At J-school, which I did not attend, they teach budding journalists to always come up with a great leading line. Something to capture the readers' attention and fire their interest.
This is presumption, but on Thursday night I found just the thing on Instagram. After the Leafs' dramatic extra-innings victory in Barrie, the club posted a celebratory image with the final score. Leafs Operations Manager Jeremy Margles posted a reply: "This team has never been more back." Great line, so great I made it my own and blazed it across the top of the text you are reading right now, your attention seized and your interest fired up. Thank you JEREMY.
If that's not what they teach at J-school, well maybe they should. This is after all an award-winning website. Thank you BUSHMEN.
The first week of the season offered Leafs fans a lot to get excited about.
There was the historic Opening Day, which saw a woman play in a men's professional baseball league for the first time in Canada. Ayami Sato was the centre of attention, one of many new faces on the Leafs roster for 2025.
The Leafs first road trip was a success, as Dennis Dei Baning hit his second home run in as many games, a game-winner in extra innings.
Sato and Dei Baning were two of the new faces, but plenty of veterans stepped up to remind the league they have never been more back.
Wilgenis Alvarado and Dustin Richardson both demonstrated welcome returns to form on the mound.
Ryan Dos Santos and Jordan Castaldo are back in business as on-base machines, racking up an eye-popping number of walks in just three games. On Sunday at Christie Pits, Castaldo continued his climb up the IBL all-time rankings for home runs and RBIs with a three-run round trip that sent the game against London into extras.
Lots to review so let us get to it. Here is a recap of Week One in this new season of Toronto Maple Leafs baseball.
Sunday, May 11, 2025 - Kitchener Panthers vs Toronto Maple Leafs
 |
| The 2025 Toronto Maple Leafs line up on Opening Day. |
A full recap of the Toronto Maple Leafs' historic home opener can be found at this link.
Kitchener 6 12 1
Toronto 5 10 3
W - Martinez (1-0, 5.40)
L - Newton (0-1, 5.40)
S - Mauris (1)
Thursday, May 15, 2025 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Barrie Baycats
 |
| The moment Dennis Dei Baning launched a Brad Grieveson pitch into the void to put the Leafs ahead for good. (Image: Barrie Baycats TV) |
On Thursday night, the tranquility of Canada's far north was disturbed by two bangs and a death knell.
The Toronto Maple Leafs made their first road trip of the season to Athletic Kulture Stadium outside Barrie.
At the conclusion of the Baycats' Opening Day ceremonies, Leafs leadoff man Ryan Dos Santos went BANG. The first batter of the game took starter Juan Benitez long over the left field fence to give the Leafs a quick 1-0 lead. Catcher Jhon Javier marked his debut in a Leafs uniform by smacking a triple. Shortstop Rando Moreno drove him in. First baseman Jordan Castaldo doubled, DH Justin Marra singled, and right fielder Marcus Knecht drove in the third run of the inning.
The Baycats battled back in the bottom of the first. Facing the unfamiliar Leafs battery of Josh Berenbaum and Javier, the home side scraped together a pair of runs to make it a 3-2 ballgame.
The Leafs scored again in the top of the second. Third baseman Spenser Ross drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a luscious sac bunt by second baseman Dan Marra. A single by Moreno scored Ross to make it 4-2.
After this flurry of runs, a parade of bulls emerged from the pen breathing smoke. A scoreless stretch ensued as evening became night.
With three innings in the books, Berenbaum was relieved by Wilgenis Alvarado. The Venezuelan southpaw threw three scoreless frames, surrendering just one hit and two walks while striking out six.
On the other side of the mound, Benitez was relieved by Frank Garces, who pitched five scoreless while mowing down 11 Toronto batters.
In the bottom of the eighth, Barrie broke through to tie the game. Reliever Sebastian Rodriguez gave up three hits and a run. With two out, Dustin Richardson emerged from the bullpen. In pre-season interviews Richardson has indicated that he's in the best shape of this IBL career, free of the various aches and pains of previous years. In a six-pitch at-bat, Adam Odd got the better of him with an RBI single to make it a 4-4 game.
That just made Richardson mad. In the bottom of the ninth he struck out three Baycats, all swinging, to send the game to extras.
Top of the tenth, the stadium got shook by another BANG. With ghost runner Justin Marra on second, centerfielder Dennis Dei Baning hit a first-pitch, no-doubt big fly that vanished into the darkness beyond the right field fence. Dei Baning's second opposite field home run in as many games gave the Leafs a 6-4 lead.
Richardson returned to the mound to deliver last rites. Once again, he struck out three Baycats to end the game. In his trademark grim fashion, the Undertaker tucked the win under his hat and secured Toronto's first win of the season.
