The WBC Post Mortem (or 4 Positives and 2 Negatives to take away from a trip to Taiwan)

Success breeds increased expectations. The history books are filled to the brim with examples of performances not living up to the - often unrealistic - expectations of a public with an insatiable appetite for winning. Nowhere is this truer than in Australia, and we don't have to look far to find examples of sports stars who rapidly transform from our number one champion to a second class citizen after failing to live up to expectations. Think of the (admittedly media driven) disappointment we felt about the 2012 Olympic team, and about guys like James Magnusson. Hero one day, pariah the next.

It's against this sort of context that I want to examine the Team Australia performance at the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

In relative terms, Aussie baseball fans have been spoilt in recent years. We have seen huge numbers of Aussies playing minor league ball, a steady flow (or drip) of Major League players, and we have had the reinstatement of the Australian Baseball League. Rekindling the ABL gave us the chance to watch some of the premier talent in Aussie baseball up close and personal. It let us get on board the bandwagons of up and comers like Adamson, Kandilas, the Kennellys, Searle and Kent. And it drew us in to some great stories - Hughes trying to work his way back to the bigs; guys like Josh Roberts bursting on to the scene, and veteran players like Ox, Thomas, Snelling and Huber looking to keep the dream alive. While it has not yet had the surge of fan engagement that the A-League (or even the NBL!) has had, people have started to buy in to the League, which is great

So of course, when the 2013 Classic rolled around, it was easy to have high hopes. We picked a team that had a mix of seasoned veterans, stars of the ABL, and some young prospects. We landed in a group that on paper, in theory, posed a challenge that could reasonably be surmounted. We saw some positive signs in the warm up games. So we bought in, we built up our hopes.

In the wash up of the tournament, we are left wondering what could have been. We are stuck looking at with pretty stark numbers on the scoreboard:

• In three games, Australian pitchers gave up 14 runs
• At the same time, we were able to score just two
• Aussie hitters struck out 23 times in 27 innings
• At the same time, we could manage to strike out only ten opposition hitters
• We went 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position, and
• We hit into more double plays than I care to count.

 

It wasn't fun (well it kind of was, but the outcome hurt). It was disappointing. It was often slow, and it hurt. You only need to take a look through a few tweet streams (or follow #AusWBC) to get a sense of the slowly unveiling dissatisfaction at the results.

As a fan, it is really, really easy to play the role of manager, GM, coach and player. And in the aftermath of a painful, dissatisfying campaign, it is all too tempting to call for change, or to criticize. The reality is that most of us are far too remote from the realities of the team, and are in no way qualified to make these calls - although it can feel good!

As a way of coming to terms with my disappointment, I thought i'd try and look at some facts. Without overstating things, and without hyperbole. And if at all possible, to highlight some positives.

Fact One: our pitching was better than the 2009 campaign.

There can't really be any disputing this. We allowed 14 runs this time round. Last time we allowed 28. In my book, that's a bloody great improvement. It was no fluke either. We saw high quality pitching performances from a wide range of pitchers.

Fact Two: our offense just couldn't match it on the international stage.

On the whole, to call our offense anaemic woud be understating it. We. Had. Nothing. We couldn't string together rallies, we couldn't get on base, and at times we looked comprehensively outclassed. This is the biggest challenge for the future Team Australia: where is the offense coming from?

Fact Three: We do have a few hitters who showed genuine promise at a young age.

Stefan Welch was in my opinion the best hitter in the lineup. He showed patience, discipline and mental toughness. He ground out his at bats and took what was offered to him. Likewise US-born Mike Walker showed promise. He took a number of mature at bats, and showed he could hit top class pitching. Tim Kennelly was also impressive, although it looks like his immediate future will see him on the mound, and Corey Adamson showed potential to develop further.

Fact Four: The ABL still has a way to go to reach a premier level of competition...

Mitch Dening was one of the league leaders in hitting in 2012-2013. In 42 games (173 ABs) he hit .347 with five home runs.

In 44 games, Brad Harman hit .259 with six home runs.

In 28 games, Justin Huner hit .220 with two home runs.

Between them, these guys went THREE FOR THIRTY ONE. That is .096 average. Yes, the conditions weren't ideal. Yes they faced a hostile crowd in one game. But ultimately the reason for the low average was the calibre of the pitching they faced. This really highlights the gap in pitching quality between the ABL and other international leagues.

Fact five: ...But there were glimpses of brilliance from ABL pitchers (and the bullpen generally)

While each of the games got away from Team Australia's pitchers, a couple of ABL pitchers really stood up.

Chris Oxspring threw 7.2 innings (including five innings of 1 hit ball today), allowing a respectable three earned runs.

Andrew Russell threw two solid innings, allowing just one hit and one walk.

Steve Kent threw two innings, allowing just one hit.

Brendan Wise threw 1.1 innings allowing just one hit.

In addition to the performances from the ABL representatives, we also saw respectable performances from Rowland-Smith and Tanner.

Fact six: we got to give some youngsters exposure to the world stage.

Some of our young talent got the chance to play in a high level, competitive tournament. Kandilas, Adamson, Roberts, Saupold, Tanner, Russell among others all got to play. They will be better for it next time round.

All in all, we can take away some positives from the tournament. I will be interested to see if anyone ends up with a contract as a result of the trip, and also to see what happens with qualifying for the next WBC. On a plus note, I think the tournament demonstrated that there is a growing community of supporters in Australia, and the banter and support shown over social media was a personal highlight for me. I hope it can continue.

So, all in all, I'd like to congratulate the team and support staff and the ABF. Thanks for your efforts, I look forward to cheering you on next time!

 

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Brett Roneberg chats about the World Baseball Classic

In north Queensland in the mid-90s, teenaged Brett Roneberg was turning heads in the Australian baseball community. After representing Queensland at the Under 18 tournament in 1996, Brett signed with the Florida Marlins following meetings with a bloke called Jon Deeble. He went on to play in the inaugural Australian Baseball League, he represented Australia at a multitude of tournaments, and collected an Olympic Silver medal in 2004.  He spent 11 years in the minors and finished up with a pretty tidy line of .276/.359/.404. And he had one hell of a tournament at the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Roneberg after signing with the Marlins in 1996 (image credit: http://www.ronebergcairns.com)

Sunday, 8 March 2009. Mexico City. 

Twenty thousand die-hard Mexican baseball fans turned out to cheer on their team. It is the 2009 World Baseball Classic, and Team Australia have entered a hostile territory to face off against Mexico - a country with a rich and extensive baseball heritage. The Australian team is far from inexperienced: some have played in the big leagues, some have years of minor league service, some have played pro ball in Europe and Asia, and some own an Olympic silver medal. But they are a long way from home, and facing a starting line-up with major league experience from top to bottom, and a major leaguer on the mound.

