Joshua Peter Tols (born 6 October 1989) is an Australian former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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 ...

. Tols played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

John Wood Community College John Wood Community College (JWCC) is a public community college in Quincy, Illinois. It is one of 48, two-year, open-admission colleges of the Illinois Community College System organized under the Illinois Public Community College Act. History ...

and

Rockhurst University Rockhurst University is a private Jesuit university in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 as Rockhurst College, Rockhurst University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It enrolled 2,980 students in 2019. History In 1909, Fr. ...

. Undrafted, he then played three seasons of

independent baseball Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independen ...

in the

Pecos League Pecos may refer to: Places * Pecos River, rises near Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States * Pecos, Texas, a city in Reeves County, Texas, United States * Pecos County, Texas, named for the Pecos River ** Pecos Spring, a spring * Pecos, New Mexico, ...

and

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

. He has played for the

Adelaide Bite The Adelaide Giants are a professional baseball team that plays in the Australian Baseball League. They are one of the six foundation franchises of the league, in its first incarnation from 1989 to 1999. The team adopted the name Bite or Adelaid ...

and

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

in 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 ...

, a winter league, for several years. He represented

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

at the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

before signing with the Phillies organization in 2018.

Early life

Tols was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, to Peter and Debbie Tols. He attended

Seaton High School Seaton High School is a coeducational public secondary school based in Seaton, a suburb of the City of Charles Sturt in western Adelaide, South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part o ...

in Australia. Josh started playing baseball as a junior with the Woodville District Baseball Club where he continued to play while living in Adelaide.

Career

Amateur

John Wood Junior College (2009-2010)

Tols attended

in Quincy,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

in 2009 where he appeared in 13 games as a

, had a 4-3 (

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

) 4.87

Earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) record with 44.1

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

in his

freshman year A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

. He

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denot ...

46 batters while

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults o ...

21 and allowing 51

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

. As a sophomore, he appeared in 21 games as a pitcher, had a 3-4, 3.09 ERA record with 71 K in IP and led the nation in strikeouts per inning. He also led the nation in saves, earning himself a place on the all conference team. In 2017 he was inducted into the college's baseball hall of fame. Over his career he was part of one of the best two year winning percentages in the college programme's history. Josh continues to be a mainstay on many all-time statistical categories, including 1st in single season saves, 2nd in career saves, 4th in single season strikeouts, 4th in career strikeouts.

Rockhurst University (2012-2014)

In 2012 Tols transferred to continue his college career at

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. in his first year, he pitch for a record of 6-2 with a 3.36 ERA. He held opposition batters to a .247 batting average, stuck out 66 batters over 67 innings pitched, and recorded four complete games and two shutouts. He was recognised as a member of the All-Great Lakes Valley Conference team. He redshirted in 2013 due to a shoulder injury. In 2014, as a pitcher he recorded 4-7 (win-loss) with a 2.60 ERA and struck out 71 in IP. He led the GLVC in strike outs and was second-team All-Conference.

Trinidad Triggers

He began his pro career with the Trinidad Triggers of the

. He finished the summer at 5-0, 3.28 with 61 K in IP. He also hit for a batting average of .269 on base percentage .345 and slugging .308 from 31 plate appearances.

Kansas City T-Bones

In 2015 Tols signed with the Kansas City T-Bones in the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, American Association where he went 2-0 with a 4.55 ERA with 49 strike outs over 55.1 innings pitched. In 2016 Tols returned for his final season with the T-Bones where he went 5-4 with a 4.18 ERA with 60 strike outs over 60.1 innings pitched.

Niigata Albirex

On 1 April 2017, Tols signed with the Niigata Albirex of the Baseball Challenge League.

Philadelphia Phillies

Tols signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies on 9 February 2018. He was assigned to the Class A-Advanced, High-A Clearwater Threshers of the Florida State League to begin the season. Through 4 appearances, including 1 start, he had struck out 13 batters while allowing only 2 hits and posting an ERA of 0.93. He was then promoted to the Double-A (baseball), Double-A Reading Fightin Phils of the Eastern League (1938–2020), Eastern League. He still primarily served as a relief pitcher and accumulated 42 strikeouts and a 3.27 ERA by the season's end. Cumulatively, his first season record stood at 2–1 with a 2.74 ERA over 42 innings with 55 strikeouts. For the 2019 campaign, Tols was promoted to the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs of the International League. Coming on exclusively in relief, he retired 39 batters on strikes and had a 1–1 record with a 3.84 ERA in . Tols did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On 29 April 2021, Tols was released by the Phillies organization.

Kane County Cougars

On May 3, 2021, Tols signed with the Kane County Cougars of the

. Tols played the entire 2021 season with the Cougars, during which he recorded a 4-8 record with a 4.27 ERA and 121 strikeouts in 21 appearances. On May 4, 2022, Tols was released by the Cougars.

Australian Baseball League

Tols made his

debut in 2010 as a 20-year-old. He pitched shutout innings for his hometown

in the 2010-2011 Australian Baseball League (3 H, 1 BB, 1 K). With Adelaide for the first time in four winters, Josh went 9-2 with a 2.38 ERA and 46 K in 34 IP as a reliever. He led the league in wins (two over Scott Mitchinson and Morgan Coombs) and tied for third with 22 games pitched. He was named the ABL Rookie of the Year and Reliever of the Year, and selected in the Australian team for the Australian Baseball League All-Star Game. In 2015-2016, he remained hot for Adelaide (4-1, Sv, 2.23, .200 opponent average). He was 4th in the ABL in ERA (between Scott Mitchinson and Edwin Carl). Josh was signed to play for the

in 2016 where he posted a 3-2 (win-loss), 2 save, 0.92 ERA season with 42 strike outs over 29.2 innings pitched. After moving to Melbourne Josh also joined the Fitzroy Baseball Club in Division one of the Baseball Victoria, Victorian Summer Baseball League. In his debut season Josh won the Harry Douglas trophy for the league's best pitcher, with an ERA of 0.20 helping Fitzroy to win the league's club championship. Returning to the Aces Josh increased his workload with 5-3, 1 save, 4.78 ERA season with 75 strike outs over 52.2 innings pitched. Tols was selected as a member of the Australian national baseball team at the

and signed by the Philadelphia Phillies organisation. Following his signing by the Phillies Josh was restricted to a light workload in the 2017/18 ABL season pitching only 8 innings over 4 games with the Aces. He had a 1.18 ERA, with 1 win and 9 strike outs. Tols retired after the 2022–23 Australian Baseball League season in which he pitched for the Claxton Shield-winning Adelaide Giants.

International career

Tols was selected for the Australian national baseball team at the

and 2019 WBSC Premier12.

Coaching career

On January 19, 2023, Tols was announced as the rehab pitching coach for the Florida Complex League Twins, the rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.

References

External links

ABL.com stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tols, Josh 1989 births Living people Adelaide Bite players Australian expatriate baseball players in Japan Australian expatriate baseball players in the United States Baseball pitchers Clearwater Threshers players John Wood Trail Blazers baseball players Kansas City T-Bones players Las Vegas Train Robbers players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Melbourne Aces players Reading Fightin Phils players Rockhurst Hawks baseball players Sportspeople from Adelaide Tigres de Aragua players Australian expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Trinidad Triggers players 2017 World Baseball Classic players 2019 WBSC Premier12 players Sportsmen from South Australia