Karinne Chan managed her division with excellence for the second year in a row and also helped with the 16U TBA AAA championship.
She has inspired us to use Google Docs and find solutions for scheduling and more – always asking good questions and providing solutions through communication.
Always supportive, encouraging and willing to help everyone to be successful.
Well deserved - congratulations to you Karinne!
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Coach Cameron Watt on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022, after a courageous battle with cancer.
Cameron was a dedicated volunteer coach for over 20 years at EYBA, but he was much more than a coach. He would help any team any time at the drop of a hat. He established and ran the batting cage facility on Sunrise and he coached right through his cancer in 2022.
He loved all of his players and we are all blessed for the time we were given with him. We can tell you that coaching was one of the most important things that helped him battle through this difficult year.
The family held a memorial on Sunday November 6, 2022.
THE FOLOWING TEAMS WON OBA CHAMPIONSHIPS OR WERE FINALISTS
CHAMPIONS:LEASIDE 8U AAALEASIDE 9U AAANORTH YORK 10U AAAROYAL YORK 15U AA
FINALISTSLEASIDE 13U AAEAST YORK 18U AA
CHAMPIONSTORONTO PLAYGROUNDS 11U
FINALISTSLEASIDE 9U DSROYAL YORK 9U HLNORTH YORK 11U DS
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The Toronto Baseball Association won the Gold Medal at the Ontario Summer Games held July 22 to 24 in Mississauga. The 15U team went 5-1. The team was down 8-2 in the Gold Medal game and won 10-8 on a three-run home run in the 6th inning. The team had representatives from Etobicoke, North York, Leaside, North Toronto and West Toronto.
Team members were: Kaiden Cousineau, Koby Sernick, Jack Sawchuk, JP Dente, Sean Parkinson, Jack Rossetti, Leo Filipchuk, Hudson Kiss, Jordan Kubin-Jacob, Joey Khananisho, Sean Bradley, Max Wilander, Andrew Tilley, Russell Wallace , Stefano Parente, Nate Malinowski, Nolan Walsh
Coaches: Jack Brown, Troy Black, Roman Kula, Rick Malinowski, Jeff Sawchuk
Great job by all the players and coaches
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Additional rules under the Law for concussion procedures came into effect January 1, 2022Rules requiring the establishment of Removal-from-Sport and Designated Persons are now in effect.What these means for your association:Sport organizations must implement Rowan's Law Policies and Procedures, the latest of which include:• Removal From Sport Policy• Designated Person PolicyBaseball Ontario recently adopted, for its own use, these policies as required under the Law. Each association must have its own polices approved by its board of directors. Associations may choose to adopt the Baseball Ontario policies for use within their organization, or draft their own.Baseball Ontario Designated Person Policy (PDF)Baseball Ontario Removal From Sport Protocol (PDF)The government of Ontario provides resources and information with respect to these new requirements on its website, including sample policies.
Government of Ontario
Congratulations to Dennis Westfall of the Etobicoke Baseball Association's Royal York Cardinals on being named Rep Convenor of the Year. Dennis, as was the case with all rep conveners this past season, was challenged by Covid-19 restrictions but still managed to organize his division's schedule as soon as word came down that the games were allowed to proceed.
So many individuals who volunteer with the TBA are deserving of being recognized for their leadership. Convenors look after running their divisions from start to finish with the TBA Championship, managing Interlock decisions, Covid protocols for the safety of our players - are important to the success of the season for players, coaches and families. Dennis is very consistent and insightful in supporting the Convenor group with leadership and a commitment to best practices. I am pleased to announce Dennis as the 1st TBA Convenor of the Year - congratulations and keep up the great work!
