The first pitch of the Australian Baseball League will be thrown this Thursday, October 30, at Holloway Field in Brisbane, and I think there are plenty of reasons for people to be excited, whether you’re a nailed-on baseball fan or not.
The ABL follows hot on the heels of the World Series, and although seeing the Brisbane Bandits and the Adelaide Bite might not have the same glamorous appeal as the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals, fans can still jump onto the baseball bandwagon that has been rolling since the MLB season kicked off in Australia earlier this year.
The MLB demonstrated their commitment to the survival of baseball in Australia by hosting the opening round at the Sydney Cricket Ground in March, as well as propping up the game financially since they helped remodel the ABL in 2010.
When the Arizona Diamondbacks ‘hosted’ the LA Dodgers at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the Opening Series in March, 40,000 fans packed the SCG both nights to see the Dodgers get their season off to a flying start, winning 3-1 and 7-5.
This suggests that the market for baseball is there in Australia, and the ABL would be hoping to at last tap into that enthused market this season.
But there is no hiding from the fact that the ALB has not been the financial success that the MLB had hoped for. In the previous four seasons of the league, crowds have been disappointing, as low as 200 for some games. Some earlier reports suggested the league needs crowds of more than 2500 to be sustainable.
This is the final season of five that the MLB were initially willing to throw their weight behind, so it could well be a pivotal, game-changing season for baseball in Australia.
Baseball will always be a minority sport over here, with cricket and now football dominating the summer limelight. In the competitive sporting marketplace that is Australia, fans are hard to come by. The saying goes that you can take a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.
However, if more Aussies took the time to take a sip of America’s national pastime, they’d be pleasantly surprised. For a start, it is cheap to attend, with adult single game tickets from $15.
The stadiums are small and homely, giving you, and particularly the kids, a chance to get up close and personal to the players in a way rarely available in the era of modern, big stadiums.
The baseball community also pride themselves on interacting with their fans at the games, with numerous free giveaways and on-field events between innings.
Personally, I will be looking forward to seeing the Brisbane Bandits fight for the Claxton Shield at their newly refurbished home at Holloway Field in Newmarket. The Bandits will be guided by the greatest Australian baseball player of all time, Australian Sporting Hall of Fame inductee, former Milwaukee Brewer and MLB All Star player, David Nilsson.
They will also look to benefit from their association with American League East franchise the Tampa Bay Rays, who have committed to send four of their minor league prospects over to Queensland this season.
Maxx Tissenbaum, Johnny Field, Tommy Coyle and Granden Goetzman all performed well for the Rays’ Advanced A affiliate team, the Charlotte Stone Crabs, this season. They will be keen to impress the Rays on their Australian excursion and, with 30 home runs scored between them this season, could help fire up in the ABL.
Other Major League franchises have struck up partnerships with ABL teams too, with Sydney welcoming players from the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies and Melbourne hosting two Texas Rangers draft picks.
On average, MLB teams have sent 30 prospects per year to the ALB. Over the last four seasons, six players have gone on to play in the MLB, and more than 50 play in the minor leagues. Who’s to say these imports won’t be future stars too?
Finally, with the absence of a domestic one day cricket competition to attend for the majority of the country, perhaps fans craving their fill of live sport could give baseball a go?
So don’t be afraid to head down to the ball game this summer. You never know, you might just enjoy it.
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