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23 DEC 2003 - ROAD TO ATHENS SOON FOR
'AROOS' |
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Australia's road to the 2004
Athens Olympic games baseball competition starts soon after the
Claxton Shield competition has concluded. SADLY, there is no need to
mention where these top baseball competitions will be held...
Baseball Australia knows no other place than Blacktown Olympic
Park! |
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OCEANIA CHAMPIONSHIP –
January 28-31.
A place at the Olympics
is on the line for the Aussie baseball team and you can see
them in action in the first stage of their Olympic Qualifiers
right here at BOP. Australia will take on Guam in a best of 5
series, beginning January 28 with matches on the 29th, 30th
(and 31st if needed).
Matches from the
29-30th will be at 7:30pm with a double header at 3pm &
7:30pm on the 31st.
OCEANIA v AFRICA
OLYMPIC QUALIFIER - February 5-9
Australia will host
this 5 game series that will see South Africa play either
Australia or Guam (depending on results from a pre Olympic
Qualifier).
The winner of that
event will then play against South Africa for the eighth and
final place in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Those teams
who have qualified already are Japan, Chinese Taipei, Cuba,
Canada, Italy, the Netherlands & Greece.
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12 DEC 2003 - BOSOX SIGN VICT RHYS
TAYLOR |
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18yo Shepparton
teenager RHYS TAYLOR is Australia's latest product to sign a
US professional baseball contract.
The hard-throwing
right-hand pitcher will be joining the famous Boston Red Sox
organisation after being signed by their Australian scout, none
other than 'Flintoff & Dunn' Hall-of-Famer Jon
Deeble.
Here is some text
transposed incomplete from the media
release: |
Rhys
Taylor
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Last week, the 18-year-old was plucked
from country baseball obscurity to be signed by American Major
League Baseball club the Boston Red Sox. More than 70
Australians are signed with major league teams, with a few
such as Kansas City Royals pitcher Graeme Lloyd, a former
Geelong player, actually forging a long career in the big
league. But what makes Taylor's signing extraordinary is that
he has not been part of any elite training programs at either
the Victorian Institute of Sport or its national
counterpart.
Having made the
under-14 Victorian team aged 11, he chose to play for the
Shepparton Colts in the Goulburn Valley Baseball League and
during the summer for Preston, then Fitzroy. "I'm still coming
to grips with it, it still hasn't hit me yet," Taylor said
yesterday from his family's home in Kialla, just outside
Shepparton. "This time last week, I was just a pitcher,
playing in the ones for Fitzroy, hoping that I would get a
chance to be signed. "I thought I had a couple of years to go
and try to prove myself. I had no idea I would be
signed."
According to the
man who signed Taylor, Jon Deeble - the Australian Olympic
baseball coach who is also the director of Pacific Rim
scouting for the Red Sox - Taylor is potentially one of the
best pitching talents Australia has produced in some time.
"There might be a few kids around who could throw as fast as
him, but there would be none who are faster," Deeble said
yesterday.
What impressed
Deeble was obviously Taylor's fast ball, but also the fact
that at only 17, he already stood 187 centimetres and was
likely to grow more. "Back then, he was 81 to 83 miles per
hour (130-134 km/h) and now he is up into the high 80s and we
see him filling out nicely in the body," Deeble said. "He's
six three now (191 centimetres) and only 154 pounds (70
kilograms) and we see him getting a bit taller and being 224
pounds (102 kilograms). "I just think he has got a good arm
and good free lose delivery. Obviously, he's a project for us,
but hopefully he can add a bit of muscle and I think he can
throw in the mid-90s (150 km/h), which is a good above average
major league fast ball."
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11 NOV 2003 - NSW TIM AUTY SIGNS WITH
SEATTLE |
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TIM AUTY
has always dreamed of playing professional baseball. The 17yr old
took a big first step to the Majors when he agreed to sign a pro
contract to play for the Seattle Mariners Baseball Club.
The
Hills Grammar Yr 12 student has been on the Seattle "watch" list
since they first saw him play for Australia in the U17 AA team which
played in the World Youth championships in Mexico two years ago when
he stole the most bases in the tournament. He was a hard throwing
outfielder with a good hitting technique and the Seattle Director of
Pacific Rim Scouting, Ted Heid, further noted his potential at the
U18 Championships in Melbourne last year.