Foro Sol Stadium - Mexico City

As Team Mexico sent major league pitcher Oliver Perez to the mound to face off against the Aussie challengers, few could have predicted the  result that was to come. A record 22 hits, including four home runs, led to a 17-7 mercy rule victory. To the Australians. The Mexican fans pelted the field with nuts and bolts from the stadium, and a group of Australian officials had to be herded into the team bus to get out of the stadium safely. Yet again, Team Australia had shown it could play ball.

The fairy tale didn't quite come true for Australia in the '09 Classic. Facing Mexico again just three days later - after narrowly losing to another powerhouse, Cuba, 5-4 -  they took a 16-1 loss that was over in the sixth inning and were eliminated  from the tournament. The one home run in that game belonged to Brett Roneberg. It was to be his last ever professional at bat.

Roneberg is welcomed by his teammates after crossing the plate in the 09 WBC

The 2009 World Baseball Classic was a remarkable one for the Australian team. They took down one of the best nations in baseball and did it with style. It was a typical display of Australian competitiveness and tenacity, and of the great Aussie tradition of the underdog. Players up and down the line-up put up huge results. These were punctuated by the numbers put up by the veteran Roneberg. In the early stages of the campaign, manager Deeble said Brett was one of the top five hitters in the country. By the end of the tournament, this looked like a huge understatement. Roneberg led the entire WBC tournament in batting average (.714), slugging percentage (1.286) and OPS (2.036). With numbers like this, I thought Brett would be the perfect guy to ask about the WBC in the lead up to the 2013 campaign. I tracked him down to re-live his 2009 experience, and to seek his thoughts on the 2013 edition.

Brett is a busy guy these days. He currently lives and works in both Cairns and Darwin, working in the construction and civil works industry, and he is also planning a wedding for October with his fiancée Kahlia. After exchanging a couple of short phone calls, I put a few questions to him about the tournament, focusing on his standout performance. Funnily enough the first thing that stuck with him was the bad stomach bug he copped in the build up to the tournament. "I guess one of the things I remember most was being extremely sick up until the third game," he said. It hadn’t been an ideal preparation for the team, with much of the squad falling ill during the build up. Deeble commented at the time that during the trip from Arizona to Mexico, Brett spent "the whole trip in the bathroom vomiting" and some of the other guys weren't much better. "I didn't train in Arizona," recalls Brett, "and when I was batting I was constantly thinking about feeling sick." It seemed to work wonders for him though, and he found some clarity and focus once he hit the field: "There was no pressure at all because my mind was occupied".

This wasn't the first time Brett had experienced a sublime run of form, but it was mighty impressive. Six at bats. Three singles. One double and a home run. Not to mention a couple of important walks, and a sac bunt. Talk about a great time to turn it on.

"I had some good runs of games, like Athens 2004," Brett told me. "My favourite highlights were the 1-0 win against Japan in the Olympics to go through to the gold medal game," he recalls fondly. "We didn't win [at the WBC] in Mexico but we sure opened some eyes around the world. They knew we came to play. Being in the box during the WBC I had some of the best approaches I ever had. I had just a completely comfortable feeling, and it showed in my results."  It seems that the whole team was feeling the same sense of purpose. "We just seemed to gel as a team, it was great. Having the lead up games really helped get us together and we knew we could match it with anyone, we weren't overawed by any of them, everyone pulled for everyone," says Brett. "The great thing about playing for Australia was that it didn't matter how you played but only if you won. Winning as a team was all that mattered."

Shortly after the final game of the campaign, after a humbling defeat at the hands of a vengeful Mexican team, coach Jon Deeble faced a press conference, with Roneberg by his side. Someone asked Brett: "what do you think [the WBC] does for your career moving forward?" Brett's reply: "Speaking of the career moving forward, I'm not playing anymore, it's my last tournament unfortunately. But I've played for almost ten years now for Australia, and it's been an amazing experience. I've seen us get better from a Silver Medal [in the Olympics] now to the pros we've got playing in the Big Leagues." He also remarked on what would continue to be a challenge for the tournament - the availability of the best players from each country. "We have guys that could have been here, we could have been an amazing team, and without those guys we still competed with the best in the world," he told reporters. "It's an experience I'll never forget and something I'll cherish for the rest of my life." Talking with me in 2013 he recalls his final home run. "As I ran around the bases I knew I was finished playing. It was a sad and happy feeling at the same time. But it was great to finish how I wanted to - with a homerun, just like my good friend Paul Gonzalez did in Athens." 

I get the impression that Brett is a guy who really knows his baseball. In the short communications I had with him, he showed real thoughtfulness about the game. I asked him if he'd been following the Australian Baseball League and what he thought about it. "It looks good so far, I just hope it can continue to grow and attract more fans," he said.  "I know it's tough with all the other sports, but the people running it are doing a great job". He says he doesn’t really watch Major League Baseball anymore, but when he does he likes to "watch the game within the game, seeing things that really affect an at bat:  a 'move em over', a first pitch strike or a good pitch behind in the count." He says he still gets around in the local Cairns league [I pity the opposing pitchers] with some people he grew up with but "that's as far as it goes."

As Team Australia continues its lead up to the 2013 World Baseball Classic, the fans at home will be hoping they can replicate - and build on - the remarkable story written by Roneberg and co in 2009. For his part, Brett says "anything can happen in nine innings, we have proved that before. I hope to be watching and seeing it happen again."

So do we.

I highly recommend you check out the veritable treasure trove of information available on Brett's father Geoff's website: http://ronebergcairns.com/brettbcindex.html. It is an incredible tribute to Brett's career, and includes photos, videos, and some amazing behind the scenes insights. 

Aussie baseballers invited to Spring Training 2013

Spring training is just around the corner, and there will be plenty of Aussies (and ex-ABL imports) plying their wares in the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues.

Image credit: MLB.com

Here is the initial list that I have identified as at today - I think it is quite comprehensive, but I may have missed some, if I have, let me know! The links will take you through to their MLB.com page.

