Kevin Kiermaier - 2011-12 Canberra Cavalry

American import who played for the Canberra Cavalry in the second half of the 2011-12 season. . A member of the Tampa Bay Rays organisation, Kiermaier is currently playing High A level ball for the Charlotte Stone Crabs. He and Mark Thomas were sent out to the Cavalry by the Rays as replacements for Ty Morrison and Todd Glaesmann who were recalled part way through the 2011-12 ABL season.

2011-12 Canberra Cavalry Kevin Kiermaier card front - © 2012 Adam East

Jarryd Sullivan - 2010-11 Sydney Blue Sox

A local Sydney Boy who signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates organisation in 2009, he played both Rookie and Low A level ball in the minors before providing relief for the Blue Sox in the 2010-11 ABL season. Has not pitched since early 2011 due to injury problems, which saw him released by the Pirates, but carried by the Blue Sox.

2010-11 Sydney Blue Sox Jarryd Sullivan card front - © 2011 Adam East

David Sutherland - 2010-11 Brisbane Bandits

Although I didn't ever get these printed up, I had made several designs for David Sutherland from the inaugural ABL season. Sutherland is a Brisbane native who spent 5 seasons playing Rookie and A level ball for the LA Dodgers. He has played for the Bandits in both ABL seasons so far. This 6'6" tall infielder is affectionately known as "Goofy".

2010-11 Brisbane Bandits David Sutherland card front - © 2011 Adam East

2010-11 Brisbane Bandits David Sutherland alternative card front - © 2011 Adam East

Michael Wells - 2010-11 Canberra Cavalry

One of the senior figures on the Cavalry roster, Wells was a part of the first incarnation of the ABL, having played for the Waverly Reds, the Bushrangers, and the the Hunter Eagles in a career spanning 12 seasons and 220 games. He was brought back by the Cavalry in both 2010-11 and 2011-12 to share that experience with the developing Cavalry roster, spending the second season as a playing coach, adding another 45 games over those 2 seasons to his impressive tally.

2010-11 Canberra Cavalry Michael Wells card front - ©  2011 Adam East

Trevor Fox - 2011-12 Perth Heat

Fox is an American import who played only two games for the Perth Heat during the 2011-12 season. In 2009 and 2010 he played in the independent American Association league in the US following 2 years at UC Davis. Competed for the USA All-Stars team as a part of the pre-season games against the Heat in 2011.

2011-12 Perth Heat Trevor Fox card front - © 2012 Adam East

Dae-Sung Koo (구대성) - 2011-12 Sydney Blue Sox

I cheated on this card ... I reused a photo of Koo from the 2010-11 season, but then again, I did that for several Sydney and Brisbane players. You can compare the 2010-11 card design for Koo here. I didn't have any decent photos of him from the 2011-12 season, and did think that this wasn't a bad photo.

2011-12 Sydney Blue Sox Dae-Sung Koo card front - © 2012 Adam East

Byron Aird - 2010-11 Canberra Cavalry

Sydney native Aird was signed in 2009 by the Detroit Tigers as a 17 year old.where he played one season of Rookie level ball before being released in 2011.He played 11 games for the Canberra Cavalry in the inaugural ABL season, but was only called up for a single game in the 2011-12 season. And, no .... this wasn't a posed shot :)

2010-11 Canberra Cavalry Byron Aird card front - © 20121 Adam East

Chris Adamson - 2011-12 Adelaide Bite

Sydney boy who debuted in the ABL with the Adelaide Bite during the 2011-12 season. Adamson had previously played for the Angelo State University in the US where he earned selection as one of 2 catchers to the 2010 All-Conference First Team.

2011-12 Adelaide Bite Chris Adamson card front - © 2012 Adam East

Wade Dutton - 2011-12 Brisbane Bandits

The junior half of Brisbane's "Bash Brothers", infielder Wade has amassed 76 games for the Bandits over the first two seasons of the ABL. Like his older brother, attended the Southern Illinois University where he played ball.

2011-12 Brisbane Bandits Wade Dutton card front - © 2012 Adam East

Tyler Anderson - 2011-12 Perth Heat

Anderson is a local relief pitcher for the Heat, having pitched in 22 games for Perth over the first 2 ABL seasons. Despite never having been credited with a loss during that time (3-0), he has been rather expensive, with an ABL career ERA of 6.89. Plays for the South Perth Cubs in the WA State League.

2011-12 Perth Heat Tyler Adnerson card front - © 2012 Adam East

Michael Collins - 2010-11 Canberra Cavalry

One of Canberra's most successful baseball exports. Collins commenced playing for the Anaheim Angels as a 16 year old in 2001. His playing career spanned through 11 seasons in the USA, across 3 MLB organisations, twice reaching AAA level  as well as playing in both ABL seasons to date. In 2012 he entered a new phase of his career, managing the DSL Padres in the Dominican Summer League.

These particular card designs both feature photos of Michael from the 2010-11 season playing with the Canberra Cavalry.

2010-11 Canberra Cavalry Michael Collins card front - ©  2011 Adam East 

2010-11 Canberra Cavalry Michael Collins alternative card front - ©  2011 Adam East

Mathew Smith - 2011-12 Adelaide Bite

Gosford youngster Mathew Smith, has been a member of Adelaide's roster for both seasons. In 2012, he has been playing for the Huskies de Rouen (ie the Rouen Huskies), who have been the dominant team in the French professional baseball competition for the last decade.