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Local Mariner's
scout Barry Holland had the opportunity to watch Tim's
progress closely and made the decision to offer him a
contract after he saw the improvement in his play
following his attendance at this year's MLB/ABF Academy
in Queensland.
"We like his
outfield work and his strong arm and once we were
satisfied that he could make the adjustments with his
hitting that would be necessary to get him through the minor
leagues we made our move and contacted his agent', said
Holland from Sydney. |
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TIM
AUTY is managed by Australia's No.1 Player
Agents BJS Player Management. Click their icon at left to visit their Web
Site |
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11 NOV 2003 - BASEBALL WORLD
CUP? |
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'Flintoff & Dunn' read with interest this latest news
from the "world of baseball"... could it be that baseball, like
professional soccer, rugby, cricket and other such sports will
choose to develop its own WORLD CUP?... this would be even more
likely in the event that baseball could be dumped from the summer
Olympic games at some time in the future!
He are some quotes
attributed to various baseball spokesmen:
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Major League
baseball is planning to organise a World Cup in
2005.
Baseball's chief operating
officer, Bob DuPuy, said he expected to be able to confirm the
idea within 60 days. "We're very optimistic that we can get it
all accomplished and start a World Cup in the spring of 2005 -
that's our current goal," said DuPuy. The tournament would
include between eight and 16 national teams and be played
during March 2005 in between four and eight US stadiums. Talks
between Dupuy and players' union boss Donald Fehr have already
begun.
"That's a goal we share,
and with a reasonable amount of luck, I think we will get
there," Fehr said.
Management and the union
envisage the World Cup teams being comprised of top stars -
the USA were eliminated from Olympic qualifying on Friday with
a team stocked mainly with minor league players. Nevertheless,
the loss has shocked many major league baseball officials -
Canada and Cuba will represent the Americas in Athens next
year.
"I'm sure that's going to
get people's attention and could lead to further discussion on
a World Cup and the Olympics, as well," said Paul Archey,
senior vice-president of Major League Baseball
International.
The commissioner's office
and the union are working on several international events for
the 2004
season. | |
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20 OCT 2003 - HOOKER SIGNS MORE AUSSIES FOR
PHILLIES! |
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Our friend
KEVIN HOOKER, best known to many of you as the Western Australia
(Heelers) State coach, has alerted us to some other recent
professional signings of young Australian players that we had not
heard about! How would he know?... Well, in his other life, Kevin is
also the Philadelphia Phillies scout in Australia and he was
responsible for signing young Aussie stars GRANT KARLSEN and
BRAD HARMON in recent deals. We suggested to Kevin that he
was establishing Philadelphia as the challenger to Minnesota to
become the "home" of Aussie prospects!? Here are Kevin's latest
signings... |
TOBY
BARNETT - Catcher from Western Australia who we signed as a free
agent after playing in the US College System. Toby played this
year in Rookie ball on the Gulf Coast League Team.
SCOTT
MITCHINSON - Pitcher from Western Australia who attended the MLB
Academy in Queensland.
JOEL
McNAUGHTON - Catcher from Queensland who we signed to a 2004
contract and will attend the MLB Academy next year.
TIM
KENNELLY - 3rd Base/Outfielder from Western Australia who we
signed to a 2004 contract and will attend the MLB Academy next
year.
MITCH
GRAHAM - Shortstop form Western Australia who attended the MLB
Academy in Queensland. |
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10 OCT 2003 - VALE ROSS
STRAW |
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'Flintoff & Dunn' join in sending our condolences to the
Straw family for the passing of Ross Straw. To be honest, our time
in baseball is relatively recent and we cannot claim to be familiar
with all of the contributions (or history) of the Straw family in
Australian baseball. However, as Victorian baseball devotees, it
could not escape our attention that our traditional "home" of
baseball in Melbourne for many years was the venue 'Ross Straw
Field'... this tells us enough to realise what kind of position he
held in baseball circles before our time!
