This article needs to be updated.(December 2020) |
Sydney Blue Sox | |||||
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Information | |||||
Location | Blacktown, New South Wales | ||||
Ballpark | Blacktown International Sportspark | ||||
Founded | 2009 | ||||
Division championships | 2010–11 | ||||
Colours |
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Ownership | Darren Macbeth and Robert Hazan [1] | ||||
Manager | Tony Harris | ||||
Uniforms | |||||
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), [2] one of the two venues used for baseball at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, when it was known as Blacktown Olympic Park. The Blue Sox hosted the league's Opening Day for the inaugural season on 6 November 2010, when they played against the Canberra Cavalry, [3] and won the game 1–0. [4] The Blue Sox are the only team in the Australian Baseball League to implement sabermetrics as a way to run their team with volunteer statistician, Anthony Rescan. [5]
Fan response was very positive for the Blue Sox in the lead up to their inaugural season. As the sole team in New South Wales, they attracted interest beyond the Sydney metropolitan region; as far north as Newcastle, which hosted the former ABL franchise Hunter Eagles throughout the 1990s. Five hundred season tickets were allocated for the 2010–11 season, which sold out two months prior to the season's start; [6] a waiting list for 2011–12 season tickets was soon created. [7] Such was the demand to see professional baseball return to Sydney, several games had sold out well in advance of their scheduled dates, [6] including the season opener. [8]
The creation of the ABL was announced at a press conference on the Gold Coast, at the Palm Meadows Baseball Complex, site of the Major League Baseball Australia Academy Program in July 2009. [9] Though there was speculation at the time that there may be as many as 10 teams in the competition, with teams possibly from New Zealand and Asia, [10] it wasn't until two months later that the number and location of teams was announced: Sydney would have one of five confirmed teams, [11] with Canberra eventually being successful in bidding for the sixth team. [12]
Names and colour schemes for each of the teams were determined through a competition launched in December 2009 called "Name Your ABL Team". Fans were asked to select from one of four options for the team's name or provide their own alternative. Though the four options provided for the Sydney team were "Sydney Sting", "Sydney Rocks", "Sydney Surf" and "Sydney Bluewave", [13] the name announced in August 2010 was "Sydney Blue Sox", with Sydney's colour being the blue traditionally associated with New South Wales sporting teams. The Blue Sox would have Blacktown Olympic Park as their home ground, which had been the New South Wales Patriots home in the Claxton Shield the previous three seasons. [2]
On 19 August 2010, Blue Sox signed Glenn Williams as manager for the 2010–11 season. [14] Williams had last played baseball in Australia with the Patriots in the 2007 Claxton Shield, [15] and played 13 games for the Minnesota Twins during the 2005 Major League Baseball season, [16] becoming the 17th Australian-born player to reach the Major Leagues. [17] The following month, Eddie Bray was appointed as general manager of the club, having held the same role with the Patriots in the 2010 Claxton Shield. [18]
Sydney's initial roster included two players—Chris Oxspring [19] and Koo Dae-Sung [20] —and manager Glenn Williams [21] with Major League experience. With Oxspring also taking on the role of pitching coach, and a number of players with experience from international league's including Nippon Professional Baseball and Korea Baseball Organization, and the late addition to the roster of active Major Leaguers Trent Oeltjen [22] and Rich Thompson, [23] Sydney had the most experienced roster of any of the teams in the league.
The Blue Sox hosted the inaugural game of the league, playing against the Canberra Cavalry at BOP, which they won 1–0. [24] They would go on to sweep the opening series, the first of three series sweeps they would accomplish through the season, the others two against the Adelaide Bite at home, and the Perth Heat in Perth at Baseball Park. Ironically, immediately after sweeping the Heat, Perth swept Sydney at BOP.
