CBL Odyssey: Barrie

Athletic Kulture Stadium, Barrie

In 2026, the Intercounty Baseball League set off on a whole new journey.

It shed its name and sailed into new waters as the Canadian Baseball League.  Bigger, better, bolder.

This is also the summer of The Odyssey, already one of the blockbuster movies of the year.  It's the legendary tale of one man's journey through practically every nook and cranny of the Mediterranean before finally getting home.

With all this in mind, I'm making 2026 the summer of the CBL Odyssey.  I'm revisiting the league's ballparks with a fresh set of eyes.  Next stop is Barrie, the league's northernmost destination.

ATHLETIC KULTURE STADIUM

GETTING THERE - from Toronto you drive up the 400.  As you approach, shipping containers installed on the roadside announce that you are entering "Paul Sadlon Country".  These beacons grow in number as you approach.  Take one of the exits in Barrie, but you are not nearly there yet.  Continue north through this land of Sadlonia, through and out of the urban landscape, back in time into wooded terrain.  Just when you start wondering if you've missed your destination, you emerge at the pioneer village of Midhurst, home of the Barrie Baycats.

Midhurst remains their home for the time being.  Earlier this year, talk of relocating the club to a new stadium in downtown Barrie was revived.

PARKING - a large parking lot with an adjacent overflow lot are available.  

BALLPARK VIBES - slapping a huge asterisk here.  The day I visited was threatened by rain.  This caused normal ballpark operations to be cut back, and attendance was sparser than usual.

Friendly faces welcome you at the gate.  Once inside, it's a classic ballpark atmosphere.  Right after the ticket scanner there's a merch store jammed with plenty of Baycats clothing and souvenirs.  Step through an opening between the grandstand seating and you get your first glimpse of the field.  Embraced by trees on all sides, it feels like entering an alternate dimension.  Like Field of Dreams but instead of corn it's coniferous trees all around you.  Very northern.

Three sections of seating wrap around the infield, with more available beyond the dugouts.  There's not a lot of foul territory here, so all the seating is close to the field.

IN-GAME ENTERTAINMENT - Jenna Marchand is the Baycats' in-game host.  The rain-threatened game saw the between-innings hype scaled back.  At this particular game, the Baycats wore their throwback red uniforms as they often do throughout the season.  One thing about a Baycats home game (and sometimes on the road too) is the in-game entertainment provided by manager Josh Matlow's dad.  If this man is not the mayor of Barrie he should at least be the mayor of Athletic Kulture Stadium.  For nine innings he is head rooter for the Baycats, leading a bunch of call-and-response cheers.  He dances too.

FREEDOM TO ROAM AND TAKE PHOTOS - wide open.  There's something about the layout that makes this ballpark feel twice as spacious as others in the CBL.  The seating is ample and there is plenty of standing room available along the foul lines, getting you close to the action.  Lots of great angles for photos.

BALLPARK CUISINE - a concessions window attached to the main stadium building offers the usual ballpark fare and a large variety of drinks.  They have chicken fingers and fries.  When the grill is operating, they offer burgers, hot dogs and sausages.  Because the grill was closed this day, I settled for their version of poutine.  It was fries, gravy and what looked like shredded mozzarella.

BALLPARK BEER - there is a team-branded Baycats Brew, provided by Side Launch Brewing Co., makers of a legendary wheat beer.  This is a great partnership and a nice beer.

TEAM MASCOT - over the years I have seen two different "Baycat" creatures at the park.  This day, the cat stayed in out of the threatened rain. 

DO KIDS RUN THE BASES? - Sometimes, but not today.

OVERHEARD - 

It is impossible not to hear the game-long rooting from Matlow's dad.

"HERE WE GO BAYCATS HERE WE GO!"

"DA-DA-DA DA, DA-DAAA!"

"WHAT TIME IS IT? DOUBLE PLAY! DOUBLE PLAY!"

