The Australian Baseball League (ABL) was a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

league, established in 1987 and disbanded in 1999.

Formation

Before the formation of the Australian Baseball League, the

Claxton Shield The Claxton Shield was the name of the premier baseball competition in Australia held between state-based teams, as well as the name of the trophy awarded to the champion team. From the summer of 1989–90 until 2001–02, and again since 2010� ...

, established in , was Australia's premier baseball tournament. The idea of an Australian baseball league was first conceived in , possibly prompted by the success of Australia's National Basketball League. The final Claxton Shield competition was held in 1988 by the Auburn Baseball Club in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

at its home ground of

Oriole Park Oriole Park was the name of multiple baseball parks in Baltimore, Maryland, all built within a few blocks of each other. Oriole Park I, 1883–1889 The first field called Oriole Park I was built on the southwest corner of Sixth Street and Hunt ...

. Auburn funded all visiting teams' fares and accommodation with the expectation of recouping from gate takings and increased revenue at its social club. Soon after, the ABL was formed, with eight teams from around Australia.

Competition structure

The Australian Baseball League was much like many other professional baseball leagues around the world, with teams playing home and away series during a regular season, playing to compete in the

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

s, the winner of which being crowned champions. The season length ranged from 42 to 62 games, depending on the number of teams in the season. The competition used the

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

rule, much like the

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

, but allowed aluminium bats for non-MLB contracted players, with the contracted players using

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

. There were also allowances in place for

pinch runner In baseball or softball, a pinch runner is a player substituted into a game for the purpose of base running. Description A pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been s ...

s to run for a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

if he made base safely, this was put in place for not only speed up the break between innings waiting for a catcher to change into his gear, but to create more excitement on the basepaths. Import restrictions also applied in the League as to nurture home grown talent The ABL experimented with many different types of scheduling to try to increase attendances, including day and night games at different times of the week, seven-inning double headers. The length of games became a problem as many grounds had night

curfew A curfew is an order that imposes certain regulations during specified hours. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to remain indoors during the evening and nighttime hours. Such an order is most often issued by public authorit ...

League history

The Australian Baseball League consisted of between six and nine teams over its 10 years of existence, with its highest point being in 1995, with nine teams competing. Championships were decided by a top-two five-game playoff series for the first three seasons before changing to a top-four playoff series with winners advancing to the championship series. Following the change to the top four format, both semi-finals and the championship series were played as best-of-three series. * 1989–90 The Australian Baseball League formally got underway in October 1989, representing Australia's first professional "major league" of baseball. Officially, the first ABL game was contested between Perth Heat and Adelaide Giants at Parry Field in Perth on 27 October 1989, with the Giants winning 8-5. The inaugural season was dominated by the Waverley Reds a record of 34 wins and 6 losses, who only lost 2 games at home in 19 starts, and took the Championship series 3 games to 1 against their crosstown rivals, the Melbourne Monarchs. * 1990–91 The 1990–91 ABL championship was won by the Perth Heat, who defeated the minor premiers, the Gold Coast's Daikyo Dolphins, by three games to two. * 1991–92 In a reversal of the previous season, the 1991–92 ABL title was won by the Daikyo Dolphins, who defeated the Perth Heat three games to one. * 1992–93 The first year of the four-team finals format, the championship series saw the Melbourne Monarchs face the minor premier Perth Heat at Perth's

Parry Field Parry Field is a former sports venue in Belmont, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It is best known for being the home of baseball team Perth Heat between 1989 and 1997. The venue was built in 1983 on the site of Belmont Oval which had been ...

, having eliminated the Sydney Blues and Waverley Reds, respectively. The Melbourne Monarchs defeated the Heat two games to nil in the final to clinch the 1992–93 ABL championship. * 1993–94 Won by the Brisbane Bandits, who defeated the minor premier Sydney Blues two games to nil in the championship series held at

Parramatta Stadium Parramatta Stadium was a sports stadium in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, west of Sydney CBD. The stadium was the home ground of several western Sydney-based sports teams, at the time of closure the most notable were the Parramatta E ...

