Announced today by the Australian Baseball League and Baseball Australia, the rosters for the 2015 Australian Baseball League All-Star Game Presented by Boral are packed with the best talent, both local and international, playing in the ABL this season.
With the all-time All-Star series tied a 2-2, the 2015 ASG is more than just the Midsummer Classic Down Under. It’s a chance for Team Australia to show the World All-Stars what they can do on a baseball diamond. The two teams will face off for the series lead under the lights at Melbourne Ballpark on Wednesday, 16 December at 7:30pm AEDT.
Australia’s team features a “roster of mix and balance, [with] a lot of new faces and returning talent,” according to Glenn Williams, BA’s Head of High Performance.
Those returning faces include former Major Leaguer Brad Harman, a longtime Team Australia representative who still balances playing baseball while maintaining a full-time job and raising his young family. That’s the case for many of Australia’s players, most of whom juggle the realities of life while still giving their all on the baseball diamond.
“With some regulars unavailable due to injuries or given time off from their professional teams, it’s an opportunity to test the depth and give the talent that have had a good year some exposure,” Williams said.
Of the 26 players on the Aussie roster, 10 of them will make their first appearance in an ABL ASG. These include reliever Scott Mitchinson, a mainstay of Perth teams who reinvented himself as a sidearm pitcher, and starting pitcher Steve Chambers, a Queenslander now playing in Adelaide who has held opposing hitters to a .170 batting average this season.
Former softballer Aaron Whitefield is the only ABL rookie on the Team Australia roster, and the All-Star opportunity caps off an exciting year for the Queenslander, who signed with the Minnesota Twins in May and is hitting .314 in 11 games this season. The Brisbane Bandits, proudly presented by WellDog, are the most-represented ABL club on Team Australia this year, sending seven team members to Melbourne to play for Australia and an additional three to the World side. Those seven include David Sutherland, the first new ABL player to reach 200 career hits, and Mitch Nilsson, who ranks second in the ABL this year with six home runs.
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On the visiting side, the World All-Stars represent a sample of global baseball talent, with players from seven different countries.
“Baseball is becoming a more and more global sport and this year’s World team is a fantastic example of that,” ABL General Manager Ben Foster said. “When the World All-Stars take the field, fans will see players from traditional baseball powerhouses such as Japan and Taiwan playing alongside baseballers from up-and-coming countries including Germany and Brazil.”
Keeping with the ABL’s tradition of having the previous season’s Claxton Shield-winning manager lead the All-Star team the next year, former Heat skipper Steve Fish will manage the World side. Fish will be joined by honourary captain Hu Chin-lung, a former member of the SA Power Networks Adelaide Bite and the first Taiwanese-born player to debut in MLB.
The 23 World players sit atop the league leaderboards in most major offensive and pitching categories. Seattle Mariners prospect and SA Power Networks Adelaide Bite first baseman Kyle Petty leads the league in home runs (10), and ranks second in RBIs (29) and third in batting average (.350). Nine of the top 10 hitters will suit up for the World, including leader David Harris (.372) of the Canberra Elite Cavalry and Toronto Blue Jays, and second-ranked Justin Williams, a Tampa Bay Rays prospect playing for the Bandits.
While Canberra send seven players to Melbourne, host club the Aces will have five players on the roster, including left-handed pitcher Yasuo Sano and catcher Takanori Hoshi from Nippon Professional Baseball’s Saitama Seibu Lions, alongside development player William Wu, the lone Taiwanese player on the active roster. Wu and Sano highlight a World pitching staff led by Edwin Carl of the Alcohol. Think Again Perth Heat, who leads all starting pitchers in ERA (1.60) and strikeouts (48). Colorado Rockies prospect Alex Balog ranks behind Carl with a 1.67 season ERA and is dominating for the CompassMarkets.com Sydney Blue Sox, with a 4-2 record in seven starts.
For the third year in a row, fans have the opportunity to choose the final member of the World All-Stars in the fan ballot. This year’s candidates include two nominees from each club, and fans can vote now on the ABL’s Facebook page. Voting closes on Sunday, 13 December, and the winner will be announced the following morning.
ADE: Dallas Gallant (RHP), Travis Demeritte (INF)
BRI: Jason Jarvis (RHP), Eric Green (LHP)
CAN: Ryan Miller (C), Jeremy Barnes (3B)
MEL: Trey Vavra (1B), Matt Larkins (RHP)
PER: Correlle Prime (1B), Derek Peterson (OF)
SYD: Jamie Westbrook (2B), Brandon Zywicki (RHP)
Tickets are on sale now at TheABL.com.au/ASG15.
