His dedication to the sport was so complete that even in his advanced years, Baba would do all he could to get to as many games as he could.
Sadly, he won’t be there when the WCBL returns next season.
Baba passed away at the age of 92 on Aug. 12, leaving behind an unbelievable legacy of support and kindness that has resulted in tributes pouring in from those who knew him.
Longtime local baseball coach and organizer Charlie Meacher is one of those folks, taking time to chat about Baba with MooseJawToday.com during a break between Moose Jaw Prairie Dogs games on Saturday afternoon.
He related a tale about Farris that told you all you needed to know about the man.
“It wasn’t my first experience with Farris, but it was fairly early, and everyone knew he’d just had heart surgery,” Meacher began. “We go to Ross Wells and it had rained and we were mopping up water to try and get a tournament in. So everyone comes out, and Farris grabs a rake and he’s out on the field.
“Someone says ‘you can’t let Farris rake because he has a bad heart’ and at the time, we took the rake away from Farris… but Farris didn’t have a bad heart. He never had a bad heart. Farris had a great heart, it might not have worked that well, but he had a great heart. He was a great man, all the way around, and I learned a lot from him and it’s a shame he’s gone.”
There are people who leave behind legacies that touch many, but for Baba it goes beyond the pale – beyond his many years working with youngsters coaching, he ran leagues, served on the Ross Wells Park Association board and did just about everything imaginable to advance the sport not only in Moose Jaw but all over Saskatchewan.
The love of the game passed on to his son, Jim Baba, who went on to serve as the head of the Baseball Canada national team and was inducted into the Moose Jaw and District Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
Even in his later years, Baba was as active as he could be in helping with the sport – even as of right now, he’s currently the president of the Ross Wells Park Association.
“There was some talk about someone else taking over and I was like ‘why, as long as he wanted to be there he should be there and when his time is up he’ll tell us… He’d always say ‘you guys are doing fine without me’ and I’d say ‘well, you’re still our top guy’ and he’d say ‘well, okay then’ and invite us to his place. Even when he was a bachelor at Timothy Eatons, he’d say ‘come up here, I can get the room at Timothy Eatons’ and he’d bring cookies and drinks out of his apartment,” Meacher said with a laugh.
“He was just a great person.”
Tributes to Baba also came in on social media, with many local players and coaches passing on their memories and thoughts on Facebook:
“For the longest time always sat in the scorekeeping booth with him during the Selects Tournament in Moose Jaw on the long weekend of May. I would be behind the radar gun and Farris doing the score and him shaking his head and chuckling after a really poor play.” – Greg Brons, Baseball Sask high performance director.
“Farris was always at Ross Wells during my time with the Cardinals. He would be at our practices and our games. He always had a smile and time for a chat. It was always great seeing Farris at the ball park and taking a few minutes to say hi and talk a little baseball.” – Shane Sowden, Sowden Flanagan Baseball Training, 11U AA baseball coach.
“Farris and Grandpa Stan coached together for years. One of the nicest guys you'd meet. Always asked how I was playing or how was the team.” – Scott Montgomery, 18U AAA baseball coach, grandson of local baseball legend Stan Montgomery.
“Just an absolute beauty of a guy. Always had a smile on his face and wanting to talk ball. Farris and Jim Baba helped imprint baseball in these parts especially for my generation,” -- Lee Smith, longtime local player and coach.
“Mr. Baba was a fixture at games at Ross Wells or Montgomery Field because he just loved to watch the game. I would sometimes ask him how I did after a game just because he was there,” -- Tom Montgomery, U12 A Ice girls fastball coach, grandson of local baseball legend Stan Montgomery.
"Farris never missed a game with the Yellow jackets or the Midget Cubs. Came by to discuss the game and have some laughs. He was a huge positive influence in baseball in Moose Jaw and throughout Saskatchewan. Loved his perspective." -- Todd Plaxton, former Canadian National Junior Team coach
The Baba family will be holding a private graveside service next week, and those wishing to make memorial donations can do so to Baseball Sask c/o Sport Legacy Fund, 1870 Lorne St, Regina, SK, S4P 2L7, www.sasksport.ca, or to Timothy Eaton Gardens, 510 Main St N, Moose Jaw, SK S6H 3K3.