. The Perth Heat and Adelaide Giants, respectively, were the two defeated semi-finalists. * 1994–95 Won by the Waverley Reds, who defeated the Perth Heat two games to nil at

Moorabbin Oval Moorabbin Oval (also known as RSEA Park under a naming rights agreement) is an Australian rules football ground in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia at Linton Street in the suburb of Moorabbin. The ground was most notable as the home ...

. The Sydney Blues (defeated by the Reds) and East Coast Cougars (defeated by the Heat) were eliminated in the semi-finals. * 1995–96 Won by the Sydney Blues, who defeated the Melbourne Reds two games to nil in the Blues' only season at the old Sydney Showground at Moore Park. In the first time a team had reached the final from fourth place, the Reds defeated the minor premier Brisbane Bandits in the semi-final, while the Perth Heat were eliminated by the Blues. * 1996–97 Won by the Perth Heat, who defeated the Brisbane Bandits in three games. * 1997–98 Won by the Melbourne Reds, who defeated the East Coast Cougars in two games. * 1998–99 The final ABL Championship, held as a test event at the new Sydney Showground at

Sydney Olympic Park Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the City of Parramatta, City of Parramatta Council. It i ...

, was taken in two games by the Gold Coast Cougars (who defeated the Sydney Storm), after the Adelaide Giants dominated the regular season.

Decline and sale

The ABL had a total running cost of $6 million by the later half of the 1990s, due to a lack of sponsorship and gate takings the league was only raising $4 million by the final season. Due to these mounting debts the Australian Baseball Federation sold off the rights to the league and

to Australian baseballer David Nilsson for a reported $5 million who replaced it with the

International Baseball League of Australia The International Baseball League of Australia was a baseball league which existed from 1999 to 2002. The league was created by David Nilsson after he purchased the rights to the Australian Baseball League in 1999 when it was near financial coll ...

, which in turn folded in 2002.

Original clubs

Over the ten years of the Australian Baseball League, a total of twelve franchise licences were issued; most seasons the ABL had a total of eight teams, but had as many as nine, and, for the final season, six. The founding eight teams of the Australian Baseball League were: * Adelaide Giants: The Giants competed in all ten seasons of the ABL but did not make the championship playoffs once. *

Brisbane Bandits The Brisbane Bandits are a professional baseball team in Brisbane, Queensland that plays in the Australian Baseball League and is one of the six founding teams of the league. From the 2010/11 season till the 2012/13 season their home ballpark ...

: The Bandits competed in the first nine seasons but dropped out of the final season due to not having a suitable venue, The Bandits won one championship and finished runner-up in another. * Gold Coast Clippers: The Clippers had many different names over their ten years in the ABL: The Daikyo Dolphins from 1990 to 1993 due to a sponsorship with Japanese company Daikyo, then the East Coast Cougars and finally Gold Coast Cougars. This franchise won two championships and were runner-up in a further two times. * Melbourne Monarchs: The Monarchs competed in nine of the ten seasons, they were expelled from the league after the 1991–92 season, but were re-admitted for the 1992–93. The Monarchs won one ABL title (1992–93) and were runner-up to the Reds once (1989–90). * Parramatta Patriots: The Patriots competed in the first three seasons with their best result being third in 1990. The Patriots disbanded after the 1991–92 season due to heavy financial losses, and the Sydney Blues purchased their licence. * Sydney Metros: The Metros had the dishonour of being the least successful team in the ABL and also having the shortest history, as they folded shortly after the 1989–90 season. The Metros' licence was purchased by the Sydney Wave. *

Perth Heat The Perth Heat is a baseball team in the current Australian Baseball League and a founding member of the Australian Baseball League. It is the most successful team in ABL history, winning 15 Claxton Shields. Australian Baseball League (1989– ...

: The Heat were the second-most successful team in the league, winning the title twice and finishing runner-up a further three times. * Waverley Reds: The Reds were the most successful team in the league, being the only team to win three ABL titles, while also finishing runner-up once. The Reds also held the regular-season single-game attendance record (and second-highest overall) of 11,444, in the 1991–92 season against then-cross-town rivals the Melbourne Bushrangers at Waverley Oval. The Reds changed their name to the Melbourne Reds after the 1993–94 season in an attempt to broaden their supporter base.

