The opening of the 2018-2019 Australian Baseball League (ABL) season marks a new era in the history of baseball in the country. ABL recently announced breakthrough sponsorship and TV deals, including a naming rights partnership with Brut — the country’s largest toiletry brand for men — and broadcast agreements with Fox Sports Australia, MBC Sports Plus in Korea, Eleven Sports in Taiwan and Sky New Zealand.

ABL has expanded into an eight-team league with divisions, the Northeast and Southwest, as two foreign teams are making their debuts in the league: Geelong (Korea) and Auckland Tuatara (New Zealand).

Geelong Korea played on opening day, Thursday 15 November, and lost, 8-1, against the Sydney Blue Sox.

Geelong is of course an Australian city (160,991 inhabitants in the State of Victoria) and was picked by the ABL as a base for the Korean team for the “grassroots attitude” of the area and because Geelong is a “passionate sporting town”.

Auckland Tuatara is the first ever professional baseball team from New Zealand. Its roster will feature players from New Zealand (left handed pitcher Scott Cone, catcher Te Wera Bishop and outfielder Max Brown have already played in the ABL), the USA, Canada, Japan, Taiwan and Australia.

Auckland Tuatara will debut against the Pert Heath on Friday, 16 November.

In the other game played on opening day, defending champions Brisbane Bandits beat the Adelaide Bite, 5-3.

The complete broadcast schedule of the 2018-2019 ABL season can be found here.