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

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2024 Awards

Gold Gloves

Pitcher: Mitchell Bond (Central Coast Thunder)
Catcher: Wendell Baxter (Sydney Blue Sox)
First Baseman: Bob Merritt (Perth Heat)
Second Baseman: Bob Wise (Perth Heat)
Third Baseman: Stewart Warwick (Canberra Cavalry)
Shortstop: Martin Collard (Central Coast Thunder)
Left Fielder: Robin Pride (Adelaide Venom)
Center Fielder: Jamie Worsfold (Auckland Metros)
Right Fielder: Gareth Cobb (Perth Heat)

Rookie of the Year

25 year-old Metros newcomer Jamie Worsfold claimed this gong, thanks to his season stat-line of .308/.365/.461, with 36 dbls, 8 triples and 12 HR. His WAR was 6.4 and his VORP 45.4.

Skipper of the Year

Roos manager Liam Alderdice, in his first year at the helm (he'd been their bench coach the previous 2 seasons), took home Skipper of the Year. The 2024 Championship was his second as manager, the previous one coming with the Blue Sox in 2022. According to the archives, Alderdice was reputed to be outstanding in almost every managerial aspect, from actual coaching to handling of players.

Hurler of the Year

Aces ace Damian Neill took home this award, finishing ahead of Roos duo Fu Lao and Hayden Foreman in the voting. Neill's season went something like this: 19-8, 2.39 ERA, 2.88 FIP, ERA+ 161, WAR 8.3, VORP 66.8. He threw 237 innings across 32 starts, allowing only 193 hits and a paltry 34 walks, for a 0.96 WHIP. He struck out 197.

Slugger of the Year

Surely surprising no-one, this award went once again to Stewart Warwick. He hit .329/.400/.576 across the season, belting 37HR and driving in 119. His WAR was 9.0, his VORP 81.7. He played 154 games, his highest-ever season total.

Rodney Morrall finished 2nd in the voting, while Venom 1B Thomas Henderson surprised many by finishing 3rd. His season stat-line read .293/.369/.534, with 36HR and 106RBI.

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A quick look at the data tells us offense in the AUNZBL had been steadily declining from inception in 2019. Hitters averaged only .255 in 2024, the average in 2019 .262.

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3 players passed 200 career home-runs in 2024:

Jarrod Guerin (211 career, 43 season)
Axel Stennings (211 career, 31 season)
Rodney Morrall (208 career, 43 season)

Phillip DeGruchy and Jason Deas ended the season in the 190s.

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Hayden Foreman finished the 2024 season on 97 wins. Tu-An Tseng finished on 95. If Tyler Silk hadn't been ravaged by injury in 2024 he would've likely broken the 100 win barrier. He finished the season on 89 career wins.

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Offseason

The Fury signed their free-agent catcher Gavin 'The Artist' Moss to a 4-year deal. 27, Moss came into the AUNZBL at its inception, and had played all his ball with the Fury. In 2024, Moss hit a career-best 38 HR.

In a bid to strengthen their pitching, the Fury also signed free agent Paul 'Steely' McKinna to a 4-year deal. In the 'good' echelon of AUNZBL starters, the former Brisbane Bandit had finished the 2024 season with a 12-9 record, a 3.38 ERA and a 3.61 FIP.

Catcher Axel Stennings, 1st-equal on the career HR list, and also a free agent, signed a 4-year deal with his current club, the Bandits. That would see him playing until at least the age of 37. In each of his previous 6 seasons in the AUNZBL, Stennings had hit between 31-39 HR. His only recorded injury was a viral infection that kept him out of the lineup for 2 days in the 2024 season.

The oldest player in the AUNZBL at the conclusion of the 2024 season was, surprisingly, another catcher, 42 year-old Ivan Marshall of the Metros. In 2024 he hit .243/.364/.390 with 7HR across 104 games.

The only other 40 year-old player in the AUNZBL was also at the Metros, reliever Justin Wood. A fearsome closer in his prime, he spent most of the 2024 season on the sidelines, tearing the flexor tendon in his elbow in December. He retired before the 2025 season started.

The Roos worked out an extension with 32 year-old slugger Jason 'Dash' Deas which would keep him at the club for 3 more years.

They also extended #3 starter Baden Binns for 2 more years.

Cuban Ramon Martinez found his way to Australia during the off-season. A star pitcher in the new but thriving Central American League, he signed a 3-year deal with the Perth Heat. The gossip on fan forums at the time was that the Heat had sponsored his move. The Heat were known to actively bolster their squads with overseas players. At the time they signed Martinez, they also had a Korean catcher and a Dominican shortstop on their 40-man rosters.

Hobart celebrated a big signing at the beginning of July, snaring 2-time All-Star RF Jarrod Cripps to a 2-year deal.

A look at the historical fan forum data shows Newcastle Roos fans in ecstasy at the extending of closer Trent Courcha stay in their city for 3 more years. At that time, Courcha headed the all-time saves list with 232.

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2025 Preseason

In a late move, the Christchurch Cowboys signed corner outfielder (but mostly DH at that stage) Jarrod Butcher to a one-year deal. Butcher, with the Cowboys previously, had elected to file for free agency at the end of the 2024 season. However, no other teams were interested, so he signed a modest deal with the Cowboys.

