More New Zealanders are getting Global Baseball Opportunities with more invites to follow through Major League Baseball.
Five young Kiwi baseballers are taking their first step towards a career in college and possibly professional baseball following their invitation to attend two prestigious Major League Baseball academies in Germany and Australia this month.
Auckland-based youngsters Sam Harvey (Pakuranga College) and Ben Thompson (Glendowie College) are headed to the European academy programme in Regensburg, Germany, about an hour outside Munich.
The German academy will run from 31 July through till 16 August and has proven to be a major breeding ground for Major League Baseball prospects outside of North America.
Since 2005, 298 European, South African and New Zealand players have gone through the academy with 58 inductees being signed to professional MLB contracts, including current players Alex Liddi of the Baltimore Orioles and the first German to play at major league level, Donald Lutz, currently with the Cincinnati Reds. Last year, New Zealand national coach Scott Campbell accompanied young Kiwi ballplayers Iranui Holthausen and Daniel Bradley, both of whom are now playing baseball in America.
This year’s Kiwi pair will join 48 other players who will work for two weeks in an intensive Major League Baseball Spring Training environment featuring skills instruction, strength and conditioning, and a complete schedule of games. The program will be run by top Major League instructors including Hall of Famer Barry Larkin and former MLB All Stars Bruce Hurst and Dale Murphy.
Fellow Junior Diamondblacks Connor Peden (Massey High School), Quinten Niu (Avondale College) and Vincent Harris (Hamilton Boys High School) will join Baseball New Zealand Development Officer Daniel Tan at this year’s MLB Academy on the Gold Coast in Australia, from July 13 through till August 3.
The trio will be put through a similar programme to the pair going to Germany, which is a crucial opportunity to put themselves in front of top coaching staff as well as dozens of MLB scouts, whilst Tan will also be ‘up-skilled’ by the former MLB players and coaches at the camp.
Baseball New Zealand CEO Ryan Flynn said that being granted the two playing placements in Germany along with the three to Australia along with the coaching position is a “huge honour for the sport in New Zealand” and that in the past it has “kick-started opportunities for other Kiwis.”
Former Toronto Blue Jays infielder Scott Campbell, current Blue Jay Daniel Devonshire, Baltimore Orioles Pita Rona and the country’s top pitching prospect Makauley Fox were all spotted by Major League Baseball scouts and coaches at similar academies.
Flynn added that this is also a huge opportunity for Daniel Tan to lead the trio to the Gold Coast as well as a chance to learn more about the game and up-skill from some of the top coaches in the world, which is a constant need for the nation’s young coaches.
“We expect all the boys to take the next step in their young baseball careers that will lead them to either college ball in America and/or a professional contract,” Flynn said, adding that MLB also invited national coach Cola Yeh and young players Chulainn Sowerby and Richard Clarke to the MLB Academy in China two months ago. “It’s up to them now while they are in camp, as they’ll receive the coaching and attention from coaches and scouts at the highest levels possible. Needless to say, we expect big things from these boys who are both talented and deserving.”
