1997–98 Australian Baseball League season

1997–98 Australian Baseball League season
LeagueAustralian Baseball League
SportBaseball
Duration31 October 1997 – 15 February 1998 (1997-10-31 – 1998-02-15)
Games211
Teams8
Regular season
Season MVPBrendan Kingman (Sydney Storm)
Finals Series
VenueMelbourne Ballpark
ChampionsMelbourne Reds (3rd title)
  Runners-upGold Coast Cougars

The 1997–98 Australian Baseball League season was the 9th season of the original Australian Baseball League, contested between eight teams representing state and regional capitals: Adelaide Giants, Brisbane Bandits, Gold Coast Cougars, Hunter Eagles, Melbourne Monarchs, Melbourne Reds, Perth Heat and Sydney Storm. The Melbourne Reds became the first three-time champions defeating the Gold Coast Cougars 2 games to 0 in the Championship series, in front of a small home crowd of 600 at the Melbourne Ballpark.

Teams

Each of the 8 teams from the previous season returned, however the Sydney Blues changed their name to the Sydney Storm after legal action taken by Cricket NSW during the offseason.

In the season opening press release, The league called for expressions of interest in a licence to reform the Canberra Bushrangers for the 1998–99 season, The Bushrangers previously folded at the end of the 1994–95 season.

Rosters

During the regular season each team made use of an active roster of 22–24 men, with a maximum of 4 import players.

Venues

Teams in the ABL
Team City State Stadium Ref
Adelaide Giants Adelaide South Australia Norwood Oval
Brisbane Bandits Brisbane Queensland Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre
Gold Coast Cougars Gold Coast Queensland Carrara Oval
Hunter Eagles Newcastle New South Wales Newcastle International Sports Centre
Melbourne Monarchs Melbourne Victoria Melbourne Ballpark
Melbourne Reds Melbourne Victoria Moorabbin Oval
Perth Heat Perth Western Australia WACA Ground
Sydney Storm Sydney New South Wales Concord Oval

Regular season

Round 1: 31 October – 5 November 1997

Round 1
Perth Heat 3 d. Adelaide Giants 1 (6-5, 6-3, 6-5, 2-8)
Gold Coast Cougars 2 d. Brisbane Bandits 1 (7-1, 8-6, 13-14)
Melbourne Monarchs 3 d. Melbourne Reds 1 (8-6, 10-6, 7-2, 2-8)
Sydney Storm 2 d. Hunter Eagles 0 (11-10, 5-3)

Round 2: 7–9 November 1997

Round 2
Perth Heat 3 d. Sydney Storm 1 (3-5, 3-2, 10-3, 4-1)
Adelaide Giants 3 d. Melbourne Monarchs 1 (1-3, 3-0, 9-4, 7-4)
Gold Coast Cougars 2 d. Melbourne Reds 1 (6-3, 6-10, 5-4, W/out)
Brisbane Bandits 3 d. Hunter Eagles 1 (6-4, 7-4, 4-3, 2-4)

Round 3: 14–16 November 1997

Round 3
Perth Heat 2 dr. Sydney Storm 2 (1-5, 5-9, 4-3, 11-7)
Melbourne Reds 3 d. Gold Coast Cougars 1 (4-1, 6-2, 3-2, 1-2)
Adelaide Giants 3 d. Melbourne Monarchs 1 (N/A, 7-2, N/A, N/A)
Brisbane Bandits 3 d. Hunter Eagles 1 (9-1, 13-11, 12-6, 9-10)

Round 4: 21–23 November 1997

Round 4
Perth Heat 2 dr. Melbourne Monarchs 2 (6-7, 6-1, 9-5, 0-2)
Melbourne Reds 3 d. Brisbane Bandits 1 (7-11, 20-7, 12-7, 12-9)
Gold Coast Cougars 3 d. Hunter Eagles 1 (10-5, 0-3, 8-4, 8-1)
Sydney Storm 3 d. Adelaide Giants 1 (1-5, 3-2, 5-2, 6-3)

