Toronto Maple Leafs (semi-pro baseball)
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| Toronto Maple Leafs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| League | Intercounty Baseball League (1969–present) |
| Location | Toronto |
| Ballpark | Dominico Field at Christie Pits |
| Founded | 1969 |
| League championships | 8
|
| Colours | Blue, white |
| General Manager | Jeff Lounsbury |
| Manager | Rob Butler |
| Media | Maple Leafs Baseball TV |
| Website | mapleleafsbaseball.com |
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a team of the Intercounty Baseball League, based in Toronto, Ontario. They play their home games on "Dominico Field" at Christie Pits. They are also known colloquially as the Intercounty Maple Leafs or the Intercounty Leafs to disambiguate themselves from the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team.
History
[edit]The Maple Leafs baseball team began to play in 1969, the second season after the original Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team of the AAA International League moved to Louisville, Kentucky.
In their inaugural year, the new Leafs lost 23 games, finishing 18 games out of first place. But they have never ended a season that far back since then. They have been in first place 19 times in the subsequent years and have the best winning percentage of any active team in the League.
The team was owned by husband and wife Jack and Lynne Dominico for the first 40 years of its existence and was then owned exclusively by Jack after Lynne's passing on November 8, 2008, until his passing on January 12, 2022. The Inter-county Baseball League Championship is also named in their honour, the Jack and Lynne Dominico Trophy.
On December 3, 2024, the Leafs announced they had signed Ayami Sato, making her the first female player in the Intercounty Baseball League as well as the first female player chosen to play professional baseball in Canada.[1]
Championships
[edit]Since its inception, the team has won the Jack and Lynne Dominico Trophy as Inter-county Baseball champions eight times, the first in 1972. During the 2002 season, the Leafs were undefeated at home, a first for the league. They also won the championship that year. They have also achieved many individual awards and All-Star nominations.
- Championships (8): 1972, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1995, 1999, 2002, 2007
Former players
[edit]Former Major League Baseball player Pete Orr once played for the Intercounty Leafs as did former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Rich Butler (2001–2002). Rich's brother, Rob Butler, who was also a former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder, also played with the Leafs (2001–2005), as did former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Paul Spoljaric (2002–2007). Chris Leroux (2009–2014, Dustin Richardson (2009–2010), and Angel Castro (2015) round out ex-big-leaguers that have played for the Leafs.
Front office
[edit]- Keith Stein -- CEO
- Rob Butler (Field Manager)
- Thomas West -- U-tube Channel Operations & Leafs TV
- Jeremy Margles (Gameday Operations Manager
Current roster
[edit]- SP Ángel Castro
- SP Max Lanoue
- SP Wilgenis Alvarado
- SP Marek Deska
- SP Sam Greene(pitching coach)
- RP Dustin Richardson
- RP Taylor Lepard
- RP Chris Nagorski
- RP Julian Tymochko
- RP Zach Sloan
- RP Dean Christidis
- RP Adam Marra
- RP Julian Junior Valdez
- C Justin Marra
- DH/C Brandon Sekulovich
- C Dionysius Chialtas
- 1B/C Justice Magee
- 1B Jordan Castaldo
- SS/2B Charlie Towers
- 2B Dan Marra
- SS Jose Vinicio
- 3B Johnathan Solazzo
- 3B/OF Jesse Hodges
- OF Greg Carrington
- OF Connor Lewis
- OF Ryan Santos
- OF Marcus Knecht
- OF Anthony Buonaiuto
