61-456: The Sydney Blue Sox are a professional baseball team, and one of eight foundation teams in the re-formed Australian Baseball League (ABL). The team plays their home games at Blacktown International Sportspark (BISP), one of the two venues used for baseball at the 2000 Sydney Olympics , when it was known as Blacktown Olympic Park. The Blue Sox hosted the league's Opening Day for the inaugural season on 6 November 2010, when they played against
122-654: A NSW Baseball Association in 1885. Following the A.G. Spalding tour by the Chicago White Sox and All-America teams in 1888 & 1889, Harry Simpson stayed in Australia, formed baseball clubs in Melbourne , Adelaide , Broken Hill , and eventually Sydney with competition games being played. Simpson also travelled to New Zealand to promote baseball. When he suddenly died in September 1891, after setting up
183-613: A bid process was launched by the Australian Capital Territory Baseball Association (ACTBA) for a team to be based in Canberra with the name and motto of "Let's Do It Canberra". The bid was not in competition with any other bids, but was required to meet certain minimum standards, such as fan and sponsorship support, to be successful and join the other five teams from Adelaide , Brisbane , Melbourne , Perth and Sydney that were at
244-587: A cumulative points system is in place to limit the number of foreign born players over the course of a season. 150 points may be used cumulatively over the season's ten series. For the 2020–2021 season only, this was changed to 360 points used on a per game basis across 24 regular season games. Non-affiliated overseas players were also changed from 4 points to 2. Teams may nominate two Marquee Players who were either: In addition to Australian players, New Zealand citizens and residents are considered native players for Auckland and South Korean players for Geelong. As of
305-525: A normal spectator capacity of 22,000 for football, due to the configuration of the baseball diamond spectators are not permitted beyond the outfield fence and capacity is generally restricted to around 10–15,000 for ABL games still making it easily the largest capacity venue in the league. For the 2016–17 season the Adelaide Bite moved from Norwood Oval to the purpose-built Diamond Sports Stadium . Auckland Tuatara and Geelong-Korea both folded following
366-686: A suspension. In addition to the Active List, four 'Development List' players may be named to play during the series. These development list players must be 23 years of age or younger, have Australian citizenship or residency and not yet accumulated 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched. Such development players are not eligible to appear in extra innings games. The majority of the rosters in the league are made up of local and international players who play their northern hemisphere summer in North America 's Major League Baseball , Minor League Baseball ,
427-508: A team of World All-Stars, selected from the import or international players participating in the ABL at the time. For the first two ABL seasons, the postseason involved the top four teams in a three-round structure following the Page playoff system . In the inaugural season, each round consisted of a best–of–three-game series between the respective teams, however this was changed in 2011–12 such that
488-641: Is a professional baseball league in Australia . The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it shares some history of the original league with the Claxton Shield awarded to winners of both competitions, it is considered to be a separate competition. Because the ABL's season takes place from November to February,
549-648: Is also a reintroduction of a team name from the original ABL that participated in all but the final season. Prior to being renamed the Giants, the Adelaide Bite used a name that the South Australia state baseball team has previously used at various times in the Claxton Shield, which in turn refers both to the great white shark common to South Australian waters as well as the geographic feature,
610-596: Is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea . The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( Korean : KBO 리그 ) and KBO Futures League ( Korean : KBO 퓨처스리그 ( farm league ) since 1982. It is one of two major baseball governing bodies; the other is the Korea Baseball Association ( Korean : 대한야구협회 ), which is
671-400: The 2010 Claxton Shield . Sydney's initial roster included two players— Chris Oxspring and Koo Dae-Sung —and manager Glenn Williams with Major League experience. With Oxspring also taking on the role of pitching coach , and a number of players with experience from international league's including Nippon Professional Baseball and Korea Baseball Organization , and the late addition to
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#1732787607913732-592: The 2010–11 season . Williams had last played baseball in Australia with the Patriots in the 2007 Claxton Shield , and played 13 games for the Minnesota Twins during the 2005 Major League Baseball season , becoming the 17th Australian-born player to reach the Major Leagues . The following month, Eddie Bray was appointed as general manager of the club, having held the same role with the Patriots in
