| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1987 |
| Founder | Australian Baseball Federation |
| First season | 1989–90 |
| Ceased | 1999 |
| No. of teams | 17 (total) |
| Country |  Australia |
| Last champion(s) | Gold Coast Cougars (1998–99) |
| Most titles | Waverly/Melbourne Reds (3) |
| Related competitions | Claxton Shield |
The Australian Baseball League (ABL) was a baseball league, established in 1987 and disbanded in 1999.
Before the formation of the Australian Baseball League, the Claxton Shield, established in 1934, was Australia's premier baseball tournament. [1] [2] The idea of an Australian baseball league was first conceived in 1987, possibly prompted by the success of Australia's National Basketball League. The final Claxton Shield competition was held in 1988 by the Auburn Baseball Club in New South Wales at its home ground of Oriole Park. Auburn funded all visiting teams' fares and accommodation with the expectation of recouping from gate takings and increased revenue at its social club. [3] Soon after, the ABL was formed, with eight teams from around Australia.
The Australian Baseball League was much like many other professional baseball leagues around the world, with teams playing home and away series during a regular season, playing to compete in the playoffs, the winner of which being crowned champions.
The season length ranged from 42 to 62 games, depending on the number of teams in the season. The competition used the designated hitter rule, much like the Major League Baseball's American League, but allowed aluminium bats for non-MLB contracted players, with the contracted players using wood. There were also allowances in place for pinch runners to run for a catcher if he made base safely, this was put in place for not only speed up the break between innings waiting for a catcher to change into his gear, but to create more excitement on the basepaths. Import restrictions also applied in the League as to nurture home grown talent [4]
The ABL experimented with many different types of scheduling to try to increase attendances, including day and night games at different times of the week, seven-inning double headers. The length of games became a problem as many grounds had night curfews.
The Australian Baseball League consisted of between six and nine teams over its 10 years of existence, with its highest point being in 1995, with nine teams competing. Championships were decided by a top-two five-game playoff series for the first three seasons before changing to a top-four playoff series with winners advancing to the championship series. Following the change to the top four format, both semi-finals and the championship series were played as best-of-three series.
The Australian Baseball League formally got underway in October 1989, representing Australia's first professional "major league"[ clarification needed ] of baseball. Officially, the first ABL game was contested between Perth Heat and Adelaide Giants at Parry Field in Perth on 27 October 1989, with the Giants winning 8-5.[ citation needed ] The inaugural season was dominated by the Waverley Reds a record of 34 wins and 6 losses, who only lost 2 games at home in 19 starts, and took the Championship series 3 games to 1 against their crosstown rivals, the Melbourne Monarchs. [5]
The 1990–91 ABL championship was won by the Perth Heat, who defeated the minor premiers, the Gold Coast's Daikyo Dolphins, by three games to two. [5] [6]
In a reversal of the previous season, the 1991–92 ABL title was won by the Daikyo Dolphins, who defeated the Perth Heat three games to one. [5]
The first year of the four-team finals format, the championship series saw the Melbourne Monarchs face the minor premier Perth Heat at Perth's Parry Field, having eliminated the Sydney Blues and Waverley Reds, respectively. The Melbourne Monarchs defeated the Heat two games to nil in the final to clinch the 1992–93 ABL championship. [5]
Won by the Brisbane Bandits, who defeated the minor premier Sydney Blues two games to nil in the championship series held at Parramatta Stadium. The Perth Heat and Adelaide Giants, respectively, were the two defeated semi-finalists. [5]
Won by the Waverley Reds, who defeated the Perth Heat two games to nil at Moorabbin Oval. The Sydney Blues (defeated by the Reds) and East Coast Cougars (defeated by the Heat) were eliminated in the semi-finals. [5]
Won by the Sydney Blues, who defeated the Melbourne Reds two games to nil in the Blues' only season at the old Sydney Showground at Moore Park. In the first time a team had reached the final from fourth place, the Reds defeated the minor premier Brisbane Bandits in the semi-final, while the Perth Heat were eliminated by the Blues. [5]
Won by the Perth Heat, who defeated the Brisbane Bandits in three games. [5]
Won by the Melbourne Reds, who defeated the East Coast Cougars in two games. [5]
The final ABL Championship, held as a test event at the new Sydney Showground at Sydney Olympic Park, was taken in two games by the Gold Coast Cougars (who defeated the Sydney Storm), after the Adelaide Giants dominated the regular season. [5]
The ABL had a total running cost of $6 million by the later half of the 1990s, due to a lack of sponsorship and gate takings the league was only raising $4 million by the final season. [7] Due to these mounting debts the Australian Baseball Federation sold off the rights to the league and Claxton Shield to Australian baseballer David Nilsson for a reported $5 million who replaced it with the International Baseball League of Australia, which in turn folded in 2002. [8]
Over the ten years of the Australian Baseball League, a total of twelve franchise licences were issued; most seasons the ABL had a total of eight teams, but had as many as nine, and, for the final season, six. The founding eight teams of the Australian Baseball League were:
Later additions to the league were:
The ABL experienced a lot of baseball talent not only from Australia, but from overseas, with over 90 MLB or future MLB players playing over the history of the competition. [10] Many of these import players were sent to Australia from rookie ball up to advanced A (with some exceptions) as a winter ball league that provided a different environment to winter leagues in Latin America. It proved to be a good 'instructional league' for MLB organisations or even for extended rehabilitation. Many of the import players would not come back for a second season as they were either advanced in their organisation, or replaced by a different player who was thought could benefit from playing in Australia.
