Marra and Takamatsu Win IBL Honours

The Intercounty Baseball League yesterday announced its year-end awards and all-stars. 

Two Toronto Maple Leafs were given the highest honours.

Justin Marra is the league's 2018 Most Valuable Player.

In his third season with the Leafs, Marra was the undisputed engine that drove Toronto's high-powered offence for most of the year.

The big-swinging slugger led the club with 10 home runs and 31 runs batted in. He also led in hits (41), slugging percentage (.690) and OPS (1.143). His batting average of .353 was second only to his brother Dan.

Marra also led the club with six RBIs in the postseason, and he hit two home runs. 

In MVP voting, Marra received 28 votes. Barrie's Kevin Atkinson received 17 votes, and Hamilton's Grant Arnold received eight.

Garrett Takamatsu is the league's 2018 Rookie of the Year.

Takamatsu burst onto the scene with an aggressive approach at the plate. First pitch swinging for the win.

He rose to the upper ranks of the league's offensive stats early in the season, and racked up some solid numbers by season's end. He hit .320 with a home run and 17 runs batted in, and tied Marra for the team lead with nine doubles. 

He also hit two electrifying game-winning homers in the Leafs' first round playoff series against Guelph.

Takamatsu's boundless energy and flamboyant flow quickly made him a fan favourite at Christie Pits.

In Rookie of the Year voting, Takamatsu received 22 votes. Brantford's David Mendham received 20 votes, and Guelph's Ethan Mohan received 19.

The league also announced its 2018 All-Star selections. Justin Marra was named first team catcher, and Dan Marra was named second team second baseman.

Congratulations to the Marra brothers and Tak.

Maple Leafs baseball will return for a 51st season at Christie Pits in May, 2019.

Leafs Lose Heartbreaker, Season Ends

Semifinals Game 4: Toronto Maple Leafs at Kitchener Panthers - August 23, 2018

Panthers win 4-3
Panthers win series 4-0

In the end, it was all Panthers.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were unable to dig out of an ever-deepening hole and were eliminated from the IBL playoffs last night at Jack Couch Park.

They lost in heartbreaking fashion to a Kitchener ballclub that hit three home runs, including a game-winning solo shot by Yorbis Borroto.

Justin Cicatello -- total lege -- kept the Leafs in the game the entire night until Borroto's fateful blast in the bottom of the eighth. It broke a 3-3 tie and sent the Panthers into the IBL championship series to face the Barrie Baycats.

It looked like the Toronto starter was ready to pitch 15 innings if necessary. Midway through each frame he strolled back to the mound with an expression betraying none of the pressure that was on him and his teammates.

They came out swinging in the first inning.

Leftfielder Grant Tamane drew a leadoff walk off starter Yonder Martinez, who then gave up three singles in a row. Shortstop Aaron Hornostaj and first baseman Justin Marra got the first two hits. Catcher Mike Reeves then stroked a single to right field to drive in Tamane. A sac fly by rightfielder Marcus Knecht scored Hornostaj and the Leafs were up 2-0.

It didn't last long. Mike Gordner hit a two-run homer to tie the game 2-2 in the bottom of the first.

Martinez and Cicatello traded scoreless innings until the bottom of the fourth. Brian Burton hit a leadoff dinger to give Kitchener its first lead of the night, 3-2.

Toronto responded immediately. Tamane singled to lead off the fifth, then moved to second on a putout by Hornostaj. He was driven in on a single by Knecht and it was a 3-3 ballgame through five.

Moving into the later innings, Jack Couch became quieter, the vibe in the air tenser. 

The two starting pitchers were opposites on the mound. Cicatello seemed to be constantly in motion -- delivering a pitch, receiving the ball back, stepping on, looking in, setting, and delivering again in a constant cycle.

Martinez slowed his half of each inning to a crawl. He would deliver a pitch, receive the ball back, take a stroll off the mound, step on, step off, go to the rosin bag, step on, step off, stare at the batter, stare at the moon, take another stroll, fill in some squares on the crossword in his back pocket, step on, step off, rosin again, contemplate the meaning of life or his grocery list it was hard to tell, more rosin just to be sure, step on, look in, wind up in slowwwwwwwwwwwwmotion, and finally deliver. The pantomime reached its peak when Justin Marra got in on the act, hesitating at the plate, calling for time, calling for pine tar, etc.. As one observer noted, "We'd all be home a half hour earlier tonight if they took away that rosin bag."

Martinez was finished after what felt like six thousand innings. Matt Vickers relieved him and pitched a perfect seventh.

Mike Schnurr came on in the eighth and did the same thing.