Spring Training

Central Coast's big off-season signing, RHP Zechariah Matthews tore his rotator cuff 9 days into spring training and would be out for the entire season.

Rodney Morrall, Dermott Ford, Axel Stennings and Gavin Moss all suffered injuries that would keep them out for the first few weeks of the season.

The Perth Heat and Sydney Blue Sox dominated their divisions at Spring Training.

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2025 Preseason Predictions

The Perth Heat were predicted to win a tight-fought Australian Division by 1 game. It was expected that the Roos would once again dominate the NSWNZ Division. The Canberra Cavalry would play less than .500 ball on the back of the league's 3rd-worst pitching.

Warwick would again be the best hitter in the league, according to the experts, though it really didn't take an expert to pick that.

What was more of a surprise was that Fury off-season signing, Paul 'Steely' McKinna, was tipped to be the AUNZBL's best pitcher.

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2025/2026 Season - Opening Day to January 1, 2026

The Heat got off to a quick start, but faded somewhat to be 3rd in the Australian Division come January 1st. Still, a record of 46-37 suggested that they were doing all they could to keep the flame alive.

The Bandits were well in control of that division at the halfway mark, 56-27, 8 games ahead of the Aces.

Christchurch defied all expectations to be only 2 games behind the Roos in the NSWNZ.

Dermott Ford had a great start, and while his hitting dipped some, he managed to have the best avg. in the league at Jan 1. Stewart Warwick, Jarrod Guerin, Stephen Upchurch and Blue Sox outfielder Bing-Bong Zhai all had 18 HRs.

Hobart SS Martin 'Headcase' Collard compiled a 25-game hit streak in the first half, the 3rd longest hit streak of all time.

But perhaps the real talking point of the opening months was the performance of Heat 3B Benjamin 'Bleeder' Beamish. Though a 5-time All Star, Beamish often snuck under the rader. Not so in the first half of the 2025 season. At Jan 1. his stat-line read .344/.395/.610 with 17 HR and 59 RBI. As well as leading the league in ribbies, he also had the best OPS, Weighted OBA, WAR, XBH & Total Bases.

On the pitching side of the ledger, perennial front-runner Hayden Foreman found himself out with elbow soreness for 6 weeks, hampering his start to the season. Still, he'd managed a 7-2 record from 11 starts at the halfway point.

Tyler Silk still hadn't returned from injury for the Metros come Jan. 1, rehabbing at AAA.

Paul McKinna had a poor first half for his new team, the Fury, scraping through to 7-6 by the midway point. His FIP of 3.63 was almost an entire run better than his ERA. That, along with an unusually high BABIP of .320, suggested his defense was letting him down big-time.

On the actual leaderboards, Perth pitcher Gareth Bigshaw and Bandits starter Eddie Moule led the league with 11 wins. Another Perth SP, Randy Britton, had the best FIP at 3.09. He was 9-5 for the season.

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2025/2026 Season - Jan. 2 to the end of the regular season

The Perth Heat kept the flame alive, all right, fighting their way back into pennant contention in Feb and forcing a one-game playoff with Brisbane, which they won 5-3 to take the Australian Division title.

The Roos were always in control of the NSWNZ Division, even though the Fury came home strong to finish only 3 games back. Unfortunately for the Fury their strong finish wasn't quite enough to get them a wildcard. The Bandits and the Aces picked up the other 2 wildcard spots.

Christchurch undid their strong start to the season with a terrible 6-20 February, and finished the season below .500.

Heat starter Keiran Tennant notched up a 20-win season, while his fellow starter, leftie Gareth Bagshaw, picked up 19 wins.

The batting crown went to Blue Sox catcher Wendell Baxter. He hit .344/.383/.508 with 20HR and 82RBI across 137 games.

Fury 1B Jarrod Guerin led the league with 37HR. He started every game in 2025, doing so for the second season. Alternating between 1B & DH surely helped.

Beamish finished the season strong, though Warwick had taken over atop the WAR leaderboard by season's end. Warwick had his worst hitting season, average-wise and OBP-wise, finishing with .313/.383/.527, and 31HR. Would that be enough to get him yet another Slugger of the Year?

Dermott Ford set a new season hit record with 223. He had a 2025 stat-line of .343/.380/.469. His 11HR were a career high.

Tyler Silk never made it back to the Metros starting rotation. He tore his rotator cuff while rehabbing at AAA, and wasn't allowed to resume throwing until well after the season finished.

Inaugural Central Coast manager Tyler Jue finally got the axe in February. His career record didn't make for pretty reading at 308-468. The joys of being the first manager of an expansion team.

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2025 Division Finals - Melbourne Aces v Perth Heat

This was the Heat's first ever trip to the postseason. The Aces had been there 3 times previously.

Unfortunately for the Heat, their postseason only lasted 3 games as the Aces dominated, winning the first 2 games away in Perth, and then trouncing the Heat 13-1 back in Melbourne.

