67-616: The Brisbane Bandits are a professional baseball team in Brisbane, Queensland that plays in the Australian Baseball League and is one of the six founding teams of the league. From the 2010/11 season till the 2012/13 season their home ballpark was the Brisbane Exhibition Ground , the ground which the old Brisbane Bandits played at for the majority of their nine-year tenure. As of the start of
134-508: A .284 career batting average . Nilsson became a free agent in the offseason following 1999 , but opted not to sign with any MLB teams because of his desire to play for Australia in the 2000 Olympics . He was widely applauded for this move as he was turning down big money to represent his country, something very rarely seen in baseball. Before leaving the US, he had been Australia's second highest earning sportsman behind Greg Norman , according to
201-491: A 23-3 mauling by Adelaide, which he said was one of his heaviest losses as a player or coach. The Bandits would recover to split the opening series with Adelaide and leading into January 2015 were a chance to make the playoffs with a 17–15 win–loss record. Unfortunately the Bandits would win only four of their next 14 matches to fall to a 21–25 win–loss record and miss the playoffs. Brisbane retained head coach Dave Nilsson for
268-532: A full count with runners on second and third base when the game was still scoreless in the third innings. Donald Lutz scored a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the 3rd innings to start the Brisbane offense. It all ended with an out from closer Ryan Searle , caught by outfielder Justin Williams, after Searle's 17 saves in the regular season. Brisbane finished the regular season in third position with
335-541: A league-high of .920 and had an OBP of .561. Nilsson played in the Australian season for the first time in five years when he appeared in the 2004 Claxton Shield . He went 5 for 11 with 4 home runs and 12 RBI and even pitched well in one stint on the mound. He led the 2004 Shield in home runs and RBI and was named to the All-Star team at DH. Nilsson then again attempted a comeback in the major leagues. He signed with
402-604: A passed ball in the third inning before driving in the tying run an inning later. A hopping ball allowed Brisbane to take a lead in the seventh inning before Loek van Mil and Ryan Searle collected the final nine outs to guide the Bandits home. In Game 2, Andrew Campbell, Wade Dutton and TJ Bennett hit home runs for the Bandits, who blew Perth away with a six-run third innings to take an unassailable 8–0 lead. Starter Tim Atherton worked eight innings in another impressive outing, allowing just four runs on seven hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts. The Heat hit four solo home runs to cut into
469-660: A perfect fielding percentage at catcher and threw out 5-of-8 attempted base-stealers. Nilsson's career ended when he went 0-for-5 with a strikeout for Australia in the 2006 World Baseball Classic . In 2008 Nilsson was named to the Sport Australia Hall of Fame . He entered the Hall of Fame with swimmer Ian Thorpe , Winter Olympics gold medalist Alisa Camplin , rugby league champion Allan Langer , tennis player Mark Woodforde , Australian football and media identity Lou Richards , and swimming coach John Carew . Nilsson
536-658: A player, coach and mentor". Nilsson was born in Brisbane , Queensland to Australian parents and attended Kedron State High School. Nilsson was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers in January 1987 at the age of 17 as an amateur free agent . He made his professional debut that year with the Helena Brewers , batting .394. Nilsson ranked third in the Pioneer League in batting average but was left off
603-537: A record of 21 wins and 18 losses. The Bandits earned their place in the playoffs by defeating the Canberra Cavalry 3–1 at The Fort at MIT Ballpark ( Narrabundah Ballpark ) in the last round of the regular season. After an 8–5 win and a 1–4 loss in the first two matches against the Cavalry, Brisbane won the third match 5–4 in extra innings before a crushing 11–2 victory in the final match to claim their spot in
670-664: A series sweep and back to back Australian Baseball League Championships. Nilsson was the recipient of the Coca-Cola Amatil 2017 Queensland Sport Coach of the Year at the annual Q Sport awards. In 2018, following three consecutive ABL championships with the Brisbane Bandits, Nilsson was announced as manager of the Australian national baseball team . In 2021, Nilsson was named as the bench and hitting coach for
737-558: Is an Australian former professional baseball catcher and current manager of the Australia national baseball team and the Brisbane Bandits . He played for Major League Baseball 's Milwaukee Brewers from 1992 to 1999 and was an All-Star in 1999, becoming the first Australian player to appear in an All-Star game. He ended his Major League career on 3 October 1999 with 837 games played , 789 hits , 105 home runs and
