Saturday, March 13, 2010   |      |   

Home of the Toronto Mets Baseball Club

The Mets Program

The Toronto Mets Baseball Club (TMBC) has been, and continues to be, committed to the development of high performance amateur baseball in the City of Toronto. We are members of the Toronto Baseball Association, Baseball Ontario, and the Premier Baseball League of Ontario (PBLO).

We field individual teams at the 18 & under and 16 & under age groups.  Our home parks are Talbot Park and Bond Park in Toronto, Ontario. 

Our program is designed to provide balance between playing baseball at an elite level and getting a good education, with education always coming first.  To support these objectives, we strive to:

  • Provide players with the highest level of instruction and playing opportunity
  • Play in Canadian and U.S. tournaments, including Spring Training in Florida, in an effective way, limiting time away from school and still providing for maximum exposure and training through an 80 game schedule and in-season practices.
  • Limit roster size at 16U in order to provide for maximum playing and instructional time
  • Maintain reasonable program costs, as the past has shown many athletes to accomplish their education and baseball goals through cost effective means while learning and playing great baseball

Regular Season

Our season starts in late April and ends in August. We play regular season games in the PBLO throughout the Spring and early Summer, and regular season games in the TBA Junior and Midget Leagues throughout the Spring and Summer. The Mets have the option of playing for U.S. Championships in late July or early August or attempting to qualify for the Baseball Canada Midget Canadian Championships in August. Toronto Mets teams practice as frequently as possible during the season throughout Spring and Summer. All-in-all, Mets teams play about 80 games within a calendar year.

Tournaments

The Toronto Mets travel each March Break to West Palm Beach, Florida to participate in the Papa John's Challenge against U.S. college teams. In years past, in addition to the Papa John's Challenge, the Mets have played against the New York Mets Rookie Ball minor league players in Port St. Lucie and have travelled to Cocoa Beach to play other Canadian teams. Both the 18 & Under and 16 & Under teams participate in tournaments in Canada and the U.S. The Toronto Mets are proud to be hosting the fourth annual Canada Day Classic in 2010.

Instructional Time and Practices

Regular season practices are held as frequently as game schedules and weather permit. Off-season training is provided to all players from November to April at the outstanding facilities of Pro Teach Baseball located in southern Etobicoke. Both the 18 & Under and 16 & Under teams work out in Florida during March break. The Spring Training trip is a full part of the programme for BOTH 16U and 18U teams.

Roster Sizes

Unlike other programs in the province, we do not carry artificially large rosters.  We carry anywhere between 16 - 18 players (16U)  and 18-19 players (18U) because we believe this roster size enables our players to receive appropriate playing and instructional time and provides them with the ability to take time off for school without hindering the clubs ability to compete.

Time Out of School

All reasonable efforts are made to restrict the amount of time our players are out of school for baseball. Typically, this has meant that on average a player will miss anywhere between 6-8 days of school per year. Travel to U.S. tournaments is strategic to ensure effective development, exposure, and competition.

Provincial and National Teams

The Mets program is fully supportive of our athletes playing on both the Ontario Youth Team and the Junior National Team. We have great relationships with the management and coaching staff for both of these teams because we continue to produce athletes that meet the highest performance standards. For a list of athletes that have played on these teams, please see below.

Scholarships and Drafts

The Mets program has been extremely successful at producing quality players who have received scholarships (U.S. and Canadian) or have been drafted. While we won't "guarantee" that your athlete will receive a scholorship, we can tell you that we provide our players with opportunities to showcase their skills by playing in key Canadian and U.S. tournaments and showcases.

Obtaining a scholarship or being drafted is a direct result of skill/ability, projection and fit for the College or the MLB team. It is not often communicated to parents, but most U.S. colleges (i.e., 4-year schools) do not "typically" offer full scholarships for baseball, so cost can be an issue for a player receiving a U.S. scholarship. Another viable alternative for athletes is the option to play in Canada at some great universities (e.g., University of British Columbia).

Please click here for a list of Mets players who have received a scholarship or have been drafted.

Budget

The TMBC is a non-profit organization. As such, we are able to provide first-class instruction and playing opportunities for approximately $5200 annually. These fees cover the general operating expenses of the team such as uniforms, umpires, travel expenses for coaches, off-season training at Pro Teach, lunches at select doubleheaders and tournament entry fees and cost for the Spring Training trip to Florida and the September trip to New York City

Players Drafted or Received Baseball Scholorship

Name College / University or Draft Team Ontario Youth Team Team Canada

2009

Jesse Bartle Notre Dame College    
Scott Donnelly Coppin State (NCAA Division I)    
Michael Foster (16U)   Yes  
Brian Smith   Yes Yes
Nick Studer   Yes  
Maxx Tissenbaum Stonybrook University (NCAA Division I) & Toronto Blue Jays (43rd Round)    Yes

2008

Greg Densem University of British Columbia (NAIA) Yes Yes
Trevor Edwards UNC Greensboro (NCAA Division I)    
Jake Eliopoulos

Toronto Blue Jays (2nd Round)

Chipola College (NJCAA Division I)

Yes Yes
Jordan Glover Eastern Michigan University (NCAA Division I)    
Andrew Ledger Winthrop University (NCAA Division I) Yes Yes
Marc Mongillo University of Mary Washington (NCAA Division III)    
Skye Irwin Southeastern Iowa Community College (NJCAA Division II) Yes Yes
Matt McClements   Yes  
Ryan Panas Wilfrid Laurier University Yes  
Sean Pisarski University of British Columbia (NAIA) Yes  
Miles Verweel Unviversity of British Columbia (NAIA)    
Brett Sanders   Yes Yes
Max Tissenbaum   Yes Yes

2007

Geoff Burke University of British Columbia (NAIA)    
Greg Densem University of British Columbia (NAIA) Yes Yes
Brian Ivan Binghamton University - Division I, Binghamton NY Yes Yes
Matt Jebb University of Maine Yes Yes
Andrew Ledger Winthrop University Yes Yes
Sam Mattson Northeastern Oklahoma A&M CC Yes Yes
Marc Mongillo University of Mary Washington    
Jesse Reinstein University of Buffalo    
John Slattery West Texas Junior College Yes  
Preston Rauh Wasmund New York Institute of Technology    
Leslie Williams Northeastern University - Division I, Boston, MA Yes Yes

 2006

Steve Anderson Northeastern Oklahoma A&M CC Yes Yes
Geoff Burke University of British Columbia (NAIA)    
Greg Chong University of British Columbia (NAIA)    
Tim Crozier Niagara University    
Mike Drzazga Seward County CC    
Kyle Fillier Connors State CC Yes Yes
Brian Ivan Binhampton University Yes Yes
Matt Jebb University of Maine Yes Yes
Sean Mattson Northeastern Oklahoma A&M CC Yes Yes
Dan Miched Monroe CC    
Jesse Reinstein University of Buffalo    
Sammie Starr University of British Columbia (NAIA)    
Lee Verweel Crowder CC    
Leslie Williams Northeastern University Yes Yes

2005

Jeff Cowan High Point University   Yes
Greg Chong University of British Columbia    
Mike Drzazga Seward County CC    
Ryan Hannon Salem International University    
Brian Ivan Binghampton University Yes Yes
Morgan Kielty University of Pittsburgh   Yes
Sean Mattson Northeastern Oklahoma A&M CC Yes Yes
Dan Miched Monroe CC    
Sammie Starr University of British Columbia Yes  
Lee Verweel Crowder CC    
Leslie Williams Nonrtheastern University Yes Yes
Mike Wilson University of Michigan   Yes

 

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