Australian Custom Baseball Cards: February 2016

Monday, February 29, 2016

Luke Hughes - 2015-16 Perth Heat

Perth MLB veteran Hughes had his sixth season with the Perth Heat during the 2015-16 ABL season. After having not played in the USA since his release from the Majors in 2012, Hughes spent 2015 playing independent ball with the Lancaster Barnstormers in the Atlantic League.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Matt Wilson - 2015-16 Melbourne Aces

Wilson returned to the Melbourne Ace for the 2015-16 ABL season, his third in the ABL. Last year's card featured a photo of Wilson juggling a batting helmet ... this year, he's trying to balance a baseball on his fingers. It would be nice to actually have him play in one of the games I attend so that I have some action shots of him. :)

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Aaron Sayers - 2015-16 Canberra Cavalry

Following 4 years with the Melbourne Aces, Victorian youngster Sayers made the off-season move to the Canberra Cavalry for the 2015-16 ABL season for greater playing time. It was a successful move with Sayers playing in the majority of the Cavalry games whilst bating .306 compared to his .147 career average.Sayers also graduated out of the Detroit Tigers Rookie ball team in 2015, moving up to Tiger's short A affiliate, the Connecticut Tigers. This photo features him about to be high-fived on deck after being batted in for a run.

Monday, February 22, 2016

Connor MacDonald - 2015-16 Brisbane Bandits

Despite not turning 20 until later this week, Queensland born MacDonald's 2015-16 ABL season was his fourth with the Brisbane Bandits. starting with a single game back ion 2012-13. MacDonald saw his first games on American soil in 2015, playing for the Houston Astros Rookie level team in the Gulf Coast League, having also played for the Astros' Dominican Summer League in 2014.

Friday, February 19, 2016

Landon Hernandez - 2015-16 Adelaide Bite

Hernandez is an American import who spent the 2015 -16 ABL season playing with the Adelaide Bite, his second season with the Bite. Hernandez had previously spent five seasons playing in the independent Frontier League with the Gateway Grizzlies between 2010 and 2014, appearing to alternate this with playing club ball in South Australia. Hernandez currently holds the position of State Director of Coaching for Baseball SA, so I'm assuming this kept him from returning to the Grizzlies in 2015 and precipitated his greater ABL playing time in 2015-16.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Todd Van Steensel - 2015-16 Sydney Blue Sox

The 2015-16 ABL season was van Steensel's sixth with his hometown Sydney Blue Sox. Van Stensel had previously spent 2015 playing for the Minnesota Twins' Advanced A affiliate in the Florida State League, the Fort Myers Miracle.

I know you can't see much of his face in this photo, but Van Steensel is one of those players who it's always difficult to get a decent head shot of. He tends to pull his cap down tightly above his face which always leaves strong shadows in shots of him. Still, it's an action shot - check out the raise on that leg in the wind up.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Edwin Carl - 2015-16 Perth Heat

Carl is an American import who played with the Perth Heat during the 2015-16 ABL season. Carl spent four years in the minors (2010-2013) playing with the Kansas City Royals and LA Dodgers organisations. He certainly got around in 2015, appearing in three different independent leagues before making his way Down Under - the Lancaster Barnstormers in the Atlantic League, the Winnipeg Goldeyes in the American Association and the Schaumburg Boomers in the Frontier League. Despite all that moving, he also seemed to find time for a haircut after arriving in Australia

Friday, February 12, 2016

William Wu - 2015-16 Melbourne Aces

Haven't been able to find out much about Wu. I know that he's Taiwanese born and that his season playing with the Melbourne Aces in 2015-16 was his first in the ABL. I also know he's only 19 years old, and that I haven't been able to find any info on him playing elsewhere. Welcome Down Under Mr Wu :)

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Scott Mulhearn - 2015-16 Canberra Cavalry

Hmm. What happened to Scott Mulhearn? Brisbane born Mulhearn was one of two Aussie players - the other being Jack Barrie - drafted by the Cavalry in the 2015 ABL player draft. Previously in 2015, Mulhearn was playing for the Tempo Titans Praha in the Czech Republic.

Mulhearn is still listed on the Canberra roster, but is listed as a reserve pitcher. He's actually an infielder and I did manage to get shots of him in his single game for the Cavalry during the opening series of the 2015-16 ABL season, I don't recall seeing him at the club after the first couple of series. Even the ABL website fails to show his single game for the Cavalry because it's defaulted to pitching stats, of which he has none.

Well, even if he did only manage to play one game for the Cavalry, here's his baseball card :)

Monday, February 8, 2016

Aaron Whitefield - 2015-16 Brisbane Bandits

Whitefield is a local born player who made his debut with the Brisbane Bandits during the 2015-16 ABL season. In 2015 Whitefield also played his first season of professional ball with the Minnesota Twins organisation, where he played for their Gulf Coast League rookie level team.

Friday, February 5, 2016

Marc Wik - 2015-16 Adelaide Bite

Wik is an American import from the Houston Astros organisation who played with the Adelaide Bite during the 2015-16 ABL season. Wik spent 2015, playing for the Astros' Advanced A affiliate, the Lancaster JetHawks in the California League.

The photo for Wik's card is from the 2015-16 ABL playoff game in Canberra last Saturday that was suspended by a freak hailstorm. The game only lasted 7 pitches before large hailstones started pelting the ground and everyone went scampering for cover.

After the hail ceased many of the players had fun playing as the groundstaff worked out how to get several hundred kilos (500+ pounds) of hail off the ground. In the photo for Wik'scard you can just tell that it's still raining in the photo. Wik has a hand full of the large hailstones and is throwing them at other Bite players

If you're interested, the hailstorm can be seen in the following video just after the 15 minute mark.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Tyler Bortnick - 2015-16 Sydney Blue Sox

Bortnick is a returning American import who had his second season with the Sydney Blue Sox during the 2015-16 ABL season. Bortnick had previously been sent Down Under by the Arizona Diamondbacks for the 2014-15 season, before being released in 2015. Bortnick subsequently played independent ball in 2015 for the Lancaster Barnstormers in the Atlantic League before then being signed by Seattle. He played with the Jackson Generals, their Double A affiliate in the Southern League before once again being released, and then making his own way back down to Sydney.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Correll Prime - 2015-16 Perth Heat

Correll Prime - the man who sounds like a sci-fi planetary system or old school drawing software, is an American import from the Colorado Rockies organisation who played with the Perth Heat during the 2015-16 ABL season. Prime spent 2015 playing for the Modesto Nuts - the Rockies Advanced A affiliate in the California League.