A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL, 2019-2119)

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2053 Championship-winning Cavalry

Apart from Lee (ring #8), and Aguirre (ring #4), none of Canberra's playoff roster had ever won a Championship before.

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2053 Season Leaderboards

(click to enlarge - click twice for full size)

Note: 121 runs for Aguirre

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2053 Awards

Gold Gloves

Pitcher: Cody Watts (Wellington Fury)
Catcher: Matsusuke Morita (Perth Heat)
First Baseman: Edwin Hayes (Kununurra Pioneers)
Second Baseman: Antony Mansfield (Auckland Metros)
Third Baseman: Joshua Moore (Newcastle Roos)
Shortstop: Reginald Sorensen (Newcastle Roos)
Left Fielder: Tom Doig (Whangarei Sluggers)
Center Fielder: Ben Dalley (Adelaide Venom)
Right Fielder: Russell Watters (Whangarei Sluggers)

Rookie of the Year

There was no going past 21 y/o Jorge Diaz for this one. ‘Three-Finger’ hit .331/.357/.571, 179-541, with 94 runs, 38 doubles, 1 triple, 30HR, 97RBI, and 21 walks from 572PA. He had a WAR of 4.7, a VORP of 46.8, and an OPS+ of 142. Most in the know felt he still hadn’t grown into his power-hitting boots, so look out league in the next few seasons.



Perth’s 23 y/o Peter Moy (.310/.339/.489, 17HR) came 2nd, while 25 y/o Croc Arthur Fingleson (.276/.335/.517, 29HR) rounded out the top 3.

Skipper of the Year

His Bandits might’ve lost their 2nd Championship series in a row, but Skipper of the Year had to go to Carlos Sosa. In his 1st year in the job, and without Aguirre and Lee, he’d led his charges to a new AUNZBL wins record and their 5th consecutive Championship appearance. Where did it go from here? That remained to be seen, but Sosa said he wasn’t getting too far ahead of himself: “Next season’s next season. Tonight I’ll enjoy the moment, and maybe tomorrow as well.”



Hurler of the Year

This was a contest between Marcos Gallo and Jay Cummins, with nobody really bothered who else made the podium.

The winner was... Jay Cummins. 31 y/o Cummins was yet to register 100 ML wins, but this was the 3rd season of his career he’d won 18+. He was 21-7 from 33 starts, with a 2.47 ERA, 3.60 FIP, and 1.20 WHIP. In 233.2 innings pitched he struck out 146. His WAR was 4.9, and his ERA+ 178, by far the best of his career.



Gallo (22-5, 3.19 ERA, 3.58 FIP, 1.18 WHIP, 5.1 WAR, 138 ERA+) finished with silver, and Lance Ralston (18-8, 2.90 ERA, 3.15 FIP, 1.13 WHIP, 6.3 WAR, 152 ERA+) got the bronze for the 2nd time in his career.

Slugger of the Year

Ismael Aguirre certainly was etching his name right at the top of the list of AUNZBL greats. At 30 years and 32 days old he won his 3rd Slugger of the Year award, thanks to a .335/.391/.593 season. From 758PA he was 228-681, with 121 runs, 38 doubles, 3 triples, 44HR, 131RBI, and 61BB. His WAR was 8.7, his VORP 79.0, and his OPS+ 158. The softly-spoken giant, who wasn’t prone to many words, said to media after the dinner that he felt “his form was down a bit on where it should be.”



Marcos Lopez (.337/.381/.547, 33HR) followed up his 2052 SotY win with a runner-up this season, while Adelaide’s Gary Young (.319/.393/.576, 37HR), who hadn’t made all that many headlines during the season but had certainly played well enough to, came 3rd.

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2053 Career Leaderboards

Snijders needed 30 jacks to get to 600HRs, and 47 hits to make 3000. Could he get there? To 3000 almost certainly, but when it came to HRs, who knew.

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35 Years in Review - Adelaide Venom



Record 2019-2053: 2889-2782

Postseason Appearances: 15

Championships: 4

Adelaide’s golden years were from 2030-2036. During that time they made 7 playoff appearances, topped their division 6 times, and took home 3 Championships. They were then absent from the playoffs until 2041, when they again won it all. Since then, they’d typically been competitive (bar 2045, when they lost 100 games for the 1st time in their history) but had only appeared in 4 of 12 postseasons, last doing so in 2050.