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The text below is
transposed from the BASEBALL VICTORIA web site, for this and more
information about Ross Straw, please visit their new site at http://www.baseballvictoria.com.au/
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It is with deep sadness that we
acknowledge the passing of an icon in both Victorian and Australian
Baseball. Ross Straw died on
Tuesday night after a long and tough battle with cancer. It was a tough fight but Ross was
always positive in his attitude and determination to ensure that he
won the game. However,
surrounded by family the end came.
To those of us who have been around
the sport of baseball for a while the Straw name is synonymous with
our sport. Ross and his
brother Lyn were both outstanding players in their time who both
went on to be great coaches.
Lyn with Coburg and both the Victorian and Australian under
18 teams, whilst Ross worked with a number of Clubs predominately
Essendon, as well as the Victorian Claxton Shield team and the
Australian Senior team. Sadly
Lyn passed away last year.
Ross was a strong right hand
pitcher who in the late forties was invited to tryout for the Boston
Red Sox. Fortunately for us
he did not go but stayed in Australian where he became the
passionate person about coaching and baseball we all knew. When he was not pitching he
played first base.
Funeral Details - Monday Oct 13th - 12
noon - Wesley Uniting Church - Yarra St,
Geelong |
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8 OCT 2003 - KYLE EDLICH OUR LATEST AUSSIE
TWIN! |
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Perhaps ready to follow in the footsteps of
another famous left-hand pitcher from Geelong in GRAEME LLOYD is
teenage star KYLE
EDLICH who has just signed
a professional contract with the Minnesota Twins. Let's hope that
Kyle can emulate Lloyd and raise Australia's baseball profile, while
collecting a couple of World Series rings along the way! We at
'Flintoff and Dunn' wish his the best of luck and good health with
his career ahead... |
Kyle Edlich
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Victorian left-hand pitcher KYLE
EDLICH has signed with the Minnesota Twins joining their other
Aussie leftie Brad Thomas from Sydney. His 6 figure bonus is the
highest for a LHP for many years and indicates the Twin's belief
that in him they have a definite Major League prospect. Kyle, who
started playing tee ball at the age of 9 with the Geelong Baseball
Club in summer and pitch ball for the Deakin Club at the U10's, has
been one of the mainstays of the Victorian pitching from his 1st
rep' selection in the U14 team through to this year's victorious U18
side.
Agent David Balfour of BJS Player Management was
retained to negotiate for Kyle who was headed at that time for his
2nd stint at the MLB/ABF Aademy in Queensland. "Kyle was considered
to be one of the outstanding pitchers of the Canberra Series and we
were determined that his contract should reflect that", said
Balfour, whose own son, Grant, is a Major Leaguer with the Twins.
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KYLE EDLICH is managed by
Australia's No.1 Player Agents BJS Player
Management. Click their icon at left to visit their Web
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Howie
Norsetter, the Twins scout in Australia had been watching Kyle for
some time. "He was a player we especially wanted - not only was he a
LHP but he was the outstanding athlete in the junior ranks at
present," said Howie from his Melbourne home. "Kyle is a multi sport
athlete [he was a middle distance runner at school - also competing
in the long jump and javelin as well as AFL where he played
ruck/wing] and he has a good strong body, can run and throws hard
for his age and is a definite Major League prospect," enthused
Howie. "We are absolutely delighted to sign him."
As a
baseballer Kyle is an experienced elite competitor having played in
the Geelong teams in U12, U14, U16, U18 in the VBA seasons and also
at the U14 & U16 Victorian Provincial Championships representing
Geelong as well as representing Victoria at the Australian Underage
Championships.
The Twins have been the most active Major
League club in recruiting Australians and have been rewarded with
the success of seeing New South Welshmen Grant Balfour & Brad
Thomas and Victorian Michael Nakamura all reach "The Show". Kyle
intends to be another of those success
stories. |
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2 OCT 2003 - 2004 CLAXTON SHIELD TICKETS ON
SALE! |
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Tickets for the
2004 Claxton Shield National Baseball Championships to be held at
Blacktown Olympic Park (Sydney) from Jan 18 – 24, 2004 will
be on sale this month and can be purchased by contacting Baseball
NSW on 02 9675 4522 or log onto www.baseballnsw.com.au
Tickets
prices: |
Platinum Pass:
access to all matches,
reserved seating & tournament program. Adults $150, Children
$90
*Early bird bookings
Adults $125, Children $75
– up until December 31, 2003
Session tickets:
(2 sessions per day)
Adults $10, Children $5, Family Pass $25 (2 Adults & 3 kids or 1
Adult & 4 kids).