John Cameron, Vice-President, TBA
It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness that we announce the passing of Clyde, peacefully, after a short illness, at the Greenview Senior Care Residence in Toronto on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, at the age of 90 years. Predeceased by his beloved wife of 60 years, Shirley, and survived by his only son, John. The ninth of 10 siblings, Clyde was born on May 20, 1931, in Fortune, Newfoundland. He married Shirley, also from Fortune, in 1955, and John was born in 1959. They settled in Don Mills, where Clyde retired after 35 years working for Revenue Canada. A proud Newfoundlander from a close-knit family, he was a devoted husband and caring father with many long-time friends. Clyde will be best remembered by many for his tireless contributions to developing minor baseball in Toronto, most notably his more than 45 years as a dedicated volunteer, administrator, and innovator with the North York Baseball Association (NYBA). Highlights of a very successful coaching career include winning the Ontario Baseball Association Coach of the Year award (1994) and managing both the gold medal-winning Toronto team at the Ontario Summer Games (2000) - as well as the Ontario Girls team that won the Baseball Canada National Championship (2004). A loyal Blue Jays fan, Clyde received the Province of Ontario Volunteer Service Award (2004) and his team also won the Toronto Regional Secondary School baseball championship (2009). None of this would have been possible without the unwavering support of Shirley, herself, an NYBA volunteer for almost 40 years. John will be forever grateful to the entire team at Greenview for the kind and compassionate care provided to Dad in such comfortable surroundings. Visitation will be at the Mount Pleasant Funeral Centre, 375 Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto on Sunday, Nov. 28 from 3 to 5pm and on Monday, Nov. 29 at 10am followed by a Service in our Chapel at 11am. These are fully vaccinated events. Masks, proof of full vaccination status, along with government-issued ID are required for those 12 years of age and older in order to attend the indoor funeral services. Please leave time prior to the service to check-in. If desired, as an expression of sympathy, donations may be made in Clyde's name to the Heart & Stroke Foundation or the UHN/Toronto Rehab Foundation.
Published in The Globe and Mail, Nov. 26, 2021.
The following Toronto representatives were inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Annual General Meeting, Gala Awards Event, held online on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2021.
They played at a place known as The Shrine, or at least that’s what Howie Birnie called Talbot Park. Located at the corner of Bayview and Eglinton, it had a short fence with a screen monster in left and wide, wide open spaces in right. Left-handed hitters could often be heard yelling at the right fielder who caught a 400-foot drive “get back in the park!” Between 1972 and 1989 the Leaside seniors, known as the Maple Leafs, Hurricanes or Leafs won 11 OBA senior titles. In addition, they won five Halton County titles and five Greater Toronto League championships. Leaside’s winning percentage in 1976 was .806. The team batting average in 1981 was .360. In 1983, the club won 55 games. The coach most of those years was the late Ric (Smooth) Fleury. Assistant coach Sam Leonard has also passed away. Team Photos above: left-right: 1988, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1984.
Jim Ridley, Player, Coach, Scout
Jim was also inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014. For a full biography, visit the CBHoF website.
Congratulations to Darryl Harding of TBA’s Wexford-Agincourt Baseball Association on being named Baseball Ontario’s Affiliate Volunteer of the Year 2021 at the OBA AGM Gala Events night. Well done Darryl!
In recognition of more than 25 years of dedicated commitment to baseball in Martingrove, Etobicoke Baseball and TBA
Tony has been involved in amateur baseball in Etobicoke for over 25 years. Some of his duties have been as part of the Martingrove Baseball Association; equipment manager, assistant coach and coach. Once he moved to the EBA Board of Directors, his first position was General Manager of Select and also at the same time TBA Registrar and TBA Representative at the OBA. Upon becoming EBA President, he discontinued all other duties to focus on becoming the best, most efficient EBA President to date. Tony was instrumental in many new EBA ventures such as; a founding member of the Etobicoke Rangers program, a founding member of the Etobicoke Challenger Program, creator of the EBA awards of excellence, co-creator and over all chair for the annual Lloyd McConnie Rookie Ball Tournament, which happens to one of the finest in the Province, scheduler for the 14u Provincial Championship for the last 14 years and park convener. Other duties that he has performed without recognition are; field maintenance programs, tractor-training sessions, sitting for hours in his garage and recycling old trophies, purchasing new trophies.
Once Tony decided to slow down and step down as EBA President, he became EBA Teasurer, EBA Registrar, plus the duties of EBA Past President and EBA Representative to the TBA. As most people who know Tony will agree, he is extremely focused, hardworking, patient, a great solver of conflicts and a wise manager of time and people. Its been an absolute joy being his sidekick for a number of years and I believe there is no other person involved in baseball in the 416 area code that is more deserving of this award. Please forgive me because I am certainly sure I have forgotten many other jobs and duties Tony has carried out.
Submitted by Richard Pantalone, Etobicoke Baseball Association
North Toronto 9U AAA
North York 12 U AAA
Leaside 12U A
Wexford Agincourt13U Selects
Leaside 18U AAA
Oct. 17,2019 - Exciting news from TBA headquarters this week! We are thrilled to announce that we’re teaming up with TeamSnap in order to provide our members with a fully-integrated club & team-management solution. TBA members will receive special pricing on TeamSnap for Clubs & Leagues this season.What is TeamSnap? TeamSnap is the #1 ranked team-management app and the fastest growing club & league management software. They have made sports management easier for more than 20 million users, 2 million teams and 19,000 clubs over the past decade.Why did we partner with TeamSnap? TeamSnap has become the go-to software for sports management technology in baseball. The partnership will give your club full access to TeamSnap’s suite of connected solutions to help streamline the season and limit administrative hassles so your coaches and volunteers can focus on player development.
