Raptors assistant Batiste cherishes time with top baseball prospect son

PHOENIX — For people who work in the NBA, the long, unforgiving schedule often means missing some moments with loved ones.

But on a late-March Saturday under the unseasonably intense Arizona sun, the schedule provided some magic, and Toronto Raptors assistant coach Mike Batiste — known to everyone around the team as “Big Mike” — took full advantage.

The Raptors’ recent trip to Phoenix coincided with Batiste’s son’s, Mike Jr.’s, trip through Arizona on Canadian Premier, an under-18 travel team of elite Canadian baseball prospects, playing showcase games against rookie pros on MLB teams based in the Phoenix area.

The Raptors had an optional practice, but his fellow coaches covered for him, allowing Batiste to head out to the Seattle Mariners’ spring training facility.

The temperature crested above 40 degrees Celsius by noon, but Batiste couldn’t have been happier.

Also in town was Batiste’s wife, Sarah, his daughter Sydney, and Mike’s sister, Maureen, who played college basketball with Sarah at Cal State Northridge — which is how Mike, who played at Arizona State, and his wife were introduced. Both of Mike Jr.’s grandmothers were on hand, too.

The family gathered under the tree nearest the backfield diamond, seeking the best combination of shade and sightlines.

But Big Mike was up against the fence, soaking up as much of the experience as he could, shade or no shade.

“Sometimes in a schedule, things just work out,” he said. “My son got this invite. We're sitting looking at the schedule, and we (the Raptors) were in Arizona at the same time. It's awesome.”

It’s been an awesome off-season, in general, baseball-wise for the Batistes.

Just after the NBA all-star break, Mike Jr. learned he had been ranked as a top-10 prospect for North America in the 2028 high school class.

Six weeks later, the 16-year-old’s face still splits into a smile at the thought of it.

“That was amazing. I can't even express my emotions,” said Mike Jr. “I remember I had got up immediately and went straight upstairs to my mom. She was on a call for work, and I was like, ‘Mom, you gotta get off the phone, you gotta get off the phone, look, look!’ And she didn't understand what it was. I was like, ‘Mom, I got ranked 10th in America!’ And then she was like, ‘Oh my God!’

His next move was to call his Dad, who was walking to the Apple Store in downtown Chicago, where the Raptors were preparing to play the Bulls in their first game back after the break. He was with fellow Raptors assistant coach James Wade when his phone lit up, and his son’s excitement was vibrating from 800 kilometres away.

“That was an awesome moment,” said Wade, who played basketball professionally in Europe at the same time Batiste was hooping professionally overseas. “I get chills thinking about it. Mike’s probably one of the best American basketball players to ever step foot on European soil, but he was more excited for his son than he ever is for himself.

“We’re both very proud of our kids … and watching him when his son was being recognized for something he’d accomplished, that’s special.”

Special, too, was a lucky Saturday in Phoenix. Sharing the big moments in person always is, even if it’s not always possible. However, in Mike Jr.’s case, chances are there will be plenty more big baseball moments to come.

It’s a journey his father knows well, albeit in a different sport.

Big Mike is in his third season as an assistant with Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic, and previously coached with Houston, Washington, Orlando, Charlotte and Brooklyn after starting out with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ G-League team in Canton, Ohio.

Before that, the native of Long Beach, Calif., carved out a 14-year professional career that culminated in three EuroLeague championships with Panathinaikos in Athens and — just last May — him being recognized as one of the greats to ever play in Europe with a spot on the EuroLeague 25th anniversary team.

But Mike Jr. chose baseball as his path early on. No one is quite sure why, though the influence of an older cousin is one theory. He got a chance to play all kinds of sports growing up, but it’s always been baseball first, with a couple of broken televisions from spontaneous indoor sessions grooving his powerful swing being one of the only downsides.

“There were a few times I had to leave the house and take a walk around the block to give myself a minute to calm down,” said Big Mike, laughing.

But otherwise, Mike Jr.’s headlong dive into baseball has become a family hobby, with long drives to tournaments and showcase events providing off-season family time in the summers, while finding ways to balance 12-year-old Sydney’s own baseball and hockey commitments as an exercise in time management.

Baseball was a sport Big Mike played recreationally growing up, but he gave up as he grew into his broad-shouldered, six-foot-nine frame, and it was clear basketball was going to be his calling.

Mike Jr. still plays high school basketball, and at six-foot-five and 230 pounds at age 16, the Grade 10 student at Port Credit Secondary School likely turned some heads, but it’s just something he does for fun.

Baseball, though? That could be something different, given he’s a switch-hitter with power. He’s topped 93 m.p.h. on his throws from the outfield, and his average exit velocity (the speed of the ball off the bat) at a combine event last summer was 94.4 with a maximum of 104.3 m.p.h., per PrepBaseballReport.com, which would be impressive numbers for a college-aged player.