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#1732788039343804-705: Is often applied as an umbrella term for all leagues — major and minor — under the authority of the Commissioner of Baseball . Operating outside the Minor League Baseball organization are many independent minor leagues such as the Atlantic League , American Association , Frontier League , and the feeder league to these the Empire Professional Baseball League . Japan has had professional baseball since
871-609: Is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada consists of the National League (founded in 1876) and the American League (founded in 1901). Historically, teams in one league never played teams in
938-577: The 1999 season . He was also fit enough to play catcher regularly for the club for the first time in five years. In the 1999 All-Star Game , he replaced Mike Lieberthal as the National League catcher, becoming the first (and until being joined by Grant Balfour in 2013, the only) Australian to play in a Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Nilsson signed a new contract in Japan for the 2000 season so that he would be eligible to play for Australia in
1005-547: The 2000 Summer Olympics . In doing so, the Associated Press estimated that he had given up millions of dollars in earnings. In 1999, Nilsson played in the Intercontinental Cup where he hit a .379/.457/.517 clip to win tournament MVP and help Australia win its first gold medal at an international baseball event. Nilsson was third in average behind Akinori Iwamura and Claudio Liverziani and made
1072-719: The 2003 Major League Baseball season , Nilsson signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox . He ended up retiring before ever playing for them, as according to a Red Sox representative "he lost his desire to play." Nilsson managed the Queensland Rams in the 2003 Claxton Shield , assisting them to a surprise title. He returned to playing baseball that year for Telemarket Rimini in Serie A1 in Italy, where, although only hitting .280, he ended up slugging at
1139-445: The 2004 Olympics where they won a historic silver medal, and also represented his country in the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006. He spent one season as manager with the Brisbane Bandits during the 2010–11 Australian Baseball League season , before returning to become the incumbent manager since 2014–15 . In 2018 he succeeded Jon Deeble as the Australian national baseball team manager. Nilsson represented Australia at
1206-663: The Atlanta Braves and hit .236 in 16 games for the Richmond Braves , five years after he had last played in the Major Leagues. Nilsson was back with the Australian national baseball team for the 2004 Athens Olympics , and as captain he led the team to the Silver Medal , Australia's first Olympic medal in baseball. He again had a decent tournament performance batting .296/.441/.444 in 8 games. He had
1273-571: The Business Review Weekly . Nilsson previously played for the Brisbane Bandits and Melbourne Reds in the previous incarnation of the Australian Baseball League where he holds the record for all time batting average (.351) and all time slugging average (.661). His brothers Gary, Bob and Ron also played in the competition. He also played in the Japanese NPB and Italian Serie A . He went on to also represent Australia in
1340-504: The China National Baseball League , Israel Baseball League , and Baseball Philippines . During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, players of black African descent were barred from playing the major leagues , though several did manage to play by claiming to be Cubans or Native Americans . As a result, a number of parallel Negro leagues were formed. However, after Jackie Robinson began playing with
1407-700: The 1930s. Nippon Professional Baseball consists of two leagues, the Central League and the Pacific League , each with six teams. South Korea has had professional baseball since 1982. There are 10 teams in KBO League . Taiwan has had professional baseball since the 1990s. The Chinese Professional Baseball League absorbed Taiwan Major League in 2003. There are currently 6 teams in the CPBL. Other Asian leagues include three now defunct leagues,
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#17327880393431474-411: The 1992 American League in his first season. After performing below par in the 1992–93 ABL season , Nilsson was the most frequently used catcher for the 1993 Brewers, but due to injury problems, had rehab stints in the minors. On 11 April 1994, Nilsson hit the first home run at Rangers Ballpark in the fifth inning of the first game played there. He also grounded into the first double-play recorded at
1541-493: The 2011–12 season, they would have finished 2nd ahead of Melbourne. The Bandits finished the season with 23 wins and 22 losses. This put them in fourth place by 1.5 games, so they missed the playoffs. On 14 October 2013, Jay Klein was named general manager and Shea Maple was named assistant general manager. The first game for the Bandits at Holloway field was held on 1 November 2013 against the Adelaide Bite. The Bite won