Non roster invitees 
Australian players
Allan de San Miguel - Catcher - Baltimore Orioles
Josh Spence - LHP - New York Yankees
Rich Thompson - RHP - Toronto Blue Jays
James Beresford - SS - Minnesota Twins
Trent Oeltjen - OF - Los Angeles Angels
Matt Kennelly - Catcher - Atlanta Braves
Peter Moylan - RHP - Los Angeles Dodgers

Australian Baseball League import players
Tyler Collins - OF - Detroit Tigers (Sydney Blue Sox 2011)
Adam Buschini - OF - San Diego Padres (Canberra Cavalry 2012)
Mark Thomas - C - Tampa Bay Rays (Canberra Cavalry 2011)
Jack Murphy - C - Toronto Blue Jays (Canberr Cavalry 2012)

Australian players on the 40-Man Major League rosters
Grant Balfour - RHP - Oakland Athletics
Travis Blackley - LHP - Oakland Athletics
Liam Hendriks - RHP - Minnesota Twins

Australian Baseball League import players on 40-man Major League rosters
Brandon Barnes - OF - Houston Astros (Sydney Blue Sox 2011)
Donald Lutz - OF - Cincinatti Reds (Canberra Cavalry 2010)
Didi Gregorious - SS - Arizona Diamondbacks (Canberra Cavalry 2010)
Brandon Maurer - RHP - Seattle Mariners (Adelaide Bite 2010)

Pitchers and catchers report next week, so there will be a flurry of activity coming up. Should be exciting! Would be great to see Ryan Rowland-Smith and Luke Hughes get their name in on the action too.

Getting to know Team Australia Part Two

Earlier this week I offered some ramblings about what I thought the pitching options for Team Australia might look like.

There's been a few interesting opinions expressed as a result, including:

Looks like there is a fair bit of love out there for Oxspring and Saupold, some mixed feelings around Thomas, and a bit of support for Searle and Rowland-Smith. I still reckon Oxspring is most likely to be the number one starter, and tend to agree with the above sentiments that  after Oxspring,  it could go a number of ways. Time will tell!

So today I thought I might take a stab at a line-up card for the first game. Here's what I came up with:

Here's why I went with it.

• Beresford is locked in as the starting shortstop, and he's a lead off guy - has done it for the Aces, did it for Team Australia at the World Cup. Obvious choice to lead off. (Although, another option would be to put Kandilas in at lead off and push the rest of the order down a spot)
• Once Beresford is in at short, the rest of the infield needs to fall into place. The next most obvious selection is to put Harman in at second - I see him definitely in the starting lineup and I don't see him playing any other position (since shortstop is occupied by Beresford)
• With Harman at second, Luke Hughes would be pushed to either firstbase, third base, or DH. I am tipping DH, because...
• I reckon we will give this young Walker bloke a real shot. The guy hit 24 doubles, 1 triple and 12 homeruns at A+ last year, and these are very similar numbers to the guy who I think will be on the opposite corner of the diamond, Stefan Welch (although Welch split his year between A+ and AA). Compare the numbers of either of these guys to Justin Huber, the main other competitor for a 1B or DH spot and the decision is pretty clear (Huber has just three doubles and two homers in more than 120 ABs for the Aces this year, in a big decline on his 2010 and 2011 numbers)
• In terms of the outfield - I fully acknowledge I have a bit of Blue Sox bias, but...- I think Dening, Snelling and Kandilas will form the starting three. I expect Adamson will do an amazing job coming off the bench for pinch run situations and/or to give improved defense late in games - and he may well get a start later in the series - depending on how things go. I'd say he will play a similar role to the role played by Kandilas at the World Cup in 2011). Josh Roberts could be a bit of a bolter - he could take Snelling's spot - but also could feature as a pinch hitter in late innings. In this lineup I'd put Snelling in at five to capitalise on his OBP prowess and set the table for Dening and Walker, if not also clean up the guys above him. Kandilas would slot in at number nine - a spot he has worked wonders in for the Blue Sox in recent seasons
• At catcher it's pretty much splitting hairs. Kennelly and de San Miguel both saw time behind the dish at the 2011 World Cup, both played AA in 2012, and even though de San has had the better of it in the 2012 ABL, I think de San Miguel should get the edge - but it is a very close run race. Although actually, now that I am really looking at the numbers, I think I could make a good argument for Kennelly as well.... you check it out and see what you think:

Click to zoom in

• To cut a long story short, de San showed a bit more pop, but struck out more than Kennelly. In the field it was very close behind the dish, de San shows a better caught stealing average, but had 5 passed balls to Kennelly's zero. Tough decision this one!
• The above lineup would leave Kennelly, Josh Davies, Corey Adamson, Justin Huber and Josh Roberts on the bench. This would give a good mix of abilities to use depending on the situation, and looks to be quite balanced.

Let me know what you think the lineup would/should be - send me a tweet to @ozmlbplayers, or leave a comment!

I am starting to get really excited about the whole thing! Australia should be able to put up a reasonably competitive team, and if they can get a bit of patriotic competitiveness going, I think they could well end up in the second round.

If you haven't already, it would be great if you could check out my application for the World Baseball Classic Fan Cave! Winners are announced after 11 February!

Getting to know Team Australia

Now that the Team Australia provisional roster for the World Baseball Classic has been released, we can start to get some idea as to how the team might shape up on the field. The roster is made up of a real mix of players - there are some absolute stalwarts of Australian baseball, guys with major league experience, as well as a bunch of young prospects, some stars from the ABL, and one or two virtual unknowns. When looking through the squad there are some reasonably clear positional decisions, but also a few positions that could be up in the air. Will management go for experience or form? Will they rely on reputation and big league game time, or will they look to give some youngsters a go? These are all the questions we can mull over in the lead up to the tournament on 2 March.

I've taken a bit of a wander through the recent experiences of the players on the provisional roster, and checked out the strategic decisions that can be seen through the 2011 Baseball World Cup line-ups  I'm tipping that overall the Team Australia line-up will be very experienced in terms of starting pitching, and that our offensive line-up will give some less experienced guys the chance to really step up. Check out my ramblings below for the full picture!

Starting pitchers

Yeah, yeah there are a few big arms missing from the list (Balfour, Blackley, Spence, Hendriks, Thompson etc). But so what? There's still some real high quality experience on that list. Of the 14 pitchers on the provisional roster, there are six who I think can stake a legitimate claim to a starting spot:

Chris Oxspring (SMP Images/JoeVella)

1. Chris Oxspring: Although his five major league appearances were as a reliever, Oxspring has spent the bulk of his extensive minor league career as a starter. He has been arguably the best starting pitcher in the Australian Baseball League over the past three years. In 2012-2013 he has struck out 86 over 79.2 innings, posting a 2.71 ERA. Oxspring's vast experience, which includes time pitching in Asia, as well as a coaching role at the Blue Sox, situated him well to take a leadership role for Team Australia, and I would hand him the ball for game one.

Dushan Ruzic (SMP Images/Joe Vella)

2. Dushan Ruzic: Ruzic has been a reliable performer for Team Australia over the past few years, and has been very consistent for the Adelaide Bite in the ABL. Like Oxspring, he started three games for Team Australia in the 2011 World Cup, and he put in some strong performances at previous international competitions.