Batting leaders
| Pitching leaders
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 | This article needs to be updated.(July 2012) |
While no confirmation was forthcoming from either source, plans were apparently hatched between the Australian Baseball Federation and Major League Baseball to re-establish an Australian national league in November 2008. [11] [12] The new national league was proposed to run for 10 weeks from November 2008 to February 2009 and to be partly funded by Major League Baseball. [13]
On 10 August 2007 it was announced the 2008 Claxton Shield would be run as a "home and away" series. The revamped series was made up of two pools of three teams, with each team playing three home and three away games against the other two teams in its pool. Pool A was to be made up of the Victoria Aces, Perth Heat and South Australia, and Pool B was to be made up of the New South Wales Patriots, Queensland Rams and Australia Provincial. The revamped series was run from late December 2007 to early February 2008. [11] [14]
The 2009 series followed a similar format, but without the Australia Provincial team, resulting in each team playing each other team once in either a home or an away three-game series, in addition to a "showcase" round to start the season, held in Sydney with each team playing every other team once over the course of the week.
On 1 July 2009, a joint announcement was made by the Australian Baseball Federation, Australian Federal Government and Major League Baseball stating the intention to resurrect a national baseball league for Australia, with the Government announcing A$400,000 towards the new league. [15]
It was originally planned that the Australian Baseball League would eventually have a 60-game season from November to February consisting of teams from Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney with a pending spot for Canberra. The league is 75% owned by Major League Baseball and 25% by the Australian Baseball Federation. The first ABL season is scheduled for November–February 2009/2010, but will be run under the banner of the 2010 Claxton Shield with 2011 season scheduled to be the first 'official' season. Some players will be paid, and some will not, with an average salary expected to be about A$800 per month. Players will be under contract, although the system of player-league relations will be highly centralized in the ABF for the league's early years in order to ensure cheap and efficient league operation. In November 2009 referendums were held on team names. [16]
In November 2009, the Australian Baseball League approved Canberra's bid for a 6th spot in the inaugural ABL season with the ACT Government contributing $75,000 for the first season, and $30,000 every other season. Also, the franchise already has over $64,000 from 3200 people pledging support at $20 a head during the bid attempt. ActewAGL, Rolfe Audi were announced as major sponsors of the team. [17]
In May, 2010, the Australian Baseball League made steps towards marketing their product, producing a website and two advertisements shown on ESPN Australia and ONE HD. The logo was officially unveiled and the Melbourne franchise's general manager, Stephen Nash, announced a 40-game season between six franchises over 10 weeks from November to January, with a post-season finals series in February. [18]
On 5 August 2010, the team names for the Australian Baseball League were made public. They include the Brisbane Bandits, the Sydney Blue Sox, the Canberra Cavalry, the Melbourne Aces, the Adelaide Bite and the Perth Heat.
Since its beginning in 2010, the Australian Baseball League has expanded to have 8 teams on its roster, with the addition of the Auckland Tuatara and Geelong-Korea in the 2018/2019 Season. [19] The League has also been divided into the South-West Division and the North-East Division. [19]
The Melbourne Reds were a Victorian-based baseball team in the Australian Baseball League. They were the only team to win the championship 3 times. The Reds originally played at the home of VFL/AFL football, Waverley Park from 1989 until the 1994 Championship, when they moved to the former home ground of the St Kilda Football Club, Moorabbin Oval for the 1994/95 Championship and played there until the end of Australian Baseball League 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 Sydney Storm, originally Sydney Blues were a team in the now defunct Australian Baseball League. The franchise featured in every post season throughout its existence and won the Claxton Shield once.
The 1997–98 Australian Baseball League season was the 9th season of the original Australian Baseball League, contested between eight teams representing state and regional capitals: Adelaide Giants, Brisbane Bandits, Gold Coast Cougars, Hunter Eagles, Melbourne Monarchs, Melbourne Reds, Perth Heat and Sydney Storm. The Melbourne Reds became the first three-time champions defeating the Gold Coast Cougars 2 games to 0 in the Championship series, in front of a small home crowd of 600 at the Melbourne Ballpark.
The 1993–94 Australian Baseball League Championship was won by the Brisbane Bandits who after finishing 3rd defeated Perth Heat to meet the Sydney Blues in the championship series where they won the Championship in 2 games.
The 1994–95 Australian Baseball League Championship was won by the Waverley Reds, who finished the season with a 17-game winning streak. The Reds faced the 4th place Sydney Blues in the semi-final and won 2–0, while the 2nd placed Perth Heat defeated the East Coast Cougars 2–1 to win a spot in the Championship Series. The Reds won the first two games of the championship series 5-1 and 4–2, with the third game not being required.
The 1998–99 Australian Baseball League season was the 10th season of the original Australian Baseball League, contested between six teams representing state and regional capitals: Adelaide Giants, Gold Coast Cougars, Melbourne Monarchs, Melbourne Reds, Perth Heat and Sydney Storm. The championship was won by the Gold Coast Cougars, who defeated the Sydney Storm in 2 games in the championship series at the Sydney Showground Stadium. The Adelaide Giants finished the season on top of the ladder but were knocked out in Semi-final 1 by the Sydney Storm.
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 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 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 2019–20 Australian Baseball League season was the tenth year Australian Baseball League (ABL) season. The season was held from 21 November 2019 to 9 February 2020. The Melbourne Aces won their first title after defeating the Adelaide Giants in the postseason.
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.
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