793-573: The 2022–23 Australian Baseball League season . In November 2017, the league officially announced plans to add two more teams for the 2018–19 season. The expanded eight team league will continue to work with partners around the region. On 6 April 2018, it was announced that a New Zealand team based in Auckland would be joining the league for the 2018–19 season. On 18 May 2018, it was announced that an all-Korean team based in Geelong would be joining
854-824: The Adelaide Bite at home, and the Perth Heat in Perth at Baseball Park . Ironically, immediately after sweeping the Heat, Perth swept Sydney at BOP. Sydney clinched first place in the league in their final game, beating the Cavalry at Narrabundah Ballpark in Canberra. They led Perth by half a game, with Adelaide a further game back, and the Melbourne Aces six games behind the Blue Sox. Finishing first earned Sydney
915-707: The Canberra Cavalry , and won the game 1–0. The Blue Sox are the only team in the Australian Baseball League to implement sabermetrics as a way to run their team with volunteer statistician, Anthony Rescan. Fan response was very positive for the Blue Sox in the lead up to their inaugural season. As the sole team in New South Wales , they attracted interest beyond the Sydney metropolitan region; as far north as Newcastle , which hosted
976-664: The Great Australian Bight . Likewise, the Melbourne Aces uses the Victoria state baseball team 's moniker from Claxton Shield competitions past. The Canberra Cavalry and the Sydney Blue Sox both use names not previously used in Australian baseball at the national level. Prior to the 2016–17 ABL season, the Adelaide Bite's home ground, Norwood Oval (known as Coopers Stadium due to sponsorship)
1037-726: The Perth Heat 's participation in the Asia Series , each of the teams had a bye weekend during the first half of the season. The season expanded from 40 to 45 games per team; one of the two series played against each opponent expanded from 4 to 5 games. The 2012–13 season also had minor modifications from the previous season. Each team's bye weekends were in the first three rounds of competition, and each series held during these weekends were only 3 games long, and were billed as "... against their two closest geographical neighbours; building upon both traditional and newly established rivalries." The match-ups for these games echoed
1098-433: The former ABL franchise Hunter Eagles throughout the 1990s. Five hundred season tickets were allocated for the 2010–11 season , which sold out two months prior to the season's start; a waiting list for 2011–12 season tickets was soon created. Such was the demand to see professional baseball return to Sydney, several games had sold out well in advance of their scheduled dates, including the season opener. The creation of
1159-621: The 2023-24 season, the live coverage is provided by: For the inaugural season, there had been no television coverage of regular season games, either live, delayed or in a regular highlights package review format, despite having been in negotiations with Fox Sports and Network Ten . After completing negotiations for live television coverage of the finals, the championship series was broadcast live on Fox Sports. On 1 November 2010, Sydney community radio station Triple H FM announced it would provide live broadcasts of Sydney Blue Sox home matches as well as Canberra Cavalry's home series against
1220-606: The ABF and Baseball New Zealand about the possibility of a team based in New Zealand being included in the competition. The offer, however, was declined on the basis that there was not sufficient infrastructure, specifically citing the need for a suitable stadium and a major sponsor for the team. The possibility of a New Zealand team joining the competition at some point in the future had not been ruled out though. Auckland Tuatara joined in 2018. There were additional concerns about
1281-425: The ABF became the sole owners prior to the 2016–17 season . Rather than following more traditional models of the franchises being owned privately by individuals or organisations, the league is the owner of each team. One of the rationales for this structure is to closely manage the financial situation, helping to ensure that all teams are equally viable. It is expected that this arrangement will continue for at least
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#17327876079131342-481: The ABL is one of baseball's recognised winter leagues (although it is summer in Australia when the season takes place), where minor-league prospects in North America are often assigned as an English-speaking alternative to the primary Spanish-speaking Latin America -based winter leagues. The ABL was originally jointly owned by Major League Baseball (75%) and the Australian Baseball Federation (25%) before
1403-1099: The ABL to include the All-Star Game in addition to the championship series. The game was also carried live via ESPN Star Sports in China, India and Taiwan. It was shown on delay in the United States on the MLB Network , as well as also being shown on delay in Japan and South Korea. The international television coverage of the championship series expanded from that of the All-Star Game, with Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines also getting live coverage through ESPN Star Sports, with several additional countries in Asia and Oceania including New Zealand getting delayed television coverage. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) introduced live radio coverage of