Cicatello churned through the game to the bottom of the eighth. The ballpark was eerily silent by this point in the night, as Borroto went to the plate to lead off. He took a called strike, then a ball, then delivered the next pitch over a fence-scaling Tamane in left. Home run, Panther lead, hundreds of people switched on and noisy with one swing of the bat. 

After waging a close battle all night, the Leafs were down to their final three outs. They were unable to muster anything, and went down in order in a 4-3 final. Schnurr with the win, Cicatello with a cruel loss, and Toronto out of the postseason.

The Panthers and Leafs shook hands after the game. It turned out to be a mostly one-sided series, but there was genuine respect shown for each other by both sides. The stunning finish of Game 1 set a tone that Toronto was unable to alter. Kitchener gained momentum through each result and won a well-deserved sweep.  

I remember a quick exchange I had with Panthers manager Luke Baker between innings during Game 3. 

I had asked him:

"You know what I don't like about you guys?"

"What's that?"

"You guys are very, very likeable."

He smiled warmly at that, in a very likeable way. His team played hard and clean, and I wish them well in the championship series.

Mapes! Youse guys! Here we are at the end of another summer, the quest for glory cut short. Thank you for letting me be your quiet shadow, letting me peek over your shoulders, and letting me get in your faces.

Through heady days and low times, it's been a memorable summer -- the most enjoyable since I started this strange trip.

And now, the long and terrible winter begins.


Toronto 3-9-1
Kitchener 4-7-1

W - Schnurr (1-0, 1.12)
L - Cicatello (1-2, 4.56)


BOXSCORE


NOTE: Eric Penkala and Cory Graham are total leges who blazed the highways and barged into the press boxes of the IBL to provide live webcasts of each Leafs playoff game. All of them are archived on YouTube, and can be found at Toronto Maple Leafs IBL Webcast.

Here's their complete coverage of Game 4.

Baseball is designed to break your heart, and never fails. The Toronto Maple Leafs' 50th season has concluded.

This ride is over; can't wait to clamber aboard the next one.

Mapes Under Pressure

Semifinals Game 3: Kitchener Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs - August 22, 2018

Panthers win 9-3
Panthers lead series 3-0

If they're going to do this, they're doing to do it the hard way.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a three-game deficit to climb out of, after a 9-3 loss to the Kitchener Panthers in Game 3 of their semifinal series. Even then, they will have to win four in a row to advance to the IBL championship.

So the mood was less than boisterous at Christie Pits last night.

Things got off to a rough start. In the first inning, Toronto starter Zach Sloan gave up a double and a walk with two outs. Kitchener proceeded to score three runs off two more hits and an error to jump out to a 3-0 lead. From up in the owner's box came the sounds of thunder and lightning as the sun began to set.

The Leafs got one back in the bottom of the second when catcher Mike Reeves hit a leadoff home run off Christian Hauck. 3-1 Panthers through two.

A scoreless third led to a bumpy fourth for Toronto. With two outs on the board, Sloan gave up an RBI single to Tanner Nivins and a three-run homer to Mike Gordner. From the owner's box issued the sounds of sulky silence. 7-1 Panthers midway through the fourth.

The Leafs kept scratching at Hauck. Second baseman Dan Marra was hit by a pitch, then stole second. DH Daniel Szpik drew a walk. Centerfielder Connor Lewis then hit an RBI single that scored Marra and made it 7-2 Panthers through four.

Sloan and Hauck traded scoreless fifth and sixth innings.

Kitchener pounced on Sloan to start the seventh, as Brian Burton and Keegan Marsden each hit a solo homer. Sloan was relieved by R.J. Page, who finished the inning without any further damage, but it was now 9-2 Panthers.

Matt Vickers and Adrien Yuen kept the Leafs off the board in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively.

Page threw three scoreless innings with five strikeouts to wrap things up on the mound for Toronto. In the bottom of the ninth, the Leafs faced Eric Steeves. First baseman Justin Marra gave the Christie Crazies something to cheer about with a solo home run, but a dramatic comeback was not in the cards. The Leafs went down in a 9-3 final, Hauck with the win and Sloan with the loss.

Daunting. 

Daunting is the task that faces the Hogtown nine. They hit the road for Game 4 tonight, looking to stave off elimination. A four-game comeback is not unheard of in the IBL, and if the Leafs want to keep their season alive, the turnaround has to begin now.


Kitchener 9-10-0
Toronto 3-9-2

W - Hauck (2-0, 2.25)
L - Sloan (1-3, 5.58)


BOXSCORE


NOTE: Eric Penkala and Cory Graham are providing live webcasts of each Leafs playoff game and archiving them on YouTube. The channel is Toronto Maple Leafs IBL Webcast.

Here's their complete coverage of Game 3.

Game 4 of this series will take place this evening at Jack Couch Park in Kitchener. First pitch is 7:30 pm.