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS - the northern setting with the gorgeous trees and distance from civilization make this a unique experience in the CBL.  The sunsets are spectacular.  Be warned however that the WIFI up there is very spotty.  Sometimes it goes down and you can only buy food and merch with cash.  No ATM onsite.  Bring paper money or you could end up being unable to get anything there.  Other than that there's only good things to say.  Great views, lots of space.  The atmosphere at this ballpark is always upbeat, which goes with a winning team.  

WOULD I WANT THIS TO BE MY TEAM'S HOME BALLPARK? - absolutely.  The voyage to and from Sadlonia is one of the more arduous ones in the CBL.  Once there, you don't want to leave.  If this stadium could somehow be physically transplanted to Toronto, it would get rave reviews.  It's worth the journey at least once.

The CBL Odyssey will continue in Guelph...

From the Annex Gleaner: Chasing Dreams and Flyballs at Christie Pits

Maple Leafs outfielder J.J. Dutton pursues baseball success at home and abroad

J.J. Dutton has earned All-Star honours this summer with his batting prowess. (photo: Craig Aikin)

J.J. Dutton has been playing baseball since he was four years old.  

Born and raised in North York, he learned to play catch with his dad, started playing slow pitch as a tyke, and grew up in the little leagues.

By 2023, he was playing collegiate baseball at a college in Iowa. That summer, he took ill and returned to Canada for medical treatment. 

The baseball itch proved incurable and he connected with the Toronto Maple Leafs. They took him on and he made his debut playing the outfield at Christie Pits.

Dutton remembers attending a kids’ baseball camp that the Leafs hosted at the Pits. As a 20-year-old, he became one of them and made an immediate impression.

Over 35 games, he batted .357, scored 20 runs and drove in 15 more. 

“My favourite moment of the season was against the London Majors,” Dutton recalls. “Our team came together and put up 21 runs on the scoreboard just two days after losing to the Majors. It was also the game I hit my very first [Leafs] home run, which I will remember for the rest of my life.”

After his successful rookie season, Dutton returned to college ball in the United States. He played at schools in Iowa and Kentucky, then his ancestry presented a unique opportunity.

“My mom is Hungarian, and it was always her dream that I would play for the Hungarian national team,” he says. After some digging into the team’s requirements and obtaining dual citizenship, Dutton reached out to the head coach and landed a spot on the roster.

Like many teams outside the Americas, Team Hungary consists mostly of players born in the U.S. and Canada. 

In July 2024, Dutton suited up for Hungary at a European Baseball Championship Qualifying tournament in Belgrade, Serbia. The Magyars went undefeated against Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Türkiye. Hungary advanced to the next round of qualifiers with a chance to make it to the World Baseball Classic, the sport’s highest-level international championship which was played earlier this year.

“It was a different baseball culture out there,” he says. “The tournament was held in a park like Christie Pits, nothing super fancy.” Games attracted curiosity seekers more than hardcore followers. An announcer conducted ongoing play-by-play commentary on a loudspeaker to help spectators follow along. Instead of hot dogs, the crowd chowed down on large quantities of grilled meats.

Dutton was unable to continue with the team because of school commitments, but he remains an active member of the Team Hungary roster.

After completing his collegiate baseball career, he came full circle and returned to the Leafs for the 2026 season.

Since his first go-around, the club has undergone wholesale changes under new ownership. Dutton was impressed by the improvements to the park, seeing more sponsors, more social media presence and a better quality organization. The league has also gone pro, which means a regular monthly paycheque.

As for the outfielder, he picked up right where he left off.

Early in the season, he led the club in batting average. He has since been overtaken at the plate by veteran teammates like Yasiel Puig and Marcus Knecht. Dutton, still just 23, looks up to his teammates and acknowledges them as leaders in the clubhouse.

“Puig and Knecht, they’re both outfielders and teach me so much about the game,” he says. “They’ve been there, done that, they’re at the level I want to compete at.”