Semi
Finals: Adults $15,
Children $7. (Note: child = 15 and under) Family Pass Semis/Finals -
$40.00
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4 SEPT 2003 - TRAVIS BLACKLEY TEXAS LEAGUE
PITCHER OF YEAR! |
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Travis Blackley
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Victorian LHP TRAVIS
BLACKLEY has broken a 25yr old record in the Texas League [AA]
and in the process has been named as the 'Pitcher of the Year' for
the League.
Travis 20, finished the regular season 17-3 with
a 2.62 ERA (162.1 IP, 47 ER) in 27 games with San Antonio. His 17
wins is the most by a Texas League pitcher since Jeff Reardon of the
Jackson Mets in 1978. He is second in the league in ERA, second with
144 strikeouts and is among the league leaders with a 162.1 innings
pitched. Travis has won his last eight decisions. He pitched for the
World Team at the 2003 MLB Future's Game in Chicago and was also a
member of the 2003 Texas League All-Star Team. He signed as a
non-drafted free agent October 29, 2000 after the Mariners Jim
Colborn [now the Dodgers pitching coach] saw him pitch for Australia
in the AAA tournament in
Canada. |
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Travis Blackley is managed by Australia's No.1 Player
Agents BJS Player Management. Click their icon at left
to visit their Web
Site |
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25 JULY 2003 - LEIGH NEUAGE DIES IN
TRAGIC
FALL! |
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Leigh
Neuage Tragic Loss
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Tragic news for Australian baseball
this week with the death of promising South Australian pitcher
LEIGH NEUAGE. Leigh had been
a devotee of our web site and often e-mailed us with items of
interest about Australian baseballers in the US minor
leagues.
20yo
Neuage, who had been playing with the famous Los Angeles Dodgers in
their minor league team South Georgia Waves, lost his life when he
fell 15 storeys to his death at the Homebush Bay Novotel in Sydney's
west. A groundsman found Leigh's body about 5am last Saturday and
notified police.
We have it on good authority that there may
be NO CONNECTION between Leigh's accident and the breakup of his
relationship with Australian Idol Contestant Veronica
Stewart. Our information is that this was more of a coincidence and
we would all do well to accept the official report of "no suspicious
circumstances". In fact, we are assured that Leigh was in "high
spirits" and he had every intention of returning soon to the USA to
further progress his career in the sport he loved...
BASEBALL!
We send our condolences to the family and friends of Leigh...
Australian baseball can hardly afford to lose any player of his
talent! |
MEMORIAL: There will be a memorial
for Leigh Neuage on Thursday, 28th August from 7 PM at the Southern
Districts Baseball Club, Peregrine Park, Flaxmill Rd, Christie
Downs, South Australia. Clubroom tel. 8384 3733. Team
mates, friends, family and the public are invited to honour Leigh at
this informal gathering.
Leigh's
father has set up a guestbook for his friends and team mates to sign
on a page for him at http://se.unisa.edu.au/leigh.html
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24 JULY 2003 - NSW CATCHER TRENT D'ANTONIO
JOINS 'FISH'! |
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Trent D'Antonio
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Figtree High School student and Canterbury Club catcher 18yr
old Trent D'Antonio has signed a professional contract with the
Florida Marlins Baseball Club.
The former Illawarra T-Baller
and NSW Junior first attracted the attention of the Marlin's scout,
Craig Stoves when he saw him play for NSW in the U18 National
Championships in Melbourne and again this year in Canberra. Craig
commenced negotiations with Trent's agent , Trevor Jarrett, shortly
after the completion of the U18's in Canberra.
Following lengthy
discussions with the Marlins Trent was sent to Florida for two weeks
to work out before the Marlins Vice President Fred Ferreira who then
confirmed an offer. |
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Trent D'Antonio was managed by Australia's No.1 Player
Agents BJS Player Management. Click their icon at left
to visit their Web Site |
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16 AUGUST 2003 - NEW BLACKTOWN WEB SITE! |
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The
new look Blacktown Olympic Park website is up and running!
