Leafs Fell Early This Summer

“Who are these guys anyway?”

It is a question often heard on summer Sunday afternoons at Christie Pits.

Those nine men on the field, the ones in the blue uniforms emblazoned with maple leaf logos, are they professional ballplayers? Amateurs? Part-timers?

Compared to Toronto’s major league franchise, the Maple Leafs’ PR machine is humble and homespun. Fans are offered free programs at every home game and nuggets of information can be found within. Diehard followers who come to most games get to know the players and even forge friendships.

However, it is common for casual observers to drop in on a game, contemplate the players on the field (some young and bursting with athleticism, others older and more rounded than angular in contour), and wonder: “Who are these guys anyway?”

There are several answers to that question. The largest segment of the Maple Leafs’ roster consists of players who are in their early twenties. They play for the Leafs in the summer months, and then head south to college in the States on baseball scholarships. These youngsters take the opportunity to hone their skills while here, hoping to catch the eye of a scout down there.

There have been success stories. Daniel Procopio, who pitched for the Leafs a few years ago, was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels and now plays for one of their minor league clubs. Climbing the ladder and making it to “the show” is a dream that many of these players are actively pursuing.

A second segment of the roster is players in their later twenties or thirties who were drafted and put in some time with a major league organization, but didn’t make it all the way. For them, the Leafs offer an opportunity to continue playing competitive ball.

The third segment is the baseball lifers: players who never progressed higher than the provincial or national levels, but their love for the game keeps them coming back. They found a home with the Leafs and they have been playing at Christie Pits for years.

Apart from a couple of American pitchers and one from the Dominican Republic, most players are local. They live and work around the GTA and come from all walks of life. There’s a high school teacher, a documentary filmmaker, and a landscaper. One works for CN Rail, another works for a tech company. When the season ends, they return to the toil of daily life like the rest of us.

For the 2017 Maple Leafs team, that return was forced upon them with undue speed.

The Leafs were knocked out of the first round of the Intercounty Baseball League playoffs in mid-August, following a thrilling seven-game series against the Brantford Red Sox.

Four of the seven games were played at Christie Pits and there were some classics.

Game one saw the Leafs overcome an eight-run deficit to win 12-11.

Game three was a tight, defensive battle. Leafs’ ace Justin Cicatello pitched a complete game and the team came from behind to win 4-3.

Game five saw catcher Justin Marra hit a tie-breaking home run en route to a 7-1 victory.

The three games played in Brantford were all won by the Red Sox, setting the stage for a deciding seventh game on Sunday, August 13. In a stunning turn of events, Toronto fell victim to a last gasp comeback by the visitors.

The Leafs entered the ninth inning of the deciding game with a 4-1 lead, but momentum fatally shifted against them in a matter of minutes. As they say in France: “Crash, bang, wallop!” Brantford rallied, hit two home runs, and scored four to win the game and the series. With sudden violence and finality, the Leafs’ playoff run was over.

Back to school, back to work, back to real life. It was a cruel finale to the summer, but that’s baseball for you. It disappoints more often than it rewards.

As the long winter season unfolds, thoughts will return to the ballpark and we mortals will look forward to spending some more sunny afternoons sprawled out on Christie’s hillsides. For us, those days to come will be enough reward.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will return in May 2018, when the club will kick off its 50th season of baseball at good old Christie Pits.

[A version of this article appeared in the August 2018 edition of the Annex Gleaner.]

Orchard Wins Rookie of the Year Honour

Zac Orchard is the 2017 IBL Rookie of the Year.

Anyone who followed the Toronto Maple Leafs this summer will not be surprised by the news. Shortly after the season began, Orchard exploded on the scene like a Roman candle, blasting four home runs and 20 RBIs to go with his .456 batting average.

With his Ballplayer demeanour and heroics at the plate, Orchard won the appreciation of Leafs fans, and the envy of everyone else.

Orchard was not the only Leaf to win recognition in the league's season-end awards.

Third baseman Johnathan Solazzo received a First Team All Star honour, and shortstop Ryan White was named a Second Team All Star.

The Leafs will return in 2018 to celebrate their 50th season in the IBL.

Leafs Cut Down Late, Season Ends

Quarterfinals Game 7: Brantford Red Sox at Toronto Maple Leafs, August 13, 2017

Red Sox win 5-4, win series 4-3

Cruel Pits!  You waited to the very end to spring your harshest act of cruelty.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were cruising this afternoon and seemingly headed for a berth in the IBL semifinals. They had taken an early lead in game seven of their quarterfinal series against the Brantford Red Sox, and held onto it for most of the day.

It was a hot and sunny afternoon at Christie Pits, and a huge crowd of home faithful were on hand to witness an expected victory.

Justin Cicatello was on the mound for the Mapes, and he delivered an ace performance. Over six innings, he gave up four hits and just one unearned run to keep the visitors in check.

Toronto took the lead in the bottom of the second. Four singles in a row by DH Damon Topolie, shortstop Dan Marra, centerfielder Connor Lewis (RBI) and second baseman Grant Tamane (RBI) resulted in two runs crossing the plate to give the Leafs a 2-0 lead through two.