1464-699: The ABL was announced at a press conference on the Gold Coast , at the Palm Meadows Baseball Complex, site of the Major League Baseball Australia Academy Program in July 2009. Though there was speculation at the time that there may be as many as 10 teams in the competition, with teams possibly from New Zealand and Asia , it wasn't until two months later that the number and location of teams
1525-451: The Blue Sox, Melbourne Aces and Perth Heat —the weeks Sydney was away from home. Perth Now 's radio station SportFM announced it would cover the Perth Heat spring training games as well as the opening game of every Heat home series. The Adelaide Bite , Brisbane Bandits and Perth Heat provided free audio and video streaming through internet website Ustream . For the second season, Fox Sports expanded its television coverage of
1586-588: The League announced that during the 2011–12 season, the Perth Heat—2010–11 champions—would be scheduled to have a bye while competing in Taiwan. In any regular four-game series (or fewer), the players eligible to play, or 'Active List', is limited to 22 players. Three ineligible 'Reserve List' players are named on each roster that may replace an active player mid-series due to injury or a reserve player completing
1647-512: The NSW Baseball League, it was a New Zealander, Tony Chuck, who took his place in Australia. The original Australian Baseball League commenced in 1989 . At the time, it replaced the Claxton Shield as the top baseball competition in the country, with eight teams from Adelaide , Brisbane , Gold Coast , Melbourne , Perth and Sydney . Over the course of the league's life, teams were also based in Canberra and Newcastle , with
1708-637: The South Korean KBO , the Japanese NPB , the Taiwanese CPBL , European baseball, or one of the various independent baseball leagues . In addition, many local amateurs who are formerly professional or play in the regional amateur club teams make up the balance of these rosters. Since the inaugural season, there have been limitations on the number of internationals or 'imports' either on an active roster or any given game. As of 2018,
1769-620: The Sydney team were "Sydney Sting", "Sydney Rocks", "Sydney Surf" and "Sydney Bluewave", the name announced in August 2010 was "Sydney Blue Sox", with Sydney's colour being the blue traditionally associated with New South Wales sporting teams. The Blue Sox would have Blacktown Olympic Park as their home ground, which had been the New South Wales Patriots home in the Claxton Shield the previous three seasons. On 19 August 2010, Blue Sox signed Glenn Williams as manager for
1830-408: The United States on MLB Network and online on MLB.com , and in Asia on Fox Sports Asia. According to Ministry of Sport, the 2018/19 ABL season became the most viewed since its inception. In 2022, it was announced that Baseball Australia and Sportradar would be launching a streaming service that would broadcast every ABL game beginning with the 2023-24 season. Though the locations for
1891-655: The adjacent football disrupted the games. The first series of full competitive games of baseball by Australians were played by members of the Surry Baseball Club on Moore Park and by members of the NSW Cricket Association on the adjacent Sydney Cricket Ground in June/July 1878. In 1881, American residents formed a Union Baseball Club and a year later with Australians, formed a Sydney Baseball Club with U.S. Consul Gilderoy Wells Griffin forming
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1952-466: The championship series via the digital ABC Radio Grandstand station. In recent years, ABL coverage of its All-Star Game and championship series has expanded to Canada through SportsNet (effectively simulcasting MLB Network in the United States). For the 2015—16 season , one Sunday match for each of the last five regular season rounds was shown live nationally on ESPN Australia . This marked
2013-498: The championship series, and the second- and third-placed teams played each other in the preliminary final series, the winner of which qualified for the second place in the championship series. For the 2017–18 season, the ABL announced that the top four teams at the end of the regular home and away season would qualify for the semifinals, providing more opportunities for teams to compete for Championship glory. Teams will be seeded from #1 to #4 based on their record and finishing order in
2074-415: The concern that if this league were to fail, there may never be another opportunity for professional baseball in Australia. Baseball was brought to Australia by American gold miners and played on the gold fields of Ballarat for fun on their rest days in the 1850s. Cricketers Gaggin & Goldsmith tried to play baseball at Yarra Park , Melbourne in 1867, but Australian rules football fans arriving for
2135-544: The conference the intention to resurrect a national baseball league for Australia was announced, with the Government announcing A$ 400,000 towards the new league. Though some sources reported that the new league could be running as early as October 2010, there had been no official timeframe released for the new league to commence. Initial reports suggested the competition would likely include between eight and ten teams from around Australia. Discussions were held between
2196-637: The divisions used in the 2008 Claxton Shield , where teams based in Brisbane, Canberra and Sydney were in the Eastern Division, and teams from Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth were in the Southern Division. The remaining 10 weeks were made up of 4-game series, like the 2010–11 season. By the end of the season, each team had played each other team at least eight times, with an additional three against both of their geographic rivals. In
