SYDNEY, 8 December — The Australian Baseball League and Baseball Australia proudly announce the rosters for the 2014 Australia Baseball League All-Star Game, presented by Levi’s®. The game, which pits the World All-Stars against Team Australia, takes place in Melbourne on Wednesday, 17 December 2014 at 7:40pm.
The World All-Stars, comprised of the league’s top international performers, will go into the fourth annual event with a 2-1 win record over Team Australia. However, Australia’s national team enters the contest riding the momentum of their historic upset of Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks and near-victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Team Australia Challenge during the 2014 MLB Opening Series at the Sydney Cricket Ground last March.
The 2014 ABL All-Star Game will be broadcast live in Australia and New Zealand on ESPN and on delay to over 70 million households in the US through MLB Network. It will also be seen in over 30 Asia countries on Fox Sports Asia, showcasing Australian baseball talent to a truly global audience.
Team Australia’s side displays a diverse group of both familiar faces and national team newcomers. The pitching staff features young guns Sam Gibbons of the Jet Couriers Melbourne Aces and reliever Aaron Sookee of the Sydney Blue Sox, along with league top ten pitchers Tim Atherton of the Canberra Elite Cavalry, Luke Wilkins and Craig Anderson of Sydney and ace Ryan Searle of the Brisbane Bandits, proudly presented by Welldog.
On offence, Team Australia is supported by outfielder Mitch Dening of the Adelaide Bite, proudly presented by SA Power Networks, whose eight home runs lead the league. The lineup will also include slugger and fellow outfielder David Kandilas of the Blue Sox, who is tied for the league lead with 18 RBIs. The Aussies also have four former Major Leaguers anchoring the batting order in the form of Brad Harman and Justin Huber of the Aces, Alcohol. Think Again Perth Heat mainstay Luke Hughes and Sydney's Trent Oeltjen. Hughes and Huber have seen limited playing time in the first part of the season, while Harman has a strong .306 batting average and five home runs, and Oeltjen is hitting at a .309 clip with four longballs to date.
TEAM AUSTRALIA ROSTER AND BIOS
The World All-Stars team boasts the ABL’s best-performing international players this season from six baseball nations, including the United States, Canada, Taiwan and Korea. The team also features prospects from nine Major League Baseball clubs: the Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays. Fellow international leagues Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) and the Korean Baseball Organisation (KBO) are also represented on the roster.
Canberra cult hero and fan favourite Jack Murphy makes his third-straight All-Star appearance, thanks to a league-leading .397 batting average for the Cavalry. In addition to Murphy, the World Team also boasts five other hitters in the league top ten: Los Angeles Dodgers prospect and Adelaide outfielder Aaron Miller, infielder Tommy Coyle of the Bandits and Tampa Bay Rays, Canberra infielder and Toronto Blue Jays farmhand Christian Lopes, along with outfielder/designated hitter Tim Smith and shortstop Joey Wong, both of the Heat. Young catcher/first baseman Kellin Deglan of the Aces/Texas Rangers will also add some pop to the lineup, and sits tied for the ABL RBI lead and in second place on the league’s home run leaderboard.
Legendary closer Dae Sung Koo returns to the All-Star Game to anchor the World bullpen, which also includes top reliever Jorge Marban of the Heat, whose performance this season earned him a contract with the Boston Red Sox. Team World’s starting pitchers include young MLB prospects Markus Solbach and Cody Buckel, along with Taiwan’s Chen-Hua Lin, who pitched a complete-game shutout in his last start for the Bandits.
For the second time, the ABL will let its supporters choose which import player will fill the World All-Star team’s final roster spot via an All-Star game fan ballot. The ballot consists of 12 nominees, two from each ABL club, and voting will take place on the ABL’s official Facebook page.
FAN BALLOT NOMINEES:
Adelaide - Rocky Gale (C), Brandon Dixon (2B)
Brisbane - Granden Goetzman (OF), Jaspreet Shergill (P)
Canberra - Anthony Alford (OF), Sean Toler (RHP)
Melbourne - Adam Engel (OF), Chace Numata (C)
Perth - Brian Pointer (OF), Mike McClendon (RHP)
Sydney - Tyler Bortnick (SS), Will Swanner (C)
For complete rosters for both teams, click here.
GET YOUR TICKETS NOW AT TheABL.com.au/ASG14.
Gates open at 5:30pm with a live performance by Australian indie band Kingswood at 6:30pm.
