Ayami Sato will make baseball history in Toronto and blaze a trail for women in sports [Video]

When Ayami Sato takes to the mound at Toronto’s Christie Pits park on Sunday, her first pitch will make history.

Sato, 35, has come all the way from Japan to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs, one of nine teams in the Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) of southern Ontario. She’ll be the first woman to join a professional men’s league in Canada. 

The IBL is more than 100 years old and some of its players spent time on Major League Baseball teams or in other elite leagues.

Sato is already considered a legend in women’s international baseball. As part of Japan’s national team, she helped her country win world championships and took home three MVP awards along the way.

WATCH | Ayami Sato will break gender barrier in Canadian baseball with Toronto Maple Leafs: A woman is poised to make baseball history in Toronto on Sunday, pitching in a professional …