Sydney clinched first place in the league in their final game, beating the Cavalry at Narrabundah Ballpark in Canberra. They led Perth by half a game, with Adelaide a further game back, and the Melbourne Aces six games behind the Blue Sox. Finishing first earned Sydney the right to host the major semi-final series, in addition to a second chance if they lost the series, against the second-place Heat. [25] Perth maintained the perfect season record in Sydney, sweeping the series and qualifying directly to the championship series. [26]
The Bite, having defeated the Aces in the minor semi-final series faced the Blue Sox in the preliminary final series at BOP. Game one of the series featured Sydney starting pitcher David Welch, who threw the league's first no-hitter. [27] This would be Sydney's only win of the postseason, as Adelaide came back and won the series 2–1. [28]
Sydney players took three of the six season awards announced by the league:
PF | Preliminary final |
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MaSF | Major semi-final |
MiSF | Minor semi-final |
POY | Pitcher of the Year |
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REL | Reliever of the Year |
ROY | Rookie of the Year |
GG | Golden Glove |
ABL Season | Team Season | Regular Season Results | Postseason | Awards | ||||
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Finish | Won | Lost | Pct. | GB | ||||
2010–11 | 2010–11 | 1st | 24 | 15 | .615 | — | Lost MaSF series (Perth Heat 2–0) Lost PF series (Adelaide Bite 2–1) | Koo Dae-Sung (REL) Trent Schmutter (ROY) David Welch (POY) |
2011–12 | 2011–12 | 4th | 20 | 25 | .444 | 14 | Won MiSF series (Adelaide Bite 3–1) Lost PF series (Melbourne Aces 3–2) | Aidan Francis (ROY) |
2012–13 | 2012–13 | 2nd | 26 | 19 | .578 | 0.5 | Lost PF series (Perth Heat 2–0) | |
2013–14 | 2013–14 | 2nd | 23 | 23 | .500 | 9.0 | Lost PF series (Canberra Cavalry 2–1) | |
2014–15 | 2014–15 | 3rd | 22 | 24 | .478 | 9.0 | Lost PF series (Perth Heat 0–0) | |
2015–16 | 2015–16 | 4th | 26 | 29 | .473 | 10.5 | ||
2016–17 | 2016–17 | 5th | 14 | 26 | .350 | 10.5 | ||
2017–18 | 2017–18 | 5th | 13 | 27 | .350 | 10.5 | ||
2018–19 | 2018–19 | 2nd | 25 | 15 | .625 | --- | Lost PF series (Perth Heat 2–1) | Gift Ngoepe (GG) Todd van Steensel (REL) |
2019–20 | 2019–20 | 7th | 13.5 | 23.5 | .413 | 5.0 | ||
Won | Lost | Pct. | |
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Regular season record | 169.5 | 182.5 | .482 |
Postseason record | 7 | 14 | .333 |
All-time record | 176.5 | 196.5 | .473 |
Active Roster | Development and Reserve Lists | Coaching staff | ||||
Pitchers Right-handed pitchers
Left-handed pitchers | Catchers Infielders
Outfielders | Pitchers 'Infielders’ Outfielders | Manager Coaches
: 7-day disabled list | |||
19 November 2022 |
Chris Andrew Oxspring is an Australian professional baseball pitcher who has played Major League Baseball, Nippon Professional Baseball, KBO League, and currently plays in the Australian Baseball League (ABL) for the Sydney Blue Sox.
The Australian Baseball League (ABL) was a baseball league, established in 1987 and disbanded in 1999.
The Perth Heat is a baseball team in the current Australian Baseball League and a founding member of the Australian Baseball League. It is the most successful team in ABL history, winning 15 Claxton Shields.
The Claxton Shield was the name of the premier baseball competition in Australia held between state-based teams, as well as the name of the trophy awarded to the champion team. From the summer of 1989–90 until 2001–02, and again since 2010–11, the tournament was replaced by one of three other competitions: the original Australian Baseball League (ABL), the International Baseball League of Australia (IBLA), and since the 2010–11 season the new ABL. Despite other competitions being held in place of the Claxton Shield, the physical trophy has remained the award for the winning teams. Though city-based teams have competed for the Claxton Shield in some seasons, the name engraved on the shield is that of the winning state; for the 2010–11 ABL season won by the Perth Heat, "West Australia 2011" was engraved.
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 shares some history of the original league with the Claxton Shield awarded to winners of both competitions, it is considered to be a separate competition.