Later additions

Later additions to the league were: * Melbourne Bushrangers: The Bushrangers were brought in to replace the Monarchs after they were expelled, and played two seasons in Melbourne before moving north to Canberra. They thus changed their name to the Canberra Bushrangers and competed for a further two seasons before going broke. * Sydney Blues: The Blues purchased their licence from the Parramatta Patriots. Due to the marketing problems associated with having the same name as the NSW cricket team

lues The first recorded outbreak of syphilis in Europe occurred in 1494/1495 in Naples, Naples, Italy, during a French invasion. Because it was spread geographically by French troops returning from that campaign, the disease was known as "French dise ...

the name was changed to the Sydney Storm. The team won one championship and finished runner-up under the Blues name; they also finished runner-up once more under the Storm name. The Blues held the overall single-game attendance record, with a 1994 finals series game against the Brisbane Bandits drawing 13,764 to Parramatta Stadium. * Sydney Wave: The Wave was formed after purchasing its licence of the Sydney Metros. The Wave had no real impact on the league, lasting only two seasons before folding with heavy financial losses. Their licence was then sold to the Hunter Eagles. *

Hunter Eagles The Hunter Eagles were formed for the 1994–95 Australian Baseball League season after purchasing the Sydney Wave's licence, who had left the league two seasons earlier. The Eagles played in the ABL until the 1997–98 Australian Baseball L ...

: The Eagles had slightly more success in the ABL than their previous two licence-holders, lasting for a total of four seasons. The Eagles were excluded from the 1998–99 season after not being able to supply enough funds to run the team for the upcoming season.

Players

The ABL experienced a lot of baseball talent not only from Australia, but from overseas, with over 90 MLB or future MLB players playing over the history of the competition. Many of these import players were sent to Australia from rookie ball up to advanced A (with some exceptions) as a winter ball league that provided a different environment to winter leagues in Latin America. It proved to be a good 'instructional league' for MLB organisations or even for extended rehabilitation. Many of the import players would not come back for a second season as they were either advanced in their organisation, or replaced by a different player who was thought could benefit from playing in Australia.

League records

Batting leaders

Pitching leaders

New Australian Baseball League

While no confirmation was forthcoming from either source, plans were apparently hatched between the Australian Baseball Federation and

to re-establish an Australian national league in November 2008. The new national league was proposed to run for 10 weeks from November 2008 to February 2009 and to be partly funded by

. On 10 August 2007 it was announced the

2008 Claxton Shield The 74th Claxton Shield was held from 28 December 2007 to 10 February 2008. The 2008 Shield was conducted on a Home and Away series made up of 2 Divisions; Eastern Division: Australian Provincial, New South Wales Patriots and the Queensland Rams, ...

would be run as a "home and away" series. The revamped series was made up of two pools of three teams, with each team playing three home and three away games against the other two teams in its pool. Pool A was to be made up of the

Victoria Aces The Victoria Aces are an Australian baseball team who compete in the Claxton Shield Baseball Championship. One of the founding teams of the Claxton Shield in 1934, they competed until 1988. Thereafter the Claxton Shield was awarded to the winne ...

and

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, and Pool B was to be made up of the

New South Wales Patriots New South Wales Patriots compete in the Claxton Shield baseball championship in Australia. The Patriots were one of the founding teams of the Claxton Shield in 1934 and competed as New South Wales until 1988 when the Claxtion Shield was awarded ...

Queensland Rams Queensland Rams compete in the Claxton Shield Baseball Championship in Australia. The Rams were one of the founding teams of the Claxton Shield in 1934 and competed as ''Queensland'' until 1988. Between 1988 and 1999, the Claxton Shield was awar ...

and

Australia Provincial Australian Provincial compete in the Claxton Shield The Claxton Shield was the name of the premier baseball competition in Australia held between state-based teams, as well as the name of the trophy awarded to the champion team. From the s ...