You can access the site
at
http://www.blacktownolympicpark.com.au/
THE NEW LOOK WEBSITE INCLUDES UPDATED
INFORMATION ON NEWS & EVENTS, CALENDAR, INFORMATION ABOUT US,
OUR LOCATION, VENUE HIRE INFORMATION, UPDATED FACILITIES,
SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION, LINKS TO OUR STAKEHOLDER SPORTS AND
AFFILIATES AND UPDATED IMAGES OF THE VENUE AND ITS THREE SPORTING
PRECINCTS. |
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20 JULY 2003 - DONAVON HENDRICKS A
BRAVE! |
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Donavon Hendricks
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From the prolific Waverley Baseball Club in Melbourne,
outstanding young pitching prospect DONAVON HENDRICKS becomes
Australia's latest player to sign a professional baseball contract
with the "pitching rich" Atlanta Braves. It would not surprise too
many in Victoria, especially at Waverley, that young 'Donnie' has
attracted great interest after the still U18 eligible player
anchored the Waverley Wildcats senior Division One team in the 2003
VBA finals. Hendricks did an outstanding job after original starter
Peter Tautor was required to report to the US after being signed by
the Minnesota Twins.
Currently on the Gold
Coast participating in the Major League Baseball Australian Academy
Program (MLBAAP), Donovan was presented with his contract by Atlanta
Braves scout, Neil Burke. Hendricks is the 15th player to sign out
of the MLBAAP since its inception three years
ago. |
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2 JULY 2003 - CLAXTON TO STAY AT BLACKTOWN 04
& 05! |
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From the
latest edition of the Blacktown Olympic Park Newsletter comes news
(to us) that had obviously sneaked under our guard when announced by
Baseball Australia in mid-June... that Australia's Claxton Shield
tournaments for the next TWO years will AGAIN be conducted at the
Sydney venue.
While we at 'Flintoff
& Dunn' are yet to establish the reasons behind the decision,
and allowing for the possibility that nobody else was prepared to
host the event, we can only express our disappointment that our
premier NATIONAL baseball event has been allowed to become
monopolised by one state, city or venue. One of the fundamental
traditions of the Claxton Shield was its "shared status" around
Australia that enabled promotion of the sport in each
state.
Oh, and what of Baseball
Australia's aim to revive National League baseball in Australia from
2004... we can only assume that the announcement about the 2005
Claxton Shield is their "not so subtle" way of announcing that this
is now likely to be shoved yet further towards the back of their
stove!!
We have nothing against
the Blacktown venue, fine facility that it is, but there is nothing
so special about it or the ability for Sydney to attract fans or
promote baseball that our Claxton Shield should be retained there
for THREE straight years, having already hosted the event this past
summer. Until we hear more, we will make no further comment... stay
tuned!
Reproduced below is the
text from the Blacktown Olympic Park
Newsletter: |
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The Australian Baseball Federation has
announced that Blacktown Olympic Park will once again be the venue
for the Claxton Shield National Baseball Championships and will host
the competition for the next two seasons (2004, 2005).
The Claxton Shield will be played at Blacktown Olympic
Park, commencing on Sunday 18th January 2004 and concluding on
Saturday 24th January 2004. The Claxton Shield is the premier
baseball competition in Australia and will hold particular
importance in 2004 as part of the Australian team selection process
in the lead up to the Olympic Games in Athens.
The 2004 Championships will represent 70 years since the
tournaments inception and will see the Queensland team looking to
retain the title against strong interstate competition.
Once again NSW Baseball will host the event with Neil Barrowcliff
returning as the Tournament Director. NSWBL will be looking for
volunteers to assist in hosting the Championships, with the aim of
improving on this year’s highly successful event. For more
information on volunteering please call NSWBL on 9675 4522.
