Dei Week Was Dei Baning’s

Maple Leafs Weekly Recap - May 11 to 17, 2026

The Leafs opened the season hot (yes! more please!), but then cooled off (no! reverse!) to wrap up Week 1.

Dennis Dei Baning swats his third home run of the season, three games into the season.

He's the man for all seasons.  

From the frozen north to the sweaty south, he hits home runs in all weather.  He's been knocking round trips since the day he was born.

He's Dennis Dei BANG, the new legend of Christie Pits.  The Toronto Maple Leafs centerfielder opened the 2026 campaign with a three-game home run hitting streak.  Total power move.  Easily the CBL player of the week.

So far this season, the Leafs are living and dying by the long ball.  Nine of their eleven runs scored this week came via the home run.  They beat the Kitchener Panthers with a three-bomb barrage.  After that, things tightened up and they lost their following two.  The power was still there - three homers in two games, but all solo shots.  The boys need to get on base to make the most of this energetic start.

Bang Man is setting the tone.  His teammates need to get on it.

Here's the recap of Week 1 in this new season of Maple Leafs baseball.

Sunday, May 10, 2026 - Kitchener Panthers vs Toronto Maple Leafs

A full recap of the Toronto Maple Leafs' 2026 home opener can be found at this link. 

Kitchener 6 6 0

Toronto 8 10 1

W - Martinez (1-0, 5.40)

L - MacNeil (0-1, 12.00)

S - Poapst (1)

BOXSCORE

Thursday, May 14, 2026 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Barrie Baycats

Dennis Dei Baning completes his home run trot to score the Leafs' only run of the game. (image: Barrie Baycats TV)

New league!  New roster!  New hopes and dreams!

After months of hyping the newness of things, the Toronto Maple Leafs went to Barrie and delivered a result that fans would find hauntingly familiar.

On a frigid night at Athletic Kulture Stadium, the Leafs fell behind early and managed a single run in a 6-1 defeat to the Baycats.

Some of the Leafs' new arms took the mound and they did well.  Starter Nick Veselinovic pitched a couple of innings and gave up a run.  Reliever Mike Ribis went three-plus innings and gave up the bulk of Barrie's runs.  Frankie Gulko and the returning Ben Sitarenios closed things out clean.

At the plate, the Leafs were unable to put much of a dent into starter Frank Garces.  Centerfielder Dennis Dei Baning launched his second moon shot in as many games to produce the visitors' lone run.  Marcus Knecht stroked a couple of doubles but was left on base both times.  All told, the Leafs stranded nine men in the losing effort.

Garces earned the win in the 6-1 FINAL.  Veselinovic took the loss.  Barrie fans went home frozen but happy.  Plus ça change...

Toronto 1 6 0

Barrie 6 8 1

W - Garces (1-0, 0.00)

L - Veselinovic (0-1, 3.00)

BOXSCORE

Sunday, May 17, 2026 - Hamilton Cardinals vs Toronto Maple Leafs 

Matt Brandt got in on the home run action with a solo shot in the ninth.

Sunday at Christie Pits, the Leafs scuffled again.

The visiting Hamilton Cardinals churned out 15 hits en route to an 8-2 victory.  

The Mapes managed five hits including a pair of solo home runs.

After a ceremonial first pitch toss from Bushman Elliot Hill, Opening Day starter Yadian Martinez returned to the mound but did not fare as well.  In his second appearance of the season, he was tagged for five earned runs off nine hits including a home run early in the game.  He struck out two and walked two.

In the top of the second inning, Reyny Reyes's solo dinger gave the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Under hot sunny skies, Hamilton pecked away at Martinez.  They added a run in the third and three more in the fifth to end his day.

In the bottom of the fifth, centerfielder Dennis Dei Baning whacked a double for the first Leaf hit of the day off starter Hector Yan.

Alex Lanigan pitched a scoreless sixth for the Leafs.  Left fielder Yasiel Puig robbed Darlin German of what looked to be a home run with a leaping catch against the fence to end the inning.  It was the highlight of the day for the former MLB All-Star who went 0-4 at the plate.

Through six innings, the Cardinals led 5-0 and the Leafs had come up with just a pair of hits.

Wilgenis Alvarado entered the game in the seventh and pitched a scoreless frame.