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35 Years in Review - Auckland Metros



Record 2019-2053: 2988-2682

Postseason Appearances: 14

Championships: 5

Currently in the dumps, having not made the postseason since 2047, and having lost 96+ games the last 2 seasons. Between 2040 and 2047 they had been a force to be reckoned with, though, making the playoffs 7 times in 8 seasons, while snaring 4 Championships. In 2045 they won 108 games. Before that they’d generally been competitive but went through patches where there was no postseason activity, their only other Championship won in 2027.

They had 1 retired number: #48, retired in 2045 in honour of Kelvin Ackland.

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35 Years in Review - Brisbane Bandits



Record 2019-2053: 2933-2739

Postseason Appearances: 16

Championships: 6

Currently the dominant team in the league, having been postseason regulars since 2048, winning 3 rings in that 6-year period. However, before that they’d been plain awful for an 8-year stretch (immediately after winning it all in 2039), losing 100+ games each season from 2043-2046. They’d also been a dominant team from 2025-2027, when they won 2 Championships in 4 years. Could they keep the dynasty rolling? It was possible. They had all their young talent locked up, and were said to be thinking of offering Wakely a 1-year extension.

Interestingly, as much as Brisbane fans liked to hate on Bill Bransington, he appeared on most of the club's batting leaderboards, 4th-equal in games played, 4th-outright for hits, 3rd for HRs and 3rd in RBI. Ismael Aguirre, on the other hand, who'd be much more fondly remembered, didn't feature at all on the games played board, was 10th in hits, 5th in HR, and 8th in RBI - which, most fans were sure to say, if you looked at the last 3 while taking into account the 1st, showed he was a lot more productive than Bransington had ever been, and brought home 3 Championships, to boot.

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35 Years in Review - Cairns Crocs



Record 2036-2053: 1351-1565

Postseason Appearances: 3

Championships: 0

Yet to be consistently competitive, Cairns had won their division pennant twice, in 2043 and 2044, and had made it to the postseason again this year on a wildcard. They often flattered to deceive but fans had hope that their lads were on the cusp of becoming a regular threat.

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35 Years in Review - Canberra Cavalry



Record 2019-2053: 2827-2844

Postseason Appearances: 11

Championships: 2

Cavalry fans were currently on cloud nine, and they had a right to be, having just snared their 1st Championship since 2021 and only their 2nd Championship ever. Could they expect more to come? They could certainly expect to be competitive for the next few seasons, at least. Consistently competitive was not something Canberra could say they had been over the course of their history. They’d appeared in the last 3 postseasons, but there’d been a 10-year drought before that, back to 2040, which had capped off a 4-year postseason run, preceded by another 8-year dry spell.

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35 Years in Review - Central Coast Thunder



Record 2021-2053: 2637-2711

Postseason Appearances: 11

Championships: 2

After a 7 year run without playing postseason ball between 2041-2047, the Thunder had featured in 5 of the last 6 postseasons, winning it all in 2052 for the 2nd time in their history (the 1st time was 2031). However, they hadn’t made the playoffs this year, sparking talk of problems within the camp, though not much in the way of evidence had come out to support that assertion. The Thunder had a reputation as a scrappy team who fought to the last out, and typically relied on strong pitching and defence. While they were a small-market team, they had an exceptionally loyal fanbase who currently had some great players to root for. Manuel Alou had 1 year left before free agency, and if the Thunder could sign him to an extension they'd have a stable, more-than-solid squad for the next few seasons.

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35 Years in Review - Christchurch Cowboys



Record 2019-2053: 2885-2786

Postseason Appearances: 12

Championships: 2

There had been a time when ‘Cowboys’ and ‘powerhouse’ were often used in conjunction. But that had been many years ago, when they’d gone on a run of 8 straight playoff appearances (2030-2037). Remarkably, that run only netted them 1 Championship (in 2030) and a frosty (to this day) relationship with the media. Since then, they’d only appeared in 1 postseason, in 2050, and were typically found closer to the bottom of their division than the top. Their other Championship would always be special: it was the inaugural one, in 2019.

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35 Years in Review - Darwin Diggers



Record 2048-2053: 498-474

Postseason Appearances: 3

Championships: 0

One of the new kids on the block, Darwin were quick to success, but the stench of the military hung heavy over them, and the cash they’d spent attracting free agents made them a bitter taste in their rivals’ mouths. Not that Darwin likely cared all that much. They’d won 93+ games the last 3 seasons, getting as far as the Championship round in 2051, losing in 6 games. They played what they’d dubbed ‘hustle-ball,’ built around tenacity and grit and a lot of aggression on the basepaths. Darwin management were confident a Championship victory was just around the corner.