2257-404: The entrant. In August 2010, the names of the teams were announced, along with team logos and colours: Adelaide Bite , Brisbane Bandits , Canberra Cavalry , Melbourne Aces , Perth Heat , and Sydney Blue Sox . For the inaugural season , the regular season was played from November through to January over ten weeks, similarly to the 2010 season of the Claxton Shield . With
2318-440: The expansion from five to six teams, each team played every week as opposed to the two bye weeks the teams had previously. In addition, rather than a three-game series each week, the series were four games each, resulting in each team playing 40 games over the season. As had been the case in 2010, the majority of games were played on Fridays and Saturdays, though some games were also played on Thursdays and Sundays, depending on
2379-415: The first five seasons: the period of time covered by the financial commitment made by MLB and the ABF. As a result of the central ownership of the teams, all players are paid by the league. This is to ensure that no team receives an unfair advantage over any other with regards to financial success. The pay scale has set a number of tiers which group players of similar experience levels, with all players in
2440-461: The first time in the franchise's history that regular season matches had been shown on television. In addition, all five were also aired live in Asia via Fox Sports Asia , while three of the matches were shown live in the U.S. on the MLB Network. ESPN has broadcast live the 2013–14 , 2014–15 , and 2015–16 Championship series'. In addition, the 2014–15 and 2015–16 series' were broadcast in
2501-407: The first two rounds were decided in a best–of–five series, with the championship series remaining best–of–three. The first- and second-placed teams played each other in the major semi-final series, with the winner proceeding directly to the championship series and the loser to the preliminary final series. The winner of the minor semi-final series between the third- and fourth-placed teams also went to
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2562-551: The home and away season. The #1 Seed and #2 Seed will be awarded home semi-finals, and will host all three games in a best of three series. The ABLCS will be a home and away split series with the Highest Seeded Winner awarded the choice to host either Game 1, OR Games 2 and 3. The winner of the championship series is named the ABL Champion for that season, and is awarded the Claxton Shield; the prize given to
2623-577: The league for the 2018–19 season. After the expansion of the league into Auckland and Geelong in the 2018–19 season the league immediately benefited from an exponential increase in viewership numbers and has looked to expand to ten teams as early as the 2020–21 season. An additional two teams would be similar to the Geelong-Korea concept; a foreign sponsored roster based in an Australian city. These teams would have Japanese, Taiwanese or even Chinese comprised rosters. The league has publicly stated
2684-699: The league were sold to Dave Nilsson —an Australian Major League Baseball player with the Milwaukee Brewers at the time—for a reported A$ 5 million. On 1 July 2009, a joint press-conference was held by the ABF , MLB and Australian Federal Government at the Palm Meadows Baseball Complex on the Gold Coast in Queensland , the site of the Major League Baseball Australian Academy Program (MLBAAP). During
2745-567: The league's first no-hitter . This would be Sydney's only win of the postseason, as Adelaide came back and won the series 2–1. Sydney players took three of the six season awards announced by the league: Todd van Steensel (REL) Right-handed pitchers Left-handed pitchers Infielders Outfielders Pitchers ' Infielders ’ Outfielders Coaches [REDACTED] : 7-day disabled list * denotes Development List player Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League ( ABL )
2806-508: The league's second season, it was announced that an All-Star Game would take place, to be held in Perth on 21 December 2011. Like the Major League Baseball All-Star Game , it would be held midway through the regular season, and would feature the best players in the league. Rather than the teams in the All-Star Game being made up of players from certain teams, the game would be contested by Team Australia and
2867-493: The most likely expansion to ten teams would be based in regional Australia, being either Tasmania , Wollongong , Alice Springs or a second team in either far south or north Queensland . A second team in New Zealand, Lismore , Newcastle and the Gold Coast have also been mentioned as other potential expansion cities. Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization ( KBO ; Korean : 한국야구위원회 )
2928-410: The number of teams competing in any one season varying from six to nine. Only four teams contested each of the ten seasons, with the others folding due to financial problems, or due to a lack of a suitable venue for home games. The financial difficulties were not restricted to the clubs, as the league was forced to close after the summer of 2000. Running at a loss of A$ 2 million a season, the rights to
