlier this month, everyone remembered Ray’s passion for not only baseball, but also for life. He applied the same charisma and attitude in baseball to everything he did, from hunting and fishing to playing tea with his great-grandchildren and grandchildren.



To this community, the Lahontan Valley, Ray will be remembered for baseball.



Fallon Youth Baseball competed in Little League before Ray approached FYB and offered a lifetime opportunity for this community to compete in a new, different league. Fallon switched to Cal Ripken 10 years ago and in its first season under the new league, Fallon’s 10-under all-star team won the state tournament in Reno.



Since then, Fallon has won numerous state tournaments and appeared in various regional contests, coming a couple games shy of competing in the Cal Ripken World Series.



Only three teams were in the league before Fallon joined, and teams battled in only two age divisions. Now, a decade later, five teams compete in six divisions and Nevada has hosted three regional tournaments. Fallon hosted two of them.



Ray could even spot talent.



When Fallon first joined the league, Ray saw a Fallon kid hit a game-winning grand slam in the state tournament. He turned to my father and said that player is going to live a remarkable sports career. It turned he was right because that player was Josh Mauga, a four-year starter for Nevada’s football team.



But Ray didn’t just want players and coaches to succeed. He cared about everyone else, from the fans to the umpires.



Ray encouraged my father and me to umpire postseason baseball after spending several seasons officiating Fallon’s new Cal Ripken league. When a call didn’t go a team’s way or the umpire missed it, Ray would be the first one to confront you and help you learn from the mistake. He wanted the best from his umpires and treated everyone with respect. Ray is the reason why younger and even former Cal Ripken players are giving back to the community through umpiring and coaching.



Now that Ray is not gracing baseball parks anymore, don’t think for a second that he’s not up in heaven giving players advice. As one person said at the memorial service, Ray’s in heaven right now, telling Babe Ruth to hustle more.