SYDNEY, 8 December – The rosters have been named for the inaugural Australian Baseball League All-Star Game, where the country’s best homegrown talent, Team Australia, will take on the best international players in the ABL, Team World, in Perth on 21 December at 4pm.
The 2011 All-Star Game will mark the only opportunity for Australian baseball fans to see the National Team in action on home soil this year.
The potential audience for the All-Star Game is expected to be one of the largest ever for a baseball game held in Australia, with the match to be broadcast live nationally on Fox Sports and replayed to over 20 Asian countries through the Australia Network and in the United States through the MLB Network.
NOTABLE PLAYERS FOR TEAM AUSTRALIA
Team Australia are reunited after their successful run at the recent IBAF Baseball World Cup, where they finished as the fifth-best baseball team in the world after upsets of host Panama and Canada.
Luke Hughes (Perth Heat):
– Current Minnesota Twin hit a home run in his first career at-bat for the Twins.
Tom Brice (Adelaide Bite):
– Only Australian player named to the IBAF World Cup All-Star Team.
Chris Oxspring (Sydney Blue Sox):
– Former Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres pitcher is the only dual player/coach in the ABL.
Justin Huber (Melbourne Aces):
– Former big leaguer is tied for ABL lead in hits with 24 and second in ABL with 14 runs scored.
Tim Kennelly (Perth Heat):
– Leads the ABL in many key offensive categories, including a .444 batting average, 24 hits and 17 RBIs.
Mitch Graham (Perth Heat):
– Tied for first in the ABL with 17 RBIs and has the second-best batting average in the League at .382.
Steven Kent (Canberra Cavalry):
– Tied for the most wins in the ABL with three victories. The reliable pitcher has finished six games this year.
NOTABLE PLAYERS FOR TEAM WORLD:
Team World will feature the ABL’s best import talent from the US, Japan, Canada, Taiwan, Korea, India and Italy and includes three former Major Leaguers as well as players from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League and the Korean Baseball Organisation.
Chin-lung Hu (Adelaide Bite):
– Taiwanese shortstop is one of the ABL’s most exciting defensive players. Played for the New York Mets in 2011.
Dae-Sung Koo (Sydney Blue Sox):
– Legendary Korean reliever was last season’s ABL Reliever of the Year. Leads ABL with three saves.
Mike McGuire (Canberra Cavalry):
– American pitcher has been untouchable this season. Leads ABL with 35 strikeouts with an ERA of only 0.36 after five rounds.
Alex Burg (Perth Heat):
– ABL home run leader from the San Francisco Giants organisation. One of the ABL’s most powerful hitters.
Rinku Singh (Adelaide Bite):
– First Indian-born pitcher to win a pro game in the US. Discovered on reality TV show “Million Dollar Arm”.
Denny Almonte (Adelaide Bite):
– RBI machine from the Seattle Mariners organisation set an ABL record eight RBIs in one game last week.
Yohei Yanagawa (Brisbane Bandits):
– Japanese pitcher is a former first-round draft pick with Nippon Professional Baseball and is second in the ABL in strikeouts.