Round 5: 28–30 November 1997

Round 5
Melbourne Reds 4 d. Brisbane Bandits 0 (12-8, 12-1, 11-7, 11-7)
Gold Coast Cougars 3 d. Hunter Eagles 1 (5-2, 0-6, 7-6, 15-3)
Sydney Storm 2 dr. Adelaide Giants 2 (6-5, 1-4, 8-7, 2-6)

Round 6: 5–7 December 1997

Round 6
Melbourne Reds 4 d. Hunter Eagles 0 (2-1, 10-6, 7-6, 8-1)
Brisbane Bandits 2 d. Gold Coast Cougars 1 (9-3, 14-9, 10-15)
Sydney Storm 3 d. Melbourne Monarchs 1 (3-2, 6-5, 4-8, 18-5)
Adelaide Giants 3 d. Perth Heat 1 (2-7, 7-1, 5-1, 6-3)

All Star Games: 12–13 December 1997

1997 Australian Baseball League All-Star Game
Date12-13 December 1997
VenueCarrara Oval
CityGold Coast

The All-Stars Weekend, was the first series of All-Star exhibition games held by the Australian Baseball League. The games were contested over two nights at Carrara Oval on the Gold Coast, The then home of the Gold Coast Cougars franchise.[1]

The games were played between the Australian All-Stars, USA All-Stars and the 1997 Japanese Industrial League Champions the Mitsubishi Juko Kobe. The Australian and USA All-Star teams were selected from players who were at the time playing in the Australian Baseball League.[1]

Game 1: Australian All-Stars vs Mitsubishi Juko Kobe

12 December 1997 19:00 at Carrara Oval, Gold Coast
TeamR
Mitsubishi Juko Kobe?
Australian All-Stars?

Game 2: Australian All-Stars vs USA All-Stars

13 December 1997 19:00 at Carrara Oval, Gold Coast
TeamR
USA All-Stars15
Australian All-Stars9

Round 7: 14–16 December 1997

Round 7
Sydney Storm 2 d. Hunter Eagles 1 (8-5, 4-1, 4-6)
Gold Coast Cougars 1 d. Brisbane Bandits 0 (N/A)
Sydney Storm 2 d. Hunter Eagles 1 (N/A)

Round 8: 19–21 December 1997

Round 8
Sydney Storm 2 dr. Melbourne Monarchs 2 (5-3, 3-6, 0-1, 6-5)
Gold Coast Cougars 3 d. Brisbane Bandits 0 (8-3, 9-8, 15-8)
Perth Heat 2 dr. Adelaide Giants 2 (4-2, 4-0, 2-5, 2-6)
Melbourne Reds 3 d. Hunter Eagles 1 (4-5, 17-7, 8-7, 7-0)

Round 9: 26–28 December 1997

Round 9
Perth Heat 2 dr. Melbourne Reds 2 (13-6, 7-6, 2-3, 3-8)
Sydney Storm 4 d. Brisbane Bandits 0 (23-9, 3-2, 10-0, 10-7)
Melbourne Monarchs 4 d. Gold Coast Cougars 0 (4-1, 4-1, 4-0, 6-0)
Adelaide Giants 3 d. Hunter Eagles 1 (12-4, 1-6, 6-2, 7-3)

Round 10: 30 December 1997, 2–6 January 1998

Round 10
Brisbane Bandits 2 d. Perth Heat 1 (11-1, 18-2, 2-15)
Sydney Storm 2 d. Melbourne Reds 1 (4-1, 1-10, 8-4)
Gold Coast Cougars 3 d. Adelaide Giants 0 (8-6, 9-8, 10-9)
Melbourne Monarchs 3 d. Hunter Eagles 0 (8-3, 7-5, 3-2)
Sydney Storm 1 d. Hunter Eagles 0 (17-14)