Bottom seven, Dei Baning got one he liked from reliever Luis Ramirez and smashed it over the fence in left, his third home run in as many games.  That put the Leafs on the board but they still trailed 5-1.

In the top of the eighth, German avenged himself with an RBI single to make it 6-1.

In the ninth, the Cardinals tacked on two more runs off reliever Kyle Poapst to make it 8-1.  

Redbirds roosted on the bases all afternoon.  Not only did they score eight runs but they also left 13 runners aboard.  It could have been a lot uglier.

In the bottom of the ninth, catcher Matt Brandt knocked his first professional home run, putting his name alongside Babe Ruth who also achieved that milestone in Toronto.  

That was it for the home side as the visitors secured an 8-2 FINAL.  Yan with the win, Martinez with the loss.  Ramirez pitched the final three innings for what should be recorded as a save (unless the CBL is not acknowledging that stat).

Two losses in a row for the Leafs, but there were some pleasant sites on the day: another huge crowd blanketed the hillsides, with more people lining the fences all around the park.  

A couple of new additions to the Pits this season are a warning track, and assistant coach Rich Butler.  Rich, who is the size of two Robs, made a formidable baseline presence.

Hamilton 8 15 0

Toronto 2 5 1

W - Yan 

L - Martinez 

S - Ramirez

BOXSCORE

So ends the first week of the 2026 CBL season.  The Leafs went 1-2, good for seventh place, a game-and-a-half behind the London Majors and Welland Jackfish.   

The week ahead:

Saturday, May 23 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Welland Jackfish, 6:05 pm at Welland Stadium

Sunday, May 24 - Guelph Royals vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 2:00 pm at Christie Pits

**POST-CREDITS SCENE**

People come up to me and ask "where's this person?" "where's that person?"  I did some searching and have updates.

Janice Bellmore - this Maple Leafs superfan has been absent from Christie Pits for a couple of summers.  I tracked down a contact at a downtown church where she used to volunteer.  They report that Janice has moved to the west side of town.  She is doing well and helping out a church there.

Roger Lajoie - the longtime voice of Maple Leafs baseball left the club in 2023.  He continues to work as a host on Sportsnet 590 The Fan.  This season, he has become a member of the Hamilton Cardinals broadcast team as colour commentator.

Johnathan Solazzo - after many years working the hot corner for the Maple Leafs, The Conductor spent last season in Hamilton.  Things did not work out and Solazzo left the club.  This season he is not playing baseball.

If there is anyone else in the Dominico Cinematic Universe whose whereabouts you are wondering about, shoot me a message and I'll try to track them down.

New Age Music

The 2026 CBL Season Opener 

Kitchener Panthers vs Toronto Maple Leafs, May 10 at Christie Pits

A fan-made banner heralds the start of a new chapter in Maple Leafs baseball. (image: Toronto Maple Leafs Baseball TV)

Yasiel Puig put his team ahead and Dennis Dei Baning kept them there.

The slugging outfielders combined for three home runs for the Toronto Maple Leafs in an 8-6 opening day victory over the Kitchener Panthers at Christie Pits.

Borrowing from old advertising parlance, the Leafs presented "a new and exciting blend" of incoming and returning players to launch the 2026 Canadian Baseball League season.  Manager Rob Butler trotted out a starting lineup featuring five newcomers and five familiar faces.  

On a cold and windy afternoon, an estimated crowd of 4,000 took the opportunity to meet the Leafs in person.  Some local boys, some Cubans.  Some kids, some veterans.  An OUA All-Star, an MLB All-Star.  Would these disparate elements gel into a baseball team?  The early evidence bodes well.

Yadian Martinez opened the game on the mound for Toronto.  One year ago, he pitched on the same mound for the Panthers and grabbed a win.  Twelve months later he won again with five innings of work.  He surrendered three hits, a walk, and gave a short-lived lead to the visitors.

In the top of the second inning, Martinez hit his former battery mate Yunior Ibarra with a pitch.  Later in the frame, the Kitchener catcher came around to score on a double play and the visitors grabbed a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the inning, Toronto's offence roared to life.  Second baseman Spenser Ross and catcher Matt Brandt both singled off Kitchener starter Owen MacNeil.  A sac fly by third baseman Matt Fabian scored Ross.  Left fielder Marcus Knecht took first after being plunked.  Right fielder Puig was up next and he deposited a MacNeil offering just on the other side of the left field fence.  The first Leaf homer of the year, the first lead of the year, and the home side were on their way with a 4-1 lead through two.

