perched on top of the hillside behind home plate.  From there he was master of all he surveyed, and he let everyone know it.

[Read more →]

On October 1 in London, the Leafs season ended in disappointment. Despite taking an early 3-0 lead, the Leafs were unable to hold off the Majors and fell 8-4. Even though the Leafs lost their final game and the championship, fans would be hard pressed to argue this season was unsuccessful. Baseball was back at Christie Pits.

[Read more →]

Beyond the centerfield fence, a player emerges from the Leafs’ clubhouse.  He’s late arriving to the park, but it’s not a concern.  He’s a relief pitcher and won’t be called upon until later.  He also had to cross an international border to get here.  

[Read more →]

It’s a Sunday afternoon in July at Christie Pits Park. Standing near the baseball diamond, Alan Ross leans back and casts his gaze around the field. “I want you to make a note that I’m doing this under protest,” he says with tongue in cheek, in response to a request for an interview. “I’m not an interesting person.” Baseball fans at the Pits would beg to differ. To many, “Al the Ticket Man,” is a living legend.

[Read more →]

Christie Pits set to welcome fans back to the old ballgame By R.S. Konjek The sights and sounds of live baseball will return to Christie Pits this summer, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are raring to go.  After the 2020 season was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic, players are dusting off their spikes and […]

[Read more →]

SPORTS (Oct. 2020): Baseball Leafs look back on the season that wasn’t. With Christie Pits locked down, local players endured a rare summer off the diamond

[Read more →]

As the Toronto Maple Leafs Baseball 2020 season is cancelled, Marek Deska recounts historic no-hitter

[Read more →]

Shortened season possible if social restrictions lifted and parks reopen by July By R.S. Konjek  The ballpark is quiet. The grass is unkempt, drifting litter has collected around the backstop, and a tarp covering the pitcher’s mound has been flipped to one side by wind. No one is there to readjust it. The COVID-19 outbreak […]

[Read more →]

Ball club swept from semi-finals By R.S. Konjek When we last caught up with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the Intercounty Baseball League (IBL), they had begun a spirited quest to win their first championship since 2007. Back in early August, the Leafs faced the Guelph Royals in the first round of the playoffs. Pitchers […]

[Read more →]

Maple Leafs advance to semifinals after historic no-hitter By R.S. Konjek It has been a memorable summer for Garrett Takamatsu. Having completed his freshman year at Central Alabama Community College, the North York native signed up to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the Intercounty Baseball League. A new face at Christie Pits, Takamatsu […]

[Read more →]

Lengthy losing streak dulls early season momentum By R.S. Konjek July was the cruellest month for Toronto baseball fans. Over at the dome, the major league Blue Jays drifted out of contention, waved the white flag and traded away all-star pitcher J.A. Happ. At Christie Pits, the Maple Leafs plunged into a protracted slump. After […]

[Read more →]

An interview with Toronto Maple Leafs’ player-manager A recent ESPN column declared that “parts of baseball are disappearing before our very eyes”. Any grump would happily tell you that every play of the game is becoming dominated — ruined even! — by analytics and probabilities, guiding Major League Baseball (MLB) managers towards risk-averse decision-making. Aggression […]

[Read more →]