Rob Butler named Manager of Toronto Maple Leafs

TORONTO - The Toronto Maple Leafs Baseball Club (@iblmapleleafs) announced today the hiring of former Toronto Blue Jay and Maple Leaf Rob Butler as Manager of the 2023 club.

Rob who spent part of 4 seasons in the Major Leagues with the Jays and Philadelphia is best known for his pinch hit vs Curt Schilling in the 1993 World Series. Rob is the only Canadian to win the World Series while playing in Toronto. He played a total of 109 games in MLB and had a career average of .43 (53-218)

In 2001, Rob joined the IBL Toronto Maple Leafs and led the IBL hitting in 2001 with a .488 average (61-125) with 16 2B's, 6 HR's, 28 RBI's and 17 SB's. He went on to play 5 seasons in the IBL witha career average of .415 (189-455) with 39 HR's and 113 RBI's.

After retiring Rob has spent many years running clinics, coaching amateur baseball and still giving back to the game. Before joining us this year, Rob had already made a prior coaching committment and will be coaching the Leafs when available until early August when those committments are completed. 

" Rob is a great fit for this team. He checks off every box that Ty Crawford and myself were looking for in the next manager of this team. We did not want to rush the selection and were prepared to be be patient. We understand that there will be some adjustments early in the year and some moving parts to fill in for Rob on games that he misses, but this veteran group will be able to manage. This is a long play, and the regular season will be used to climatize Rob back into the IBL, learn his players and hopefully that will lead to a strong final month into the IBL playoffs." General Manager-Jeff Lounsbury

" I am so happy to be back in the best league in Canada, with my favourite team" Rob Butler

The Toronto Maple Leafs are a member of Canada’s best league, the Intercounty Baseball League. The over 100-year-old summer league is one of the oldest baseball leagues in the world, with the league established in 1919, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. For more information, visit www.mapleleafsbaseball.com or follow the Maple Leafs on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @iblmapleleafs.

This announcement is brought to you by BIG STICK Customs Jersey's www.bigstick.com