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 […]

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The Harbord Collegiate Institute varsity baseball team will have to make do without its star catcher when it resumes play in the fall. Tillie Burlock, 15, their starting catcher, who helped lead the team to a Tier 2 championship, has moved on to Silverthorn Collegiate Institute, where she’ll participate in the Toronto District School Board’s […]

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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 […]

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The bats are back. The Maple Leafs are swinging once more in Dominico Field at Christie Pits, and marked the 100th anniversary of the Intercounty Baseball League with a home opening 10-6 win over the London Majors on May 6. The Leafs, which have won five games to two this season, play every Sunday and […]

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GLEANER NEWS FILE PHOTO BY R.S. KONJEK: The CXTO Cookie Cross returns to Christie Pits on October 28. Open to riders of all skill levels and bikes, the event will feature Try a Cross, Elite and Masters races, and Bateman’s Bicycle Company will give away a Norco Threshold Cycle Cross Bike. For further information, please […]

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Eliminated from 2017 playoffs after stunning first round defeat By R.S. Konjek “Who are these guys anyway?” It is a question often heard on summer Sunday afternoons at Christie Pits. Those nine men on the field, the ones in the blue uniforms emblazoned with maple leaf logos, are they professional ballplayers? Amateurs? Part-timers? Compared to […]

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A Toronto baseball institution for over a century By R.S. Konjek In some quarters of Toronto, this year’s Canada Day celebrations were a time of spirited debate. People argued whether a giant rubber ducky on the lakeshore was a whimsical tourism boon or an outrageous financial boondoggle. Some wondered what a rubber duck had to […]

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Local nine look to take next step to winning championship By R.S. Konjek It’s a casual April evening at Christie Pits Park. A handful of locals play a pickup soccer game on one of the fields. An occasional runner pounds up the slopes near the baseball diamonds. Walkers amble past, many of them joined by […]

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Toronto to host First Nations youth from across the continent By R.S. Konjek A recent exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum called Toronto Underfoot, presented a collection of Indigenous artifacts that have been unearthed from numerous locations around the city. Tools, projectile points, carvings, and beads all provide evidence that for thousands of years Indigenous […]

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Leafs’ playoff run thrills the Pits By R.S. Konjek Stepability. Grindertude. These are not actual words, but they well describe the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball club, which took its fans on a rollicking romp through the 2016 Intercounty Baseball post-season. It was an unexpected trip. All summer long on the parched slopes of Christie Pits, […]

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Fans celebrate another up-and-down season By R.S. Konjek Baseball won’t be rushed. It is a pastime to be sipped and savoured. The game will outlast all manner of hindrances en route to its conclusion — be it a rainstorm, a tie score, or a lopsided blowout demanding a show of mercy. With few exceptions, the […]

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PHOTO BY R.S. KONJEK: Jon Waltenbury patrols the outfield at Christie Pits during the Toronto Maple Leafs’ game against the Brantford Red Sox on May 22. Waltenbury’s three-run homer put the Leafs ahead for good, and ensured an 8-6 victory. R. S. Konjek summarizes a month of Maple Leafs in his baseball column.

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