Dutton’s early season performance did not go unnoticed. He was one of three players chosen to represent Toronto at the Canadian Baseball League’s All-Star Weekend July 11-12.  Joining him for the festivities in Chatham were Puig and pitcher Nick Veselinovic.

At the All-Star Game, Dutton went 1-for-2, scored a run and drove in two more. Teammate Veselinovic pitched one inning and ended up as the game’s winning pitcher.

It has been a season of great individual performances, but the Leafs have been struggling.  At the halfway point of the season, they languish in last place with a 6-17 record.

“We’ve been too inconsistent,” Dutton says. “Sometimes when our pitching is on, our bats aren’t working, and when the bats are working our pitching isn’t.”

During the offseason, the Leafs overhauled their roster and brought in a lot of fresh faces. 

“It’s a new team, and new teams like this are slow to start. We have a lot of games left and hopefully we can click and get a winning streak going.”

Asked to look beyond this summer and where he sees himself in the future, Dutton responds without hesitation.

“Pro baseball. That’s always been the dream.”

He hopes that his second turn with the Leafs will build his resume and provide a springboard to a return to States. With his stats, All-Star status and optimism, it may not be a difficult leap.

The Maple Leafs season continues through August.

More information about the Leafs can be found at www.mapleleafsbaseball.com. 

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

Big Power, No Finish

Maple Leafs Weekly Recap - July 20 to 26, 2026

Week 11 saw the Leafs' offence rev up but winnable games slipped away.

Yasiel Puig, Brando Leroux and Crix Taveras had a monster week at the plate, combining for 17 hits, 15 runs, 14 RBIs and 8 home runs over four games.

The other day, I thought about my ex-wife Bombadina Muñoz, a voracious Uruguayan woman whose appetites I could never satisfy.

The Leafs brought back some memories.  They flew out of the gate to open the second half of the 2026 season.  Two road games against top opponents, two wins.  It was like the early days of my marriage, heady stuff.  

This week, the Leafs mostly flopped.  

They played the Guelph Royals and got blown out by a team they are supposed to overtake for a postseason spot.  It reminded me of the Forgot to Pick Her Up at the Airport Incident.

After winning a crucial game in Kitchener, the Leafs then had three chances in three innings to beat the Welland Jackfish, but blew all three chances.  It reminded me of the Booked a B.C. Golf Weekend on Our Anniversary Incident.

Lastly, they faced the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers, blew a four-run lead, came back, then blew the game by four runs.  It reminded me of Bombadina's myriad other complaints that we will group as Performance Issues. 

The Leafs might have been blown out four times were it not for some monster performances at the plate.  Yasiel Puig, Brando Leroux and Marcus Knecht all had a big week.  There was none bigger than that of Crix Taveras, who racked up 6 hits, 6 runs and he drove in 6.  He also hit four home runs.  Taveras's power surge kept the Leafs in it but they couldn't put their opponents away.  It reminded me of the Got Home From Casino Rama and Found All My Clothes and Baseball Cards Strewn Across the Parking Lot Incident.

Bombadina!  Why?!

And now, here's the recap of Week 11 in Toronto Maple Leafs baseball.

Wednesday, July 22, 2026 - Guelph Royals vs Toronto Maple Leafs

Crix Taveras opened his four-home-run week with a solo blast against the Royals.

Old habits die hard.

After a solid couple of road wins last week, the Toronto Maple Leafs reverted to their "one blowout a week" form and lost to the Guelph Royals 17-4.

The visitors wasted no time.  In the top of the first inning they knocked Leafs starter Yadian Martinez for four hits including a home run, and took advantage of three walks and an error to run up a 5-0 lead.  Jerks!

