Maple Leafs have been drawing fans to The Pits for 50 years
This season is the Intercounty Baseball League's 100th and it also the 50th for Toronto Maple Leafs owner Jack Dominico.
Move over Maple Leafs hockey
By Matt Betts
Canadian Baseball Network
The name Dominico has become synonymous with the Intercounty Baseball League.
The 2018 season doesn’t only mark the 100th for the league but also the 50th in which Jack Dominico has owned the storied Toronto Maple Leafs franchise. The league renamed the championship the Jack and Lynne Dominico Trophy in honour of both Jack and his late wife Lynne’s tireless dedication to the league. It has since been renamed the Jack and Lynne Dominico Cup.
The Dominicos have made the hillside of Christie Pits a place to enjoy economically friendly entertainment. The phrase economically friendly may be an understatement considering no admission is charged to fans for pulling up a patch of grass. It’s a business model it seems only Dominico can pull off.
The lack of ticket sale revenue certainly hasn’t hindered the on-field product as the Maple Leafs have won eight IBL titles and seen some of the best talent in the league pass through the confines of the Pits. Fifteen of the leagues Top 100 players had worn the blue maple leaf with the white “T” in the middle.
The current version of the Maple Leafs came to be after the original Maple Leafs, of the AAA International League, bolted for Louisville, Ky.
Top 100
A number of former big leaguers have come and gone. Rob Butler spent parts of four seasons in the major leagues with Toronto and Philadelphia, capturing a World Series title with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993. Butler played a total of 109 games, hit .243 and drove in 21 runs. He went 1-for-2 with a run scored during two appearances in the ’93 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Former Toronto Blue Jay Rob Butler (East York, Ont.) played four seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Butler, who hit .488 for the Leafs in 2001, is the only Canadian to play in the World Series, Olympics and the triple-A World Series. The East York, Ont. native currently runs Butler Baseball Academy out of Ajax.
Many people these days associate the name Rick Johnston with the work he has done developing talent. Although this is certainly true, he was also a standout player.
Johnston was twice named IBL MVP during a career that spanned from 1989-1995. Along with his work in the IBL he also participated with Team Canada at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the 1987 and 1991 Pan American Games and the 1985 and 1991 Intercontinental Cup.
As a coach, Johnston was the hitting coach with the Team Canada seniors in 1995 and occupied the same role with the junior team in 1996-97 before managing them in 1998. In 2005 he was named Canadian coach of the year.
The current director of player development and 15U manager of the Ontario Terriers is the co-founder and director of operations of The Baseball Zone. He is also the co-founder of S.S.T. Mississauga.
Bill Byckowski slugged his way to three batting titles and a .389 career average from 1980-1991. Like Butler and Johnston, Byckowski also represented his country on numerous occasions. He played in the 1987 Intercontinental Cup, the 1987 Pan American Games, the 1988 World Cup and 1988 Olympics. During the 1987 Pan Am Games he hit .438 with 12 RBIs. He finished the tournament fifth in average.
Byckowski is currently a cross checker for the Cincinnati Reds.
Current
The tradition of baseball at the Pits, which was renamed after Dominico 2010, doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. They continue to field strong teams, highlighted this year by former Boston Red Sox left handed reliever Dustin Richardson.
After finishing fourth in 2018 and bowing out in the second round to the Kitchener Panthers, the 2019 version of the Maple Leafs will look to bring the city their first league championship since 2007.