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Adelaide Takes a Bite at the ABL

Professional baseball is coming home! After a nationwide "Name Your Team" competition, the Australian Baseball League (ABL) today unveiled names and logos for its six inaugural teams, with the Adelaide team to be known as the Adelaide Bite. The Adelaide Bite will be joined by the Brisbane Bandits, Canberra Cavalry, Melbourne Aces, Perth Heat and Sydney Blue Sox as the founding clubs of the ABL when the inaugural 40-game season begins in November.

The ABL is supported by Major League Baseball (MLB), the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF) and the Australian Sports Commission (ASC). Running from November through to February, the off-season of the Northern Hemisphere baseball season, the ABL will provide an opportunity for Australians competing overseas to demonstrate their talents at home while also attracting premiere prospects from the top pro leagues in the United States, Japan, Korea and elsewhere.

The Bite brand pays homage to the menacing Great White shark that patrols South Australia’s coastal waters, as well as the state’s geographic location along the iconic Great Australian Bight. The club will be based out of the traditional home of baseball in South Australia, Coopers Stadium at Norwood Oval. Twenty South Australians have played professionally with Major League Baseball affiliated clubs in the United States.

"We are excited to build on baseball’s proud tradition here in Adelaide, and look forward to providing the community with electrifying baseball and family-friendly entertainment," said Adelaide Bite General Manager Pat Kelly.

The six teams announced today have a deep pool of Australian talent to pick from with more than 75 Australians playing professionally for MLB affiliated teams, in the top Japanese, Korean and European leagues as well as the North American independent leagues. All told more than 300 Australians have played professionally including 28 for Major League Baseball.

Australia’s rich baseball heritage dates back to the first game played between Richmond and Collingwood in 1857. In 2004, Australia brought home Olympic Silver, beating baseball juggernaut Japan.

The establishment of the ABL is the latest success in the long-term partnership between MLB and the ABF. The Major League Baseball Australian Academy Program began in 2001 to provide world-class coaching, training and development opportunities for elite young players and has led to a 40% increase in the number of Australians playing professional and college baseball.

For your chance to "Be Part of it, From the Start of it," and to secure your Adelaide Bite foundation membership or for more information please log onto www.adelaidebite.com.au.

Australia's most wanted athlete Sam Day

Click here to view story on Sam Day

..:: message posted on Friday the 19th of March, 2010 21:11:58 ::..

SA loses Claxton!

South Australia went down to Victoria in the second game played on Saturday night at Latrobe University 7-4 losing the series 2-0

..:: message posted on Saturday the 6th of February, 2010 22:48:21 ::..

SA loses Game 1 Claxton

On Friday night at La Trobe University in Melbourne, South Australia went down to Victoria 5-3.

You can tune into tomorrow night at 7.05 pm to watch Game 2 live via the webcast. The quality of the webcast is good!

..:: message posted on Friday the 5th of February, 2010 22:31:30 ::..

2010 South Australian Schoolboys Tryouts

Tryouts for the 2010 South Australian Schoolboys have been announced.

Please be aware that the Permission / Nomination Form must be completed in full with Principal and Parent/Carer approval - and returned to Secondary School Sport SA via fax on 8354 2325 by Thursday, February 11

Any questions please contact myself on contact details below

Paul Chandler
Manager - Coaching & Development
Baseball SA
P: 08 8347 4222
F: 08 8345 2366
M:0421 133 103
E: p.chandler@baseballsa.org.au

..:: message posted on Tuesday the 2nd of February, 2010 21:22:14 ::..

State Team Try Outs

State Team Try outs will occur for Under 18, 16 and Under 14 as specified on the Baseball SA website.

All details including try out dates and the relevant registration form is available from the website.

..:: message posted on Monday the 31st of August, 2009 23:36:17 ::..

Thursday is D (as in decision day) for Olympic Baseball

by Jerry Milani, Baseballdigest.com

This Thursday 13th August 2009, while baseball fans in the United States are gearing up for pennant races and starting to follow the phenomenon of the Little League World Series, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge will make an announcement in Berlin that could affect the future of literally thousands of young baseball players around the globe.

President Rogge will announce which two sports of the seven under consideration will be put forth for a vote to the IOC members for inclusion in the Olympic program for 2016. Baseball, along with softball, golf, rugby, roller sports, karate and squash are vying for the right to be presented to the IOC membership for a vote in October in Copenhagen.

But with baseball doing so well as a global sport...it is one of the few sports outside of soccer that can be called the "National Pastime" in nations ranging from the United States and Japan to Korea, Cuba and the Dominican Republic...why is Olympic inclusion even important? After all, the continued growth of the World Baseball Classic along with millions of dollars invested in development of the sport around the world really should put baseball on a global stage regardless of the Olympics, shouldn't it?

While all that is true, the answer is that the Olympics remains a very important piece in the growth of baseball in many developing countries, since those sport federations get at least part of their funding from government dollars, many of which are provided to sports in the Olympic program. So while it may not be as big a deal for the growth in countries where the sport is popular, or even in some emerging nations like Italy or the Netherlands or even India, where baseball is gaining interest, the development of baseball for children can and may be slowed if baseball is left out of the picture on Thursday.