Warwick Saupold (SMP Images/Scott Powick)

3. Warwick Saupold: Looks to be a contender for a starting spot. He had a blistering 2011-2012 ABL campaign, where he went 5-3 in 10 starts, with an ERA of just 1.41. This earned him a contract with the Detroit Tigers, where he impressed through 2012. He started the year at Class A West Michigan, where he featured almost solely as a reliever. He then pitched at High A, where he started five of his seven games, going 2-2 with a 3.77 ERA. Returning to the Perth Heat midway through the ABL season, he has made four starts, going 1-1 with a 2.95 ERA.

Ryan Searle (SMP Images/Scott Powick)

4. Ryan Searle: His ABL campaign has followed a similar pattern to Saupold. He began the season as a reliever (and spent the bulk of his 2012 US season in the bullpen) but in his five games since Christmas he has started. He started two games for Team Australia at the 2011 World Cup, putting up an ERA of just 0.73. If he doesn't start at the WBC, he will definitely be available for long relief if needed.





5. Brad Thomas: Thomas brings a wealth of experience to the squad, including pitching in the Taiwan league, which is hosting the tournament. He has put up improved numbers in the ABL 2012-2103 season. His strikeout rate is up from 5.24/9 innings to 8.6/9 innings, and he is giving up less frequent walks. Big chance to start for Team Australia.

Brad Thomas (SMP Images/Joe Vella)

6. Ryan Rowland-Smith: The last solid year of major league pitching for Rowland-Smith was in 2009. In 2010 he put up a 1-10 record in 20 starts. That was enough to see him part ways with the Mariners, and he signed a minor league deal with the Astros for 2011. He started 21 games that year, going just 2-11, with a 5.90 ERA. Has had struggles controlling walk rates, and these continued with the Cubs at AAA in 2012. There he went 3-6 in 30 appearances (eight starts) with a 3.94 ERA. He has a more extensive major league record than most of the roster, but recent form is hard to measure. Will either be used in long relief or as a second or third starter.

Ryan Rowland-Smith (SMP Images / Scott Powick)

Interestingly, there is a pattern among some of the guys who have pitched in the ABL this year. Ryan Searle, Warwick Saupold and Brad Thomas all have a similar throwing pattern over the past few months. Each of them joined their respective ABL club midway through the season, and each made a handful of relief appearances before joining the starting rotation. This could be entirely coincidental  or it could be a part of pre-WBC audition. Either way, it looks like each of these guys could be in contention.

My gut feel is that the opening three starters will be Oxspring, Ruzic and Thomas Saupold [after watching the Heat v Sox final].

Relievers

Andrew Russell (SMP Images/Joe Vella)

Bearing in mind the above selections as likely starters, this leaves a bunch of other guys in the bullpen. My thoughts are that a combination of Andrew Russell, Matt Williams and Brendan Wise will be used to close out the late innings. This means for other situations there would be a trio of leftys - Adam Bright, Steve Kent and Clayton Tanner - and a pair of right handers - Tim Kennelly and Peter Moylan.

Check in later this week for part two, where I try to piece together our defensive line-up and batting order! And of course, please let me know what you think - either leave a comment, or send me a message on twitter.

Guessing the Team Australia WBC Roster

So the Team Australia roster for the World Baseball Classic is due to be released later this week. We have already seen the rosters for some other countries released, with some impressive players being selected. I thought I might turn my mind to who we could expect to see in the green and gold. I took a good look at the roster for the '09 WBC, as well as the 'Australia Series' against the Sydney Blue Sox, and the ABL All Star Game from 2012.

Under the World Baseball Classic official rules, each country must name a 28 man roster, with 13/14 pitchers and at least two catchers. I've used these guidelines for my guesses below.

I have also made some assumptions about who will be unavailable for the tournament. Given their reasonably unstable roster positions, I think it is unlikely we will see Josh Spence, Liam Hendriks, Rich Thompson and Travis Blackley. I recognize that Luke Hughes is in a similar predicament, but I also recall reading somewhere (which I can't now remember) that he'd committed to play. As for Grant Balfour, I would be very (pleasantly) surprised if he played - he usually works real hard through Spring Training, and I think the WBC would not suit his preferred build up.

With that in mind, here we go:

PITCHERS

• Tim Atherton (23): rock solid ABL season so far, showed dependability in the All Star game.
• Adam Bright (28): was there in '09, and is having a pretty tidy ABL season. 
• John Hussey (26): quietly putting together a solid year for the Aces - 2.10 ERA and WHIP under 1.20 in his last ten games - last three as a starter. 
• Steve Kent (24) : was named in the ABL All Star squad, has 20 strikeouts and just 2 walks in 14 innings of work in the ABL so far this year
• Dan McGrath (18): played in the ABL All Star game, one of our younger pitching prospects, they will take him as a development opportunity
• Paul Mildren (28): not having his best ABL season, but he is a stalwart of Aussie pitching - was there in '06 and '09 - he must be there again
• Peter Moylan (34): played for Australia in '06, he is fit and looking for a gig in 2013 - great opportunity for him to impress and to help out the national team
• Chris Oxspring (35): was named to the provisional squad in '09 but did not feature in the tournament. Surely he has to be one of the first selections - he has been dominant in the ABL for three years. His stuff might not be as sharp as it once was, but he is getting results. 
• Kyle Perkins (21): like McGrath, one of our pitching prospects. Was very effective in the ABL All Star Game, great opportunity for him. 
• Ryan Rowland-Smith (29): one of our more experienced pitchers who has demonstrated his intent to play in the WBC by appearing in the ABL All Star game. A walk up start. 
• Dushan Ruzic (31): was named in the ABL All Star game, also named in the '09 WBC provisional squad. Gives some pitching variety, and can play a number of roles, including eating up some innings if needed.
• Warwick Saupold (23): solid year in the minors last year, and putting up great numbers in the ABL.
• Ryan Searle (23): had a great year last year, finishing in AAA and is building a strong season for the Bandits this year
• Brad Thomas (35): I'm a little unsure about Thomas, he has been at times unreliable in the ABL - but he does have experience pitching in Asia, which I think is a big plus for the pool games
• Brendan Wise (27): having another great year in the ABL and played in the '09 tournament.

Another intriguing option would be to take Tim Kennelly, who could give some versatility with both the bat and ball. 

CATCHERS

• Allan de San Miguel (24): he's been the best Aussie catcher in the ABL for a while now and I think he has earnt his spot in this squad as the starting backstop
• Matt Kennelly (23): had a good year at AA last year, and has been very consistent in recent years for the Heat
• Ryan Battaglia (20): there's a good chance we will take a young catcher along- Ryan was selected in the All Star game, so could get a start here.