. The revamped series was run from late December 2007 to early February 2008. The

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

series followed a similar format, but without the Australia Provincial team, resulting in each team playing each other team once in either a home or an away three-game series, in addition to a "showcase" round to start the season, held in Sydney with each team playing every other team once over the course of the week. On 1 July 2009, a joint announcement was made by the Australian Baseball Federation,

Australian Federal Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national Executive (government), executive government of Australia, a federalism, federal Parliamentary system, parliamentary con ...

and Major League Baseball stating the intention to resurrect a national baseball league for Australia, with the Government announcing A$400,000 towards the new league. It was originally planned that the Australian Baseball League would eventually have a 60-game season from November to February consisting of teams from

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

with a pending spot for

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. The league is 75% owned by

and 25% by the Australian Baseball Federation. The first ABL season is scheduled for November–February 2009/2010, but will be run under the banner of the

2010 Claxton Shield The 2010 Claxton Shield was the 76th Claxton Shield tournament, the premier baseball competition in Australia, and was held from 6 November 2009 to 7 February 2010. It was hailed as the precursor to the new Australian Baseball League that would ...

with 2011 season scheduled to be the first 'official' season. Some players will be paid, and some will not, with an average salary expected to be about A$800 per month. Players will be under contract, although the system of player-league relations will be highly centralized in the ABF for the league's early years in order to ensure cheap and efficient league operation. In November 2009 referendums were held on team names. In November 2009, the Australian Baseball League approved Canberra's bid for a 6th spot in the inaugural ABL season with the

ACT Government The Government of the Australian Capital Territory, also referred to as the Australian Capital Territory Government or ACT Government, is the executive branch of the Australian Capital Territory. The leader of the party or coalition with the Con ...

contributing $75,000 for the first season, and $30,000 every other season. Also, the franchise already has over $64,000 from 3200 people pledging support at $20 a head during the bid attempt.

ActewAGL ActewAGL is an Australian multi-utility joint venture company that provides utility services in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and south-east New South Wales. The company was formed in October 2000 between the Australian Gas Light Compan ...

, Rolfe Audi were announced as major sponsors of the team. In May, 2010, the Australian Baseball League made steps towards marketing their product, producing a website and two advertisements shown on

ESPN Australia ESPN Australia is the Australian division of ESPN, part of the ESPN International grouping. It is offered in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. it has been the only Disney-owned network in Oceania along with Ba ...

and ONE HD. The logo was officially unveiled and the Melbourne franchise's general manager, Stephen Nash, announced a 40-game season between six franchises over 10 weeks from November to January, with a post-season finals series in February. On 5 August 2010, the team names for the Australian Baseball League were made public. They include the

, the

Sydney Blue Sox The Sydney Blue Sox are a professional baseball team, and one of six founding teams in the re-formed Australian Baseball League (ABL). The team plays their home games at Blacktown International Sportspark (BISP), one of the two venues used fo ...

, the

Canberra Cavalry The Canberra Cavalry (nicknamed Cavs) were a professional baseball team from Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia. Established in 2010, the team was a founding member of the Australian Baseball League (ABL). The Cavs home ground was Narrabundah B ...

, the

Melbourne Aces The Melbourne Aces are a professional baseball team based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia that competed in the Australian Baseball League. Their home field is the Melbourne Ballpark in Altona. History On 20 August 2010 it was announced ...

, the Adelaide Bite and the

. Since its beginning in 2010, the Australian Baseball League has expanded to have 8 teams on its roster, with the addition of the

Auckland Tuatara Auckland Tuatara may refer to: * Auckland Tuatara (baseball) * Auckland Tuatara (basketball) {{Disambiguation ...

and Geelong-Korea in the 2018/2019 Season. The League has also been divided into the South-West Division and the North-East Division.

References

External links

The Australian Baseball League: 1989–1999

Australian Baseball Links

Background of Australian Baseball

AMLB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian Baseball League (1989-99) Defunct baseball leagues in Australia Defunct professional sports leagues in Australia Sports leagues established in 1987 Sports leagues disestablished in 1999 1987 establishments in Australia 1999 disestablishments in Australia

Formation

Competition structure

League history

Decline and sale

Original clubs

Later additions

Players

League records

Batting leaders

Pitching leaders

New Australian Baseball League

See also

References

External links