Round 11: 9–11 January 1998

Round 11
Sydney Storm 3 d. Hunter Eagles 0 (10-3, 14-3, 10-3)
Melbourne Monarchs 2 d. Melbourne Reds 1 (6-2, 3-7, 14-4)
Adelaide Giants 2 d. Brisbane Bandits 1 (4-2, 4-8, 8-6)
Perth Heat 2 d. Gold Coast Cougars 1 (2-19, 8-7, 8-2)

Round 12: 16–18 January 1998

Round 12
Melbourne Monarchs 3 d. Brisbane Bandits 1 (1-2, 4-3, 11-10, 12-11)
Gold Coast Cougars 4 d. Sydney Storm 0 (17-12, 7-2, 15-7, 10-8)
Melbourne Reds 3 d. Adelaide Giants 1 (4-5, 10-6, 10-8, 11-10)
Perth Heat 2 dr. Hunter Eagles 2 (0-8, 11-6, 6-8, 5-2)

Round 13: 22–25 January 1998

Round 13
Brisbane Bandits 2 d. Sydney Storm 1 (2-3, 6-1, 2-1)
Melbourne Monarchs 2 d. Gold Coast Cougars 1 (10-9, 5-1, 3-4)
Adelaide Giants 1 dr. Hunter Eagles 1 (9-1, 4-5, W/Out)
Perth Heat 2 d. Melbourne Reds 0 (2-0, 9-6)

Round 14: 26–29 January 1998

Round 14
Brisbane Bandits 1 dr. Melbourne Monarchs 1 (N/A, 15-10)
Melbourne Reds 2 d. Adelaide Giants 1 (N/A, 11-2, 5-6)
Perth Heat 3 d. Hunter Eagles 0 (15-5, 8-7, 17-6)
Gold Coast Cougars 2 d. Sydney Storm 1 (9-3, 8-5, 7-12)

Round 15: 30 January – 3 February 1998

Round 15
Perth Heat 2 d. Brisbane Bandits 1 (0-12, 12-6, 5-1)
Gold Coast Cougars 2 d. Adelaide Giants 1 (1-4, 9-6, 7-5)
Melbourne Monarchs 3 d. Hunter Eagles 0 (9-0, 9-5, 7-6)
Sydney Storm 2 d. Melbourne Reds 1 (14-11, 4-13, 10-9)

Round 16: 6–8 February 1998

Round 16
Perth Heat 2 d. Gold Coast Cougars 1 (6-2, 3-10, 7-4)
Adelaide Giants 2 d. Brisbane Bandits 1 (13-12, 12-10, 8-9)
Melbourne Monarchs 1 dr. Melbourne Reds 1 (5-4, 4-5, W/Out)
Sydney Storm 1 d. Hunter Eagles 0 (11-5)

Ladder

Pos Team Pld W L PCT GB Qualification
1 Melbourne Monarchs 52 32 20 .615 — Advance to Finals Series
2 Sydney Storm 54 32 22 .593 1
3 Melbourne Reds 51 30 21 .588 1.5
4 Gold Coast Cougars 53 31 22 .585 1.5
5 Perth Heat 53 30 23 .566 2.5
6 Adelaide Giants 53 26 27 .491 6.5
7 Brisbane Bandits 53 20 33 .377 12.5
8 Hunter Eagles 53 10 43 .189 22.5
Source:

Top 10 Stats

Postseason

Finals Series at Melbourne Ballpark

In previous years the post season was played as home and away best of 3 games, with the two winner of each series meeting for a best of 5 series{fact}, in 1997–98 this was changed to a round robin play-off format with each team playing 3 games, 1 against each of the other 3 qualified teams, with the two highest places teams playing off in the Championship Series.[1]

All games for the 9th ABL title were played at the Melbourne Ballpark from February, 10-12 with the best of three championship series 14–15 February.[1]

Finals Series

Game 1: 10 February 1998

Team123456789RHE
Gold Coast Cougars?????????7??
Melbourne Monarchs?????????5??
WP: ? (1-0)   LP: ? (0-1)   Sv: ?
Home runs:
Cougars: ?
Monarchs: ?