1608-772: The 2013/14 the Bandits home ground is Holloway Field (officially Viticon Stadium , formerly Onehub Stadium, powered by Optus ) in Newmarket . In the inaugural season, Paul Gonzalez was announced as the GM , replacing Kim Jessop as the previous GM with the Queensland Rams. Former ABL MVP and MLB All-Star Dave Nilsson was named the manager and Gary Nilsson the pitching coach . In 2011, another ABL MVP and ex-MLB player, Kevin Jordan , replaced Nilsson as manager. In 2014, Dave Nilsson returned as manager. The current GM for
1675-623: The 2015–16 season and recruited Pitching and Third Base Coach Jim Bennett and Assistant and First Base Coach Michael Johns. Brisbane Bandits finished the regular season with a record of 37 wins and 19 losses and earned the right to host the Championship series at AFA Stadium at Holloway Field. In Game 1 of the Championship series against the Adelaide Bite , the Brisbane Bandits prevailed 7–4. In front of 2,242 fans, Bralin Jackson opened
1742-426: The 5th innings. In Game 2, with the Bandits leading 4-3 heading into the eighth innings, Zach Wilson hit a 2 on, 1 out homer to give the Cavalry the lead. Despite to two run homer to a pinch hitting Donald Lutz in the bottom of the 8th innings, the Cavalry held firm for a 6–8 win. In Game 3, a two homer to Michael Crouse in the top of the 2nd innings was answered by back to back homers by Wade Dutton and Wynton Bernard in
1809-589: The 8th innings to secure the Bandits a place in their fourth straight Championship series. Brisbane faced Perth Heat in the Championship series with Game 1 held in Perth at Harley-Davidson Ballpark. The Heat booked their Championship Series ticket after a 2-1 come-from-behind series win over the Sydney Blue Sox. The Bandits lead early scoring two second-inning runs. However, Perth bounced back immediately and soon found themselves level after Tim Kennelly scored on
1876-521: The ABL that year. He returned to the US where he batted .278 for the season with 20 home runs playing first base, left field and DH. That off season he did not return to the ABL for the first time due to injuries. In the 1998 season he batted at a discouraging .269 mark for the Brewers. Nilsson was only 29 years old when he played his last major league season, hitting a 309/.400/.554 clip with 21 home runs for
1943-671: The Adelaide Bite to take home the Claxton Shield for the first time in the revamped Australian Baseball League . In 2017 Nilsson coached the Brisbane Bandits to a 3rd-place finish during the regular season. Brisbane went on the beat the Adelaide Bite in the preliminary final and advanced to take on the Minor Premiers the Melbourne Aces in the Championship Series. Nilsson guided the Brisbane Bandits to
2010-470: The Bandits is Ryan Searle The Brisbane Bandits, Sydney Blue Sox and Perth Heat all started their seasons in Brisbane. The ceremonial first pitch was thrown by Graeme Lloyd and caught by the Bandits' manager Dave Nilsson ; the couple of all-Australian battery to appear in a Major League Baseball game and both Baseball Australia Hall of Fame inductees in their own right. Despite Robbie Widlansky 's two extra base hits and his scoring two runs, Perth
2077-435: The Bandits rebounded with a fury, pummeling Canberra, 12–2. Donald Lutz and Chih-Shen Lin both scored homers in the opening innings, with Lin homering again in the 7th innings with a two-run shot. David Sutherland and Andrew Campbell both hit homers in the 2nd innings, with Campbell scoring his second solo home run in the 4th innings. Bandits' Tim Atherton pitched seven innings, allowing three hits and throwing 11 strikeouts. In
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2144-550: The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, oversees nearly all minor league baseball in the United States and Canada. The minor leagues are divided into classes AAA, AA, High-A, A, and Rookie. These minor-league divisions are affiliated with major league teams, and serve to develop young players and rehabilitate injured major-leaguers. "Affiliated baseball" (archaically, " organized baseball ")
2211-727: The Olympics in 2000 and 2004, and has been involved in the strategic direction of the sport in Australia. In 2018, he was named as one of the Queensland Greats by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in a ceremony at the Queensland Art Gallery on 8 June 2018. Nilsson was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours in recognition of his "service to baseball as
2278-481: The Year. He then returned to Australia after signing a five-year deal with the Waverly Reds where he played 54 games in the 1994–95 ABL season , leading in batting average (.388), on base average (.471) and slugging average (.775). Nilsson was again named as the All-Star catcher and led Waverly to their second title and Nilsson's third. Nilsson contracted Ross River Fever while playing winter ball and missed
