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| Best Frenemies: the Baycats and the Maple Leafs are at it again. |
This week, the hunt for the Dominico Cup goes into high gear.
The 2025 IBL postseason kicks off tomorrow, with eight clubs vying to become champions of Canada's best baseball league.
And looky looky, if it ain't the Toronto Maple Leafs kicking off their run for the Cup against none other than the Barrie Baycats. It's like these two cannot be apart longer than a minute.
This best-of-five quarterfinal series opens at Athletic Kulture Stadium, located far and deep within the Canadian Shield.
QUARTERFINALS SCHEDULE
GAME 1: Thursday, August 21 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Barrie Baycats, 7:35 pm at Athletic Kulture Stadium
GAME 2: Friday, August 22 - Barrie Baycats vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 pm at Christie Pits
GAME 3: Sunday, August 24 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Barrie Baycats, 4:05 pm at Athletic Kulture Stadium
GAME 4 (if necessary): Tuesday, August 26 - Barrie Baycats vs Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 pm at Christie Pits
GAME 5 (if necessary): Wednesday, August 27 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Barrie Baycats, 7:35 pm at Athletic Kulture Stadium
REGULAR SEASON COMPARISON
Usually with these previews I do a comparison of regular season stats between the two clubs.
What can I say other than this:
This season, the Leafs scored a hella lotta runs, and gave up a hella lotta runs.
The Leafs scored 268 runs in 42 games, second most in the IBL. The Baycats were right behind them with 261 runs scored.
The real eye-popping stat is runs allowed. The Baycats gave up 233. The Leafs gave up 335, over a hundred more. This would be dismaying were it not for the fact that the Regular Season Maple Leafs and Postseason Maple Leafs tend to be entirely different clubs, especially in recent years.
Should we be concerned with maybe a jittery rotation? Maybe a leaky bullpen?
If you are concerned at this point, get off the wagon. This ride is not for you. The swan boats at Centreville might be more your speed.
This time of year it's either a rampage to sweet glory or a mouthful of dirt, and who knows what these Leafs will feed us. Knees might get skinned, teeth might get chipped, hopes might get dashed. The only thing we know for sure is that the Leafs' first test will be against their best frenemies from the north.
This year, they split the season series with three wins apiece.
THE HISTORIC RIVALRY
This quarterfinal series is the tenth postseason clash between the Leafs and Baycats.
Barrie has won six of the previous nine series.
The first postseason encounter between the two clubs was back in 2002. The Baycats franchise was in just its second year of existence. The Leafs beat them 4-0 in the semifinal, then went on to win the IBL Championship.
In 2005, the Leafs and Baycats met in the IBL finals. Barrie won the series 4-2 and became IBL champions for the first time.
The other series results:
2009 SF - Barrie 4-1
2012 QF - Barrie 4-2
2015 SF - Barrie 4-3
2016 Finals - Barrie 4-0
2021 SF - Toronto 2-0
2022 QF - Toronto 3-0
2024 QF - Barrie 3-0
The Leafs and Baycats have played 40 postseason games all-time, with Barrie holding a 23-17 lead.
What happens next? That's the fun of baseball. See you at the ballpark and GO LEAFS GO!
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