Leafs Prep for Wildly Competitive 2018 Season

There's a new shine to that glorious green patch at the northeast corner of Christie Pits.

A new backstop and team dugouts have been installed, with new gates to provide easier field access for the players. The structures gleam in the light of a sunny afternoon at Dominico Field, home of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The on-field improvements are complimented by newly renovated clubhouses beyond centerfield. The city has come through, just in time for the 50th season of baseball at this legendary park.

To go along with all of this, some new faces have joined BP.

Manager Damon Topolie calls balls and strikes as players take their turn at the plate.

Among the club's new signings are catcher Mike Reeves, drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2013, and a member of Team Canada in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Last year, he played for the Dunedin Blue Jays with a spell at the AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

Marcus Knecht is a former Jays draft pick from 2010, and spent eight years in the Toronto and Minnesota organizations. Last year, the Toronto-born outfielder played for the Capitales de Québec of the Can-Am Association.

These newcomers join a Leafs roster that returns mostly intact. Batting leaders Johnathan Solazzo and Justin Marra return to swing the lumber. They will be joined by 2017 Intercounty Baseball League Rookie of the Year Zac Orchard and form a ferocious heart of the order.

On the mound, Leafs ace Justin Cicatello will return following an international tournament in Europe. He will join a rotation featuring Leafs legend Marek Deska and second-year returnee Andrew Simonetti.

The IBL's 100th season promises to be wildly competitive. The Barrie Baycats look to continue their championship streak for a fifth year.  Huge rebuilds have been taking place in Guelph, Kitchener and Hamilton. London, Brantford and Burlington will be in the mix as always. 

It's going to be a compelling season of baseball, and it begins this Sunday when the Leafs kick things off against the Majors. Like every Sunday home game, first pitch will be at 2:00 pm.

Throughout the season, keep it locked here for the best sports journalism an unpaid writer with a broke-ass camera and delusions of grandeur can provide.