Jump to content

2012–13 Australian Baseball League season

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2012–13 Australian Baseball League season
LeagueAustralian Baseball League
SportBaseball
Duration1 November 2012 – 9 February 2013
Number of games122
Number of teams6
Total attendance129,909
Regular season
Season MVPAdam Buschini
Championship Series
VenueNarrabundah Ballpark
ChampionsCanberra Cavalry (1st title)
  Runners-upPerth Heat
Seasons

The 2012–13 Australian Baseball League season was the third Australian Baseball League (ABL) season, and was held from 1 November 2012 to 9 February 2013. The season started with a game between the defending champions Perth Heat and the Adelaide Bite at Norwood Oval in Adelaide.

The season consisted of six teams competing in a 46-game schedule followed by a two-round postseason to determine the ABL champion. During the regular season, the Perth Heat participated in the 2012 Asia Series which included the host team and champion team from Korea Baseball Championship in South Korea, the champions from Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan and Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan, and an all-star team from China Baseball League in China. The 2012–13 champions will likewise qualify for the 2013 Asia Series.

At the conclusion of the regular season, the Canberra Cavalry, the Sydney Blue Sox and the Perth Heat progressed to the postseason. Sydney were eliminated by Perth, to face Canberra in the championship series. Canberra defeated Perth two games to nil to win their first ABL championship and be awarded the Claxton Shield. It was the first time a team from the Australian Capital Territory won the Claxton Shield.

Changes from 2011–12 season

[edit]

Regular season schedule

[edit]

The previous season included 45 games for each team and facing each team nine times. This was expanded for the 2012–13 season to 46 games, to ensure that each team had the same number of home games as road games (23). This change also meant that each team did not play each other team an equal number of times. In the first three rounds, each team had a bye for one round and played one home and one away series of three games each, played "... against their two closest geographical neighbours; building upon both traditional and newly established rivalries."[1] The remaining ten rounds were made up of four–game series with each team playing two series against the five other teams, one at home and one away.[2]

Postseason structure

[edit]

In previous seasons, the postseason had followed the Page playoff system, with the top four teams participating over three weeks. However, in the 2012-13 season only the top three teams qualified for a two-week postseason. The team that finished first—the Canberra Cavalry—earned a direct entry into the ABL championship series and the right to host the series. The second- and third-placed teams—the Sydney Blue Sox and the Perth Heat respectively—are playing in the preliminary final series hosted by the higher finishing team. The winner of that series will qualify for the championship series.[3] Reduced from five games in the semi-final and preliminary final series in 2012, all rounds of the 2013 postseason are being held as best–of–three game series.[4]

Teams

[edit]
Teams in the ABL
Team City State Stadium Ref
Adelaide Bite Adelaide South Australia Norwood Oval [5]
Brisbane Bandits Brisbane Queensland Brisbane Exhibition Ground [6]
Canberra Cavalry Canberra Australian Capital Territory Narrabundah Ballpark [7]
Melbourne Aces Melbourne Victoria Melbourne Ballpark [8]
Perth Heat Perth Western Australia Baseball Park [9]
Sydney Blue Sox Sydney New South Wales Blue Sox Stadium [10]

Venues

[edit]

Each of the six teams return from the previous season, and five of them will continue to use the same grounds for their home games. The sole exception is the Melbourne Aces, that played at the Melbourne Ballpark in the south-eastern suburb of Altona.[11] As part of the move from the Aces former home, the Melbourne Showgrounds, A$290,000 worth of improvements were made prior to the start of the season, including A$200,000 investment from the Victorian state government.[12] The ground was the home ground of the Melbourne Monarchs and the Melbourne Bushrangers in the former ABL.[13]

Rosters

[edit]

As in the previous season, each team has an active roster of 22 players available each round. These players are drawn from 35-man squads. These squads will be confirmed by each of the teams before the beginning of the season.