INFIELD

• James Beresford (23): posted solid numbers in his first year of AA in 2012 and has taken no time at all to have an impact in the ABL in 2013 - hitting .333 in his first 8 games. He's got to be the starting shortstop
• Brad Harman (27): major league experience, played in the '09 tournament - he's the logical starting second baseman
• Justin Huber (30): really not having his best year in the ABL, and did not find great success at the WBC last time round - but he has a lot of experience and performed in the ABL All Star game.
• Luke Hughes (28): assuming he is healthy, he will be there. I think he will share time with Harman at 2B, or will play 3B or DH
• Stefan Welch (24): like Beresford he put up good numbers in his first year of AA last year. Will play 1B/3B

OUTFIELD

• Corey Adamson (20): this kid is tearing it up in the ABL and was on the roster for the All Star Game. We will need to take some youth to develop for the future
• Elliot Biddle (24): putting up good numbers in the ABL and made his debut for Team Australia in the All Star game
• Mitch Dening (24): got some game time in the '09 WBC and sitting on a .338 average in the ABL this year with a power resurgence
• Trent Oeltjen (29): incredibly experienced - must be a walk up start.
• Chris Snelling (31): looks to have made an ABL comeback just to prepare for the WBC - an on base percentage machine, he leads the league in walks (24 in just 22 games) and is has a .469 OBP.

What do you think? Leave a comment or tweet me @ozmlbplayers with your thoughts.

Send me to the MLB Fan Cave

Send me to the cave!

Dear MLB Fan Cave Judging Panel

I’m a passionate Australian baseball fan with excellent social media and communications skills, who would be the perfect representative for Team Australia in the MLB Fan Cave World Baseball Classic Edition.

I have been watching and playing baseball all my life, from tee-ball right through school and university. Like many people, my actual baseball abilities never allowed me to soar to great heights, so I had to find other ways to support the sport.

The fact that Australians have had so much success in Major League Baseball – and in the international arena - is quite amazing when you think about the size of the sport here. However, the mainstream media in Australia has not historically given the sport the coverage I think it deserves.

In 2008 I realised that I could use my passion for the game and my professional communication skills to help tell the story of Australian baseball. I created my blog OzMLBplayers.com, and started to use twitter to spread the word of Australian baseball. I have covered Aussie baseballers through the minors, through spring training camps and through the major league season, as well as at home in the local Australian Baseball League. I wrote about (and cheered loudly for) Team Australia’s 2009 World Baseball Classic campaign, and was inspired by their remarkable victory over Mexico.

I have been lucky enough to interview some of the biggest stars in Australian baseball, and I have published blog posts designed to help Aussies support their favourite players overseas.

My work on the blog and twitter gave me the opportunity to volunteer with the Sydney Blue Sox ABL team in 2011. I set up their website at the start of the season and covered plenty of games on twitter and through game stories. I was also lucky enough to appear on a radio show earlier this year to preview the MLB season.

I have done all of this purely out of my love for the game and desire for it to grow in Australia. My day job as a lawyer in the consumer affairs industry gives me excellent communication skills and I want to put these to good use to continue to tell the amazing stories of Australian baseballers.

I am feeling great about Team Australia’s chances at the 2013 WBC, and I want to be there to cover the action and keep spreading the word of Aussie baseball. 

UPDATED: Super Official Ultimate DIY Guide to following Aussies Playing Major League Baseball

Update 10 April 2012 - added info about ABC Strike Zone, and The Pitch newsletter


Spring Training is a great time for a bunch of young up-and-comers to get some big league experience under their belt. This also means it is a great time to be following Aussie MLB players, as there are stacks of them doing the rounds. To support you - the ever committed Oz baseball fan, OzMLBplayers.com presents the Super Official Ultimate DIY Guide to following Aussies Playing Major League Baseball.

For a long time I have tried to share as much news as I possibly can through this blog, as well as through twitter and facebook, but with the volumes of Aussies in the US increasing, I just can't keep up. However, luckily there are a bunch of ways that any ole Aussie baseball fan can keep track of their favorite players, and I thought I might share some tips for how you can stay up to date. Depending on your budget, time, and devotion, there is a whole suite of options available. I have outlined some of my best tips below, in order of simplicity - starting with the simplest (and cheapest) and winding up to the most deluxe options.

If you have any other ideas/tips - let me know.

Pre-interwebs technology - Paper? What's that?


Many Australian newspapers publish daily results for Major League games. Usually these amount to nothing much other than the score - we don't even get a box or a line score. So, this is really a very generic way to follow your favorite Aussies, and it is reliant on you knowing who is playing where and when. So all up, probably not the greatest way to go. However, it is an option if you're desperate!

Pre-interwebs technology 2.0 - the wireless


Yes kids, 'wireless' used to mean something entirely different!

Anyways, recently the ABC launched STRIKE ZONE, a fantastic digital radio show hosted by Chris Coleman (@CJ_Coleman on twitter). You can listen online or through a digital radio. For more info, check out the ABC Grandstand blog.

Internet v1 - its on their website!


Thanks to the goodness of the internet, we no longer have to wonder about what is going on over in the USA. We can get literally second by second updates on how teams and players are going. In terms of keeping up to date with Aussies, I suggest the following:

1. Add Aussie players' 'Player Pages' to your favorites

Go to MLB. com (or MILB.com for minor leaguers), in the search box type the name of the player you are interested in:

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This will take you through to the player page, which is the hub of all the information you could want. It includes at a glance

• Stats for the last ten games
• Total season stats
• Career stats
• News stories
• Video highlights
• and a whole bunch more, all for FREE!

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With modern browsers like Google Chrome, you can add shortcut buttons to each of these pages and have a nice shortcut bar at the top of your browser, so each player's page is just a click away:

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2. Checking box scores daily

Both MLB.com and MILB.com have a very clear and useful way of displaying box scores each day, which you can quickly scan to see which Aussies have played, and how they went.

Just click on 'Scoreboard', and you will be taken through to a list of all the games in progress/completed on the day. From there you can scan to see which games featured Aussies, and then click through to particular box scores.

Web 2.0 - have it delivered straight to you!


There are a couple of very handy (relatively) new tools on the internet that will actually do all the hard work for you, and will deliver Aussie baseball news to your inbox/desktop/mobile/ipad etc. They are Google alerts, and RSS feeds.

Google alerts

This is my number 1 tip for staying in touch with Aussie baseball news. It is so easy, it takes seconds to set up, and it delivers relevant information to your inbox quickly and regularly. This is the number one way to get up to date information about Oz MLB players.

