Trent Carl Wayne Oeltjen (; born 28 February 1983 in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

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 ...

) 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 ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

and the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. He is 6'1" (185 cm) tall and weighs 190 pounds (86 kg). In 2004, he was part of the

Australian national baseball team The Australian national baseball team represents Australia in international baseball tournaments and competitions. It is ranked as the top team in Oceania, and is the Oceanian Champion, having been awarded the title in 2007 when New Zealand wi ...

that won a silver medal in the baseball tournament at the Athens Olympics.

Professional career

Minnesota Twins

Oeltjen was signed by the Minnesota Twins in 2001. He hit at a .321/.387/.418 clip in his debut year for the

GCL Twins The Florida Complex League Twins are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays in Fort Myers, Florida, at the Lee County Sports Complex. Prior to 2021, the ...

and was quickly promoted to the

Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their major league affiliate. The team playe ...

before the end of the season. The following year, Trent continued to excel and was promoted to the Class A

Quad City River Bandits Quad as a word or prefix usually means 'four'. It may refer to: Government * Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States * Quadrilateral group, an informal group which inc ...

. He continued to improve and by the end of 2003 he was batting just under .300 in 123 games for Quad City and was promoted to the

Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex a ...

for the 2004 season where he missed games to play for the

Australia national baseball team The Australian national baseball team represents Australia in international baseball tournaments and competitions. It is ranked as the top team in Oceania, and is the Oceanian Champion, having been awarded the title in 2007 when New Zealand wi ...

in the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. Oeltjen would go on to represent Australia at the 2005 Baseball World Cup and

2006 World Baseball Classic The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums that are in and around Tokyo, Japan; San Juan, Puerto ...

. Trent was impressing critics as he continued to rise through the ranks, batting at .300 with the AA team

New Britain Rock Cats The New Britain Rock Cats were a minor league baseball team that competed in the Eastern League. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox for 12 years, the Minnesota Twins for 20 years and the Colorado Rockies for one. They playe ...

in 2006 and was picked for the World team in the 2006 All-Star Futures Game. Following this success, he was promoted to AAA in 2007 for the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

and although struggling in the regular season, he was perhaps the most outstanding individual player in the

2007 Baseball World Cup The 2007 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 37th 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 the ...

where he hit at a 523/.580/.614 clip to lead averages, steals (7) and runs (9) and was picked in the Cup All-Star team.

Arizona Diamondbacks

In 2008, he signed as a free agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He hit .317/.357/.466 for the

Tucson Sidewinders , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. His consistent performances continued when Oeltjen was with Australia for the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26. Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference ti ...

and batted 6 for 12 in the tournament. In the 2009 season he was batting over .300 and slugging .505 for the

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, which opened in 2009. ...

. He was called up to the majors on 6 August 2009, when

Justin Upton Justin Irvin Upton (born August 25, 1987) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. Nicknamed "J-Up", he has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Detroit Tig ...

was injured. Trent Oeltjen

On 6 August , Oeltjen recorded his first major league hit against

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

' pitcher

Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. Originally known as a stand-up comedian, he has since starred in Hollywood films and on TV. He has also released several well-received comedy albums. After winning se ...

. Oeltjen then proceeded to steal his first major league base. He then hit his first major league home run off Pittsburgh Pirates' pitcher

Jesse Chavez Jesse David Chavez (born August 21, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Atlanta Braves organization. He played college baseball at Riverside Community College, and was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 42nd round of the 2 ...

in the top of the 8th inning, a blast over the right field wall. Oeltjen finished the game 2 for 6 with an RBI and two stolen bases. In his third game, he hit a lead-off home run against the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

, as well as one against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

in his fourth game. Oeltjen hit his three home runs in his first 20

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s. He also came one hit shy of the cycle in a four hit game on 11 August. The four hits meant that he became the fifth player in the "expansion era" since 1961 to have twelve hits in the first five major league games played. On 29 August Oeltjen was optioned back to Reno for Chris Young as he had only 5 hits in his last 55 at-bats. He was recalled only 10 days later, and on 10 September as a

pinch runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...

, was the winning run against the

in a base-on-balls walk-off.

Milwaukee Brewers

Oeltjen signed a minor league contract which included an invitation to spring training 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 4 December 2009. On 1 July 2010, he exercised an out clause in his contract and was granted his release from the Brewers.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On 6 July 2010, Oeltjen signed with the

and was assigned to AAA

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an el ...