Regular season

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W L PCT GB Qualification
1 Canberra Cavalry 46 27 19 .587 — Advance to Championship Series
2 Sydney Blue Sox 45 26 19 .578 0.5 Advance to Preliminary final
3 Perth Heat 46 25 21 .543 2
4 Brisbane Bandits 45 23 22 .511 3.5
5 Adelaide Bite 46 21 25 .457 6
6 Melbourne Aces 46 15 31 .326 12
Source: [14]

Statistical leaders

[edit]
Batting leaders
Stat Player[S 1] Team Total
AVG Adam Buschini Canberra Cavalry .363
HR Adam Buschini Canberra Cavalry 15
RBI Adam Buschini Canberra Cavalry 50
R Adam Buschini
Kody Hightower 		Canberra Cavalry 37
H Mitch Dening Sydney Blue Sox 59
SB Zachary Penprase Sydney Blue Sox 16
Pitching leaders
Stat Player[S 2] Team Total
W Craig Anderson Sydney Blue Sox 8
L Paul Mildren Adelaide Bite 7
ERA Craig Anderson Sydney Blue Sox 2.10
K Chris Oxspring Sydney Blue Sox 86
IP Craig Anderson Sydney Blue Sox 81+1⁄3
SV Matthew Williams Sydney Blue Sox 15
  1. ^ Minimum 2.7 PAs per team game. Correct as of 27 January 2013.[15]
  2. ^ Minimum 0.8 IP per team game. Correct as of 27 January 2013.[16]

All-Star Game

[edit]
2012 ABL All-Star Game
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
World All-Stars 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 5 2
Team Australia 0 3 1 0 2 0 0 0 X 6 9 1
Date16 December 2012
VenueMelbourne Ballpark
CityMelbourne
MVPBrad Harman[17]
Attendance1,669[18]

The 2012 Australian Baseball League All-Star Game, known as the 2012 ConocoPhillips Australia ABL All-Star Game due to naming rights sponsorship from ConocoPhillips, was the second exhibition game held by the Australian Baseball League (ABL) between Team Australia and a team of World All-Stars. The game was held on Sunday, 16 December 2012 at Melbourne Ballpark in Melbourne, Victoria, the new home of the Melbourne Aces.[19] The players involved were selected from the rosters of the six ABL teams, with players not eligible for selection in the Australian team for international tournaments eligible for the World All-Stars.

Starting lineups

[edit]

Box score

[edit]
16 December 2012 14:00 at Melbourne Ballpark, Melbourne, Victoria
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
World All-Stars 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 5 2
Team Australia 0 3 1 0 2 0 0 0 X 6 9 1
WP: S. Lindsay   LP: B. Grening   Sv: K. Perkins
Home runs:
WAS: -
AUS: B. Harman (1), A. de San Miguel (1)
Attendance: 1,669
Boxscore

Postseason

[edit]

The 2013 Australian Baseball League (ABL) postseason was held from 2 to 9 February 2013. It was scheduled to start on 1 February, but the first game of the preliminary final series was postponed due to wet weather, and was the first game of a doubleheader the following day. The postseason was contested by three of the six teams participating in the regular season, with the teams with the best winning percentages qualifying.

The preliminary final series was hosted by the Sydney Blue Sox at Blue Sox Stadium in Sydney, against the Perth Heat. The Heat won the series two games to nil, to then face the Canberra Cavalry at Narrabundah Ballpark in Canberra in the championship series. Canberra defeated Perth two games to nil to win their first ABL championship and be awarded the Claxton Shield. It was the first time a team from the Australian Capital Territory won the Claxton Shield

Format

[edit]

At the conclusion of the regular season, the postseason will involve the teams in a two-round structure. Each round will consist of a best-of-three game series between the respective teams. The first-placed team will directly qualify for the championship series, and the second- and third-placed teams will play each other in the preliminary final series, the winner of which will qualify for the second place in the championship series.[20]

Bracket

[edit]
Preliminary Final Series
2 February 2013 		Championship Series
8-9 February 2013
1 Canberra Cavalry 2
2 Sydney Blue Sox 0 WP Perth Heat 0
3 Perth Heat 2

Qualification

[edit]

The Sydney Blue Sox were the first team to clinch a postseason berth, when they defeated the Brisbane Bandits in the first game of their second series at Blue Sox Stadium in Sydney, the final series of the regular season.[21] In the second game of the same series the following night, the Blue Sox clinched a home postseason series by beating the Bandits again.[22] The Canberra Cavalry clinched their first ABL postseason berth that same night, when they defeated the Adelaide Bite at Norwood Oval in Adelaide. The win also guaranteed a regular season finish no lower than second, and like the Blue Sox assured the Cavalry oh hosting a home postseason series.[23]