Game 2: 10 February 1998

Team123456789RHE
Melbourne Reds?????????18??
Sydney Storm?????????5??
WP: ? (1-0)   LP: ? (0-1)   Sv: ?
Home runs:
Reds: ?
Storm: ?

Game 3: 11 February 1998

Team123456789RHE
Melbourne Monarchs?????????1??
Sydney Storm?????????5??
WP: ? (1-0)   LP: ? (0-1)   Sv: ?
Home runs:
Monarchs: ?
Storm: ?

Game 4: 11 February 1998

Team123456789RHE
Gold Coast Cougars?????????1??
Melbourne Reds?????????2??
WP: ? (1-0)   LP: ? (0-1)   Sv: ?
Home runs:
Cougars: ?
Reds: ?

Game 5: 12 February 1998

Team123456789RHE
Sydney Storm?????????6??
Gold Coast Cougars?????????8??
WP: ? (1-0)   LP: ? (0-1)   Sv: ?
Home runs:
Storm: ?
Cougars: ?

Game 6: 12 February 1998

Team123456789RHE
Melbourne Monarchs?????????12??
Melbourne Reds?????????5??
WP: ? (1-0)   LP: ? (0-1)   Sv: ?
Home runs:
Monarchs: ?
Reds: ?

Postseason Ladder

Pos Team Pld W L RF RA RD PCT GB Qualification
1 Melbourne Reds 3 2 1 25 18 +7 .667 — Advance to Championship series
2 Gold Coast Cougars 3 2 1 16 13 +3 .667 —
3 Melbourne Monarchs 3 1 2 18 17 +1 .333 1
4 Sydney Storm 3 1 2 16 27 −11 .333 1
Source:

Championship Series

Game 1: 14 February 1998

Team123456789RHE
Gold Coast Cougars0000003003??
Melbourne Reds10002010-4??
WP: David White (1-0)   LP: ? (0-1)   Sv: ?
Home runs:
Cougars: -
Reds: Shane Hogan (1)

Game 2: 15 February 1998

Team123456789RHE
Melbourne Reds00000103046?
Gold Coast Cougars0000000000??
WP: Jason Beverlin (1-0)   LP: Paxton Crawford (0-1)   Sv: -
Home runs:
Reds: Shane Hogan (1), Myles Barnden (1)
Cougars: -

Awards

Award Person Team
Batting Champion Brendan Kingman Sydney Storm
Golden Glove Glenn Williams Sydney Storm
Manager of the Year Tom Nieto Melbourne Reds
Most Valuable Player Brendan Kingman Sydney Storm
Championship M.V.P. Shane Hogan Melbourne Reds
Rookie of the Year Rodney Van Buizen Hunter Eagles
Reliever of the Year Gabe Molina Perth Heat
Pitcher of the Year Erick Nelson Melbourne Monarchs
Umpire of the Year Gerard Tancred New South Wales

All-Star Team

Position Name Team
Catcher Gary White Sydney Storm
1st Base Ron Johnson Gold Coast Cougars
2nd Base Adam Burton Melbourne Reds
3rd Base Paul Gorman Gold Coast Cougars
Short Stop Ben Utting Melbourne Reds
Out Field Glen Barker Brisbane Bandits
Out Field Trent Durrington Gold Coast Cougars
Out Field Grant McDonald Brisbane Bandits
Designated Hitter Brendan Kingman Sydney Storm
Starting Pitcher Erick Nelson Melbourne Monarchs
Relief Pitcher Gabe Molina Perth Heat
Manager Tom Nieto Melbourne Reds

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "FAI Cup Pitches new finals format and all star competition as baseball bats up for the summer of 1997/1998". Press Release. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 30 June 1998. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  • Flintoff, Peter; Dunn, Adrian (August 1998). Flintoff & Dunn's Australian Baseball League Almanac 1998 Edition. Melbourne: Flintoff & Dunn.
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