The Panthers clawed back, scoring one run in the fourth and another in the fifth to make it 4-3.

In the bottom of the fifth, Puig struck again.  He led off the inning with a solo blast off reliever Samuel Quintana.  That one was a no doubter that landed somewhere in the skate park.  Next man up, centerfielder Dei Baning, drew a walk.  He advanced to third on a single by DH Kyle Poapst and scored on a groundout by first baseman Mike Cecchetto.  That made it 6-3 Leafs through five.

In relief of Martinez, Wilgenis Alvarado pitched a scoreless top of the sixth.  Those Black Cats did not let up.  The following inning, they loaded the bases and scratched a couple of runs out of Alvarado via a hit by pitch (that ended Alvarado's day), and a walk by new reliever Ryan Capuano.  The Leafs got out of the inning but it was a tight 6-5 ballgame.

Bottom of the seventh, Puig and Dei Baning stretched the home lead for good.  Puig was walked by reliever Evan Elliott and Dei Baning blasted the Buds' third homer of the day.  It landed with finality somewhere beyond the fence in left and the Leafs enjoyed an 8-5 lead.

Like the monster in a Stephen King story, the Panthers came to life again.  Capuano walked two batters to open the eighth inning, and Yosvani Penalver doubled to drive one of them in.  Poapst put down his bat, picked up his glove and took to the mound as the Leafs' new two-way player.  He ended the threat by recording the final four outs of the game and securing the 8-5 FINAL.  And there was much rejoicing.

Martinez took the win, MacNeil took the loss and Poapst secured the save.  For Martinez, the game represented a "coming full circle" moment.  Over the past two opening days, he earned two wins for two different clubs.  Last June, he was placed on the Panthers' inactive list, and he played his final game for them in July.  Another subplot to the game involved the shortstops.  The same day Martinez was made inactive, Yordan Manduley was released and the Panthers signed head coach Pete Kiefer's son, shortstop Petey Kiefer.  This year, Manduley joined the Leafs along with Martinez.

Puig (3), Dei Baning (2) and Fabian (1) recorded RBIs on the day.  

Oversized importance is always assigned to The First Game of the Season.  Fans will scrutinize the stats while awaiting the Leafs' next outings.  Fun stat of the day: if he hangs around all summer, Puig is on pace to hit 96 home runs.  

It's great to start with a win and dream of things to come wrapped in ethereal new age music, but there are still 47 games ahead.  

Kitchener 6 6 0

Toronto 8 10 1

W - Martinez (1-0, 5.40)

L - MacNeil (0-1, 12.00)

S - Poapst (1)

BOXSCORE

The week ahead:

Thursday, May 14 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Barrie Baycats, 7:38 pm at Athletic Kulture Stadium

Sunday, May 17 - Hamilton Cardinals vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 2:00 pm at Christie Pits

The Buds of Spring: the Toronto Maple Leafs 2026 Season Preview

At a Christie Pits practice on May 3, there were plenty of new faces in the Leafs uniform.  You will learn to identify them as soon as I do.

Grab your blankets and beverages, hillsiders.  

Toronto Maple Leafs baseball is back in a big way.

In case you missed the offseason news, a sea change swept over the Intercounty Baseball League.

A quick recap:

After 106 years as Ontario’s premier semi-pro baseball league, the IBL rebranded as the Canadian Baseball League and elevated to professional status.  

Pro status comes with a formal pay structure for players.  Clubs will be able to sign up to eight import players, up from the previous limit of five.

An expanded regular season schedule goes from 42 to 48 games.  That means 24 home games at Christie Pits, beginning on Sunday, May 10.  Admission to all Leaf home games remains free.

The league is reported to have acquired pitch clock technology that will be deployed to all nine CBL ballparks and go into effect at some point in the season.

A fast start will be a must, as fewer teams will qualify for the CBL postseason.  Starting this year, the regular season's top three finishers will make the playoffs.  The fourth- and fifth-place teams will play a wild card elimination game to join them.  Everybody else goes home.  The semi-finals and championship series will both be best-of-seven affairs.

The Dominico Cup, named for former Leafs owners Jack and Lynne Dominico, will carry over and become the CBL’s championship trophy.

