Mitch Dening - 2014-15 Adelaide Bite

One of the big moves in the off season was former Sydney Blue Sox player Mitch Dening following former team mate Matt Williams from the Blue Sox over to the Adelaide Bite. Dening had been with the Blue Sox since the inaugural ABL season, but was headhunted by the Bite for the 2014-15 ABL season to add some power hitting to their lineup.

Dening had spent 2014 playing for Niigata Albirex in Japan's independent Baseball Challenge League.

2014-15 Adelaide Bite Mitch Dening card front - ©2014 Adam East

Alex Glenn - 2014-15 Sydney Blue Sox

Glenn is an American import from the Arizona Diamondbacks organisation playing with the Sydney Blue Sox during the 2014-15 ABL season. In 2014 he played with the Visalia Rawhide in the High-A level California League.

I wasn't quite sure which shot I preferred of Glenn, so have two designs for him at the moment.

2014-15 Sydney Blue Sox Alex Glenn card front - ©2014 Adam East

2014-15 Sydney Blue Sox Alex Glenn alternate card front - ©2014 Adam East

Nick Blount - 2014-15 Melbourne Aces

Was a bit disappointed during the recent ABL game between Canberra and Melbourne that I attended. Most of the Melbourne players were wearing jumpers/hoodies. Normally I only try and get shots of the players in uniform, and will usually get decent shots of between 17-19 of the 22 players that come into town for each series. Obviously the Melbourne players were feeling the cold thus particular night, and I only got shots of about a dozen players in uniform. I'll have to make do with some "training gear" shots, which I consider less than ideal.

The other point about the players wearing jumpers/hoodies is that it makes it harder to identify the imports and fringe players without their uniform number visible.

I believe that this shot is of American import Nick Blount. Blount is a member of the Chicago White Sox organisation, playing with the Melbourne Aces during the 2014-15 ABL season. He had a short stint with the White Sox' Rookie level  Arizona League team in 2014,  but spent the majority of his time at the high-A level Winston-Salem Dash of the Carolina League.

2014-15 Melbourne Aces Nick Blount card front - © 2014 Adam East

Mitch Walding - 2014-15 Canberra Cavalry

Walding is an American import from the Philadelphia Phillies organisation who is playing with the Canberra Cavalry during the 2014-15 ABL season. Walding spent 2014 playing for the Lakewood BlueClaws in the Single-A South Atlantic League.

2014-15 Canberra Cavalry Mitch Walding card front - © 2014 Adam East

Rocky Gale - 2014-15 Adelaide Bite

Besides being a baseballer with a funky sounding name, Gale is an American import from the San Diego Padres organisation playing with the Adelaide Bite during the 2014-15 ABL season. Gale is one of the more experienced imports playing in the ABL this season, having spent 2014 playing for the El Paso Chihuahuas of the Triple-A level Pacific Coast League.

2014-15 Adelaide Bite Rocky Gale card front - ©2014 Adam East

Steve Landell - 2014-15 Sydney Blue Sox

Landell is an American import who is playing with the Sydney Blue Sox during the 2014-15 ABL season. Landell had previously played for the Southern Connecticut State University before signing with the Normal Cornbelters of the independent Frontier League in 2014. Not sure what happened, but despite the signing it appears he didn't end up debuting with the Cornbelters, so the ABL represents his professional debut.

2014-15 Sydney Blue Sox Steve Landell card front - © 2014 Adam East

Josh Hendricks - 2014-15 Melbourne Aces

Melbourne were in town last week, so I now have some card designs for this years' Aces players that I can add to the blog. First up is local Victorian Josh Hendricks. Hendricks is returning for his fourth season with Melbourne in 2014-15, after having missed the 2013-14 ABL season.

2014-15 Melbourne Aces Josh Hendricks card front - ©2014 Adam East

Jake Brown - 2014-15 Canberra Cavalry

Brown is an American import playing for the Canberra Cavalry during the 2014-15 ABl season. Brown  spent four seasons (2010-2013) in the Oakland Athletics farm system, reaching double A level. In 2014 he played for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in the independent Atlantic League.

Since the ABL has effectively stopped scheduling doubleheader games I've struggled to get decent photos of relievers. They're always in the game in lowlight conditions at the end of the evening and my equipment is too slow to capture decent shots in the dark. This is the best I could do for Brown

2014-15 Canberra Cavalry Jake Brown card front - ©2014 Adam East

Josh Tols - 2014-15 Adelaide Bite

Local Adelaide born Tols is a relatively new face with the Adelaide Bite. The 2014-15 ABL season is his second season with Adelaide, however his first season was back in 2010-11, the inaugural ABL season, during which Tols pitched in just a single game for the Bite.

Tols had played for Rockhurst University in Kansas City, MO between 2012 and 2014. After graduating, he spent the rest of 2014 playing in the independent Pecos League - first with the Las Vegas Train Robbers, following which he was traded to the Trinidad Triggers.

2014-15 Adelaide Bite Josh Tols card front - ©2014 Adam East

Matthew Rae - 2014-15 Sydney Blue Sox

Rae has returned for his fourth season with the Sydney Blue Sox during the 2014-15 ABL season. It's been a bit of a rough start to the season for Rae, after 5 games he boasts an ERA of 37.80, having given up 8 runs in only 1.2 completed innings of gametime.

2014-15 Sydney Blue Sox Matthew Rae - ©2014 Adam East

Sydney Checklist - 2013-14 Sydney Blue Sox

Finally. My last card design to be posted up from the 2013-14 ABL season, and it's the checklist for the Sydney Blue Sox. The rest of my upcoming posts are all going to be card designs from the 2014-15 ABl season which is currently underway.

2013-14 Sydney Blue Sox Checklist card - ©2014 Adam East

Adam Silva - 2014-15 Canberra Cavalry

Victorian youngster Silva is a member of the New York Yankees organisation. He has been on the cusp of selection with the Melbourne Aces over the last couple of summers but was unable to secure a debut in the ABL with them. He took his chances  in the inaugural ABL Australian Draft held earlier this year and was drafted by the Canberra Cavalry for the 2014-15 ABL season.

Recovering from injury, Silva played a handful of games for the Yankees in 2014, firstly for the Rookie level Gulf Coast League Yankees, and then a single game with the Dominican Summer League Yankees. He's since made his ABL debut with Canberra.

2014-15 Canberra Cavalry Adam Silva card front - ©2014

Chan Moon - 2014-15 Adelaide Bite

Chan Jong Moon is a Korean who is a part of the Houston Astros organisation. He is playing for the Adelaide Bite during the 2014-15 ABL season. In 2014 Moon split time between the Single A Quad Cities River Bandits and the High A Lancaster JetHawks.

2014-15 Adelaide Bite Chan Moon card front - ©2014 Adam East