2345-603: The affiliate, the Stockton Ports but struggled with the bat and failed to make an impact. In the 1990 California League season, Nilsson had a significant improvement and helped the Stockton Ports win the title and Baseball America rated him the 8th best prospect in the league. Back in the ABL, Nilsson batted at .400 with the Daikyo Dolphins , only averaging behind fellow Brewers player John Jaha . Along with brother Bob, he helped Daikyo finish 31–9, best in
2412-504: The back of home runs to Trent Oeltjen , David Rodriguez, Logan Wade and Kevin Padlo. Brisbane claimed the Championship series with a 3–1 win in Game 2. Bandits starting pitcher, Kramer Champlin pitched 7 innings, allowing just one hit and one run. Ryan Searle pitched the final two innings, throwing four strikeouts, to secure back to back Championships for the Brisbane Bandits. Brisbane finished
2479-450: The ballpark, scored 1-6-3. On 14 April 1994, Nilsson and Graeme Lloyd formed the first all-Australian battery in an MLB game. In the 1994 off-season, Nilsson moved to the Brisbane Bandits and played very well in the regular season averaging .362 and slugging .695. Nilsson homered off his first swing of the season that year. He was named to the league All-Star team at catcher. Milwaukee had originally requested that Nilsson be returned to
2546-455: The bottom of the 2nd. Solo home runs to Canberra by Cam Warner (3rd innings), Robbie Perkins (4th innings) and David Kandilas (7th innings) would give the Cavalry at 5-3 heading into the bottom of the 7th innings. After striking out in the 5th innings, pinch hitting Donald Lutz would again be instrumental, crushing a 2 on, 1 out home run off J.R. Bunda to give the Bandits the lead. Donald Sutherland and Riley Unroe would follow up with solo homers in
2613-516: The bottom of the 9th innings, David Sutherland homered at 2-2 pitch from Jon Kennedy over right-center-field to send the Bandits to their third straight Championship series. Brisbane fell behind in the best-of-three by falling to the Canberra Cavalry at The Fort at MIT Ballpark, 5–1, in Game 1. Cavalry starting pitcher Brian Grening kept the Bandits bats quiet, allowing 5 hits and no runs through 6.2 innings. Returning to Brisbane for Game 2,
2680-624: The contract. The dispute lasted six months with the Reds finally coming to the agreement he would play out the rest of the 1995–96 ABL season before returning to Brisbane. In limited appearances, Nilsson contributed a meager .250 with the bat. He returned to the MLB late again that season due to a broken foot, but had a productive year by setting his MLB career highs in average (.331) and OBP (.407) while still slugging at .525. He hit 33 doubles and 17 home runs, scored 81 runs and drove in 84 in 123 games. He
2747-450: The decisive Game 3 Bandits' catcher Adam Weisenburger hit a 2 on, 2 out home run off Frank Gailey in the 2nd innings to give Brisbane an early lead. Mitch Nilsson followed up with a 2 out solo home run off in the 6th innings. Gailey then drilled Andrew Campbell and the benches emptied, with Brisbane Bandits Manager Dave Nilsson and Coach Adrian Lamb ejected when the dust settled. After a tense final three innings with Canberra scoring singles in
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2814-406: The first game 6-10, however, the Bandits won the other three games of the opening series over the following two days 3–2, 4–0, and 4–3 to win their first series at the new home ground. The Bandits finished the season in last place with a record of 18 wins and 28 losses. Dave Nilsson was announced as Brisbane Bandits Head Coach for the 2014–15 season. In his second match in charge the Bandits suffered
2881-543: The first home-run for the Bandits in the 9th game of a season. The Brisbane season then took a bad turn travelling to Melbourne for the first time and getting swept in the four-game series. They found the challenge difficult to compete at the battered friend, Melbourne Showgrounds , conceding 56 runs in four games despite hitting 10 home-runs. Brisbane split the home series at the RNA against the Aces before winning their first series of
2948-402: The first two months of the 1995 Major League Baseball season , but after hitting over .400 in three rehab stints, he returned to the Brewers later in the season but was used primarily as a corner outfielder rather than catcher. Despite being a part owner of the team, Nilsson came to regret his five-year deal with Waverly as he missed his hometown of Brisbane and tried to negotiate a way out of
3015-559: The fourth and fifth seeds prior to two rounds of best-of-three finals series. The top seed awarded to the team with the best regular season record, with the other division winner awarded the second seed. The third and fourth seed were awarded to the two divisional runner ups with the fifth seed being given to the team with the next best season record. There were some interesting moments in the Bandit's quest for an unprecedented fourth straight Australian Baseball League Championship. After splitting
