It was a historic Sunday afternoon for the Toronto Maple Leafs of Canada’s Intercounty Baseball League, who trotted out Ayami Sato as their starter against the Kitchener Panthers.
Sato, a native of Amami Ōshima, Japan, is a three-time WBSC Women’s Baseball World Championship MVP, and now the first woman to play professionally in the Intercounty League. The 35-year-old has won six World Championships in women’s baseball with Japan and signed with the Maple Leafs in the offseason.
MAPLE LEAFS MAKE HISTORY!
The Toronto Maple Leafs are honoured to announce the signing of Ayami Sato, one of the best pitchers in the world, who will make history as the first woman to play professional baseball in Canada!
Sato, a six-time world champion, has pitched for Team… pic.twitter.com/VxqihKiCdp
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@IBLMapleLeafs) December 3, 2024
She threw two perfect innings with a strikeout for the Leafs in her IBL debut, mixing fastballs and curveballs to keep the Kitchener bats quiet. The Leafs won the game 6-5.
“I’ve gotten a lot of attention, and a lot of people are looking forward to this moment,” Sato told the Toronto Star through an interpreter. “I’m glad that I could show my good pitches out there today.”
Before and after the game, Sato signed autographs for young fans, many of them female, and recognized what her presence on the field could mean to them.
“Baseball is the kind of sport that anyone can play regardless of their age, gender,” Sato told reporters via a translator after the game. “So by playing more with this team, I wanna make sure everyone’s more encouraged to play baseball and enjoy it.”
Photo: Japanese baseball player Ayami Sato waves to the crowd before throwing out a ceremonial first pitch before the San Diego Padres host the Houston Astros in a baseball game Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