Guelph starter Elvin Liriano held the Leafs to just one hit through five innings.  Meanwhile the Royals built up a 7-0 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, second baseman Crix Taveras broke through by blasting a solo home run over the Solazzo fence.  Liriano was replaced on the mound by Brandon Deans, who immediately got into trouble.  Deans hit shortstop Brando Leroux with a pitch, then served up a two-run homer to right fielder Yasiel Puig.  That made it a 7-3 game through six innings but the Leafs would get no closer.

The Royals scored 10 more runs in the late innings.  DH Marcus Knecht drove in one more run for the home side, but this one ended with a gaudy 17-4 FINAL score.

Liriano with the win, Martinez with his fifth loss of the season.

Guelph 17 17 0

Toronto 4 6 3

W - Liriano (4-2, 4.10)

L - Martinez (1-5, 8.76)

BOXSCORE

Thursday, July 23, 2026 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Berlin Keg Tappers (Kitchener)

Brando Leroux cracked a pair of home runs as the Leafs spoiled Oktoberfest night in Kitchener.

This was a close one until it wasn't.

The Toronto Maple Leafs came away from Jack Couch Park with a 9-3 victory thanks to late home runs by Brando Leroux and Marcus Knecht.

It was an Oktoberfest-themed night in Kitchener.  German music played, volunteers wore traditional garb and festival mascots mingled with fans.  The home side debuted their alternate "Berlin Keg Tappers" identity as Panthers players took to the field in lederhosen-inspired uniforms.  It was a sight to behold.  The park was packed.

The Leafs put a damper on the fun.  Fresh from his CBL Player of the Week honours, shorstop Leroux led the game off with a solo home run off starter Jorge Minyety.  Later in the inning, with centerfielder J.J. Dutton on second base and creeping towards third, a throw over by Minyety was misplayed and Dutton scored easily.  That gave the Leafs a 2-0 lead to open the game.

Toronto's All-Star pitcher Nick Veselinovic started on the mound.  In the bottom of the second, he gave up an RBI single that made it a one-run game.

Top of the third, the Mapes added to their lead.  Left fielder Dennis Dei Baning and right fielder Knecht each rapped an RBI single to make it a 4-1 game.

Bottom of the fifth, the Leafs gifted the Keg Tappers a run.  With a runner on first, a flyball was dropped by Dutton and a throw to first was misplayed by Mike Cecchetto.  The runner came all the way around to score.  4-2 Leafs through five.

Veselinovic was relieved by Frankie Gulko for the bottom of the sixth.  A home run by the Bavarian Yosuke Fujie made it 4-3 and the Leafs were hanging on.

They hung on long enough.  In the bottom of the seventh, Gulko gave up a one-out double.  Reinaldo de Paula came in and struck two batters out to end the threat.  

In the top of the eighth, the Keg Tappers gifted a run to the Leafs.  With runners on first and second and dancing on the basepaths, a throw from the catcher to first sailed away.  Second baseman Yordan Manduley came all the way around to score.  With a runner still aboard, Leroux launched his second round trip of the game.  That gave Toronto some breathing room with a 7-3 lead.

In the top of the ninth, Knecht put this one to bed with a two-run blast.

And that was how it would end.  De Paula pitched a scoreless eighth and then Luis Florentino got three quick outs including a strikeout to tap out the Keggers.

9-3 FINAL.  Veselinovic got his club-leading fourth win of the season, and Minyety got the loss.

Leroux continued his hot streak with two home runs and three RBIs.  Knecht also drove in three.

Toronto 9 12 2

Berlin 3 7 4

W - Veselinovic (4-2, 4.20)

L - Minyety (1-2, 3.15)

BOXSCORE

Friday, July 24, 2026 - Welland Jackfish vs Toronto Maple Leafs

Yasiel Puig hit his league-leading eleventh home run.

Catch and release.

Three times in this game, the Toronto Maple Leafs brought the Welland Jackfish to the brink.  Three times, they were one clutch at bat away from sending Christie Pits into a frenzy.  Three times, they let the 'Fish off the hook.