The Canberra Cavalry 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, known as MIT Ballpark for sponsorship reasons. The Cavalry are one-time Claxton Shield Champions and one-time Asian Champions.
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 was the Brisbane Exhibition Ground, the ground which the old Brisbane Bandits played at for the majority of their nine-year tenure. As of the start of the 2013/14 the Bandits home ground is Holloway Field in Newmarket.
The 2010–11 Australian Baseball League season was the inaugural Australian Baseball League (ABL) season, and was held from 6 November 2010 to 13 February 2011. It came 12 years after the old Australian Baseball League ceased and is the successor of the mostly amateur Claxton Shield competition that has been played since 1934. The season consisted of six teams competing in a 40-game schedule, followed by a three-round finals series to determine the ABL champion.
The 2010–11 Australian Baseball League season will be the inaugural season of the re-launched Australian Baseball League, contested between six teams representing the mainland national and state capitals: Adelaide Bite, Brisbane Bandits, Canberra Cavalry, Melbourne Aces, Perth Heat and Sydney Blue Sox. Each of the teams take the place of one of the state teams from the 2010 Claxton Shield, with the exception of Canberra which was introduced as a new team. Clubs form a roster of up to 35; of which 22 will comprise the active roster named for each of the ten rounds of the regular season and each series of the finals for those teams that qualify.
The 2011–12 Australian Baseball League season is the second Australian Baseball League (ABL) season, and is being held from 4 November 2011 to 12 February 2012. The season was scheduled to start on 3 November with a single game between the Perth Heat and the Adelaide Bite at Baseball Park in Perth, but the game was postponed due to wet weather.
The 2012–13 Australian Baseball League season was the third Australian Baseball League (ABL) season, and was held from 1 November 2012 to 9 February 2013. The season started with a game between the defending champions Perth Heat and the Adelaide Bite at Norwood Oval in Adelaide.
The 2013–14 Australian Baseball League season was the fourth Australian Baseball League (ABL) season, and was held from 31 October 2013 to 8 February 2014. The season started with a game between the Melbourne Aces and the Canberra Cavalry at Narrabundah Ballpark in Canberra. The Perth Heat won their third title in four seasons defeating defending champions the Canberra Cavalry in the finals.
The 2014–15 Australian Baseball League season was the fifth Australian Baseball League (ABL) season. It was held from 30 October 2014 to 8 February 2015, with the Perth Heat winning their fourth title in five seasons, defeating the Adelaide Bite in the finals to defend their title.
The 2015–16 Australian Baseball League season was the sixth Australian Baseball League (ABL) season, held from 23 October 2015 to 6 February 2016.
The 2016–17 Australian Baseball League season was the seventh Australian Baseball League (ABL) season, and was held from 17 November 2016 to 11 February 2017.
The 2013–14 Sydney Blue Sox season was the team's fourth season. The Blue Sox competed in the Australian Baseball League (ABL) against five other teams, playing its home games at Blacktown International Sportspark Sydney.
The 2014–15 Sydney Blue Sox season was the team's fifth season. The Blue Sox competed in the Australian Baseball League (ABL) against five other teams, playing its home games at Blacktown International Sportspark Sydney.
The 2020–21 Australian Baseball League season was the eleventh year of the Australian Baseball League (ABL) season. The season was held from 17 December 2020 to 7 February 2021. The Melbourne Aces won their second consecutive title by defeating the Perth Heat in a shortened playoff series.
The 2022–23 Australian Baseball League season was the twelfth season of the Australian Baseball League (ABL). After the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the 2021–22 season and reduced the 2020–21 season to six teams, this season was the first in three years not to feel the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports. The regular season began on 10 November 2022 and concluded on 22 January 2023 with the Adelaide Giants winning the Claxton Shield over the Perth Heat.
The 2023–24 Australian Baseball League season is the thirteenth season of the Australian Baseball League (ABL), and began on 17 November 2023. Six teams will compete in the season, down from eight in the previous season, due to Auckland Tuatara being liquidated and Geelong-Korea's exit from the league.