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| You can go home again: Damon Topolie, back in his happy place and all smiles. |
Last Saturday, the Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the Kitchener Panthers at Christie Pits.
As per habit, I arrived a few minutes before first pitch. As per habit, I kept my head down and tried to stay invisible. Being an extreme introvert, I didn't want to be accosted.
Al Ross immediately accosted me. With good reason.
"Have you seen today's lineup?"
"No, what is it?"
"You'll never guess who's back."
I raised my phone and went to the Leafs' Instagram page. The day's starting lineup was posted. The usual names were there. Dos Santos, Javier, Castaldo, a couple of the rookies... and Damon Topolie.
HOLY F-BOMB!
Al smiled like the Cheshire Cat. I shook my head, wondering if it was heatstroke.
The Leafs were gathered on the third base side of the infield. There among them, wearing the club's classic retro-white uniform, was the man himself.
Back in the late 1990s, Damon Topolie was a hot-hitting catcher who caught the eye of then-Leafs' owner Jack Dominico. After a period of determined wooing, Topolie agreed to leave the Stratford Hillers and join the Leafs.
From 1998 to 2022, Topolie evolved from young hotshot to wily veteran, adding more hats along the way. He was promoted to player-manager and general manager. He was a coach, a scout, even a groundskeeper. In Dominico's declining years the task of running the club increasingly rested with Topolie.
Dominico passed away in January, 2022. It was the end of an era, and the start of a transitional period for the organization. At the end of a caretaker season, Topolie announced his retirement.
On December of that year he posted a farewell:
"Yes the rumors are true I did resign. This is the first time since 1995 that I will not be involved with a major intercounty team. No regrets!!! Nothing but great memories and teammates!!! #ontothenextchapter"
"I was glad to see new ownership. I had to disconnect myself from Leafs in the state they were in," he said.
After sixteen seasons, Topolie took his place among the IBL's greats. Second all-time in hits. Fourth in doubles and RBIs.
Away from the league for the first time in decades, Topolie remained heavily active in baseball. Currently, he is involved with the Mississauga Tigers High Performance Program, Canada's elite amateur baseball program. He also moved back home to North Bay to help build rep baseball back up as it had dwindled in the last few years.
The Leafs moved on. A new ownership group took over in 2023. With it came a whole new experience at Christie Pits. New faces in new uniforms, ballpark improvements, a gameday hype team, beer and merch sales, and a steady stream of promotions and activity at the park and online. The Leafs of today look nothing like the organization did just a few years ago.
Some things never change. As the 2025 season ground on, injuries were inevitable. Players out of action, players having to work, players travelling. In the first week of July all of these factors combined to leave general manager Dustin Richardson and manager Rob Butler with a perilously short bench. Coach Brian Sewell was briefly added to the roster. Scrambling to field a complete team, an unexpected call went out.
"I got the call to play Friday," said Topolie, perhaps as surprised as anyone else. "I thought I was done."
A prior commitment prevented him from joining the team Friday night. The following day, the 49-year-old suited up after two-and-a-half seasons away from the Pits.
"I love being on the field so it was an easy answer to say yes."
Topolie got to experience something few players can. After being away long enough to miss the old days, he got to return. While he was on the field, he smiled a lot. Did it feel different to play without the burden of running the club and dealing with all the little tasks that fell to him back in the day?
"It was easy to just show up and play. [On Saturday] I saw a staff of fifteen people working at the Pits. I was a one-man band."
This weekend, he played two games at first base. In a home-and-home series against the Panthers, he went 0-for-6 at the plate with a couple of walks. On Sunday he helped manufacture a run in a 9-5 Leafs victory.
It was a sweet second summer for the Leafs legend. Sweet but fleeting.
On Monday, the Leafs released Topolie and signed infielder Chad Picton, his junior by 25 years.
Once again, Topolie leaves with no regrets.
"I am a team-first guy and I was just glad to help the team."
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