Australian baseball

[Simmo79]

I was flicked on the local Canberra news last night right at the end of a short piece that was (I think) about baseball and a possible new franchise for the ACT. I’ve done some idle googling and can’t find anything to that effect. But I did find that the Claxton shield starts tomorrow in Sydney (it’s the baseball equivalent of the Sheffield Shield except it’s played in a carnival format). Anyhoo, that got me reminiscing about the halcyon days of the Australian Baseball League in the mid-90s. I wasn’t a fan of the sport (though I still watch the world series when it’s on).

My interest was kind of perverse: I watched the ABL to see if it would fail. I was going through a period where I was utterly convinced that the Yanks were inexorably destroying Australian culture and that baseball was making inroads in Australia and would therefore eventually displace cricket. [I completely lost that paranoia when listening to the Sydney Blues on the radio one day. There was a rain delay and the two commentators (one of them was Warren Smith now at Foxsports) stopped talking about baseball after a few minutes and started debating the make-up of the Aus cricket team’s middle order and whether or not Adam Gilchrist should be brought into the team as a batsmen now or wait to bring him as Heals’ replacement as wickie. If the commentators at your matches care more about your main rival than you, you’re not going to go far].

I watched Channel 10’ ABL coverage regularly and part of me still wishes to see the sport played at a semi-professional level. From memory the teams were

Brisbane Bandits – they played at ANZ with the field oriented west-east. The crowd was in the western grandstand.

Gold Coast Cougars – played at Carrara, which was a decent field but still a crap stadium.

Newcastle Somethings – played at Marathon (EAS). The home plate was in the SW corner of the stadium with the crowd on the Southern Hill and the main grandstand. The field had a very short left field. A very common problem for the northern state teams.

Sydney Blues – initially played at the old Showgrounds where they had a 10,000 crowd for a championship winning game. Moved to Parramatta stadium where the field was oriented from the SE corner with an incredibly short right field. The new showgrounds was to be their permanent home and the best baseball stadium in the country but the league fell down around them before they had played many games.

Melbourne Reds – played at Moorabin which was pretty much derelict. Field was oriented west-east.

Melbourne Monarchs – played at Altona, which was the only purpose built baseball stadium at the time IIRC.
http://www.austadiums.com/stadiums/stadiums.php?id=70

Adelaide Giants – played at Norwood Oval

Perth Heat – At some field I remember but can’t name. It was a suburban oval partially developed into a cheap baseball stadium. They later moved to the WACA which installed a replaceable diamond for them in front of the Inverarity Stand.

Link to a page about Dave Nilsson’s International Baseball League that replaced the ABL but did even worse. I can’t recall hearing anything about this at the time.
http://www.australianbaseballhistory.we ... tional.htm

Link to the Aus Baseball Federation’s site:
http://www.baseball.com.au/

Link to the ABF’s vision for the future. It reads exactly like any plan conceived by any other type of struggling organisation. Nothing of any note has happened in the last two years and there aren’t any Frank Lowy’s rootin’ for baseball AFAIK.
http://www.baseball.com.au/site/basebal ... 3Notes.pdf

A link that demonstrates that not everything about Australian baseball kulchaaa comes from Seppoland:
http://www.australianbaseballhistory.we ... 0Lingo.htm

So what does everyone else remember? Did anyone go to any games? Heard anything about the sport’s future? Anything? Anyone? Dust? Anyone?

Personally I’d like to see baseball back in some form, but not for it to succeed too much. I told you it was a perverse attitude. Cricket’s never filled the summer bat-and-ball intercity sporting niche. For some reason we all want to watch the same team.

I’ve also been more open to baseball when it’s tried to adapt to Australia, rather than be “too American”. I remember a quote in Inside Sport where an Australian international claimed that baseball was better than cricket because it’s harder to hit a ball with a round bat than with a square one. IS’s commented they’d never win over the Australian public with that attitude. Too right. The opposite attitude should be called “the spirit of the Chappell’s” IMO. Here’s a link that demonstrates that not everything about Australian baseball kulchaaa comes from Seppoland:
http://www.australianbaseballhistory.we ... 0Lingo.htm

[Dasher39]

I was listening to Born in the USA on SEN a few weeks ago, and they were discussing Baseball and their baseball guru mentioned he had heard rumours about the ABL starting back up!

I for one wouldn't mind seeing it happen! Whilst I am in no way a big Baseball fan, I live just around the corner from Melbourne BallPark in Altona/Laverton and would go to the games if I was able to.

[the guy]

I would love it to start yp again. I practically grew up at Melbourne ballpark chasing foul balls with my teammates at monarchs games.

[Jeffles]

We spoke about Australian Baseball somewhere else on the forum. Can't be arsed finding it. Egan can find it. I think he put up the photo of parry Park in Belmont (Perth's Home ground).

The Newcastle team was the Hunter Eagles. They played at Marathon Stadium and at Maitland Showground.

Gold Coast were called Dakyio Dolphins as well.

Sydney had the Sydney Wave as well as the Blues for a period. The Wave played at Belmore Sports Ground.

And so on and so forth.

The Claxton Shield being played as a carnival really downgrades baseball. With so many Aussie teens attracting attention, you'd think that the senior comp would be better organised - especially for a mens sport.

Fox Sports have the NBL and the A-League but I am sure they could fit in a couple of hours a week for baseball. To think that the ABL flourished BEFORE Pay TV. Even a short season of three motnhs or so!

[Tonic]

they had the SA coach on 5AA KG & Cornsey sport show last night... he made mention that there are hopes for a new national league in the near future - funded by the MLB! (Major League Baseball organisation)... (since there's no way it would be viable thru Oz funding forseeably).
Also of note, he said there are around 100 Aussie's in the US playing professionally for the various Major/Minor MLB franchises, hence i guess it's in the MLB's interest to nurture a feeder market like a Australia - we are silver medallists after all...