Announced today by the Australian Baseball League and Baseball Australia, the rosters for the 2015 Australian Baseball League All-Star Game Presented by Boral are packed with the best talent, both local and international, playing in the ABL this season.
With the all-time All-Star series tied a 2-2, the 2015 ASG is more than just the Midsummer Classic Down Under. It’s a chance for Team Australia to show the World All-Stars what they can do on a baseball diamond. The two teams will face off for the series lead under the lights at Melbourne Ballpark on Wednesday, 16 December at 7:30pm AEDT.
Australia’s team features a “roster of mix and balance, [with] a lot of new faces and returning talent,” according to Glenn Williams, BA’s Head of High Performance.
Those returning faces include former Major Leaguer Brad Harman, a longtime Team Australia representative who still balances playing baseball while maintaining a full-time job and raising his young family. That’s the case for many of Australia’s players, most of whom juggle the realities of life while still giving their all on the baseball diamond.
“With some regulars unavailable due to injuries or given time off from their professional teams, it’s an opportunity to test the depth and give the talent that have had a good year some exposure,” Williams said.
Of the 26 players on the Aussie roster, 10 of them will make their first appearance in an ABL ASG. These include reliever Scott Mitchinson, a mainstay of Perth teams who reinvented himself as a sidearm pitcher, and starting pitcher Steve Chambers, a Queenslander now playing in Adelaide who has held opposing hitters to a .170 batting average this season.
Former softballer Aaron Whitefield is the only ABL rookie on the Team Australia roster, and the All-Star opportunity caps off an exciting year for the Queenslander, who signed with the Minnesota Twins in May and is hitting .314 in 11 games this season. The Brisbane Bandits, proudly presented by WellDog, are the most-represented ABL club on Team Australia this year, sending seven team members to Melbourne to play for Australia and an additional three to the World side. Those seven include David Sutherland, the first new ABL player to reach 200 career hits, and Mitch Nilsson, who ranks second in the ABL this year with six home runs.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE ROSTERS
On the visiting side, the World All-Stars represent a sample of global baseball talent, with players from seven different countries.
“Baseball is becoming a more and more global sport and this year’s World team is a fantastic example of that,” ABL General Manager Ben Foster said. “When the World All-Stars take the field, fans will see players from traditional baseball powerhouses such as Japan and Taiwan playing alongside baseballers from up-and-coming countries including Germany and Brazil.”
Keeping with the ABL’s tradition of having the previous season’s Claxton Shield-winning manager lead the All-Star team the next year, former Heat skipper Steve Fish will manage the World side. Fish will be joined by honourary captain Hu Chin-lung, a former member of the SA Power Networks Adelaide Bite and the first Taiwanese-born player to debut in MLB.
The 23 World players sit atop the league leaderboards in most major offensive and pitching categories. Seattle Mariners prospect and SA Power Networks Adelaide Bite first baseman Kyle Petty leads the league in home runs (10), and ranks second in RBIs (29) and third in batting average (.350). Nine of the top 10 hitters will suit up for the World, including leader David Harris (.372) of the Canberra Elite Cavalry and Toronto Blue Jays, and second-ranked Justin Williams, a Tampa Bay Rays prospect playing for the Bandits.
While Canberra send seven players to Melbourne, host club the Aces will have five players on the roster, including left-handed pitcher Yasuo Sano and catcher Takanori Hoshi from Nippon Professional Baseball’s Saitama Seibu Lions, alongside development player William Wu, the lone Taiwanese player on the active roster. Wu and Sano highlight a World pitching staff led by Edwin Carl of the Alcohol. Think Again Perth Heat, who leads all starting pitchers in ERA (1.60) and strikeouts (48). Colorado Rockies prospect Alex Balog ranks behind Carl with a 1.67 season ERA and is dominating for the CompassMarkets.com Sydney Blue Sox, with a 4-2 record in seven starts.
For the third year in a row, fans have the opportunity to choose the final member of the World All-Stars in the fan ballot. This year’s candidates include two nominees from each club, and fans can vote now on the ABL’s Facebook page. Voting closes on Sunday, 13 December, and the winner will be announced the following morning.
ADE: Dallas Gallant (RHP), Travis Demeritte (INF)
BRI: Jason Jarvis (RHP), Eric Green (LHP)
CAN: Ryan Miller (C), Jeremy Barnes (3B)
MEL: Trey Vavra (1B), Matt Larkins (RHP)
PER: Correlle Prime (1B), Derek Peterson (OF)
SYD: Jamie Westbrook (2B), Brandon Zywicki (RHP)
Tickets are on sale now at TheABL.com.au/ASG15.