Chris Andrew Oxspring (born 13 May 1977) is a former Australian professional baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who played for a number of teams around the world.

Career

Oxspring joined the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the 2006 season. On 15 December 2006, Oxspring signed a minor league contract with the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

. On 10 July 2007, his contract with the Brewers was sold to the

LG Twins LG Corporation (or LG Group) (), formerly Lucky-Goldstar from 1983 to 1995 (Korean: ''Leokki Geumseong''; ), is a South Korean multinational conglomerate founded by Koo In-hwoi and managed by successive generations of his family. It is ...

of the

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and KBO ...

just one day before serving as the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

in the 2007

Triple-A All-Star Game The Triple-A All-Star Game was an annual baseball game held from 1988 to 2019 between professional players from the affiliated Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball. These leagues were the International League (IL) and Pacific Coast League ...

. Internationally, Oxspring was a star for Australia in the 2004 Olympics, pitching 2–0 with wins both against Japan, earning him a silver medal. Oxspring had the honor of throwing out the first official pitch of the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it sh ...

to catcher Andrew Graham when the Blue Sox played the

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

on 6 November 2010. Oxspring threw six shutout innings in a game Sydney won 1–0. On 8 December 2010, while playing with the Sydney Oxspring signed a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring training with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. At the end of the 2010–11 Australian Baseball League regular season, he led the league in innings pitched (68.2), game started (11) and strikeouts (71).ABL League Pitching Leaders
– Australian Baseball League In June 2011, Detroit released Oxspring after struggling for their AAA affiliate, the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

conceding a 6.53 ERA over 20.2 innings. He shortly after signed with independent team the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, that is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League, known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021, and ...

for the remainder of 2011. In 2013 and 2014, Oxspring played with the

Lotte Giants The Lotte Giants ( ko, 롯데 자이언츠) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Busan. They are a member of the KBO League. The Lotte Giants are owned by Lotte Corporation, which also owns the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Pr ...

of the

. In 2015, he played with the

KT Wiz KT Wiz ( ko, KT 위즈) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Suwon. They are a member of the KBO League. Their home stadium is Suwon Baseball Stadium in Suwon. History On 11 January 2013, the Korea Baseball Organization offi ...

of the

. From 2016 to 2018, he had served as a pitching coach for the

. On 3 December 2018 Oxspring announced that he will no longer coach the Giants and return to Australia to reunite with his family. Oxspring returned to the Blue Sox for the 2022–23 Australian Baseball League season as the oldest player to play in the league’s history. He overtook 44 year old Brendan Kingman who pitched one inning in the 2017–18 Australian Baseball League season.

References

External links

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Career statistics and player information
from

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oxspring, Chris 1977 births Living people Australian expatriate baseball players in Japan Australian expatriate baseball players in South Korea Australian expatriate baseball players in the United States Baseball coaches Baseball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Cook County Cheetahs players Fort Wayne Wizards players Hanshin Tigers players KBO League pitchers KT Wiz players Lake Elsinore Storm players LG Twins players Lotte Giants players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Australia Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Mobile BayBears players Nashville Sounds players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Olympic baseball players of Australia Olympic medalists in baseball Olympic silver medalists for Australia Peoria Javelinas players Portland Beavers players San Diego Padres players Somerset Patriots players Sydney Blue Sox players Toledo Mud Hens players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players 2017 World Baseball Classic players