Australian Custom Baseball Cards: January 2015

Friday, January 30, 2015

AJ Holland - 2014-15 Canberra Cavalry

Holland is an American import who played with the Canberra Cavalry during the 2014-15 ABL season. Holland had spent four years in the Atlanta Braves organisation, spending early 2014 with the Rome Braves in the single A level South Atlantic League. He was then released by the Braves and had a short stint with the Washington WildThings of the independent Frontier League before coming Down Under.

Holland was one of the Canberra players that I had missed getting photos of throughout the season, so I was happy to get this casual snap of him relaxing in the bullpen on the last game I attended of the year, even if it is a bit grainy for my liking.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Granden Goetzman - 2014-15 Brisbane Bandits

Goetzman just took off his baseball cap ... and Cosmo Kramer suddenly appeared ...

Goetzman is an American import from the Tampa Bay Rays organisation playing with the the Brisbane Bandits for the 2014-15 ABL season. He spent 2014 split between the Single A level Bowling Green Hot Rods and the High A level Charlotte Stone Crabs.

Here's Goetzman with his baseball cap on.

And here's a shot of when the tall American has removed his cap, and his hair has escaped. He's a dead set Kramer ring-in from Seinfeld.

Monday, January 26, 2015

Corey Lyon - 2014-15 Adelaide Bite

It's Australia Day! Probably best I have an Aussie player featured today then.

Lyon is an Aussie player who was selected by the Adelaide Bite in the inaugural ABL Draft held in August 2014, making 2014-15 his rookie ABL year. He grew up playing baseball in Surfer's Paradise, but I have been unable to pinpoint specifically where he was born. Lyon spent 2014 playing for Technika Brno in the Czech Extraliga

Friday, January 23, 2015

Alex Howe - 2014-15 Sydney Blue Sox

Howe is a local boy from Wollongong who has spent the last 4 years playing college ball in the USA. (2011-12 with Clarendon College, Texas and 2013-14 with the University of Texas-Pan American.) The 2014-15 ABL season with the Sydney Blue Sox marks Howes rookie debut in the ABL.

I must be getting dottery in my old age. I'm finding it difficult to decide which photos to use for my card designs. Here are three different shots of Howe. Feedback on which you prefer is welcome :) My thinking is that: The first one is the best "facial" shot of him. The second is a nice game shot, and shows the Aussie flag on his glove, whilst the third captures emotion.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Tim Smith - 2014-15 Perth Heat

Smith is a Canadian import playing with the Perth Heat during the 2014-15 ABL season. Smith previously spent six years playing in the minor leagues, playing with the Rangers, Royals and Braves organisations. He has spent the last two years playing independent ball in the US, spending 2014 with Les Capitales des Quebec in the Canadian-American Association.

Monday, January 19, 2015

Cody Buckel - 2014-15 Melbourne Aces

Buckel is an American import from the Texas Rangers organisation who is playing with the Melbourne Aces during the 2014-15 ABL season. In 2014 Buckel played for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in the high A level Carolina League.

Buckel was one of those players who I got a lot of photos of but wasn't really happy with any of them. My favourite shot of him is probably the one with the water bottle ... but holding a water bottle usually isn't the best for a portrait. The other two game shots were the best of a bad bunch in bad lighting.

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Perth Heat - Shave for Team Spencer - Use One of My Images

My team, the Perth Heat are in town for a series this weekend. I noticed at the game that I attended that many of the players are sporting rather luxurious beards. The answer as to why may be in a site I stumbled across earlier today.

It looks like several of the Perth players including Jesse Barron and Joey Wong will be raising money for Team Spencer by shaving their beards at next week's final home series. The website to donate money can be found at Shave For Team Spencer.

Shave for Team Spencer website

One of the images the site uses is my card design for the 2013-14 season for Jesse Barron. I'm more than happy for my stuff to be used in supporting Team Spencer :)

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Liwi Huang - 2014-15 Canberra Cavalry

The Canberra Cavalry have added two Chinese players for the second half of the 2014-15 ABL season, including Liwi Huang. Huang is an 18 year old player who comes from the China Baseball Academy run by MLB International in Wuxi, China. Under the ever increasingly convoluted and baffling ABL import rules, the Chinese players are actually considered to be Australians, and are not actually considered imports.

Tried doing a translation of Liwi Huang into hanzi, but the online translator doesn't like "Liwi". I'm wondering if Liwi might actually be corrected to "Liwei" which does translate into hanzi. Having said that, the other Chinese player is Aaron Chen .... I doubt that Aaron easily translates into hanzi either. :) If anybody can enlighten me further, please let me know via comment.

Monday, January 12, 2015

Kuan-Wei Yang (陽冠威) - 2014-15 Brisbane Bandits

The Bandits were in town for a rain effected series this weekend, and I managed to get a decent number of shots of players throughout the rain. The Bandits players were wearing their yellow uniforms. The yellow is new this season - a change from their historical maroon base colour that they've used in the ABL to date.

First up for the Bandits is Taiwanese import Kuan-Wei Yang, who is playing with Brisbane for the 2014-15 season. Yang is from the EDA Rhinos in the Chinese Professional Baseball League, where he has been playing since 2013. The Bandits have three players from the EDA Rhinos joining them this season. Yang was willing to pose for me as he came out of the dugout, so he gets the privilege of being the first Bandits player up for this season.

Friday, January 9, 2015

Kyle Hooper - 2014-15 Adelaide Bite

Hooper is an American import who is playing with the Adelaide Bite for the 2014-15 ABL season. Hooper is from the Los Angeles Dodgers organisation. He spent 2014 playing for the Dodgers single-A affiliate, the Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Craig Anderson - 2014-15 Sydney Blue Sox

Sydney stalwart Anderson returned to the Blue Sox starting rotation for the fifth straight year for the 2014-15 ABL season. Apart from wearing the gray away uniform, the card image for this year's card is almost a rinse and repeat of the photo I had for last year's card.

Monday, January 5, 2015

Chace Numata - 2014-15 Melbourne Aces

Numata is an American import playing with the Melbourne Aces during the 2014-15 ABL season. Numata is a member of the Philadelphia Phillies organisation. He reached high-A level ball in 2013, but had a fractured hamate (bone in the wrist) and wrist surgery, resulting in only a few games of rookie ball for the GCL Phillies in 2014, and hence his subsequent assignment to come Down Under in the northern off-season.

Friday, January 2, 2015

Christian Lopes - 2014-15 Canberra Cavalry

Lopes is an American import from the Toronto Blue Jays organisation playing with the Canberra Cavalry for the 2014-15 ABL season. Lopes spent 2014 playing for the Dunedin Blue Jays in the high-A level Florida League.

I wasn't quite sure which of these shots of Lopes I preferred.