Luca Boyer plays catch during a meet and greet ahead of TP Baseball's recreational kids league season start at Christie Pits Park in Toronto this past Friday.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
The Toronto Blue Jays were still in the midst of an explosive World Series run last October when the e-mails from eager parents started rolling in.
Registration for the Toronto Playgrounds Baseball Association, a recreational league in the city’s west end, wasn’t set to open for several months, but parents were already clamouring to sign up their kids for the summer season.
More than 1,230 kids are registered to play with Toronto Playgrounds this summer, up from 890 last year, said coordinator Steve Smith. The league added extra teams in every recreational age division to keep up with demand, but still has a sizable waitlist of more than 150 kids, even after adding two additional days to accommodate the under-11-year-old age group.
“This is my 25th year doing this, and it’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before,” Smith said. “If the Jays do it again this year and win the World Series, I don’t know where we’re going to put everybody next year.”
Last year’s postseason marked the first time in 32 years that the Jays – Canada’s only Major League Baseball team – made it to the World Series, prompting watch parties and school spirit days across the country. While the team was not victorious, the exhilarating run has had led to a surge in interest among young fans who want to pick up bats and gloves.
Trio of Blue Jays find joy in collecting baseball, Pokémon trading cards
Roy Bergerman, Little League Canada’s regional director, says the spike in registrations across the country has been “quite astonishing.”
The numbers are still in flux because leagues have yet to submit rosters to the national organization, but Bergerman anticipates an increase of roughly 15 per cent over last year, which he attributes directly to the success of the Jays.
“We saw the same upswing in 1992 and 1993 when the Blue Jays won their two World Series, so we anticipated the increased interest,” he said.
Eight-year-old Gilbert Urschel-Cantor collects baseball cards, falls asleep listening to Blue Jays games on the radio and totes his glove to school every day. Sometimes, his dad, Anthony Cantor, brings his bat to after-school pick up so Gilbert and his friends can play a real game.
“Most of the kids his age are really into baseball and bring their gloves to school,” Anthony Cantor said. “And I’m not sure it would be that pronounced if the Blue Jays hadn’t made the World Series run.”
Gilbert Urschel-Cantor, right, plays catch with kids at Christie Pits.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Gilbert was glued to the TV throughout the tournament and begged his dad to play in a league. But when Anthony signed him up with Toronto Playgrounds, Gilbert’s age group was already full, and he was put on the waitlist. Demand was so high, the league eased age restrictions to accommodate Gilbert and other waitlisted hopefuls.
“There was such excitement about youth baseball that he ended up playing with a bunch of other kids in the under-eight division just because there was no room in his actual age group,” Anthony said.
Interest in the league has increased most dramatically among young kids, Smith said. “The really nice thing is that so many of the kids who are joining and have caught the bug are new to baseball.”
The Bloordale Baseball League, which has operated in Etobicoke, Ont., since 1963, has “absolutely” seen increased demand said Brian Moore, the organization’s president. In 2025, Bloordale had 397 registered house league players, ranging from four to 13 years old. This year, 554 young sluggers are running the bases.
“This is similar to what we experienced during the Jays’ deep playoff runs of 2015 and 2016, but it is even more pronounced this time,” Moore said.
Chris Besler hugs his daughter Violet during a meet and greet ahead of TP Baseball's recreational kids league season start at Christie Pits.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
The 33 per cent increase doesn’t tell the full story, he said. The league’s growth is capped by the city’s limited diamond availability, causing large wait lists across all age groups.
“Many of our divisions were near or at capacity in January when we opened registration, and we couldn’t accommodate the many requests we received,” he said.
On a recent Friday evening at Christie Pits Park, Toronto Playgrounds hosted a meet and greet for new teams. Gilbert was among the kids chasing each other around the gravel diamonds. While his father spoke to a reporter, he sprinted to the dugout, handing his dad a red cap before booking it back to new friends on the infield.
He declined a request for an interview. He was too focused on the game.