The final makeup of the postseason bracket was not determined until the final day of the regular season. The Cavalry guaranteed themselves first place and a place in the championship series when they beat the Bite in their final game. This win also confirmed the Blue Sox would finish in second place and host the preliminary final series.[24] The Perth Heat qualified for the final postseason position when they defeated the Melbourne Aces at Baseball Park in Perth in their final game. The win eliminated the Bandits from contention.[25]

Preliminary final

[edit]

The Sydney Blue Sox hosted the Perth Heat in the preliminary final series at Blue Sox Stadium. The Blue Sox and Heat split their season series 4–4. The four game series played in Sydney in November 2012 was also split 2–2.[26] Over the three ABL seasons played up until this series, Perth has the better record head-to-head against Sydney, with a record of 18–9.[27][28][29] The two teams have met in one postseason series before, in the 2011 major semi-final: the Perth Heat won the series 2–0 in Sydney.[30]

Head-to-head record:
Perth Heat v Sydney Blue Sox
Game type Games
played 		Perth
won 		Sydney
won
Overall 27 18 9
In Sydney 14 12 2
In 2012–13 season 8 4 4
In Postseason 2 2 0

The first game of the series was scheduled to be played on 1 February, but was postponed due to wet weather. It was rescheduled to be the first game of a doubleheader the following day.[31]

Game 1

[edit]
2 February 2013 15:30 (UTC+11:00) at Blue Sox Stadium, Sydney
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Perth Heat|| 0|| 1|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 3|| 0|| 0|| style="border-left-width:2px;font-weight:bold;" | 4|| style="font-weight:bold;" | 10|| style="font-weight:bold;" | 0
Sydney Blue Sox|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 1|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| style="border-left-width:2px;font-weight:bold;" | 1|| style="font-weight:bold;" | 9|| style="font-weight:bold;" | 0
WP: Anthony Claggett (1–0)   LP: Wayne Lundgren (0–1)   Sv: Brendan Wise (1)
Attendance: 794
Boxscore

Game 2

[edit]
2 February 2013 19:30 (UTC+11:00) at Blue Sox Stadium, Sydney
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Perth Heat|| 2|| 0|| 4|| 2|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| style="border-left-width:2px;font-weight:bold;" | 8|| style="font-weight:bold;" | 14|| style="font-weight:bold;" | 1
Sydney Blue Sox|| 0|| 2|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 1|| 3|| style="border-left-width:2px;font-weight:bold;" | 6|| style="font-weight:bold;" | 10|| style="font-weight:bold;" | 1
WP: Warwick Saupold (1–0)   LP: Brad Thomas (0–1)   Sv: Brendan Wise (2)
Home runs:
PER: Timothy Kennelly (1), Allan de San Miguel (1)
SYD: None
Attendance: 1,212
Boxscore

Championship series

[edit]

The Canberra Cavalry will host the Perth Heat in the championship series at Narrabundah Ballpark. The Cavalry won their season series against the Heat 6–2. The four game series played in Canberra in January 2013 was won by Canberra 3–1. Over the three ABL seasons played up until this series, Canberra has the better record head-to-head against Perth, with a record of 13–12.[32][33][34] The two teams have not previously met in a postseason series; Canberra qualified for the postseason for the first time in 2013.[24]

Head-to-head record:
Canberra Cavalry v Perth Heat
Game type Games
played 		Canberra
won 		Perth
won
Overall 25 13 12
In Canberra 13 7 6
In 2012–13 season 8 6 2
In Postseason 0 – –

Game 1

[edit]
8 February 2013 19:00 (UTC+11:00) at Narrabundah Ballpark, Canberra
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Perth Heat|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 2|| 2|| style="border-left-width:2px;font-weight:bold;" | 4|| style="font-weight:bold;" | 8|| style="font-weight:bold;" | 1
Canberra Cavalry|| 1|| 3|| 0|| 2|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| X|| style="border-left-width:2px;font-weight:bold;" | 6|| style="font-weight:bold;" | 12|| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2
WP: Brian Grening (1–0)   LP: Anthony Claggett (1–1)   Sv: Sean Toler (1)
Home runs:
PER: Timothy Kennelly (1), Luke Hughes (1)
CAN: Aaron Sloan (1), Ryan Stovall (1)
Attendance: 2,013
Boxscore