Toronto 6 13 1
Barrie 4 10 1
(10 innings)
W - Richardson (1-0, 0.00)
L - Grieveson (0-1, 9.00)
Sunday, May 18, 2025 - London Majors vs Toronto Maple Leafs
 |
| It felt like almost everyone in this photo got to pitch an inning of Sunday's slugfest, as the Leafs sent eight men to the mound against London. |
Every season, there's a game like this one.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and London Majors engaged in a long, drawn-out slugfest that went on for over four hours. The clubs combined for 35 hits and put 31 runs on the scoreboard.
With a few exceptions, the day's pitching lines looked like An Abomination Against God.
By the end of the afternoon, Christie Pits looked like it had been the site of a battle. As the game went into extra innings, staff began packing away the pop-up tents and stacking the reserved seating. Lightly dressed fans shivered from the cold front that had descended. First baseman Mike Cecchetto hobbled around with his left knee wrapped up, the result of a rough landing on a sprint to first. He didn't get the worst of it. Late in the game, longtime Leafs ticket seller Al Ross took a foul ball off the side of the head. Paramedics tended to the wounded warrior, who spurned their stretcher and left the park on his own power. Absolute legend. (He's okay by the way.)
The day belonged to the hitters, and they went to work right away.
In the top of the first, London torched starter Ayami Sato with four runs off four hits, including three home runs.
In the bottom of the frame, left fielder Ryan Dos Santos drew a leadoff walk off starter Jose Arias. Dos Santos stole second, scampered to third on an errant throw, and came home on a sac fly by third baseman Jhon Javier.
Top of the second, London added three more runs on three hits, including another homer off Sato. That made it 7-1 after two.
An inning later, the Majors extended their lead when Adrian Harrison drove in a run off reliever Marek Deska. 8-1 Majors through three.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Leafs reminded all in attendance that three things in life are certain: death, taxes, and no lead is safe at Christie Pits. Second baseman Spenser Ross led off with a double, followed by another walk by Dos Santos. Javier then torched Arias with a three-run homer. The Majors needed two relievers to get out of the inning as the Leafs torched Jaryd Lund and Ricardo Alvarez DeLugo for four more runs. Lund surrendered singles to shortstop Rando Moreno and DH Jordan Castaldo, then walked catcher Justin Marra to load the bases. Moreno scored on a wild pitch, and Castaldo came home on a double by Jeffrey Mejia. (Mejia replaced Cecchetto after the Leafs' starting first baseman hurt his knee running out a grounder in the second inning. Update: ligament strain, out for five weeks.) Batting for the second time in the inning, Ross drove in two more with a double. Just like that, it was an 8-8 ballgame.
A procession of pitchers followed Deska out of the bullpen, each pitching an inning or two with mixed success. Taylor Lepard pitched the fourth and fifth and gave up two runs. Chris Nagorski pitched the sixth and gave up a run. Adam Marra pitched the seventh and gave up a run. Meanwhile a fifth-inning RBI single by right fielder Marcus Knecht had given the Leafs another run. Heading into the eighth inning, the Majors led 12-9.
Jeremy Newton pitched a scoreless top of the eighth for Toronto. Johnathan Henry took over on the mound for the visitors. He gave up a walk and a single, then got torched for a three-run bomb over center-left by Castaldo. That made it a 12-12 ballgame.
Skylar Janisse and Sebastian Rodriguez each pitched a scoreless ninth to send the game to extras as the game clock ticked past the four-hour mark.
Rodriguez opened the tenth but got in trouble. Gregory Carrington entered as the Leafs' eighth pitcher of the day, and the Majors rallied for four runs to take a 16-12 lead.
Bottom of the tenth, the Leafs put together another response. Moreno torched Janisse with a three-run bomb over the right field monster to bring the Leafs to within a run. That was where it ended. The Majors recorded three outs before the Mapes could score another run, and the final score was 16-15.
In the Freeze Race, Mr. Freeze was defeated, and is 0-2 on the season.
London 16 19 2
Toronto 15 16 1
(ten innings)
W - Janisse (1-0, 6.00)
L - Rodriguez (0-1, 9.82)
The Maple Leafs open the season with a 1-2 record, tied for sixth place in the IBL standings. Next up is a road trip to Brantford and Guelph before a return to the Pits on Sunday against Hamilton.
The week ahead:
Friday, May 23 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Brantford Red Sox, 8:00 pm at Arnold Anderson Stadium
Saturday, May 24 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Guelph Royals, 1:00 pm at Hastings Stadium
Sunday, May 25 - Hamilton Cardinals vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 2:00 pm at Christie Pits