. He hit .347 in 49 games for the Isotopes. He was called up to the Dodgers on 7 September 2010. He appeared in 14 games with the Dodgers, getting 5 hits in 23 at-bats for a .217 average. On 3 December 2010, he was non-tendered, making him a free agent. He was re-signed by the Dodgers to a minor league contract on 7 December. He was named on the roster for 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 ...

franchise

Sydney Blue Sox The Sydney Blue Sox are a professional baseball team, and one of eight foundation 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 use ...

in the offseason However, he never played during the Australian summer and was assigned to AAA Albuquerque for 2011. With the Isotopes, Oeltjen was hitting .339 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs in 56 games. He was called back up to the Dodgers on 9 June and remained with the club the rest of the season as a reserve outfielder. He hit .197 in 61 games with 2 home runs and stole 6 bases. Oeltjen was designated for assignment by the Dodgers on 14 May 2012, but remained with the Isotopes, where he hit .294 in 112 games. On 6 October 2012 Oeltjen elected free agency.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Oeltjen spent 2013 with the

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and play their home games at Smith's Ballpark. The ballpark op ...

in the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

organization.

Arizona Diamondbacks (second stint)

On 31 March 2014, the Diamondbacks signed Oeltjen to a minor league contract. He briefly returned to the

, the Diamondbacks' AAA affiliate, before being loaned to the

Toros de Tijuana The Toros de Tijuana (or Tijuana Bulls) are a Mexican Baseball team based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. They are members of the Mexican Baseball League and play their home games at Estadio Chevron. Team history Original Attempt The fran ...

of the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. Oeltjen appeared in 10 games for the Toros before being returned to the Aces, where he played in 13 games before being released on 19 May 2014. In January 2015, while playing in

for the

, he announced his retirement from professional baseball.

Australian Baseball League

Leading up to the inaugural season of the new ABL in 2010/11, Oeltjen was named to the

roster and saw action in two games for the Blue Sox that year. After spending 2011 and 2012 with the

Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

, he returned for the 2013/14 and 2014/15 ABL seasons with the Blue Sox, seeing positive returns and his role expanded each year. Oeltjen would not return for the 2015/16 season, but signed with the defending champion

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 w ...

for the 2016/17 season. Oeltjen contributed a key two-run double in the Preliminary final series against 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 ...

. The Bandits would go on to defend their title, defeating the

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 two games.

Independent baseball

During the summer of 2016, Oeltjen briefly joined the

Pittsburg Diamonds The Pittsburg Diamonds were an independent professional baseball team based in Pittsburg, California. Originally named the Pittsburg Mettle, the club changed their name to the Diamonds in 2015. History The Pittsburg Mettle began play as a me ...

of the

Pacific Association The Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs was an independent baseball league based in Northern California. The league was founded in 2013 by four former North American League teams. History During the initial season, two Hawaii- ...

independent baseball league. Oeltjen appeared in only two games, going 3-for-7 (.429) with a home run.

International

In February 2016, Oeltjen played right field for the

in the

2017 World Baseball Classic – Qualifier 1 Qualifier 1 of the Qualifying Round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic was held at Blacktown Baseball Stadium, Sydney, Australia from February 11 to 14, 2016. Qualifier 1 was a modified double-elimination tournament. The winners of Games 1 and ...

. Australia defeated the Philippines and South Africa twice to advance in the tournament. He appeared in all three games, going 5-for-9 with two walks, three runs, and four RBI. In July 2016, Oeltjen played for Australia during the 2016 Haarlem Baseball Week, splitting time between right field and DH. Over seven games, Oeltjen went 8-for-28 (.286) with a solo home run off of the Netherlands' Jim Ploeger. Oeltjen was named Most Popular Player in the tournament. Australia placed third overall. Oeltjen returned to the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...

in 2017 to compete with Australia. Australia was eliminated in the first round, losing to both Japan and Cuba. Oeltjen appeared in two games, both times as the

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

, going 1-for-7, with three strikeouts and a walk. His lone hit was a solo home run off of Cuba's Vladimir García.

Personal

Oeltjen completed his schooling at

Gilroy College Gilroy Catholic College is a Roman Catholic comprehensive co-educational secondary day school, located in Castle Hill, in the Hills District of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The College provides a Catholic and general education for stud ...

, Castle Hill and graduated in 2000. He and pitcher

Ryan Rowland-Smith Ryan Benjamin Rowland-Smith (born 26 January 1983) is an Australian former professional baseball pitcher. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks. Rowland-Smith also represented Aust ...

co-founded NxtGen Baseball, a training camp for young baseball players.

References

External links

Twins Prospects InterviewOeltjen first Home run
on MLB.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Oeltjen, Trent 1983 births Albuquerque Isotopes players Arizona Diamondbacks players Arizona League Dodgers players Australian expatriate baseball players in Italy Australian expatriate baseball players in Mexico Australian expatriate baseball players in the United States Baseball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Brisbane Bandits players Elizabethton Twins players Fort Myers Miracle players Gulf Coast Twins players Living people Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Australia Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Mexican League baseball left fielders Nashville Sounds players Navegantes del Magallanes players Australian expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New Britain Rock Cats players Olympic baseball players for Australia Olympic medalists in baseball Olympic silver medalists for Australia Quad Cities River Bandits players Reno Aces players Rochester Red Wings players Salt Lake Bees players Sydney Blue Sox players Toros de Tijuana players Tucson Sidewinders players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2017 World Baseball Classic players Baseball players from Sydney Sportsmen from New South Wales