2989-417: The preliminary final series, while the loser was eliminated. Likewise, the winner of the preliminary final series qualified for the championship series, the loser eliminated. The third season used a shortened format from the two previous seasons. Only the top three teams qualified for a two-round postseason, with each round consisting of a best–of–three-game series. The first-placed team directly qualified for
3050-520: The right to host the major semi-final series, in addition to a second chance if they lost the series, against the second-place Heat. Perth maintained the perfect season record in Sydney, sweeping the series and qualifying directly to the championship series. The Bite, having defeated the Aces in the minor semi-final series faced the Blue Sox in the preliminary final series at BOP. Game one of the series featured Sydney starting pitcher David Welch , who threw
3111-415: The roster of active Major Leaguers Trent Oeltjen and Rich Thompson , Sydney had the most experienced roster of any of the teams in the league. The Blue Sox hosted the inaugural game of the league, playing against the Canberra Cavalry at BOP , which they won 1–0. They would go on to sweep the opening series, the first of three series sweeps they would accomplish through the season, the others two against
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#17327876079133172-419: The same tier receiving the same pay. The ABL has considered the possibility of having one or two marquee players paid above the standard scale, though no final decision has been made with regard to this. One concern about high rates of pay expressed by the ABF was that it was a contributing factor, if not the main factor, in the failure of the previous Australian Baseball League . ABF management has also expressed
3233-519: The six teams had been known for some time previously, it was not until 5 August 2010 that the names of the teams were announced. Websites were also launched on the same day for each of the teams with the exception of the Perth Heat , which had been the name of the Western Australian team playing in the Claxton Shield since 2006, as well as being one of the franchises from the original ABL , contesting all ten seasons. The Brisbane Bandits
3294-402: The team hosting and whether or not a doubleheader was included in the series. The 2011–12 season largely followed the same format as the 2010–11 season, with only minor changes. Though the opening game of the season was scheduled again be the only game played that day, the whole series was played over the same weekend along with the first series for each of the other four teams. To allow for
3355-438: The time confirmed. On 18 November 2009, it was announced by the ABF that the Canberra bid was successful, confirming that the inaugural season would include six teams. In December 2009, a competition was launched for fans to decide the names of the foundation franchises, called "Name Your ABL Team". For each franchise, four team-name options were available to choose from, in addition to being able to enter another name created by
3416-533: The top Australian baseball team since 1934. In the 2018–19 season, a Wild Card game was added as part of the league's expansion to 8 teams with the winner advancing to the divisional semi-finals, and Canberra won the inaugural game against the Melbourne Aces. After the inaugural ABL season had been completed, it was announced that the league's champions each season would be invited to the restarted Asia Series. The event had previously been contested between
3477-474: The tournament which were held in Japan, the 2011 edition was held in Taiwan. The tournament follows a round-robin format, where each team plays each other once. The top two teams then face each other in a single game to decide the champion. The Asia Series is held in November, which would otherwise create a conflict for the ABL champion team as the following season would have already commenced. To avoid this,
3538-427: The viability of a team based in South Australia , primarily based on the lack of a suitable stadium with lights to be able to play night games. This, along with playing on baseball-specific grounds — as opposed to playing on temporarily converted rugby league grounds as had been the case in the old ABL — was seen as a necessary requirement to insure the long-term profitability of the competition. In August 2009,
3599-462: The winners of Nippon Professional Baseball 's (NPB) Japan Series , Korea Professional Baseball 's (KPB) Korean Series , Chinese Professional Baseball League 's (CPBL) Taiwan Series , and China Baseball League 's (CBL) championship series. The 2011 tournament did not feature the CBL's champions, but officials stated that a team would participate in future editions. Unlike all four previous editions of
3660-478: Was announced: Sydney would have one of five confirmed teams, with Canberra eventually being successful in bidding for the sixth team. Names and colour schemes for each of the teams were determined through a competition launched in December 2009 called "Name Your ABL Team". Fans were asked to select from one of four options for the team's name or provide their own alternative. Though the four options provided for
3721-621: Was the only ABL venue not built specifically for baseball use. Norwood Oval is the long time home of Australian rules football team the Norwood Redlegs who play in Adelaide major local competition the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). The oval however, due to having lights installed, has generally been the main venue for baseball in Adelaide since 1951. Although the oval has
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