Toronto Maple Leafs (semi-pro baseball)
| Toronto Maple Leafs | |
|---|---|
| File:Toronto Maple Leafs Baseball.png | |
| Information | |
| League | Intercounty Baseball League (1969–present) |
| Location | Toronto |
| Ballpark | Dominico Field at Christie Pits |
| Founded | 1969 |
| League championships | 8 |
| Former name(s) | Intercounty Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–present) |
| Former ballparks |
|
| Colours | Blue & White |
| Ownership | Jack Dominico |
| Manager | Damon Topolie |
| Media | Rogers Television |
| Website | LeafsBaseball.weebly.com |
The Toronto Maple Leafs are an independent, minor league baseball team of the semi-pro Intercounty Baseball League, based in Toronto. They play their home games on "Dominico Field" at Christie Pits. They are also known colloquially as the Intercounty Maple Leafs or the Intercounty Leafs to disambiguate themselves from the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team.
History
The Maple Leafs baseball team began play in 1969, the second season after the original Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team of the AAA International League moved to Louisville, Kentucky.
In their inaugural year, the new Leafs lost 23 games, finishing 18 games out of first place. But they have never ended a season that far back since then. They have been in first place 19 times in the subsequent years and have the best winning percentage of any active team in the League.
The team has been owned by husband and wife Jack and Lynne Dominico for the first 40 years of its existence, but has since been owned exclusively by Jack after Lynne's passing on November 8, 2008. The Intercounty Baseball League Championship is also named in their honour, the Jack and Lynne Dominico Trophy.
Championships
Since its inception the team has won the Jack and Lynne Dominico Trophy as Intercounty Baseball champions eight times, the first in 1972. During the 2002 season, the Leafs were undefeated at home, a first for the league. They also won the championship that year. They have also achieved many individual awards and All-Star nominations.
- Championships (8): 1972, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1995, 1999, 2002, 2007
Players
Current roster (2014):
- Christian Botnick
- Christian Botter
- Justin Cicatello
- Marek Deska
- Adam Garner
- Cam Gray
- Jake Hines
- Justin Lawrence
- Adam Marra
- Dan Procopio
- aspreet Shergill
- Drew Taylor
- Evan Wolf
- Tony Álvarez
- Rodney Caballero
- Tarun Malik
- Damon Topolie
- Rob Gillis
- Dan Marra
- Sean Mattson
- Tyler Mitchell
- Jon Waltenbury
- Raul Borjas
- Justin Gianfrancesco
- Glenn Jackson
- Darryl Pui
- Jalen Harris
- Grant Tamane
Former Players
Former Major League Baseball player Pete Orr once played for the Intercounty Leafs as did former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Rich Butler (2001–2002). Rich's brother, Rob Butler, who was also a former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder, also played with the Leafs (2001–2005), as did former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Paul Spoljaric (2002–2007).
