Majors crowned champs to cap storied season
On the bat of Byron Reichstein, and the arm of Owen Boon, the Majors earned the IBL title Friday night — for the first time in 46 years.
(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).
They did it.
They finally did it.
With an 8-4 win Friday night over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs, the London Majors captured their first Intercounty Baseball League championship since 1975, ending a 46-year drought in front of a raucous (COVID) capacity crowd of 3,300 at historic Labatt Park.
Seven times the franchise had tried, since 1975, and seven times they’d come up short – most recently in 2014. But on a cool October night in 2021, the Majors’ franchise finally claimed the title that had eluded them for so long.
And they did it in true 2021 Majors fashion – with good pitching (against a tough Maple Leafs offense), strong defense, and timely hitting.
The timeliest? A Byron Reichstein three-run homer in the third inning that erased a 3-1 Toronto lead, put the Majors ahead 4-3, and noticeably shifted the momentum in the ballgame.
It was a huge home run, and everyone in the crowd knew its importance. The Maple Leafs had entered Friday’s contest on the heels of a big 6-5 comeback win — in 13 innings — on Thursday night at Christie Pits, and they had gotten to Owen Boon early in Game 5, tallying a run in each of the first three innings to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Reichstein changed the narrative with one swing of the bat.
“(Marek) Deska was working me in,” Reichstein said of Toronto’s starting pitcher. “They [catcher and pitcher] were on the same page, trying to get it in on my hands, because I’m not much of a pull hitter.”
Maybe not, but Reichstein, the IBL Finals MVP, certainly pulled a ball in his second at-bat — all the way over the right-field fence towards Riverside Drive.
“The first two pitches were inside, and then they went even further in. But we ended up in a full count, and Deska left one over the heart of the plate. I got a good piece of it and sent it over the wall.”
A lot of thoughts go through a hitter’s head during an at-bat. The situation, certainly (runners on base, number of outs), the pitcher’s patterns, their strengths and weaknesses, the positioning of the opposing fielders … But Reichstein remembers another thought during that key plate appearance.
“When it was a full count, I think, the (PA) announcer was like, ‘Let’s hear ya!’, trying to pump up the crowd. And I’m thinking, ‘Oh no, if I strike out or something, this is gonna be really bad. But if I do something cool, it’s gonna erupt.’”
He did something cool.
Reichstein sat on that 3-2 pitch out over the plate and crushed his league-leading fifth home run of the playoffs.
“The place just erupted,” he said. “I’ve never heard that place so loud.”
With the Majors’ best hitter having provided a big boost, London’s best pitcher then settled down and held the Maple Leafs scoreless over his final three innings of work. Boon kept Toronto in check and departed after six innings having tossed a quality start, allowing three runs on 11 hits without walking a batter and striking out five.
Meanwhile, London added a fifth run in their half of the fourth inning, on a Nick Carrell double, and two more in the seventh, on an RBI groundout from Cleveland Brownlee (after the Maple Leafs opted to intentionally walk Reichstein) and a ground rule double from Hayden Jaco. Keith Kandel then scored an eighth Majors run in the eighth.
After Boon, it was Eduardo Perez, an import player who joined the team in August, who took over in the seventh — on just two days of rest, after throwing 96 pitches in Tuesday’s Game 3 win. The right-hander worked three innings of one-run ball, striking out five along the way to earn the save.
With his 45th pitch of the night, Perez struck out Toronto’s Marcus Knecht for the final out of the game to clinch London its first IBL championship since 1975. Then, it was celebration time.
“It was just pure joy, pure excitement,” said Boon. “You see that strike and you don’t even have a second to think about it. You just take off running. And then, after the initial celebration, you’re giving everyone hugs and feeling gratitude. Everyone sacrifices so much during the season, day in and day out, and to see all that hard work bubble over in one moment … it’s just so vindicating.”
It was certainly vindicating for Cleveland Brownlee, the long-time Majors’ fan favourite, who’s been on winning teams and come close to titles before only to fall just short. Friday night provided Brownlee with the only accolade he’d yet to achieve in a Majors uniform – an IBL championship.
“It was an amazing feeling. When that last pitch was thrown, I had to stand there for a minute just to get myself together,” the slugger said. “It was worth the wait. It was amazing holding that trophy.
“To win in front of our fans, and to pack the house, that was electrifying. The sound in that stadium … I haven’t heard that ever. For us to do this for the City of London, I don’t think you can ask for anything better.”
It was a championship for all – for the players, for long-time manager Roop Chanderdat, for coaches and staff, for the fans, and for the Majors family at large, including alumni, team volunteers, and on and on.
This title was a long time coming, but the 2021 team pulled it off — and they’ll go down in franchise history for doing so.
The London Majors are looking to bounce back — in a big way — from a disappointing 2023 campaign following back-to-back championships. Do they have what it takes to contend again in 2024? …