Go to Google.com/alerts. Type in the search term you wish to use (eg 'Josh Spence' or 'Trent Oeltjen'), fill in the rest of the boxes on the page, and click 'Create Alert'.

You can choose what to have it send you (I recommend 'everything'), and  how often. If you are dedicated, you will want to set 'as it happens', however you can also choose once a day or week. Once you have set it up, that's it, Google will deliver the news right to your inbox.

The key trick with this tool is to get the search criteria right. Players like Trent Oeltjen and Ryan Rowland-Smith work well, because they have quite unique names, but search terms like Rich Thompson and Luke Hughes, or Brad Thomas can bring back stuff unrelated to our Aussie MLB compatriots. To fix this, just use a more accurate search term like 'Rich Thompson Angels', or 'Luke Hughes Twins'.

RSS feeds


While Google alerts will keep you very much up to date with specific information related to individual players, if you are looking for a bigger picture story, or are more interested in following the overall team performance, you can still get information delivered to you. RSS feeds are offered by all MLB teams, and most (if not all) minor league teams. Basically, an RSS feed streams news content directly from a website to an 'RSS reader'. This means you don't need to browse the web each day to find information relevant to you - it gets delivered to one place (you can learn more here). I recommend Google Reader as a simple, easy and free RSS reader - and the great think is you can sync it to apps on mobile devices (more on that later).


Official newsletter of MLB International - The Pitch


MLB International produces a very decent newsletter through the MLB season containing a list of news articles, YouTube clips, statistics and local TV listings for Aussie players. You can subscribe by emailing majorleaguebaseball@bigpond.com



Social media (beginner's style)


You can also get really good information about Aussie players through social media. All MLB clubs have twitter and facebook accounts you can follow, and many Aussie players are active on social media, including Rich Thompson, Luke Hughes, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Peter Moylan, Josh Spence, and a few minor leaguers.

I have found twitter to be a really useful way to follow minor league teams, particularly at the lower levels of the system - they often don't attract a lot of large scale media coverage, but you can connect directly to the people involved at the club very easily.

Here's a list of a bunch of Oz MLB players on twitter:
- Peter Moylan (@PeterMoylan)
- Rich Thompson (@chopper63)
- Ryan Rowland-Smith (@hyphen18)
- Josh Spence (@joshspence)
- Travis Blackley (@travis_blackley)
- Luke Hughes (@lukehughes38)

Social media (more advanced)

There are countless twitter clients available on the internet these days. Many or most of these allow you to set up standard searches (in much the same way as you would set up a google alert). This means you can have a whole crazy dashboard set up tracking all the twitter references to all your favourite players. Google 'best twitter client' to find a whole bunch of options. I use Hootsuite, and I hear TweetDeck is pretty good too.\

Hack some fantasy sports sites


Most big fantasy sports providers (see ESPN or Yahoo Sports for example) give the option to generate a 'watchlist' of players. Once you add a player to your watchlist, you will receive regular news and updates on your players' results.

Spend some money


So there are heaps of options if you have some cash to throw behind the cause.

Pay TV

The immediate - and really starting to become old-fashioned - approach, would be to get pay TV. This is still an option these days, but in my humble opinion it might not be the best or most cost effective. If watching baseball is your only reason behind getting pay TV, I would think again. Some of the options below might be better.

MLB.com subscription


Thanks to the goodness of broadband internet and the goodwill Major League Baseball, international baseball  fans can get really awesome access to baseball at a reasonable price. MLB TV is the official subscription package, and for less than around AUD$150 you can get access to pretty much every single game live, or you can watch archived games later on. This year your MLB TV subscription includes a free iphone/ipad app, which will include streaming live to your mobile device. Or, if you have a PS3 or XBOX - you can stream the feed live to your TV. The quality (assuming you have a reasonably decent internet connection) is amazing, and you can choose the home or away team feed, and use a split screen to watch up to four games at once.

If you can afford to lay out the cash for this sort of set up, I highly recommend it.

If you are interested in minor league baseball, you can get a similar (and much cheaper) offering through MILB.com.

Fly the heck to the US


If I had the money and the time, I would take six months off work stack up on some cash and haul ass state-side to follow the season in person. I'd choose a team and follow them across the country side - hitting up all the road trips and watching all 162 games (plus maybe a few more in Spring Training and the post season).

An alternative option would be to pick out the list of minor league teams and see how many you can check out in person.This would be an ace way to see the sport at the grassroots level.

Maybe one day!

And of course, you can follow ozmlbplayers on twitter

So as you can see, it is now easier than it has ever been to follow the growing legion of Aussies battling it out in the US. 


I hope this guide helps you find a way that works! If you have any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them, leave a comment or send your suggestions to me on twitter.

Somewhat unfounded rumour creation

So, the ABL is right around the corner, just on the horizon, up around the bend, almost here, and I don't know about you, but I am getting excited.

I am super keen to see what sort of imports the ABL bring in this year, as I think that having solid imports should be one of the key pillars of their strategy. For this reason, I have been keeping a keen eye on possible rumours or news about likely appearances from non-Aussie players. There has already been some speculation that Jose Canseco could be appearing in some sort of capacity - I am not quite sure what I think about this yet...one plus would be that a bucketload of regular Aussies will know who he is, as he has been on The Simpsons...but at the same time, he is probably not someone you would say is blessed with character and integrity.

However, today I put together a few things that suggested there might be something better brewing. I am going to put it all out there - if I am wrong, I am wrong, and you can legitimately call me a crazy fanboy. But in the interests of making some sort of prediction, I offer the following:

We could see a few more high-level minor leaguers [possibly with Major League experience] from the Minnesota Twins organisation playing in the off season, possibly in Canberra.

What makes me say that?

Well, I have noticed a couple of things in recent days/weeks which I think indicate this could be a possibility, they are:

1. The Twins are having a pretty sucky year. They have been plagued by injuries to key players, and are generally performing poorly (team ERA 4.46, 26th in MLB; team Batting Average Against .274, 29th in MLB; on base percentage .307, 28th in MLB). This has been a good thing for some of the young guns in their organisation, including not just Luke Hughes, but guys like Ben Revere, Trevor Plouffe, Danny Valencia and others on the cusp, who have benefited from the injuries to others and have had significant playing time. It seems like Revere, Hughes and Plouffe, as well as Rene Tosoni, have potential to be regular big leaguers, but as John Shipley at TwinCities.com recently remarked, at least Hughes and Plouffe have not really cemented their place in the bigs just yet.