Fans arriving at Christie Pits will also want to grab one of the free program sheets that they hand out.  

There has been a huge turnover in the roster, starting at the top with new general manager Denis Bailey, a veteran of the Burlington/Welland and Kitchener organizations.  Mike Boehmer also comes over from Kitchener as special assistant to the GM.

With one week to go before the season opens, the Leafs have filled 24 out of 28 spots on the roster.  Ten are returning players and 14 are new - that's over half the team.

Among the players who have departed: Marek Deska, Ryan Dos Santos, Dustin Richardson and Luca Boscarino.  All four have signed with or been traded to the Guelph Royals.  The Marra era of Maple Leaf baseball has come to an end.  Brothers Dan and Adam have been released and the Welland Jackfish acquired the rights to Justin.  Also released were longtime Leafs Greg Carrington and Connor Lewis.  Notables hitting the inactive list are Jordan Castaldo, Josh Berenbaum and Taylor Lepard.

At a glance, the Leafs go from being one of the league's oldest teams to one of the youngest.  The newcomers have been saying all the right things on the club's social media:

"Toronto is a city that loves its sports, and being able to represent this team and connect with that energy is something I'm looking forward to."

"It's been a while since I played baseball in my home city so I'm very excited to be able to do that again!"

"Can't wait for a packed Christie Pits on a Sunday afternoon!!!"

Some new guys.

Some more new guys.

New pitchers: Ryan Capuano, Reinaldo De Paula, Frankie Gulko, Yadian Martinez, Kyle Poapst, Nick Veselinovic.

New infielders: Matt Fabian, Kirk Gibson, Vasili Kaloudis, Yordan Manduley.

New outfielders/utility guy: Jacob Bonzon, Ben Sterritt, Cooper Tomkinson... and Yasiel Puig.

Yes, that Yasiel Puig.  In late April, social media erupted over a Toronto Star report that the Leafs had signed the ex-MLB All Star to the CBL's largest contract ever.  The Leafs have yet to make an official announcement.  However, his name appears on both the club and league websites as a Toronto signing.

All this newness promises a memorable season ahead. 

Despite all of the changes, it won't be a total culture shock at the Pits.  The park itself looks the same as always, and some familiar players will be suiting up in the blue and white.

Returning pitchers: Wilgenis Alvarado, Luis Florentino, Drew Howard, Alex Lanigan, Ben Sitarenios.

Returning infielders: Mike Checchetto, Jhon Javier, Spenser Ross.

Returning outfielders: Dennis Dei Baning, Marcus Knecht. 

The Skipper

Returning for his fourth season at the helm is field manager Rob Butler, joined by assistant coach Brian Sewell.

What of the opposition?  As mentioned, the other eight clubs in the CBL will be wanting to burst out of the starting gate or risk falling out of the postseason picture early.  Defending champions and finalists from last year, the Welland Jackfish and Barrie Baycats should provide stiff competition.  The Hamilton Cardinals and London Majors have made a lot of offseason moves.  The Toronto-to-Guelph pipeline should see the Royals contending as well.  Could we see surprise success from one of the remaining clubs, the Brantford Red Sox, Chatham-Kent Barnstormers, or Kitchener Panthers?  As the saying goes, that's why you play the games.

If you've made it this far you are a certifiable Leafs fanatic.  The season opens on Mother's Day, May 10.  The Leafs host the Kitchener Panthers and gametime is 2:00 pm.

From the Annex Gleaner: Maple Leafs Moving Up to the Pros

New Canadian Baseball League will bring more baseball and excitement to Christie Pits

This summer, professional baseball is coming to Christie Pits.

After 106 years as Ontario’s premier semi-pro baseball league, the Intercounty Baseball League has rebranded as the Canadian Baseball League with professional status.

For fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs, it will mean more baseball and more excitement.

More baseball comes from an expanded schedule, which will see the regular season grow from 42 to 48 games.  That means 24 games played at home.

It’s just a few months away.  The Leafs’ season opener will be Sunday, May 10 at Christie Pits.  Game time is 2:00 pm and they will face the Kitchener Panthers.

The first half of the season will be heavy on Sunday games, with seven of them scheduled across May and June.

For July and August, the schedule will flip to more night games, with twelve of them spread over Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights.