[Jeffles]

they had the SA coach on 5AA KG & Cornsey sport show last night... he made mention that there are hopes for a new national league in the near future - funded by the MLB! (Major League Baseball organisation)... (since there's no way it would be viable thru Oz funding forseeably).
Also of note, he said there are around 100 Aussie's in the US playing professionally for the various Major/Minor MLB franchises, hence i guess it's in the MLB's interest to nurture a feeder market like a Australia - we are silver medallists after all...

Well said. I didn't know MLB's interests were that serious.

Now who will make up the teams. The five mainland capitals could all get a go. The sixth would be up in the air.

Second QLD?
Second Sydney?
Second Melbourne?
Northern NSW (Newcastle)?
Southern NSW/ACT (Canberra)?

They may go along state lines and run a Tassie team but I think that would haemorrhage money - of course, they'd all probably be unprofitable. Tassie could be much worse.

The Claxton Shield teams are the five mainland states and "Australia Provincal". Maybe that could be the structure.

Hmmmm, since it is on this week in Sydney, I think I'll go down and watch some. Most games are at Blacktown Olympic Park. There are also games on in "Narabundah ACT" and "Fred Finch Park, Illawarra", "Gilchrist Oval Macarthur", "Baulkam Hills, Northmead" and 'Aquatic Reserve, Manly". Since Baulkham Hills and Northmead are two separate suburbs and Illawarra is a region and not a locality, my conclusion is that the guys that wrote this are weird!

http://www.baseball.com.au/default.asp? ... F13286%2F0

Just a short walk from Rooty Hill station. I think I may give this a go.

[Egan]

I did post it on this forum, but was probably in a hijacked topic that I mentioned it.

Several months ago, the owner of the Perth Heat name donated it back to WA Baseball and also a sponsorship of $50,000 a year...the former owner of the club.

Perth Heat Homes
1. Perry Park (No I never ever did put a photo up, I would love to see a photo...ROFL at the venue being located in Belmont)
2. WACA
3. Bassendean Oval

While now all baseball is played at a purpose built facility in the south eastern suburbs - Tom Bateman Reserve.

[hot_dogma]

I remember there was a baseball thread somewhere as I had a listing of all the teams by season and the grounds they played at. I'll see if I can hunt it up.

Anyway here is a pic of the record ABL crowd at Waverley Park of 11,444 in November 1991 from the Waverley Reds site.

[the guy]

How far away fo they wanna be awa from the action?
And with 60,000 emptry seats.

Melbourne Ballpark on the other hand was (and is) a very intimate venue. You sit on top of the action, and the fans in the bleachers used to chat with the players in the dugout.

I played there a few years ago, and was sad to see that one of the bleacher areas was converted to a picnin area

[sandyhill]

... My interest was kind of perverse: I watched the ABL to see if it would fail. I was going through a period where I was utterly convinced that the Yanks were inexorably destroying Australian culture and that baseball was making inroads in Australia and would therefore eventually displace cricket.
I’ve also been more open to baseball when it’s tried to adapt to Australia, rather than be “too American”. ...

Hey - I felt much the same way at that time (and remember that other American sport, basketball, was still also riding high at that time). Did Pepsi sponsor the ABL? I seem to remember being down on them at the time as part of the American "conspiracy". I've mellowed much since then!

Interesting that you mention the Chappell's. Their grandfather, Vic Richardson, captained the Australian cricket team (1934) AND the Australian baseball team (He also represented SA in Aust Football). On the 1934 cricket tour of Sth Africa he organised a baseball game betweeen the Sth Africa national baseball team and Australia's cricket team - and Australia won!

In this game, Australian great Stan McCabe, playing his first game of baseball, hit 3 consecutive homers. Vic Richardson told him that this was amazing, to which he replied "Its easy - they were all full tosses"!!

BTW - Waverley probably wasn't much of a baseball stadium - but I love the photo, old scoreboard and all.

[Rob]

Perth Heat – At some field I remember but can’t name. It was a suburban oval partially developed into a cheap baseball stadium. They later moved to the WACA which installed a replaceable diamond for them in front of the Inverarity Stand.

Perth Heat's original home ground was Parry Field, a purpose built baseball stadium that had been used well before the ABL as WA's home of baseball.

Unfortunately for them, despite substantial state and federal government funding for it's construction, Belmont City council decided it was far better selling off the land as residential property (being fairly exclusive land close to the river). Probably one of the more corrupt decisions in WA local government history.
In the end it left the Heat without a home and forced them to move to the WACA. Their first game drew in excess of 10,000, but it was a shocking place to watch baseball from so the crowds dwindled.

[hot_dogma]

How far away fo they wanna be awa from the action?
And with 60,000 emptry seats.

Melbourne Ballpark on the other hand was (and is) a very intimate venue. You sit on top of the action, and the fans in the bleachers used to chat with the players in the dugout.

I played there a few years ago, and was sad to see that one of the bleacher areas was converted to a picnin area

It may have been a great venue but the major problem with Altona is that no one wanted to go there. Not even the baseball people.

[yob]

Norwood Oval was awesome for baseball.

[the guy]

It may have been a great venue but the major problem with Altona is that no one wanted to go there. Not even the baseball people.

Yeah I'll admit for most of the city it was in an absolute dog of a location.
But for me, and my entire baseball club, it was actually very easy to get to, i guess thats why my club would make up half of each crowd.
So not even all of us baseballers hated going there, but i admit the majority did.

[hot_dogma]

http://www.australianbaseballhistory.we ... es/ABL.htm

This is the link that details all the ABL franchises during the history of the comp.