SYDNEY, 8 December — The Australian Baseball League and Baseball Australia proudly announce the rosters for the 2014 Australia Baseball League All-Star Game, presented by Levi’s®. The game, which pits the World All-Stars against Team Australia, takes place in Melbourne on Wednesday, 17 December 2014 at 7:40pm.
The World All-Stars, comprised of the league’s top international performers, will go into the fourth annual event with a 2-1 win record over Team Australia. However, Australia’s national team enters the contest riding the momentum of their historic upset of Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks and near-victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Team Australia Challenge during the 2014 MLB Opening Series at the Sydney Cricket Ground last March.
The 2014 ABL All-Star Game will be broadcast live in Australia and New Zealand on ESPN and on delay to over 70 million households in the US through MLB Network. It will also be seen in over 30 Asia countries on Fox Sports Asia, showcasing Australian baseball talent to a truly global audience.
Team Australia’s side displays a diverse group of both familiar faces and national team newcomers. The pitching staff features young guns Sam Gibbons of the Jet Couriers Melbourne Aces and reliever Aaron Sookee of the Sydney Blue Sox, along with league top ten pitchers Tim Atherton of the Canberra Elite Cavalry, Luke Wilkins and Craig Anderson of Sydney and ace Ryan Searle of the Brisbane Bandits, proudly presented by Welldog.
On offence, Team Australia is supported by outfielder Mitch Dening of the Adelaide Bite, proudly presented by SA Power Networks, whose eight home runs lead the league. The lineup will also include slugger and fellow outfielder David Kandilas of the Blue Sox, who is tied for the league lead with 18 RBIs. The Aussies also have four former Major Leaguers anchoring the batting order in the form of Brad Harman and Justin Huber of the Aces, Alcohol. Think Again Perth Heat mainstay Luke Hughes and Sydney's Trent Oeltjen. Hughes and Huber have seen limited playing time in the first part of the season, while Harman has a strong .306 batting average and five home runs, and Oeltjen is hitting at a .309 clip with four longballs to date.
TEAM AUSTRALIA ROSTER AND BIOS
The World All-Stars team boasts the ABL’s best-performing international players this season from six baseball nations, including the United States, Canada, Taiwan and Korea. The team also features prospects from nine Major League Baseball clubs: the Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays. Fellow international leagues Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) and the Korean Baseball Organisation (KBO) are also represented on the roster.
Canberra cult hero and fan favourite Jack Murphy makes his third-straight All-Star appearance, thanks to a league-leading .397 batting average for the Cavalry. In addition to Murphy, the World Team also boasts five other hitters in the league top ten: Los Angeles Dodgers prospect and Adelaide outfielder Aaron Miller, infielder Tommy Coyle of the Bandits and Tampa Bay Rays, Canberra infielder and Toronto Blue Jays farmhand Christian Lopes, along with outfielder/designated hitter Tim Smith and shortstop Joey Wong, both of the Heat. Young catcher/first baseman Kellin Deglan of the Aces/Texas Rangers will also add some pop to the lineup, and sits tied for the ABL RBI lead and in second place on the league’s home run leaderboard.
Legendary closer Dae Sung Koo returns to the All-Star Game to anchor the World bullpen, which also includes top reliever Jorge Marban of the Heat, whose performance this season earned him a contract with the Boston Red Sox. Team World’s starting pitchers include young MLB prospects Markus Solbach and Cody Buckel, along with Taiwan’s Chen-Hua Lin, who pitched a complete-game shutout in his last start for the Bandits.
For the second time, the ABL will let its supporters choose which import player will fill the World All-Star team’s final roster spot via an All-Star game fan ballot. The ballot consists of 12 nominees, two from each ABL club, and voting will take place on the ABL’s official Facebook page.
FAN BALLOT NOMINEES:
Adelaide - Rocky Gale (C), Brandon Dixon (2B)
Brisbane - Granden Goetzman (OF), Jaspreet Shergill (P)
Canberra - Anthony Alford (OF), Sean Toler (RHP)
Melbourne - Adam Engel (OF), Chace Numata (C)
Perth - Brian Pointer (OF), Mike McClendon (RHP)
Sydney - Tyler Bortnick (SS), Will Swanner (C)
For complete rosters for both teams, click here.
GET YOUR TICKETS NOW AT TheABL.com.au/ASG14.
Gates open at 5:30pm with a live performance by Australian indie band Kingswood at 6:30pm.