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35 Years in Review - Hobart Prospects



Record 2021-2053: 2499-2849

Postseason Appearances: 9

Championships: 2

Apart from a 7-year run between 2040 and 2046 where they featured in every postseason and won 2 Championships, the Prospects had mostly been making up the numbers. Their other playoff appearances were in 2031 and 2051, and in 2053 they lost 94 games to once again be squarely awful. Some of the game's most well-known players (Mildren, Bodkin, Backhouse) had started their careers in Hobart, but with their current reputation as a place where 'free agents went to die' they'd need to do some special things in the coming seasons to mold themselves into a formidable force.

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35 Years in Review - Kununurra Pioneers



Record 2048-2053: 424-548

Postseason Appearances: 0

Championships: 0

The other newbies, the Pioneers, were awful, having never won more than 74 games in a season despite their government affiliations and the initial spending money that association gave them. They had some decent young prospects in their farm system, though, and 3 sluggers (Arthur Lee, Edwin Hayes, Jorge Diaz) who’d journeyed up through the minor ranks to each hit 30+ HRs in the majors last season, so the promise of better things to come wasn’t one management idly made. That being said, they were yet to win over the local fanbase and were currently struggling to pay the bills.

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35 Years in Review - Melbourne Aces



Record 2019-2053: 2776-2895

Postseason Appearances: 8

Championships: 1

It’d been 21 years since the Aces had made the postseason, the longest drought in AUNZBL history. And it was even further back that they’d won their lone Championship, snaring the coveted trophy in 2025. Each season from 2044-2048 they’d played .500 or better, but never quite made the postseason, often collapsing on the home stretch to narrowly miss out. Was the future looking a bit brighter? Their farm system was ranked the best in the majors, so maybe in a few years they might be contenders. Maybe.

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35 Years in Review - Newcastle Roos



Record 2019-2053: 2999-2672

Postseason Appearances: 17

Championships: 6

While the Roos hadn’t won a Championship since 2038, there weren’t many seasons where they didn’t pose a threat. A 5 year run of postseason misses between 2042-2046 marked the longest period in their history they hadn’t faced playoff pitching, and while they hadn’t snared a pennant for a few years, thanks to sharing a division with the titan Bandits and tough Thunder, they could still claim to be one of the top teams in the league.

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35 Years in Review - Perth Heat



Record 2019-2053: 2798-2873

Postseason Appearances: 8

Championships: 0

Perth were the perennial underachievers of the competition, the only original team not to have snared a Championship, and one who spent long stretches out of playoff contention. They were currently in one of those stretches, having lost 100+ games between 2050-2052, and 94 in 2053. New government-affiliated ownership might turn them around financially, but with their farm system ranked 12 out of 16 (even with a bevy of recent 1st picks) there didn’t seem to be that much light on the horizon.

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35 Years in Review - Sydney Blue Sox



Record 2019-2053: 2815-2856

Postseason Appearances: 9

Championships: 2

Between 2045 and 2050 Sydney had been competitive, winning their 2nd Championship and 5 pennants. Now, though, it looked as if they were back to their typical selves - overhyped at the beginning of the season, tired and flagging by the end. While their fanbase was loyal, it was nowhere near the size it should be, given that Sydney was Australia’s biggest city but ever year there was hope that the Blue Sox were on the verge of something special, even if the results showed that they spent most postseasons watching rather than playing.

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35 Years in Review - Wellington Fury



Record 2019-2053: 2885-2786

Postseason Appearances: 12

Championships: 2

Until 2040, Wellington were a rare sight in the playoffs, but had the enviable record of winning 2 out of 3 trips. Since then they hadn’t won any Championships, but they had been a regular postseason presence. In 2053 they rushed to 102-60 record after being picked preseason to play less than .500 ball and, with some good prospects coming through the minors, fan optimism for the next few seasons remained high, even though it looked as if line-up lynchpin Marcos Lopez was headed to free agency.

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35 Years in Review - Whangarei Sluggers



Record 2036-2053: 1387-1529

Postseason Appearances: 4

Championships: 1

6 years had passed since Whangarei collected their maiden Championship, and they’d once more dropped back to looking mostly non-threatening. Financial issues would likely stop them making a play at wrapping Patrick Maggs up for a few more seasons, and a with a farm system ranked 2nd-to-last, the fans had a few more years of battling to look forward to.