Maple Leafs Baseball Explodes Into the Slumbering City's Consciousness

Before we begin, here are some updates from an eventful off-season for the Toronto Maple Leafs Baseball Club.

Topolie Ends Monopoly

After 28 seasons as a player, coach, scout, field manager, general manager, team vice president and occasional groundskeeper, Damon Topolie has hung up all his hats.  On December 20th, he announced his departure from the Leafs via Twitter.  After dropping off the keys to the clubhouse, the long-time face of the franchise ascended into a gigantic blue pickup truck and peeled out of the Christie Pits executive parking lot for the last time.

The Hats Have Been Passed

Topolie’s departure was followed by that of Vice President of Business Operations Roger Lajoie and Director of Communications and Game Day Operations Ryan Eakin.  The protectorate that oversees the Dominico Estate and with it the continued operation of the baseball franchise (his name is Ty Crawford) started filling the vacancies.  Jeff Lounsbury takes over as General Manager, John Raddi is Assistant GM, Jeremy Margles is Game Day Operations Manager, Adam Stevenson is Sales & Sponsorships Manager, and former Leaf great Rob Butler has been named the club’s new Manager on the field. 

Steady Trods the Camel

“I’m like a camel, the heat doesn’t bother me.  Give me a little water and I am good to go.”  With those words, hillsides legend Al Ross confirmed his return to ticket-selling duty for another season.  “A better idea might be to say I am only coming back because I am lazy and if I don’t do this, I will sit around doing Sudoku or watching TV,” he added.

New Seats, Same Bush

The City of Toronto surprised everyone by replacing the very old wood and metal infield seating at Christie Pits with very new metal seating, some kind of space age carbon-poly or titanium, or it may just be reinforced tin.  The proof will be in how the buttocks of fans respond to being parked there on 30-degree afternoons.  High above, the bushes adjacent to Christie Street remain unchanged, awaiting the return of their bush men, bush ladies, bush doggos and other villagers who make the place a Hogtown hotspot each summer.

Meanwhile, On the Field

Fans will recognize many familiar faces on the field this summer.  The core of the team that fell just short of the IBL championship the past two seasons is back for one more glorious run.

“Keeping the core together was paramount,” says GM Lounsbury.  “I had conversations with some of the core members to address their concerns that with Damon gone there would be changes with how the team would be run day to day, and they were happy with those conversations.”

The infield of Justin Marra, Jordan Castaldo, Dan Marra, Jose Vinicio and Johnathan Solazzo is back.  Outfielders Gregory Carrington, Ryan Dos Santos and Aiden McAskie return.  Marek Deska, Zach Sloan, Adam Marra, Sam Greene, Chris Nagorski and Ryan Wells are among the returning pitchers.

“These guys are very experienced,” Lounsbury continues.  “I’m just trying to complement them, to add depth to the core to make another run again.”

The Leafs’ 54th season will begin with some new arrivals taking the places of departed players.  A new group of import players will be landing in Toronto, along with signings from other ballclubs that Lounsbury has assembled for Opening Day.

In our conversation, Lounsbury returns to the word depth repeatedly.  Many a Leaf postseason run has been disrupted by lack of depth at key positions, leaving managers looking through their fingers when they reached for help from the bench or bullpen.

Incoming manager Butler should not have that problem, and the club is expected to rally around their new skipper.

Butler spent part of four seasons in the Major Leagues and is the only Canadian to win the World Series while playing for the Toronto Blue Jays.  In 2001, Butler joined the Maple Leafs and played five seasons at Christie Pits.

Rob Butler with brother Rich during their playing days at Christie Pits. (Getty Images)

Lounsbury described the thinking that went into the Butler hire.

“We wanted to be patient and not rush it,” he says.  “We wanted someone with IBL experience and some veteran experience because of our older team.  It can be tough for a young guy to coach 35-year-olds.  We reached out to Rob and it clicked really fast.  He checked all the boxes.  He has a great baseball mind, he’s calm and has a sense of humour.”

To fans, Butler is remembered from his playing days.  For many players there is already a more personal bond.  

“He played for the Leafs and a lot of the players know him,” Lounsbury adds.  After his playing days, Butler got into coaching and running baseball clinics.  A 15-year-old Zach Sloan was once one of his pupils.

And so the pieces are in place.  Front office, management, roster, camel, bush.  Warm weather is arriving at the right moment, and Maple Leafs baseball is poised to explode into the slumbering city’s consciousness this weekend.

The defending IBL champion London Majors will visit the Pits for the Season Opener this Sunday, with the hoopla getting under way at 2:00 pm.