In the bottom of the fifth, catcher Justin Marra bashed his third home run of the series to make it a 3-0 ballgame.

Brantford scored their first run in the top of the sixth. Cody Mombourquette reached first on an error. That was followed by a double off the bat of Benjamin Bostick. Ricky Murray then singled to drive in a run and make it a 3-1 ballgame.

First baseman Julian Johnson got that run right back for the Leafs. In the bottom of the sixth, he smashed a home run that gave the home side a 4-1 lead.

Cicatello handed the ball to Zach Sloan to start the seventh. Sloan delivered two scoreless innings in relief, and expectations for a home win began to bubble all around the park.

Those bubbles all burst in the top of the ninth. With one out and the Pits as noisy as they'd been all day, Nic Burdett singled. That brought Dan Jagdeo to the plate.  After struggling for most of the series, Jagdeo struck a huge blow at the most opportune moment, hitting a two-run homer.  Sloan got another out, then gave up another single. Brandon Dailey then delivered the knockout punch: another two-run homer that stunned the Pits and sent Brantford's travelling fans into a tizzy. Was this real life? Pedro De Los Santos relieved Sloan and got the final out of the inning, but the Leafs' season was suddenly hurtling towards a sudden and shocking end.

Stefan Strecker emerged from the visitors' bullpen to do what he has been doing in the IBL for the past 36 seasons: he put the other team out of its misery with minimal fuss. Third baseman Johnathan Solazzo managed a single off the Brantford closer, but left fielder Zac Orchard hit into a game-ending double play. 

The Red Sox poured onto the infield to celebrate as the shell-shocked Leafs trudged off.

In a matter of minutes, the Leafs' all-but-certain return trip to the semis got cut down cruelly. Sloan got the L while Dalton Harvey grabbed the surprise W, and that puts a wrap on the 2017 season.


Brantford 5-11-0
Toronto 4-11-1

W - Harvey (2-1, 11.36)
L - Sloan (1-1, 7.10)
S - Strecker (1)


BOXSCORE


A quarterfinal series that was filled with dramatic finishes has come to an end with a game seven defeat for Toronto. Congratulations to the Brantford Red Sox. 

Thanks again to all the Leafs players, coaches, staff and of course the Christie Crazies for another memorable season at the Pits.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will return to Christie Pits in May 2018 for their 50th season in the Intercounty Baseball League. Glorious haps await. See you then, my babies.

Red Sox Walk Off to Force Game 7

Quarterfinals Game 6: Toronto Maple Leafs at Brantford Red Sox, August 10, 2017

Red Sox win 11-10 (10 innings)
Series tied 3-3

See you at the Pits.

This long, dramatic quarterfinal series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Brantford Red Sox will go to a deciding seventh game, after Brantford won 11-10 in 10 innings last night.

The Sox walked it off, literally, when Brandon Dailey was hit by an Adam Garner pitch with the bases loaded. That brought the winning run across the plate amid a cacophony of cowbells and kazoos at Arnold Anderson Stadium. That was some racket.

From the outset, game six of this series felt as if it was being played out in a kind of bizarro parallel universe. Everything went against the established pattern. 

All of which to say: it was a weird game.*

Red Sox in their road reds, Maple Leafs in their home blues. Graham Tebbit on the mound against Trevor Caughey. Toronto scored first, putting two runs on the board in the opening frame. One of the baserunners to cross home plate was DH Jon Waltenbury. One inning later, Waltenbury was ejected from the game for arguing a called third strike.

Brantford scored a run in the bottom of the second, before the Leafs added to their lead in the third to make it a 4-1 ballgame.

The Red Sox rallied back in the bottom of the fourth. The inning included a bases-loaded balk by Caughey and the Leafs' lead was reduced to 4-3.

The back-and-forth continued in the top of the fifth. Three runs were scored by Toronto as they extended their lead to 7-3.

After a scoreless sixth, Brantford added two more runs to make it 7-5 Leafs through seven.

Caughey turned the ball over to Justin Cicatello to start the bottom of the eighth. All hell suddenly broke loose as Brantford scored five runs to take a 10-7 lead.

Down to their final three outs, the Mapes rallied for three runs to tie the game and send it to extras.

It was 10-10 in the bottom of the 10th and Adam Garner was on the mound in relief of Cicatello. The momentum swung back in Brantford's favour as they loaded the bases, and then Garner delivered the decisive pitch. He appeared to hit Dailey on the arm. Dailey immediately rushed to first, followed by a mob of teammates as the winning run came home. A pile of Leafs fell upon the home plate umpire to question the call. After a conference with the rest of the crew, the ump rendered his final decision and pointed to first base. The game was over and the series was tied three games apiece.


* Pointstreak's breakdown of the game is a mess and I'm having to write most of this recap from memory, making for an unreliable narrator. You are welcome to deride this as my worst recap ever.


Toronto 10-13-1
Brantford 11-16-2

W - Harvey (1-1, 13.50)
L - Garner (0-1, 4.50)


BOXSCORE


After six memorable games, this quarterfinal will be decided on Sunday afternoon at Christie Pits. First pitch is 2:00 pm.