Rob Rau lit up every room he walked into and brought a smile to the face of everyone he met, both on and off the field.
That’s the message friends and family had for their fallen comrade, who died June 23, 2017 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
To commemorate the long-time Red Lion, the team gave him the unique honour of retiring his jersey number during a tournament June 2, immortalizing his name alongside Red Lions’ greats Chuck Keller, Rick Provencal, Dwayne Jolliffe and Dean Fagnan.
“There are only four men on that wall over all the years we’ve had Red Lions baseball in this town. It’s kind of a special place for those four, kind of a wall of fame,” said long-time friend and Red/Grey Lion Rick Sereda.
“It was decided that even though Rob didn’t coach here in town or participate in minor baseball, he contributed a great deal in other ways to our program, so that’s why his number was put up.”
Usually a player needs to clock 10 years as a Red Lion, manage the team and coach minor baseball to get his name on the wall, making the distinction all the more significant.
“I thought it was wonderful. We both were very grateful that they did that,” said Harriet Rau, Rob’s mother. “He loved playing baseball and it was a very fitting tribute by his teammates and friends.”
Friends and family of Rob, who started with the Red Lions in 1991 and played baseball with both the Red and Grey Lions until 2017, said they were deeply touched by the ceremony.
“I really thought it was great. It was perfect,” said Ron Rau, his father. “I was kind of surprised about it, I didn’t know they were going to do it until a week before. I was really appreciative of it.”
Great memories
Among his teammates and peers, Rau is remembered as a fun person to be around, even when times were tough.
“I’m a little biased because he was my best friend and cousin, but he was the best guy you could ever want to meet,” said Dean Rau.
“He was a barrel of laughs. If he was there, you knew it.”
Dean said his best memories of playing with Rob went all the way back to childhood, when the pair would play ball as kids and continued all the way into recent years with the Grey Lions, but also as roommates in university.
Sports run deep in the Rau family. Dean recalled long, fun family gatherings playing baseball into the late afternoons, memories he said he would cherish forever.
Rob was as much a fun influence in the dugout as he was on the field, he said.
“He would make sure everyone was up and joking around,” said Dean.
“There was always a fun barb to be had among us. When someone made a bad play, instead of coming into the dugout with their head hanging he would find a way to make light of it that made the guy feel better and able to pick up and move on.”
One aspect of Rob that will stay with Dean forever was his storytelling. Rob was able to carry an anecdote along throughout a season and beyond.
“Sitting around after the game, sometimes everyone would clear out and it would be just the two of us,” said Dean Rau.
“Sometimes we talked about baseball, sometimes we talked about life and that was really cool.
“We solved all the world’s problems at least once or twice.”
A friend on and off the field
While Rau worked as an engineer when he wasn’t playing ball, most of his teammates remember him for his great attitude and sportsmanship on the diamond.
“He was a very good outfielder, a left-handed batter and a very smart player,” said Sereda.
“Robbie always played the right way. He hustled, he worked hard, he didn’t talk crap about his teammates or complain. When he was struggling, you couldn’t tell. He was a really good example of what a baseball player should be.”
Sereda credited Rau’s enthusiasm with drawing other players to the team, noting that many Red Lions stuck with the team in large part to be around him.
“Rob played hard and he played with emotion, but he was always very positive,” added Sereda.
“His contribution to the team and the game were much more than just his playing. He was a leader in the dugout and people loved playing with him. People gravitated towards Robbie, they wanted to be around him.”
“I wish someone would say something like that about me someday.”