2011-12 Adelaide Bite Mathew Smith card front - © 2012 Adam East

Darryl George - 2011-12 Melbourne Aces

George is an Aussie youngster who played for the Aces in 2011-12. In 2012 he is currently in his second year of Rookie level ball, playing for the Tampa Bay affiliate, the Princeton Rays.

Not a great photo of him, but one of my few captures of Melbourne players.

2011-12 Melbourne Aces Darryl George card front - © 2012 Adam East

Joshua Dean - 2011-12 Sydney Blue Sox

Dean is a local who has played for the Blue Sox during both ABL seasons so far.. Dean played one season of Rookie level ball for the Minnesota Twins back in 2006.

2011-12 Sydney Blue Sox Joshua Dean card front  - © 2012 Adam East

Yohei Yanagawa (柳川洋平) - 2011-12 Brisbane Bandits

Yanagawa - another of the Japaanese imports from the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, was the starting pitcher in 7 games for the Bandits, compiling a 2-1 record and and ERA of 2.52. He made his NPB debut for the Hawks in May 2011. pitching 8 games in relief through the season.

2011-12 Brisbane Bandits Yohei Yanagawa card front - © 2012 Adam East

Kody Hightower - 2011-12 Canberra Cavalry

American import and a crowd favourite of the 2011-12 Cavalry, Hightower also put up some good batting numbers for Canberra during the season. Not from the MLB farm system, he has been a bit of a journeyman, with his ABL stint bookended between playing for the Zurich Barracudas in Switzerland in 2011, and his current stint in the Dutch baseball system in 2012.

The photo for this particular card was a Movember casualty, with Kody not sporting the facial growth throughout the rest of the season.

2011-12 Canberra Cavalry Kody Hightower card front - © 2012 Adam East

Elliott Hargreaves - 2010-11 Perth Heat

Perth youngster signed as a 16 year old by the Cincinnati Reds organisation in 2010, Hargreaves has also been on the Perth Heat roster for both ABL seasons so far, although primarily as a long term project. He has only played a total of 11 games and had 8 At Bats for the Heat over those 2 years. In 2012 he is playing for the AZL Reds in the Rookie leagues.

I was fortunate to grab a shot of him back in the 2010-11 season, from which this blur heavy card design came about.

2010-11 Perth Heat Elliott Hargeaves card front - © 2010 Adam East

Brett Tamburrino - 2010-11 Melbourne Aces

Tamburrino is an Aussie native who reached A+ with the Twins. He played only one season in the ABL - 2010-11 with the Melbourne Aces. Not a great photo or an action shot, but one of the few shots I was able to get of Aces players back in the inaugural season. You can also tell I made this when I was going though my heavy Gaussian blur fetish :)

2010-11 Melbourne Aces Brett Tamburrino card front - © 2010

Seung-Hwa Lee (이승화) - 2010-11 Canberra Cavalry

Seung-Hwa was a member of the Canberra Cavalry roster during the inugural 2010-11 ABL Season. An import from Korea's Lotte Giants, his 9 years experience as an outfielder in the KBO assisted the fledgling Cavalry as a part of their Korean contingent. Was an All Star in 2007 in the KBO.

2010-11 Canberra Cavalry Seung-Hwa Lee card front -  © 2010 Adam East

Joe Quinn - "Flashback" Concept Card

Found a nice image of Joe Quinn (the first ever Australian MLB player) on a 1888 cigarette card, and thought I would try and translate it through for use in my "Flashback" design concept cards.

The photo of Quinn had him belonging to Boston at the time, which circa 1888 would have put him during his stint at the Boston Beaneaters. The Beaneaters franchise had several name changes and locations, but are now the Atlanta Braves. The hardest part of doing this card was trying to identify a logo for the Beaneaters, but a bit of archival work managed to find the red Boston typographic for the team which I managed to convert into a logo for the card.

I've tried it in two versions - the original monochrome, and a colorized version

Sepia "Flashback" concept card of legendary Australian MLB player Joe Quinn - © 2012 Adam East

Colorized "Flashback" concept card of legendary Australian MLB player Joe Quinn - © 2012 Adam East 

Brad Dutton - 2011-12 Brisbane Bandits

The two Dutton brothers have been mainstays of the Bandits roster over their first two seasons, becoming known as the "Bash Brothers". Brad, the older of the brothers is the Bandits captain, taking on the role as infielder and leader of the team. He also claims to "have a better beard" than his brother.

2011-12 Brisbane Bandits Brad Dutton card front - © 2012 Adam East

2011-12 Brisbane Bandits Brad Dutton alternative card front - © 2012 Adam East

Ryohei Isaka (井坂亮平) - 2011-12 Adeliade Bite

Isaka was a Japanese pitching import from the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles who played with Adelaide in the 2011-12 season. Isaka won 3 of the 4 games he pitched as a starter for the Bite. He made his NPB debut in 2009, and had played 37 games with the Golden Eagles before his stint in the ABL.

2011-12 Adelaide Bite Ryohei Isaka card front - © 2012 Adam East