2. Because they have been filling out roster spots with inexperienced players, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has been playing teacher. In particular, he has been working through some situational plays with the younger guys over the last week or two. In an article in the Star Tribune referencing special work Gardy has been putting in with Revere, Hughes and Plouffe, Gardenhire said he would be encouraging Trevor Plouffe to play Winter Ball to assist in his development. Perhaps he could join his colleague Luke Hughes on a trip down under?

3. Today, Ben Revere took what has been widely recognised as a rather awesome catch (if you love a good defensive play and haven't already seen it, check it out here). This was re-tweeted in a thousand different places, and put up on stacks of Facebook pages. One such page was the Canberra Cavalry page, which added the comment 'This is an amazing catch, maybe the catch of the year. Will there be plays like this at the Fort this summer'. Now, this could be entirely innocuous or coincidental, but when you also think that there has been some interaction between the Cavalry and the Twins in recent times (Twins international scout Howard Norsetter signed Cavalry pitcher Tim Atherton)....it becomes tempting to believe this could be a hint at something.

As I said above, I may be totally off track with this one, and I recognise it would be kind of a big deal for AAA/AAAA/MLB players to drop in to the ABL in the Winter, but maybe we could see it happen....My guess is we would be more likely to see a guy like Trevor Plouffe rather than Revere, but time will tell I guess.

Only 72 days til opening night!

Famous Aussie MLB debuts

Another Australian baseballer has made it to the big show, after Josh Spence successfully debuted for the San Diego Padres yesterday.

It was an impressive start.

Spence faced three quality hitters in Jason Heyward, Chipper Jones and Brian MacCann, and retired them in order. It was an uplifting and energising event, and Spence clearly received a lot of support from the crowd - which included a contingent of travelling Aussies, the team, and of course his Yoda backpack.

Josh Spence's 'rookie backpack'

Spence's exciting appearance got me thinking. Out of the other 28 Aussie major leaguers, who had great first games, and who had not so great. I thought it might be interesting to take a stroll through the history books and find out.

Turns out there are quite a few success stories - including Luke Hughes, who famously homered in his first major league at bat, and Ryan Rowland-Smith, who struck out Ken Griffey Jr. Like anything though, there are also a few shockers...


The winners

Luke Hughes
Luke Hughes has probably the most famous major league debut among Aussies. He first appeared for the Twins on 28 April 2010 against the Detroit Tigers. In his first at bat - which was a split affair courtesy of Delmon Young being caught stealing third base in the second inning - he picked up a home run off Max Scherzer in the third inning. It was a fantastic start to a career that is showing some real promise, although on the day it was not enough, the Twins lost 11-6.

Craig Shipley

Shipley is the first Australian of the modern era to crack the big leagues. While he spent the majority of his career with the Padres, Shipley debuted with their NL West rivals, the Dodgers, on  22 June 1986. The Dodgers met the Padres in front of more than 42,000 fans at Dodger Stadium, with Shipley batting eighth and playing shortstop.

Shipley picked up an RBI in his first at bat in the second inning, when he drove home Alex Trevino from third base on a fielder's choice. In the third inning he picked up his first major league hit - a single. He ended the game 1-for-4, with one RBI, and the Dodgers lost 5-4. 

The remainder of the 1986 season was a bit of a struggle for Shipley - he finished up after 12 games with just three hits from 27 at bats (.111), and it wasn't really until he signed with the Padres in 1991 that he really started to hit his straps.

Travis Blackley
Travis Blackley first pitched for the Seattle Mariners on 1 July 2004 against the Texas Rangers in front of a healthy crowd of 35,000 at Safeco Field.

Blackley struck out the first hitter he faced, and retired the first eight hitters in a row. On top of this, he got plenty of run support from Mariners hitters - who put on seven runs over the first three innings. Blackley did not allow a hit until the fourth inning, when Mike Young picked up a double. After a couple of walks, Mark Teixeira then drove Young in on a fielder's choice - taking the score to 7-1 Mariners. 

Travis then got through the fifth inning without trouble, but couldn't stretch it through the sixth. He retired the first two hitters, but then hits to Teixeira and Hank Blalock set the table for Kevin Mench, he left the game with a 7-4 lead in place, and took the win, with the Mariners eventually winning 8-4.  It was to be Blackley's best performance, and only win, of his rookie season, and he finished 2004 with an ERA over 10.

Dave Nilsson

Still Australia's most successful positional player, Dave Nilsson made his debut for the Milwaukee Brewers - with whom he spent his entire career - on  18 May 1992. While Craig Shipley had enjoyed a rousing 42,000 home crowd at Dodger Stadium, Nilsson met an away crowd of just 9680 at Tiger Stadium. 

Nilsson had an impressive debut, hitting a three-run double in the eighth inning to cement the Brewers 9-1 victory. It took him almost a week to pick up his second hit, but he made it count, hitting two singles and a home run, with three RBI in a game against the Yankees.

Trent Oeltjen
Trent Oeltjen had a whopper of a debut for the Arizona Diamondbacks on 6 August 2009. They met the Pirates on the road, and came away with an 11-6 victory, and Trent racked up six at bats. He singled in his first major league at bat and promptly stole second base. Flash forward to the eighth inning, with the Diamondbacks trailing 6-5, and Trent led off with a home run to tie it at six a piece. On top of that, he picked up an outfield assist, throwing out Delwyn Young at second base.

The game eventually went 12 innings, with the Diamondbacks picking up five runs in the 12th to win it.

Trent kept his form hot, including going 4-for-4 on 11 August, just a homerun short of hitting the cycle. After five starts he was hitting .500, with two doubles, a triple and three home runs.

Ryan Rowland-Smith

Ryan Rowland-Smith had a somewhat interesting debut. He first pitched for the Mariners on 22 June 2007 against the Cincinatti Reds. He started in the bullpen, and was called on in the sixth inning. The Reds had just smacked two home runs, and plated a total of six runs, and the scoreboard was standing at 16-0. Standing at the plate awaiting the rookie was seasoned slugger, and ex-Seattle hero, Ken Griffey.

Not daunted by the occasion, Rowland-Smith went to work, and promptly struck out Griffey. He returned for the seventh inning, and allowed just one hit. He also struck out Josh Hamilton. While the game outcome was pretty deflating (a 16-1 loss), it was definitely a memorable introduction for Ryan.


Rich Thompson
Thompson faced off against the Texas Rangers on 1 September 2007, and worked very effectively. He struck out the first two hitters he faced, allowed a double to Ian Kinsler, and then retired Ramon Vazquez to end the inning.