What benefits do TBA members receive from TeamSnap? Through this partnership, TBA clubs can:
Ready to learn more? Visit the TeamSnap TBA partner page to begin your free trial. Schedule a call with your dedicated account specialist at TeamSnap to learn more.
Alan Waffle, founding president of the Royal York Baseball League, was inducted into the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame last month in recognition of his contribution to youth sports in the city. Photo: J.P Antonacci
By J.P. Antonacci, Canadian Baseball Network
It’s the kind of problem that gets Alan Waffle’s mind whirring – too many kids want to play ball, not enough diamonds for them to use.
“So I set out six years ago with the idea that we needed to build another diamond in Etobicoke,” Waffle said.
The longtime president of the Royal York Baseball League started working the phone. City of Toronto parks and rec staff suggested the best place for a new diamond was next to one of the jewels of Etobicoke baseball – Connorvale Park. The city promised to kick in $750,000 if the league could raise the remaining $250,000.
To do that, Waffle swung for the fences, bringing in the Blue Jays Foundation as a partner to the tune of a $150,000 grant through the club’s Field of Dreams program. A $25,000 donation from Humber College supplemented the league’s energetic fundraising campaign to cover the balance.
Read the full article at Canadian Baseball Network (subscription required).
Toronto Baseball mourns the passing of John Jepson after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer on Oct. 14, 2018. John spent many years as a very successful coach in North York then, with Jason Chee-Aloy started the Toronto Mets program. His coaching and managing record shows many Toronto, Ontario and National Championships but it is his dedication to the game and players that should be celebrated.
Canadian Baseball Network - By Bob Elliott
They came from near.
They came from far.
Current players and their parents were there.
Ex-players and parents of ex-players were there.
Man and woman, one and all came to praise John Jepson, a gentle man.
The George Darte Funeral Chapel was full after Jepson passed Oct. 14. A native of Park Extension area in Montreal, he moved to Toronto in 1970 and was a sandlot fixture with the North York Blues, Team Ontario, the Ontario Youth Team, the Toronto Mets and the Ontario Terriers.
One of the old sayings is that behind every good baseball man stands a great woman. For the past 18 months as John Jepson has battled pancreatic cancer, his loving wife, Linda Jepson stood beside him. Linda was with John through his final days at Hospice Niagara in St. Catharines.
Jepson was 67. He drew teenagers to see him off, as well as their fathers and people older than Jepson himself. There are a lot of good baseball people in the province. I’m not sure who now holds the title of most respected amateur baseball man in Ontario with Jepson gone. (Read more at CBN.)
TBA's Howie Birnie is all smiles with OBA President David Huctwith as he is inducted into the Baseball Ontario Hall of Fame in Hamilton, Nov. 18, 2017.
Mov. 19, 2017
The Toronto Baseball Association earned its share of notice at the 100th anniversary AGM Nov. 17-19 in Hamilton. Not the least of which was two inductees into the Baseball Ontario Hall of Fame.
It started with a special tribute to William J. 'Bill' Smith, who founded the Toronto Amateur Baseball Association in 1913 and went on to help found the Ontario Baseball Amateur Association in 1918. Smith received special attention as a hall inductee in the builder category. His grandchildren, Lynda (Smith) Mitic and Greg Smith, and great-grandson Tyler Smith were all guests of the OBA at the dinner and received commemorative certificates in recognition of "WJ's" contributions over a career that spanned from 1910 to 1964. The original board members, including longtime OBA/TBA Secretary-Treasurer A.J. 'Joe" Walsh, were also inducted.
Then it was the turn of current TBA Secretary-Treasurer Howie Birnie, who was inducted into the hall, along with OBA stalwarts and past-presidents Linda Lewis, Jim Lutton, Dennis Ryan and Bernie Soulliere.
Later in the awards program, Jason Chee-Aloy, head coach of the 2017 national peewee champion North York Blues peewees, stepped up to be recognized as coach of the year and also receive the plaque for the Blues as OBA team of the year from OBA's Annette Hoggarth.
TBA pioneers, from left, Pat Kennedy, Joe Walsh, Bill Smith and George Walker. All except Walker became president of OBA.