by Australian Baseball Federation
Former Australian Olympic and Major League Baseball pitcher Graeme Lloyd will join the sporting elite when he is inducted into the prestigious Sport Australia Hall of Fame this month. Lloyd is the second Australian baseball player to receive this honour; he joins Dave Nilsson who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008. This award parallels other iconic sporting legends such as Sir Donald Bradman and Pat Cash.
Lloyd will officially be inducted at The Sport Australia Hall of Fame Annual Induction and Awards Gala Dinner, proudly presented by Etihad Airways, on Thursday, 10 October at Crown Melbourne.
After representing Australia at both junior and senior level, Lloyd joined the Milwaukee Brewers in 1993. One of the first and most successful Australian baseball exports, he then spent a decade playing Major League Baseball with a number of clubs, including 1996 and ’98 World Series Championships with the New York Yankees.
In 2004, Lloyd was a part of the silver medal winning team at the Athens Olympic Games – the first and only Olympic baseball medal Australia has won in history. Since returning to Australia he has been an unstinting and successful coach.
“I was very excited and thrilled to be inducted into The Sport Australia Hall of Fame. I’m nearly 50 years old and I couldn’t wait to get off the phone to call mum and dad. It was a great feeling,” Lloyd said of his induction.
Often referred to as a pioneer of the sport, Lloyd was a part of the New York Yankees success of the nineties.
“I suppose I look at myself as a pioneer along with David Nilsson, Craig Shipley and others in the late eighties who were able to solidify positions in the major league,” Lloyd said.
“To think that anyone is following in my footsteps because of what I have done is a tremendous feeling of satisfaction.”
Lloyd rates winning an Olympic silver medal for his country as one of the true highlights of his career.
“It was certainly a pinnacle moment in my career,” Lloyd said.
“The Yankees were a special team to play for, but to play for your country; it was such a different feeling.”
David Hynes, President of Baseball Australia labelled Lloyd as “one of the legends of Australian baseball – not only for his outstanding success on the field, but also for his longstanding and ongoing contribution to the sport.”
“Graeme is an outstanding person and everyone involved in the sport of baseball is rightly proud of his well-deserved induction into the Australian Sporting Hall of Fame” Hynes added.
Baseball Australia is extremely proud of the accomplishments of Graeme Lloyd and would like to congratulate him on this prestigious honour.