Mark Hutton

The first Australian to play for the famous New York Yankees, Mark Hutton played his first game on 23 July 1993 at Yankee Stadium, in front of 25,000 fans. He started the game nervously, as he walked the first hitter he faced - Luis Polonia - and it continued to be a little shaky as Polonia stole second base, and then third base! Polonia went on to score on a Damion Easley sacrifice fly, but Hutton escaped the first inning allowing just the one run. 

In the second inning he picked up his first major league strikeout, Chili Davis, and retired the side in order. The Yankees picked up a run in the second inning, and Hutton settled into his work with the game tied at one a piece. Hutton travelled well through the third, fourth and fifth innings, and he started the sixth inning by walking Gary DiSarcina. Di Sarcina then reached second base on a fielder's choice, before Luis Polonia singled, moving him to third. An error on a pickoff play then allowed DiSarcina to score, and after the top of the sixth, the Angels led the Yankees 2-1.

The Yankees' bats came alive in the bottom of the sixth, with Wade Boggs, Don Mattingly, Bernie Williams and Paul O'Neill all picking up hits, scoring three runs and taking a 4-2 lead. Hutton returned to the mound for the seventh and eighth innings, and got it done without any further trouble. He picked up the win, and his final line on the day was an impressive 8IP, 3H, 2R, 1ER, 5SO, 4BB.

It was easily Hutton's best outing of the year. In the remaining six games he played in 1993 he was unable to go as deep into games as he did on debut. Later in the year he also spent some time in the bullpen too. He finished the year with 22 innings pitched over seven appearances, an ERA of 5.73, 12 strikeouts and 17 walks.

Micheal Nakamura

Nakamura is the only Australian major leaguer to pick up a save in his first major league appearance. Debuting on 7 June 2003 pitching for the Minnesota Twins against the San Diego Padres, Nakamura struck out the first hitter he faced, and pitched a clean 1.1 innings, allowing one hit, and picking up the save, as the Twins won 6-2.

Grant Balfour
Balfour made his first major league appearance on 22 July 2001 for the Twins, as they hosted the Seattle Mariners in front of more than 44,000 people at the Metrodome. Balfour relieved Kyle Lohse in the fifth inning with one out and runners at the corners. He struck out the first hitter he faced - Mike Cameron - and then escaped the inning with no damage. He returned for the sixth inning, and allowed one run, after walking Stan Javier, and giving up a single to Ichiro Suzuki. His final line for the day was 1.2 innings pitched, 1 hit, 1 run, two walks, two strikeouts. The Twins lost 6-3.

Peter Moylan
Crafty side-armer Peter Moylan began tormenting hitters on 12 April 2006, and who better to start his career against than divisional rivals the Phillies. Moylan pitched the eighth inning, when the Phillies had a 7-3 lead. His first opponent was Ryan Howard, who was fresh off a Rookie of the Year season, and who would go on to be 2006 MVP. Moylan retired him, and then allowed a double to David Bell before retiring the next two hitters. The Braves staged an eighth inning fightback, but were unable to get up, and lost 7-5, but it was a successful entry for Moylan.


Mark  Ettles

Western Australia's Mark Ettles was similar to Josh Spence in some ways. He enjoyed a number of years of minor league success - largely as a reliever in the Padres organisation - and he made his debut courtesy of a June call up (5 June 1993). And, like Spence, Ettles struck out the first hitter he faced the Marlins outfielder Jeff Conine. He went on to have a 1-2-3 inning, and ended his major league career after 14 appearances through 1993.

The shockers
Brad Thomas
Current major leaguer, Brad Thomas, began his career with the Minnesota Twins on 26 May 2001, facing off against the Oakland Athletics at the Metrodome. Thomas got through the first inning without much fanfare - he allowed two walks, but no runs or hits. He did run into trouble in the second inning though.

Thomas allowed a single to Eric Chavez, who then scored on a double from Omeldo Saenz. Thomas gave up another two walks, before a wild pitch allowed another run. A single to Jason Giambi then allowed a fourth run to cross the plate. After 1.2 innings, three hits, four walks and four runs, Thomas was done for the day. He was relieved by none other than Johan Santana, and the Twins went on to win the game 7-6 in the 10th inning courtesy of a walk-off single to Torii Hunter.


Damian Moss
Damian Moss, big left handed reliever, made his debut with the Atlanta Braves on 26 April 2001. The Braves faced off against the Diamondbacks in Arizona, and got off to a good start, plating three runs in the first. However, Arizona hit back quickly, and took a 4-3 lead in the second. The Braves fought back again though, scoring two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth inning, to lead 6-4. Braves' starter Greg Maddux was chased out of the game in the sixth inning by the D-Backs hitters, who plated four runs, taking an 8-6 lead.

Matt Whiteside opened the eighth inning on the mound for the Braves, and promptly gave up back to back homeruns to the first two Diamondbacks hitters. He then gave up a single to Steve Finley, and walked Jay Bell before being replaced by Moss. At the plate stood Luis Gonzalez, who then slugged a three-run homerun to welcome Moss to the big leagues. Moss went on to retire the next two hitters, but the Braves lost 13-6.

John Stephens
John Stephens is a right hander from NSW, who played 12 games for the Baltimore Orioles in 2002. It was a somewhat rude welcome that met him when he took the mound against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on 30 July 2002. The Devil Rays were a terrible team that year - losing 106 games, however they were on song at Tropicana Field on 30 July.

The Orioles were retired in order in the top of the first, and Stephens took the mound to face the Rays in his first appearance. By the end of that inning, he had allowed three singles, two doubles, a grand slam home run, and six earned runs. Mercifully the inning ended when Carl Crawford was caught stealing second base. Stephens gave up home runs again in the second and third inning, and left the game after three innings staring down a 9-0 deficit.

Chris Oxspring

On 2 September 2005, the Milwaukee Brewers smashed the San Diego Padres 12-2. After the Padres' starter Brian Lawrence was hit for three runs in the first two innings, and was unable to close out the second, they called on Chris Oxspring to make his debut. Oxspring entered the game with two outs and runners on first and second. He walked the first hitter he faced - Carlos Lee - and then allowed a grand slam homerun to Geoff Jenkins, taking the score to 7-0. He allowed another home run, this time a two-run shot to Lee, in the fourth inning, and allowed another two runs in the fifth, taking the score to 11-0 to the Brewers.

Oxspring then found his groove, and retired the last six hitters he faced in order, however it was too little too late. The Padres lost 12-2, and Oxspring had the unflattering figures of 5.1 innings pitched, six hits, six runs, and three walks - although he also picked up seven strikeouts.

The first game in the big leagues can certainly be a tough one - but that's baseball. With seven Aussies already in Major League Baseball this year, we are sure to see at least a few great performances. Who will be the next Aussie to make their debut, and how will they go? We look forward to finding out...