Toronto Maple Leafs (Canadian Baseball League)
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| Toronto Maple Leafs | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| League | Canadian Baseball League (1969–present) |
| Location | Toronto |
| Ballpark | Dominico Field at Christie Pits |
| Founded | 1969 |
| League championships | 8
|
| Colours | Blue, white |
| General manager | Rob Butler |
| Manager | Rob Butler |
| Media | Maple Leafs Baseball TV |
| Website | mapleleafsbaseball.com |
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional baseball team in the Canadian Baseball League (CBL), based in Toronto, Ontario. They play their home games on "Dominico Field" at Christie Pits. From 1969–2025, they operated as a semi-pro team. During that time, they were also known colloquially as the Intercounty Maple Leafs or the Intercounty Leafs to disambiguate themselves from the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team via an allusion to the CBL's former branding as the Intercounty Baseball League.
History
[edit]The Maple Leafs baseball team began to play in 1969 as a semi-pro team in the Intercounty Baseball League, two years after the original Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team of the Triple-A 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 was owned by husband and wife Jack and Lynne Dominico for the first 40 years of its existence and was then owned exclusively by Jack after Lynne's death on November 8, 2008, until his death on January 12, 2022. The Inter-county Baseball League Championship is also named in their honour, the Jack and Lynne Dominico Trophy. In 2023 the team, now run by the Dominico estate, went up for sale.[1]
In November 2023, the Maple Leafs were sold for over $1 million to a new group made up of Keith Stein, Rob Godfrey (Son of former Toronto Blue Jays president Paul Godfrey), as well as others.[2]
On December 3, 2024, the Leafs announced they had signed Ayami Sato, making her the first female player in the IBL as well as the first female player to play professional baseball in Canada.[3] She began playing on May 11, 2025.[4]
On November 24th, 2025, the Intercounty Baseball League transitioned from a semi-pro baseball league to a professional baseball league rebranded as the Canadian Baseball League. In conjunction with this transition, the Maple Leafs will play their first game as a professional sports team in May of 2026.
Season Records (2000 - present)
[edit]| Year | Games | Wins | Losses | Reg. season finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 35 | 23 | 12 | 3rd | Lost Semifinals |
| 2001 | 32 | 29 | 3 | 1st | Lost Finals |
| 2002 | 35 | 31 | 4 | 1st | Won Finals |
| 2003 | 35 | 26 | 9 | 1st | Lost Semifinals |
| 2004 | 36 | 28 | 8 | 1st | Lost Semifinals |
| 2005 | 34 | 29 | 5 | 1st | Lost Finals |
| 2006 | 36 | 25 | 11 | 2nd | Lost Semifinals |
| 2007 | 36 | 29 | 7 | 1st | Won Finals |
| 2008 | 36 | 17 | 19 | 5th | Lost Quarterfinals |
| 2009 | 36 | 24 | 12 | 3rd | Lost Semifinals |
| 2010 | 36 | 23 | 13 | 2nd | Lost Quarterfinals |
| 2011 | 35 | 22 | 13 | 2nd | Lost Semifinals |
| 2012 | 36 | 18 | 18 | 5th | Lost Quarterfinals |
| 2013 | 42 | 21 | 21 | 2nd | Lost Quarterfinals |
| 2014 | 36 | 16 | 20 | 6th | Did not qualify |
| 2015 | 36 | 15 | 21 | 5th | Lost Semifinals |
| 2016 | 36 | 19 | 17 | 5th | Lost Finals |
| 2017 | 36 | 18 | 18 | 4th | Lost Quarterfinals |
| 2018 | 35 | 16 | 19 | 4th | Lost Semifinals |
| 2019 | 36 | 16 | 20 | 6th | Lost Quarterfinals |
| 2020 | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic | ||||
| 2021 | 30 | 16 | 14 | 2nd | Lost Finals |
| 2022 | 42 | 24 | 18 | 4th | Lost Finals |
| 2023 | 41 | 21 | 20 | 4th | Lost Semifinals |
| 2024 | 42 | 17 | 25 | 7th | Lost Quarterfinals |
| 2025 | 42 | 18 | 24 | 7th | Lost Quarterfinals |
Championships
[edit]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
Roster
[edit]| Toronto Maple Leafs roster | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active roster | Coaches | |||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
Utility players
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||
Notable players
[edit]Former Major League Baseball player Pete Orr once played for the Toronto Maple 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, played with the Leafs (2001–2005), as did former Blue Jays pitcher Paul Spoljaric (2002–2007). Chris Leroux (2009–2014), Dustin Richardson (2009–2010), and Angel Castro (2015) are also former major leaguers that have played for the Leafs. Ayami Sato became the league's first female player (2025), a member of Japan's women's national baseball team.
Team Operations
[edit]- Keith Stein - CEO
- Andreas Kloppenborg - Director
- Rob Godfrey - Director
- Rob Butler - Manager & 3rd Base Coach
- Brian Sewell - Bench Coach
Current roster
[edit]No signings have been made official regarding the 2026 roster, as all players must sign or re-sign on a yearly basis. However, each team retains the signing rights to a select number of rostered individuals from the previous season, until such time that a player is re-signed, traded, released, or otherwise not active.
Retired numbers
[edit]| Toronto Maple Leafs retired numbers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Player | Position | Tenure | Date |
| 36 | Paul Spoljaric | Pitcher | 2002–2007 | July 13, 2025[6] |
References
[edit]- ^ Reporter, Mark Zwolinski Sports (August 25, 2023). "The historic Maple Leafs team is for sale. It's not the NHL club but it's a diamond in the rough". Toronto Star. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
- ^ Reporter, Mark Colley Staff (December 3, 2024). "$1 million and a dream: The new owners of Toronto's baseball Maple Leafs 'want to make this team really big'". Toronto Star. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
- ^ "Japanese pitcher to make history as 1st woman to play pro baseball in Canada". CBC. The Canadian Press. December 3, 2024.
- ^ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ayami-sato-baseball-pitch-1.7532434
- ^ "Season Records - Toronto Maple Leafs Baseball Club". www.mapleleafsbaseball.com. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
- ^ @/IBLMapleLeafs (July 12, 2025). "Join us prior to first pitch tomorrow at 1:45 PM for our first-ever Number Retirement Ceremony, where we'll be honouring legendary IBL pitcher Paul Spoljaric and retiring his number, 36, before the game!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.