Latest news with #Women'sBaseball
National Post
12-05-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Maple Leafs' Sato shines as 1st woman to play in Canadian men's pro baseball
Star female pitcher Ayami Sato made history as the first woman to play in a Canadian men's professional baseball league on Sunday. Article content Article content She also had a perfect debut for the Intercounty Baseball League's Toronto Maple Leafs. Article content Sato struck out one batter without allowing anyone on base in the first two innings of an eventual 6-5 loss to the Kitchener Panthers. Article content Fans at Dominico Field in Christie Pits welcomed Sato with loud applause when the public address announcer introduced her in the starting lineup for Toronto's home opener. Article content Article content Widely considered the top female pitcher in baseball, the 35-year-old from Japan signed with the Maple Leafs in December to become the IBL's first female player. Article content Sato helped Japan win five of its seven consecutive Women's Baseball World Cup titles (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018), earning MVP honours in 2014, '16 and '18. Article content
CBC
11-05-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Japan's Ayami Sato becomes first woman to play in Canadian men's pro baseball league
Social Sharing Star female pitcher Ayami Sato made history as the first woman to play in a Canadian men's professional baseball league on Sunday. Sato struck out one batter without allowing anyone on base in the first two innings of an eventual 6-5 loss to the Kitchener Panthers. Fans at Dominico Field in Christie Pits welcomed Sato with loud applause when the public address announcer introduced her in the starting lineup for Toronto's home opener. Widely considered the top female pitcher in baseball, the 35-year-old from Japan signed with the Maple Leafs in December to become the IBL's first female player. Sato helped Japan win five of its seven consecutive Women's Baseball World Cup titles (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018), earning MVP honours in 2014, '16 and '18. She pitched in the Japan Women's Baseball League from 2013 until it suspended operations in 2021, leading the league in strikeouts in three of its last four seasons. Toronto finished seventh in the IBL last season with a 17-25 record. WATCH | Japanese women's star Sato brings wealth of experience to IBL's Maple Leafs: Meet Ayami Sato: The first woman to compete on a men's pro baseball team in Canada 3 days ago Duration 2:10 The 35-year-old Japanese pitcher whose fastball reaches 80 mph, will pitch in the home opener for the Toronto Maple Leafs, an intercounty baseball team founded in 1896.