In many ways baseball may be a victim of its own global success in the eyes of many involved in the decision. The sport is arguably the third-largest in the world in terms of participation behind soccer and basketball, and even in a slow economy, the visibility, innovation and revenue generated by Major League Baseball as well as the Japanese League is in the billions, and dwarfs the visibility and revenue of most other global professional sports.

And although the issue of performance enhancing drugs is an issue for all sports, baseball's year-round visibility has made it the poster child for steroid controversy, despite the fact that MLB and the Players Association have probably done more to correct the problem and be leaders in the anti-doping area than any other sport. Baseball effectively addressed the issue head-on on the international front as well, and has been fully WADA-compliant, a very positive development that is often missed in the steroid debate.

There is also the top player issue that is frequently brought up as a barrier to return to the Olympics for the sport, yet when baseball was first brought into the Olympics in 1992, one of the caveats was that amateur or non-MLB players be used in the competition. As the Olympics have evolved very quickly into a professional sport endeavor, baseball has been playing catch-up on the pro side and had a good sampling of 40 man roster players in the Beijing Games, over half of which have moved on to Major League rosters since the end of last year's Olympics.

The sport's most recent proposal to the IOC even guaranteed the use of star players from Major League Baseball in a five day tournament in 2016, and outgoing Players Association head Don Fehr has pointed quite accurately to the fact that the World Baseball Classic and other events have served to create positive inroads for players to get used to the international game. In fact, virtually every current player on an MLB roster who has been asked, has said that if they are selected, they would find a way to play for their country in 2016, a list that includes current stars like the Phillies Shane Victorino, the Tigers Curtis Granderson, the Red Sox Victor Martinez and the Yankees C.C. Sabathia among many others.

More importantly than the current stars, baseball has looked to the future and gotten buy-in from players like Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper, and Yu Darvish, players who may be in their prime in 2016 and have already tasted international play, to say they would also play in 2016. Yet even with all that work, and the fact that almost 300 current professional players have played Olympic baseball since 1992, the perception remains that the sport may lack star power in 2016.

At the end of day on Thursday, it may come down to the simple fact that the IOC does not see baseball fitting in as part of the program any more, despite the fact that the sports leaders...who rarely unite on any issue...have worked tirelessly to fix all the issues that had baseball removed from the program for 2012. The reasons whispered...size of rosters, lack of appeal in Europe (where most of the Executive Committee hails from), stadium issues, the inability to shut down the season (which is not asked of any other professional sports in the summer, including soccer and tennis and others), the lack of a woman's discipline (the IBAF has added a women's proposal by the way, and has formed a committee to develop women's baseball further, chaired by Dr. Donna Lopiano)...are all reasons that can be overcome if there was interest by the IOC.

In truth, baseball has offered not just to offset any financial burdens in infrastructure that may exist, but will also form a joint marketing program with the IOC to promote baseball and the Olympics to the largest possible audience year-round for the next seven years, a claim which none of the other sports can offer. Even from a finance standpoint, the amount of money in ticket revenue that could be generated in a five day tournament in two stadiums in Tokyo or Chicago (two of the potential cities) could be in excess of $30 million dollars, while Rio or Madrid would still offer up crowds in excess of 10,000 people per day.

So has baseball made its best pitch for Olympic re-inclusion? If you look at the facts you have to say yes. As a matter of fact, the entire process has probably done more to grow the game, from the addressing of anti-doping to the increased play in nations around the world, than if baseball did not have to fight to get back into the Olympics. The real downside will be the young people who will no longer get that exposure to a sport that is all-inclusive, teaches fair play and discipline, is relatively inexpensive to play and promotes healthy physical activity.

That is a fairly large downside in terms of development for the future, but one thing is for sure...baseball is a sport that has always shown resilience, and even with a thumbs down from the IOC, it will find a way to make sure it continues to grow around the world.

..:: message posted on Wednesday the 12th of August, 2009 20:57:57 ::..

Umpire Development Training for 2009/10 Season

The Umpire Training and Development Program has been released for season 2009/10.
Please click here for all the information - http://www.sa.baseball.com.au/default.asp?Page=21480
Any questions can be directed to Mr Andrew Bell – Baseball SA State Director of Umpires – 0433 123 557
Paul Chandler
Manager - Coaching & Development Baseball SA

..:: message posted on Sunday the 2nd of August, 2009 13:00:45 ::..

New Australian Baseball League announced

Federal Sports Minister Kate Ellis has committed $400,000 towards the plans for a new Australian Baseball League. The Australian Baseball Federation and US based Major League Baseball have entered a joint partnership to establish the competition. Ten years after the old ABL was disbanded, there is an aim for the new National League to start in October 2010 featuring teams from all states and territories. Full details are available at: http://www.baseball.com.au/?Page=54639

..:: message posted on Thursday the 2nd of July, 2009 00:01:51 ::..

Cal Ripken Tryouts 2009

Baseball SA are conducting a Trail Session for Cal Ripken on Tuesday 28 April 2009 at Seaton High School

Please or click on this link - http://www.sa.baseball.com.au/default.asp?Page=51866 for full details.

Please advise Paul Chandler of any player in your club you feel would have a good shot at making this team – The Player must be born on or after 1 May 1996.

This age group captures a number of players who have just completed their 1st year of U14 Club Baseball.

Paul will then forward to them an email inviting them to attend

..:: message posted on Sunday the 19th of April, 2009 22:04:05 ::..

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