Game 2

[edit]
9 February 2013 19:00 (UTC+11:00) at Narrabundah Ballpark, Canberra
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Perth Heat|| 2|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 4|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| style="border-left-width:2px;font-weight:bold;" | 6|| style="font-weight:bold;" | 8|| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2
Canberra Cavalry|| 1|| 4|| 1|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 1|| 0|| X|| style="border-left-width:2px;font-weight:bold;" | 7|| style="font-weight:bold;" | 13|| style="font-weight:bold;" | 0
WP: Brodie Downs (1–0)   LP: Jack Frawley (0–1)   Sv: Sean Toler (2)
Home runs:
PER: None
CAN: Kody Hightower (1), Michael Wells (1)
Attendance: 2,043
Boxscore

Awards

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Whitaker, Terry (1 June 2012). "ABL announces 2012/13 season schedule". Australian Baseball League. Retrieved 2 February 2013. Circuit's third season features record 138 games
  2. ^ "2012/13 Game Schedule" (PDF). Australian Baseball League. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  3. ^ "Playoff Procedures". Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 29 January 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  4. ^ "2013 Postseason Bracket". Australian Baseball League. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  5. ^ "Adelaide Bite Homepage". Adelaide Bite. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 11 November 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  6. ^ "Brisbane Bandits Homepage". Brisbane Bandits. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 11 November 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  7. ^ "Canberra Cavalry Homepage". Canberra Cavalry. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 8 November 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  8. ^ "Melbourne Aces Homepage". Melbourne Aces. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 9 November 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  9. ^ "Perth Heat Homepage". Perth Heat. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 9 November 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  10. ^ "Sydney Blue Sox Homepage". Sydney Blue Sox. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 9 November 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  11. ^ "Aces New Home is the Melbourne Ballpark". Melbourne Aces. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2012. ABL Team Moves to Laverton with Added Improvements to Grounds
  12. ^ "Melbourne Aces 2012-13 season launch at the revitalised Melbourne Ballpark" (PDF) (Press release). Government of Victoria. 10 November 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  13. ^ Collins, Kingsley (16 October 2012). "Ballpark treated to major makeover". Baseball Victoria. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  14. ^ "2012 Australian Baseball League Current Standings". Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  15. ^ "League Batting Leaders". Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  16. ^ "League Pitching Leaders". Australian Baseball League. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  17. ^ Player, Xavier. "Australia down World in All-Star thriller". Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 26 December 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
  18. ^ "All-Star Game Boxscore". Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  19. ^ Staudinger, Krista. "ABL All-Stars to shine in Melbourne for 2012". Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 19 June 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  20. ^ "Playoff Procedures - Format for 2012/13 season". Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 29 January 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  21. ^ "SportsDay Live, Friday January 25". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  22. ^ Handley, Tom (26 January 2013). "Sox rip Bandits, clinch home Postseason series". Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2013. 13-run rout is biggest of season for Sydney
  23. ^ Munoz, Jessica (26 January 2013). "Cavalry into Postseason behind Buschini's big bat". Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2013. Second baseman records three hits, four RBI in win
  24. ^ a b Munoz, Jessica (27 January 2013). "First Place". Canberra Cavalry. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2013. Canberra finish regular season with win to capture regular season crown
  25. ^ "Perth Heat rise to the occasion". The West Australian. 27 January 2013. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  26. ^ Staudinger, Krista (30 January 2013). "Preliminary Final preview: Champs take on Sox". Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2013. Perth trying to reach third straight ABLCS; Sydney going for first
  27. ^ "2010 game-by-game results - Perth Heat". Perth Heat. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  28. ^ "2011 game-by-game results - Perth Heat". Perth Heat. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  29. ^ "2012 game-by-game results - Perth Heat". Perth Heat. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  30. ^ Maun, Tyler (28 January 2011). "Perth sweep Sydney away to Round 2 at BOP". Sydney Blue Sox. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2013. Three runs in third, eighth send Heat to Championship Series
  31. ^ Suttor, Matt (1 February 2013). "Preliminary Final game one postponed". Sydney Blue Sox. Australian Baseball League. Retrieved 1 February 2013. Sox-Heat battle rescheduled for Saturday doubleheader
  32. ^ "2010 game-by-game results - Canberra Cavalry". Canberra Cavalry. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  33. ^ "2011 game-by-game results - Canberra Cavalry". Canberra Cavalry. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  34. ^ "2012 game-by-game results - Canberra Cavalry". Canberra Cavalry. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  35. ^ a b "2012/13 Delta Air Lines Players of the Week". Australian Baseball League. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2012–13_Australian_Baseball_League_season&oldid=1247637717"