3082-526: The lead, with Robbie Glendinning going deep twice while Pete Kozma and Chris Clare also homered, but they never really threatened. Atherton was named 2019 the series MVP after allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts. Right-handed pitchers Left-handed pitchers Infielders Outfielders Infielders Coaches [REDACTED] : 7-day disabled list * denotes development player Professional baseball Professional baseball
3149-648: The league All-Star Team at catcher in favor of Frank Colston, who hit .397. Baseball America rated Nilsson the #2 prospect in the league. In 1988 he made his debut for the Queensland Rams in the Claxton Shield where he won MVP of the tournament. He then went on to play full season A ball for the Beloit Brewers and in the off-season played for the Gold Coast Clippers in the newly formed Australian Baseball League . In 1989 he moved to
3216-424: The league's #4 prospect after Rodriguez, Royce Clayton and Raúl Mondesí . In the winter he helped Daikyo win the 1991–92 ABL season . After continuing to bat well for Denver in 1992, Nilsson was called up to the Brewers and batted in the 9 hole while playing catcher. Despite striking out in his first at bat, he redeemed himself later that game with a three-run double. Nilsson was one of the 10 youngest players in
3283-653: The league. Nilsson was named to the league All-Star team at catcher and won the MVP Award. He returned to the US at the age of 22 with the El Paso Diablos in AA batting with an average of .413 and was promoted to the AAA Denver Zephyrs before the end of the season. Nilsson was named as one of the two Texas League All-Star catchers that season alongside Iván Rodríguez . Baseball America named Nilsson
3350-710: The major-league Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, the Negro leagues gradually faded. The process of integration did not go entirely smoothly; there were some ugly incidents, including pitchers who would try to throw directly at a black player's head. Now, however, baseball is fully integrated, and there is little to no racial tension between teammates. Between 1943 and 1954, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League fielded teams in several Midwestern towns. Dave Nilsson David Wayne Nilsson AM (born 14 December 1969)
3417-483: The occasion, securing the win 18–2. Brisbane starting pitcher Rick Teasley threw nine strikeouts and allowed just three hits and one run. The Bandit's offence accounted for 23 hits, 18 RBI's and seven home runs. The win against Adelaide took Brisbane to their second straight Championship series, facing the Melbourne Aces in a best-of-three series at Melbourne Ballpark. In Game 1, the Bandits would prevail 6–2 on
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#17327880393433484-570: The other until the World Series , in which the champions of the two leagues played against each other. This changed in 1997 with the advent of interleague play . The Philadelphia Phillies , founded in 1883, are the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in both Major League Baseball and all of American professional sports. In addition to the major leagues, many North American cities and towns feature minor league teams. An organization officially styled Minor League Baseball , formerly
3551-419: The play-offs Brisbane hosted the wildcard winners, Canberra Cavalry, at Holloway Field in a best-of-three. In a replay of the previous season's Championship series the hosts opened the scoring with back to back home runs to Donald Sutherland and Daniel De La Calle off Kyle Kinman in the 2nd innings. Ryan Bollinger pitched through eight innings, allowing four hits and one run from a solo home run by Boss Moanaroa in
3618-419: The playoffs. Joshua Roberts finished the season tied first with 30 RBI as well as Chris Mowday finishing tied first in wins with 6. In October 2011, assistant manager Kevin Jordan was named manager. Brisbane finished the season in a 4-way tie for 3rd, but due to the tie breaking procedure of the ABL, were placed 5th, narrowly missing out on their first postseason. If the Bandits had won one more game in
3685-524: The playoffs. The Bandits faced Adelaide Bite in the best-of-three Preliminary Final series. Brisbane prevailed 3–1 in Game 1 in Adelaide, with Bandits starting pitcher Justin Eramus allowing just one run and one hit over 5.2 complete innings. In Game 2 in Brisbane, the match went to extra innings with Adelaide plating four runs in the 12th innings to take the series to a decider. In Game 3 the Bandits rose to
3752-408: The regular season in first position with 28 wins and 11 losses. The new four team playoff series meant the Bandits, instead of automatically hosting the Championship series, would host the fourth placed Melbourne Aces in a best-of-three Semi Final series at Holloway Field. Unrelenting rain caused the first two matches to be cancelled, resulting in a winner takes all decider. With the score tied at 8–8 at