With the league’s new professional status comes a formal pay structure for players.  Clubs will also be able to sign up to eight import players, up from the previous limit of five.  These changes are expected to attract a higher calibre of players and make teams more competitive across the board.

A competitive roster will be a must, as fewer teams will qualify for the CBL postseason.  Starting this year, the top three regular season teams will make the playoffs, with the fourth- and fifth-placed teams playing a wild card elimination game to join them.  

The semi-finals and championship series will both be best-of-seven affairs.

Gone are the days when all or almost every club made it to the playoffs.  Under the new format, every team will want to get off to a fast start to avoid falling behind early.

“We are more excited than ever and have been hard at work since last season ended preparing for 2026,” said a Leafs source.  “We really believe that next year is going to be our best yet, on and off the field.”

One of the club’s biggest off-season developments is a partnership with the Toronto Mets of the Canadian Premier Baseball League, a development league for young players aged 13 to 18.

In December, the Leafs held open tryouts at the Mets’ brand new practice facility in Aurora.  Over thirty prospects attended, along with a handful of returning unsigned players looking to crack the roster again.  The session was overseen by Leafs manager Rob Butler and the Leafs’ new general manager Denis Bailey.  

“Between Denis and Rob, the team has never had stronger leadership,” said the Leafs source.  “We believe we will have the most competitive team in the newly-branded CBL.”

As of January, no signings have been announced but it is expected that the Leafs will start rolling them out as the season approaches.

When news broke that the league was transitioning to professional status and that clubs would be paying their players more than just an honorarium or travel money, local fans wondered if that would impact the price of admission to games at Christie Pits.

The good news is that the cost of general admission to Leafs’ home games will remain the same: free.

The club is also building on the fan-friendly experience crafted over the past two seasons.

“Fans can expect more improvements, surprises, innovations and a generally enhanced experience,” said the Leafs source.  “We may look to slightly expand the [paid ticketed] members lounge, as that continues to be successful.  But there will be no general admission charge, as we continue to offer the best deal for our fans in all of professional sports.”

All nine of the IBL’s existing teams will be part of the new CBL for its inaugural season.  That includes the Leafs, their longtime rivals the Barrie Baycats, and 2025 champions the Welland Jackfish.  The league is looking to add more teams in the coming years.

The Dominico Cup, named for former Leafs’ owners Jack and Lynne Dominico, will carry over and become the CBL’s championship trophy.

[This story was originally published in the February 2026 edition of the Annex Gleaner.]

Pastimes, They Are A-Changin'

The IBL is dead, long live the CBL.

Earlier today, southern Ontario's 106-year-old Intercounty Baseball League shucked off its historic identity.  Emerging like a butterfly from the chrysalis is the brand new Canadian Baseball League.

Along with the name change, the league is embracing professional status.  Players will be paid to play.  Gone are the semi-pro days of travel money, alternate arrangements and wink-wink transactions.

Professionalization will allow CBL clubs to be better able to attract and support high-level talent.

The number of import players each team can sign goes up from five to eight.

To protect their draft eligibility and status as amateurs, players in U.S. college programs will not be allowed to play in the CBL.

Starting in 2026, the league will feature more regular season games and a revamped postseason.

A 48-game schedule will mean 24 home games for each club.  The season will kick off in mid-May and go an extra week to accommodate the expanded schedule.

The eight-team, three-round postseason format has been axed.  As of next season, only five teams will qualify for postseason play.  The top three finishers will qualify immediately.  The number four and five finishers will play a diabolical one-game playoff to determine the final slot.  Both the semifinals and championship series will be best-of-seven.

There is talk of expanding the league to cities like Windsor, Ottawa and beyond.  For now, the CBL's nine member clubs remain the same, including Canada's favourite team the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In 2024, the Leafs first introduced a reserved, paid-ticket section at Christie Pits.  This year, the paid section was expanded and moved to the third base line.

According to a report in today's Toronto Star, the Leafs "will almost certainly have to start charging fans at some point, now that they have to pay all the players. Putting in seating will require some negotiation with the city, but [Leafs CEO Keith] Stein believes his team will ensure it’s worth the price of admission."

"We’re not opposed to pushing the envelope and doing different things," Stein said. "I will guarantee you that you will continue to see us, next season and beyond, do things that are different and maybe unique to the Toronto Maple Leafs."