Timothy James Kennelly (born 5 December 1986) is an Australian

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 ...

player for the Perth Heat of the Australian Baseball League. Primarily an outfielder and third baseman, Kennelly spent a significant portion of his career also at catcher. He is the current all-time hits (426), runs (275), runs batted in (226), plate appearances (1637) and at-bats (1432) leader of the Australian Baseball League as of 1 January 2023.

Career

Kennelly signed to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2005 as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

through the

Major League Baseball Australian Academy Program The Major League Baseball Australian Academy Program (MLBAAP) is a seven-week baseball development program held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia for prospective Australian baseball players and officials. The Academy began in 2001 with t ...

where he had a good debut season with the

GCL Phillies The Florida Complex League Phillies are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Phillies. The team plays ...

batting .295 and slugging .420. He debuted as a 19-year-old for the Western Australia Heelers in

2006 Claxton Shield Results and statistics for the 2006 Claxton Shield Results Round 1: Saturday, 21 January 2006 Round 2: Sunday, 22 January 2006 Round 3: Monday, 23 January 2006 Round 4: Tuesday, 24 January 2006 Round 5: Wednesday, 25 January 2006 Fi ...

as a utility. Due to a torn labrum, he missed the 2006 minor league season. In the 2008 Claxton Shield Final, Tim and his brother starred for Western Australia as they won the Claxton Shield. They made it two in a row the following year in the

2009 Claxton Shield The 2009 Diamond Anniversary Claxton Shield was the 75-year anniversary of the Claxton Shield and was held from 2 December 2008 to 8 February 2009 and was the Shield's Diamond anniversary. The Perth Heat won the tournament after defeating the New ...

. Back in America, Kennelly had a break-out year, being promoted to the Reading Phillies, and batted .256/.338/.393 and named as the DH for the Florida State League postseason All-Star team.

Australian national team

Kennelly was selected for the Australia national baseball team at the

2009 Baseball World Cup The 2009 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 38th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through ...

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike ...

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 ...

, 2018 exhibition games against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

2019 WBSC Premier12 The 2019 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship featuring the 12 highest-ranked national teams in the world, held by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It was the second WBSC Premier12 event. The championship ...

, and the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international professional baseball tournament, is set to be the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It was originally set for 2021 (as per tradition to hold the event every four years), but wa ...

. His efforts were recognised by being selected on the roster for the 2009 Baseball World Cup for the Australia. On 20 February 2018, he was selected exhibition series against Japan. On 8 October, 2019, he was selected at the

Personal life

He is the son of Mike Kennelly, a 16-year PGA veteran and also the older brother of

Matt Kennelly Mathew Luke Kennelly (born 21 March 1989) is an Australian professional baseball catcher. He is the younger brother of Timothy Kennelly. International competition Kennelly appeared for Australia in both the 2009 Baseball World Cup and the 20 ...

, who plays minor league baseball for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

organisation. Kennelly is a keen supporter of

Australian Rules Football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

, which he had to give up playing to chase his dream of professional baseball. Off of the field, Kennelly works as a firefighter.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennelly, Tim 1986 births Living people Australian expatriate baseball players in the United States Baseball catchers Baseball people from Western Australia Baseball outfielders Baseball third basemen Batavia Muckdogs players Clearwater Threshers players Florida Complex League Phillies players Lakewood BlueClaws players Perth Heat players Reading Phillies players Sportspeople from Perth, Western Australia Sportsmen from Western Australia Williamsport Crosscutters players 2013 World Baseball Classic players 2017 World Baseball Classic players 2023 World Baseball Classic players