Over the first five innings, the visitors built up a 5-0 lead at the expense of starter Wilgenis Alvarado.

In the bottom of the fifth, first baseman Crix Taveras singled, worked his way over to third, then scored on a wild pitch that Welland starter Yoilan Quinonez did not cover at home.  5-1 Jackfish through five.

Alvarado pitched seven innings.  His final line was nine hits, one walk, five earned runs and eight strikeouts.  The Venezuelan kept his team in the game.  

In the bottom of the seventh they nearly completed the comeback.  Taveras hit a solo home run and DH Yasiel Puig followed with a two-run blast.  That brought Quinonez's night to a close.  Danny Howat struck out second baseman Yordan Manduley to end the inning, but the Leafs had made it a 5-4 ballgame.

In the bottom of the eighth, Deivy Mendez took over on the mound for Welland.  The Leafs loaded the bases but could not get a run across the plate.

Top of nine, the Jackfish extended their lead to 7-4 when Ethan Mann hit a two-run homer off Luis Florentino.

Down to their final three outs, the Leafs made the most of it.  They drew three walks out of Mendez to load the bases with one out.  Christie Pits was ready to blow up.  People were ready to scale the fences and storm the field.  But once again, the Leafs couldn't cash in.  Mendez struck out the final two batters to seal the 7-4 FINAL.  Instead of wild celebration, only quiet agony circled the Pits.  

Mendez earned the save for Quinonez's win, while while Alvarado took his fifth loss of the season.

Welland 7 11 2

Toronto 4 8 2

W - Quinonez (3-1, 5.61)

L - Alvarado (1-5, 7.63)

S - Mendez (6)

BOXSCORE

Sunday, July 26, 2026 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Chatham-Kent Barnstormers

Decked out in their city connect uniforms, the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers rallied and rallied again.

Another see-saw battle saw the Toronto Maple Leafs drop an 11-7 game at Chatham-Kent.

The Leafs made their first visit of the year to Fergie Jenkins Field and made the most of it early on.

Through the first five innings, an RBI double by shortstop Brando Leroux, a two-run homer by first baseman Crix Taveras, and an RBI single by second baseman Yordan Manduley gave the Leafs a 4-0 lead over the Barnstormers.

Cam Dimidjian was looking for his first win in his fourth start with Toronto.  He held the home side scoreless until they rallied to tie the game 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth.  A three-run home run by Yushin Ohta was his eleventh of the season, tying him with Yasiel Puig for the league lead.

The final four innings became a battle of the bullpens.

In the sixth inning, Dwayne Matos, already pitching his third inning of relief for Chatham-Kent, and Frankie Gulko for the Leafs exchanged scoreless innings.

Bottom seven, the Barnstormers struck for three runs and a 7-4 lead.

Top of eight, the Leafs tied the game 7-7 thanks to an RBI by Manduley and another two-run homer by Taveras.

In the bottom of the eighth, Yadian Martinez took to the mound for the Leafs.  The Barnstormers rallied and tagged the Cuban for four hits and a walk.  Four runs crossed the plate and the Leafs had no response in the ninth.

Chatham-Kent took the 11-7 FINAL.  Garret Day grabbed the win and Martinez was stuck with his second loss of the week.

The following day, the Leafs released Martinez.

Toronto 7 13 0

Chatham 11 11 0

W - Day (1-2, 5.49)

L - Martinez (1-6, 9.47)

BOXSCORE

With a record of 9-20, the Leafs remain in 8th place in the CBL standings.  They are 11.5 games behind the Welland Jackfish and 7.5 games away from a postseason berth.

The week ahead: 

Wednesday, July 29 - Brantford Red Sox vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 pm at Christie Pits

Saturday, August 1 - Chatham-Kent Barnstormers vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 pm at Christie Pits

Sunday, August 2 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Chatham-Kent Barnstormers, 1:05 pm at Fergie Jenkins Field