3819-473: The scoring with a homer off Bite starting pitcher Josh Tols in the bottom of the 1st innings. Donald Lutz , Mitch Nilsson and TJ Bennett combined to drive in the four runs at the bottom of the 3rd innings and the Bandits retained the advantage to win Game 1. On a wet Saturday night for Game 2, Brisbane ran out 7-1 winners in front of 2,417 fans to claim the Claxton Shield for the first time. Starting pitcher Travis Blackley struck out Adelaide's Stefan Welch on
3886-453: The season, downing Canberra away 3–1. With an entire series washed out by the 2011 Brisbane floods , the season would hinge on the team's results in Adelaide where two wins out of a six-game series would see the team have to play a reseries against the Cavalry. However, the Bite won five out of the six games from the Bandits, finishing the Bandits season 8.5 games out of first and one place out of
3953-459: The series against Canberra in the second last round, both Brisbane and Canberra held a 21–15 record, sitting behind Sydney on 23–13 in the Northeast division. In the final round of the regular season the Bandits swept Geelong-Korea, including a 23-5 opening match in which eight of the nine Bandits batting lineup hit home runs. In the Sydney Blue Sox corresponding series in Adelaide, the teams split
4020-402: The series. The Adelaide Bite won Game 1 (3-0) and Game 3 (3-2) but were comprehensively beaten by Blue Sox in Game 2 (2-12) and Game 4 (8-20). The series split meant the Bandits and Blue Sox would end the regular season with an identical 25 wins and 15 losses. A better head-to-head record (6-2) resulted in the Bandits claiming the Northeast division Championship and top seed for the play-offs. In
4087-470: The team in time for spring training but they later decided to let him stay for the playoffs. He helped Brisbane to an upset win over the Sydney Blues for the championship; he formed a battery with his brother Gary for the final inning of the last round. Later that year Nilsson had his first full major league season, producing a .275 batting average and .451 slugging average and won Brewers Player of
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#17327880393434154-479: The top of 7th and 8th, Ryan Searle pitched the final 1.2 innings. He got Cameron Warner to dribble a grounder toward third baseman Lin, who fired to Sutherland at first for the final out as Brisbane claimed their third successive Australian Baseball League Championship. Tim Atherton was named series MVP. With the addition of the Auckland Tuatara and Geelong-Korea as expansion teams, the 2018-19 competition
4221-531: The tournament All-Star team at catcher. Later in 1999 he bought the Australian Baseball League and renamed it the International Baseball League of Australia . In the 2000 Sydney Olympics had his best-ever international tournament averaging .565 and slugging .957 as a DH/1B. He led the Olympics in average that year, 151 points ahead of runner-up Doug Mientkiewicz as well as also leading in both slugging and OBP. Despite his excellent performance, Australia finished just 2–5, ahead of only South Africa . Ahead of
4288-446: Was 6th in the 1996 AL in batting average. On 17 May 1996, Nilsson became the first Milwaukee Brewer to hit two home runs in the same inning (the 6th, vs. Minnesota Twins , in a 12–1 victory). Nilsson became a player-manager for the Brisbane Bandits for the 1996–97 ABL season . Although knee surgery cut his season short, he guided the team to the finals with a batting average of .420 which, had he played enough games, would have led
4355-427: Was invited by Brisbane Bandits CEO Mark Ready to manage the team for the 2014 Australian Baseball League season. Nilsson made numerous team and coaching staff changes which saw the team improve in their previous season standings. Nilsson continued to work on improving the culture and teamwork within the Brisbane Bandits throughout the 2015–2016 season, which saw Nilsson take the team to the 2016 post season and swept
4422-410: Was split into Northeast and Southwest divisions. The league retained a 10-round, 40 game schedule, with teams playing division rivals eight times and inter division teams four times. The Brisbane Bandits were placed in the Northeast division with Sydney Blue Sox, Canberra Cavalry and Auckland Tuatara. A new play-off structure was announced 29 August 2018 with the addition of a single wild card game between
4489-413: Was unable to take the lead at any point in the game. Brisbane's Wade Dutton , Shuhei Fukuda , Miguel Almonte , Frank Snook , Alan Schoenberger , and Joel Naughton each had multi-hit games to help the Bandits to an 8–3 win in their first ever ABL game. Perth however went on to win the series 3–1. Brisbane went on to split the next five series against Sydney, Perth and Adelaide, with Josh Roberts hitting
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