It’s those kinds of measurables that have Mike Jr. on the radar as a high-end prospect both in Canada and the U.S. During the summer season, he plays for the highly regarded Ontario Blue Jays program, which counts major leaguers Josh and Bo Naylor among its recent alumni. And he’s shown well enough to be included on what is, essentially, a hand-picked prospect team giving MLB clubs an early look at Canadian talent against professional competition — in addition to the game against the Mariners rookies, Canadian Premier played teams fielded by the Anaheim Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds.

“He's a very powerful kid. I think that’s his No. 1 tool. When you watch him hit batting practice, especially in the thin Arizona air, the ball turns into a golf ball in a hurry off of his bat,” said Jamie Romack, the manager for Canadian Premier U18. “But I think overall, I'm really impressed with his preparation. He goes about it as a kid in a very professional way. He's advanced in that sense. The fact that he switch hits is another asset, and he can throw as well.

“So, the tool set is all there for him, it’s just gonna be a matter of getting more reps and experience.”

Mike Jr. credits his dad for the behind-the-scenes insights into what it takes to be a professional, which have helped him build the habits that have allowed him to frame his talents.

“I've seen all the pro basketball players, their warmup and how they train, and that shows me what I need to do,” Mike Jr. said. “And that's why I feel more mature for my age, just seeing the preparation and the work and the desire and the hours and the sweat and tears that it takes.”

But he also appreciates that, for all of his Dad’s (and Mom’s) ties to elite basketball, there was never a push or pull in one direction or another.

“He lets me figure it out,” said Mike Jr. “He didn't push basketball on me; he let me choose my own path, my own legacy, my own journey. But he's always supporting me. He's my backbone. He's always there for me, always calling me, always checking up on me. And that’s what I love about him.”

Big Mike didn’t have much of a choice when it came to identifying a path for his son to follow. From his point of view, his son has a passion for baseball, so it was always up to him to let it happen, and wherever it leads, it leads.

“It’s like he has a spiritual call into this game. Like he wakes up, he thinks baseball, he sleeps baseball, he eats baseball,” said Big Mike. “He studies the game. He knows all the stats, all the players, and it's good sometimes to sit down and talk with him, just to get a different aspect of the game.

“Like, we're watching the World Baseball Classic, and he's telling you every single player. And it's just like, not just the American players. He's giving you the Italian roster, the Canadian roster, Venezuela. He knew it all.”

Big Mike doesn’t pretend to be a baseball guru or, in the case of his daughter, a goaltending expert. He’s happy his kids are passionate about something and loves the opportunity their sports provide for family time, even if it comes at a price.

“Baseball, hockey ... they chose two expensive sports. I gotta dig in my pocketbook,” he joked, laughing while echoing the lament of sports parents everywhere.

But what Big Mike can offer is some insights beyond metrics like bat speed or arm strength.

“I'm always gonna be ‘Dad,’ but at the same time, the advantages that I have, coaching at the highest level, it gets kicked down to both of my kids,” he said with a damp towel around his neck in a futile attempt to beat the desert heat.

“I talked to him about the work, the habits, having a routine, studying. He’s still a kid at the end of the day, but he can take the time to watch 20 minutes of YouTube highlights — there’s game breakdowns in the MLB app. There are nuances and details that always matter in between winning and losing, so I try to instill the value of the little things.

“And we talk about being a good teammate and having character, not only as a person, but having good baseball character — a positive vibe, being upbeat — because I told him, you’ve picked a sport where you’re going to fail more times than not.”

On that sunny March Saturday, that’s how things play out.

Mike Jr. is one of the youngest members of Canadian Premier and is facing signed professionals in their late teens or early 20s. The fastballs are coming in the low 90s with movement. There are breaking pitches and off-speed stuff.

In his first at-bat, he struck out on three mighty cuts. On his second, it’s a weak contact to the middle infield. In between, he handles his chances in right field cleanly, but on his third chance at the plate, he squares one up, and his Dad, along with the gathering of MLB scouts and friends and family serving as the audience, pauses to watch the ball take flight to deep centre field.

It unfortunately ran out of gas just short of the fence, nearly 400 feet away, as the centre fielder was able to gather it on the warning track, forcing Mike Jr. to jog back to the dugout.

But the long, loud out is proof of concept. And, hey, the kid learns fast. A few days later, Mike Jr. had an RBI in a comeback win for Canadian Premier over the Los Angeles Dodgers, his dad’s favourite team growing up in southern California.

But on that Saturday, with the game over, baseball and basketball took a back seat for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

The agenda? An afternoon by the pool at a nearby friend’s house, followed by some dinner.

No games. Just some family time on Spring Break. A gift from the NBA schedule to be cherished.