Baseball fans will get to watch history in the making should they attend a Toronto Maple Leafs game at Dominico Field in Christie Pits this summer.
One of the best players in the world will take the mound for the Maple Leafs in 2025, with the Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) squad signing superstar hurler Ayami Sato as the first woman to play professional baseball in Canada.
“I am so thrilled to have the opportunity to play with the Toronto Maple Leafs,” said Sato in a statement released by the team. “It is a dream come true for me to play at this competitive level with former major leaguers and top minor league players.”
Sato, a legend of the game from her time playing with Japan's national team, helped her country to six straight Women's Baseball World Cup gold medals from 2010-2024 (2020 tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and was named the tournament MVP three consecutive times in 2014, 2016 and 2018.
With those three MVP awards to her name, and a mantle lined with trophies, she's been widely considered one of the best female baseball players in the world.
The 34-year-old has played her professional baseball in Japan, pitching for the North Reia, Hyogo Dione and Aichi Dione in a career spanning from 2013 to 2021, when the league was shut down in the aftermath of COVID.
Over the course of her career in the Japan Women's Baseball League, the superstar finished third in games pitched (175), first in complete games (89), third in shutouts (16), fifth in saves (13), second in innings pitched (876.2) and second in strikeouts (411).
The IBL is an independent semi-professional league based in Ontario. John Axford, Fergie Jenkins and Paul Spoljaric are some of the notable former MLB stars to play in the league.
The deal for Sato marks the second big signing in the IBL for the upcoming campaign. Last week, the Hamilton Cardinals signed former All-Star closer and 2019 World Series champ Fernando Rodney to a deal for the 2025 season.
Toronto finished in seventh place last year with a 17-25 record. The Barrie Baycats won the championship after going undefeated in the playoffs. Toronto last won the championship in 2007.
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