Justin Huber - Melbourne Aces 2013-14

Aussie former MLBer Huber returned to his hometown Aces for his fourth straight ABL season in 2013-14.

2013-14 Melbourne Aces Justin Huber card front - © 2013 Adam East

Steven Chambers - 2013-14 Canberra Cavalry

Chambers made the bold decision mid-season to move from the Brisbane Bandits, down to the Canberra Cavalry. The Cavalry had come under constant criticism from some areas about having too many Americans on their roster following injuries to several key Aussie players. Their response was to recruit several Aussie ABL players who would consider making a long term move to Canberra, with Chambers being one, along with Aaron Thompson, also from Brisbane, and Matt Wilson from Melbourne. Now, having said all that, with the chnages to the player rules over the off-season, Chambers has been released by the Cavalry so that he can rejoin the Bandits roster for 2014-15.

So, this is my second 2013-14 ABL season card for Chambers, with the first one featuring him as a Bandits player from earlier in the season.

2013-14 Canberra Cavalry Steven Chambers

Mitch Evans - 2013-14 Brisbane Bandits

Evans is an Aussie who spent three seasons in the New York Yankees farm system between 1999 and 2001. He eventually relocated to the UK and played in Europe and Great Britain, eventually becoming the first base coach for the British national team during the 2012 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers.

He has also been coaching junior players in Queensland. I'm presuming that it was following on from the coaching stint that he was added to the Brisbane Bandits playing roster for the 2013-14 ABL season, his first ever stint in the ABL at the spritely age of 32.

2013-14 Brisbane Bandits Mitch Evans card front - © 2013 Adam East

Matt Wickswat - 2013-14 Adelaide Bite

Wickswat is an American import who played with the Adelaide Bite during the 2013-14 ABL season. Wickswat had previously played in the Chicago White Sox farm system for 5 years between 2008 and 2012 before being released. In 2013 he played for Windy City Thunderbolts in the independent Frontier League. In 2014 he played for the Sioux Falls Canaries in the independent American Association.

Reasonably happy with how this photo turned out, noting that it's one of the few salvageable night time shots of a relief pitcher I managed all year. Having said that, I've accidentally mispelt his surname on the card - his surname should end with a single letter t, not two. I have corrected the design in the final version of the card.

2013-14 Adelaide Bite Matt Wickswat card front - © 2014 Adam East

Connor Whalen - 2013-14 Sydney Blue Sox - Redux

This is a redux of my original 2013-14 Connor Whalen card with him in the Blue Sox' powder blue home uniform. Having said that, the away uniform shot I have of him is an action one, whereas this is only a dugout shot.

Whalen returned to the Lake Erie Crushers in the Independent Frontier League in 2014 despite his ABL All Star season with the Blue Sox in 2013-14.

2013-14 Sydney Blue Sox Connor Whalen card front - © 2014 Adam East

Matt Kennelly - 2013-14 Perth Heat

Aussie Matt Kennelly spent the 2014 season with the Mississippi Braves, Atlanta's AA affiliate in the Southern League. He spent the 2013-14 ABL season with his home town Perth Heat, his fourth season with them.

2013-14 Perth Heat Matt Kennelly card front - © 2013 Adam East

Trevor Holder - 2013-14 Melbourne Aces

Holder is an American import who played with the Melbourne Aces during the 2013-14 ABL season. He spent 5 seasons in the Washington Nationals farm system between 2009 and 2013, before being released, spending the rest of 2013 with the San Diego Padres High A level team, the Lake Elsinore Storm of the California League. From what I can tell, he's ended up in the Czech Republic in 2014.

You can tell I'm getting towards the end of my cards for last season as there are a few cards where the images are less than ideal. This is the best shot I had of Holder, and as much as fist bumps are cool, the image itself isn't the best of him.

2013-14 Melbourne Aces Trevor Holder card front - © 2013 Adam East

Eric Massingham - 2013-14 Canberra Cavalry

American import Massingham returned for his second season with the Canberra Cavalry during the 2013-14 ABL season. During 2013 he played for the Evansville Otters of the independent Frontier League. He returned to Evansville in 2014 for a short stint before moving on to the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the independent Atlantic League. There he joined fellow Cavalry alumni Brian Grening and Sean Toler, and ABL alumni Alan de San Miguel, Brian Baker (both of the Perth Heat) and Mickey Jannis from the Brisbane Bandits.

I realised too late that this photo that I had from early in the season had Massingham in the wrong numbered uniform. He usually wears 33, but had 36 on for the first couple of games. Having grabbed a photo of him early season, I hadn't bothered trying to capture many later photos of him during the season.

2013-14 Canberra Cavalry Eric Massingham card front - © 2013 Adam East

Rhys Niit - 2013-14 Brisbane Bandits

Niit played with the Brisbane Bandits during the 2013-14 ABL season. This was his third in the ABL and with the Bandits. He ended up being used far more widely in relied last season than in his first two seasons with the club.

Lots of caps being put on in this photo :)

2013-14 Brisbane Bandits Rhys Niit card front - © 2013 Adam East

Jeremy Cresswell - 2013-14 Adelaide Bite

Cresswell looks sad in this photo - maybe it's because I couldn't get a better photo of him for my 2013-14 baseball card designs. The 2013-14 ABL season was Cresswell's fourth with the Adelaide Bite and in the BAL.

2013-14 Adelaide Bite Jeremy Cresswell card front - © 2014 Adam East

Luke Wilkins - 2013-14 Sydney Blue Sox

Wilkins returned to the Sydney Blue Sox for the 2013-14 ABL season - his third with the Blue Sox and fourth in the ABL. He had probably his best season to date, taking on the role of a secondary closer behind team mate Dae-Sung Koo, pitching in more games than in his three previous seasons combined.

2013-14 Sydney Blue Sox Luke Wilkins card front - © 2014 Adam East

Warwick Saupold - 2013-14 Perth Heat

Perth pitcher Saupold returned for his fourth season with the Heat during the 2013-14 ABL season. He did however have a change in role from starting pitcher to acting in relief. In 2014, Saupold is playing for the Erie SeaWolves, the Detroit Tigers AA affiliate in the Eastern League.

I struggled to get a decent shot of Saupold, and wasn't sure which one to go with - the "distracting team-mate's head shadow on the chest", or the "in the dugout getting a drink" look.

2013-14 Perth Heat Warwick Saupold card front - © 2014 Adam East

2013-14 Perth Heat Warwick Saupold alternate card front - © 2014 Adam East

Matt Wilson - 2013-14 Canberra Cavalry

Two games. That seems to be the unlucky number for Wilson. From what I can gather, Wilson was born in SA, but played  junior baseball in Victoria, resulting in a MLBAAP scholarship. He was signed in 2012 as an 18 year old by the Baltimore Orioles, and headed over to the Orioles rookie level team in the Gulf Coast League in 2013. There he played in only two games before being released.

It appears that he was subsequently picked up by the Canberra Cavalry for the 2013-14 ABL season. However, once again, his ABL career to date consisted of just two games of single inning relief pitching for the Cavalry. Being such a young player, let's hope he develops and is around for more than just that two game ABL season.

2013-14 Canberra Cavalry Matt Wilson card front - © 2014 Adam East