Updates and news on the event will feature in the monthly
Blacktown Olympic Park Newsletter and on the following websites http://www.blacktownolympicpark.com/,
http://www.isport.com.au/ or
www.isport.com.au/baseball/nswbl
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30 JUNE 2003 - AUSTRALIAN PROVINCIAL 3rd IN
PRAGUE |
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For those who may not be aware, some of Australia's
underrated baseball talent are currently flying the Aussie flag on
the AUSTRALIAN PROVINCIAL TOUR OF EUROPE. Under the guidance of
stalwart Provincials' manager Allan Parrott, our Australian
Provincial team (comprising several of our recent Claxton Shield
reps) finished 3rd at the Czech Tournament in Prague. To keep
track of the boys on tour visit their web site... click
here! |
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11 JUNE 2003 - SIX AUSSIES IN FIRST-YEAR
DRAFT! |
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28 MAY 2003 - BERESFORD & HARMON
SIGN! |
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Si Beresford
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Highly rated Victorian pitching
prospect SIMON BERESFORD has agreed to sign with the
Milwaukee Brewers. The big hard-throwing right-hander from the
Waverley Wildcats in Melbourne has been pitching for Texarkana
College, helping them to a recent appearance at the Region XIV
Junior College Finals tournament. The Brewers decided to exercise
their exclusive rights to the 20yo having selected him in the First
Year Player Draft last June. Beresford has been assigned to start
his professional baseball career with one of the
Brewers' Rookie teams,
the Helena Brewers based in Montana, and he will report there in the
next week for pre-season training.
Also signing with the Philadelphia Phillies
yesterday was 17yo Victorian infielder BRAD HARMON who has
been making steady progress with the Upwey Ferntree Gully club. He
was also a late cut from the Victoria Aces team for the 2003 Claxton
Shield carnival. Harmon is small in stature but big on talent and
determination.
'Flintoff & Dunn' wish both boys every success for their
professional baseball futures! |
Brad Harmon
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26 MAY 2003 - AUSSIES AMONG TOP 2003
PROSPECTS |
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Travis
Blackley
Adam Morrissey
Jarad Mangioni
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From highly respected US
baseball publishers "TOP PROSPECT ALERT" is some interesting news
about some Australian players who are rated among the top prospects
in the minor leagues for their respective clubs.
Currently featured among the
TOP PROSPECTS in the whole of the US minors is Victorian pitcher
TRAVIS BLACKLEY who is part of a web site survey... we think
that you should log on to their site and vote for Travis at http://www.topprospectalert.com/ ...
and in the latest edition of "Baseball America" this is what they
had to say about Blackley who is currently playing with Seattle
Mariners' 'AA' San Antonio Missions: "has
great presence on the mound and three quality pitches to choose
from, including what some think is the best breaking ball in the
Mariners system."
On the subject of "TOP
PROSPECT ALERT" here is some belated news involving Australian
players from their club by club prospect Top 10
assessments:
As part of the Montreal Expos
organisation before being traded on to the Pittsburgh Pirates,
Queensland's BRETT RONEBERG was rated No.7 for the
Expos: 7) Brett Roneberg, OF, 24yo (OBA:0.70, LWP:0.08,
EYE:0.59) Acquired in a trade from the Marlins, Roneberg once
again posted solid, yet unspectacular numbers in 2002. Defensively
he can play adequately at either outfield corner, as well as 1B. His
plate discipline is good, but he lacks true power. 2003 should find
him in AAA, with an upside of eventually being a major league role
player.
Similarly, NSW Country player
ADAM MORRISSEY was rated at No.8 at the Oakland A's
organisation. Not making the Top 10 at the A's was Queensland
pitcher CHRIS MOWDAY who was mentioned among their "other top
prospects". 8) Adam Morrissey, 2B, 22yo (OBA:0.01,
LWP:-0.71, EYE:0.26) This Aussie regressed a bit during 2002, but
by the end of the season and into the AFL schedule he was starting
to show the previous skills that put him on this list in the first
place. I still don’t know where he will play defensively, but
I know he can hit well enough at the big league
level.
Also not listed in their Top
10 but mentioned as among "other top prospects" for the Toronto Blue
Jays was NSW outfielder JARAD MANGIONI. |
Brett Roneberg
Chris
Mowday
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Travis Blackley article brought to you courtesy
of Australia's No.1 Player Agents BJS Player
Management. Click their icon at left to visit their Web
Site |
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