It was a series for the Aces starters, with all three throwing strong games. The first game saw Ace Damian Neill throw a masterful 8 scoreless innings, the second saw mid-season trade acquisition Russell 'Ant' Roberts pitch 8 innings for 1 ER, and the third had Rick Hoolahan get through 7 strong innings, also for only 1 run earned.

Hurler of the Series went to Damian Neill.

Slugger of the Series was awarded to Aces 1B Ralph Vader, who hit .500/.538/.833 across the series, with 1HR and 2RBI.

The Aces only concern was an injury sustained while fielding by CF Stewart Digby in the first inning of Game 3. They sweated over his diagnosis while waiting for the other series to wrap up.

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2025 Division Finals - Brisbane Bandits v Newcastle Roos

While the Bandits had the better regular season record, the defending champion Roos were expected to be too good come the big games.

And while Bandits starter Elliot Browne and closer Nathaniel Rowling combined to shut the Roos out 1-0 in Game 1, that would be the only victory the Bandits would taste as the Roos won the next 3 to take the series 3-1.

Hurler of the Series went to Roos #1 Hayden Foreman, who shrugged off his previous 3 seasons of mediocre postseason performances to throw 16 innings across 2 starts for 0.56 ERA (1.83 FIP). He went 1-1, but the 8 innings he threw in the first-up loss would've looked great if his team had been able to manufacture some runs. The 8 innings he pitched in the Game 4 win were downright sensational. He allowed only 2 hits and 1 walk, striking out 7 and only facing 27 batters.

In a series that only saw 2 home runs, Slugger of the Series was given to Roos CF Jason McHugh, who went .571/.667/.786. He had 2 hits and a walk in every game, hitting 3 doubles along the way.

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2025 Championship - Melbourne Aces v Newcastle Roos

In a rematch of the 2024 Championship, the Aces and Roos would have at it again.

The Aces would be without the services of Stewart Digby for the entire series, the CF placed on the disabled list with a separated shoulder.

Game #1

The Aces drew first blood in a dominant display. Fu Lao, who hadn't pitched since 7th March due to forearm tendinitis, was given the Game 1 start, presumably to give the other 3 starters an extra day of rest. Lao hadn't had a happy regular season, finishing 9-15 with ERA and FIP both over 4. He only lasted 4.1 innings in Game 1, allowing 8 hits and walking 2, while the Aces scored 6.

And while the Roos came charging back with 5 runs in the bottom of the 8 to make it a ballgame, the Aces added 1 more and closed it out to win 7-5.

Roos 3B Jason Deas hit the only HR of the game.

Game #2

Newcastle couldn't make any use of the opening home-ground advantage, succumbing to the Aces 8-5.

In a game for hitters, Aces starter Russell Roberts stayed on the mound for 8, though he gave up 5ER on the back of 13 hits. Aces DH Byron Eissens went 4-5 with 2 doubles and 2RBI. On the losing team, Dermott Ford also went 4-5, all his hits singles.

Game #3

Game 3 saw Hayden Foreman on the mound, and he went the whole way for the Roos, allowing only 7 hits and 1BB, leading to 1 earned run, as the Roos cruised to an 8-1 victory to open their Championship account.

Dermott Ford, Jason Deas, Jayden Limeburner, and Ghi-Cheng Lee all went deep for the Roos.

Game #4

Carlo Browne, 19-game regular season winner, but who hadn't pitched against the Heat, got the start in Game 4. He would throw 8 strong innings, going to the showers with the Aces up 3-1. Unfortunately, Yin-Reng Lung, a starter strangely converted into a closer for the post-season, imploded and the Roos scored 5 in the top of the 9th. Roos closer Terence Tunnicliffe would not implode and notched the easy save, the Roos winning 6-3 to level the series.

Jason Deas' 3rd HR of the series, this one a 3-run effort, put the Roos ahead in the top of the 9th. Ghi-Cheng Lee also hit a HR for Newcastle, while Aces DH Matt Dickinson hit their first Championship longball.

Game #5

The trend of the home team being unable to win continued as the Roos came from behind again to win 4-2.

Fu Lao threw much better his second start, going 7.1IP for 5 hits, 4 walks, 2ER and 8Ks. Damian Neill's 7 innings for 4 hits and 3 walks weren't enough, his 3ER earning him the loss.

Elliot Wilkins' 6th-inning 2-run zinger tied the game up. Ralph Chapman homered for the Aces.

Game #6

The Roos were back home, but would they be able to do enough to win the series? Before the game, the Roos presented Dermott Ford to the large crowd and announced that he had signed a 2-year extension with the club.

Unfortunately for the fans, that seemed to lift the Aces more than the Roos. The Aces piled on 6 runs in the second and never looked back, romping out 15-3 winners and forcing a Game 7.

Roos starter Baden Binns only lasted 1.2 innings. His relief, Tye Waymouth, pitched 3 but also gave up 6ER.

Matt Dickinson hit 2HR, the first a 2-run affair, the second a grand slam. Byron Eissens also hit a 3-run shot in the 9th. All of Newcastle's runs came via the longball, Jason McHugh, Charlie Rees, and Alexander Agar all hitting solo HRs.

Russell Roberts threw 8.2 innings, striking out 8.

Game #7

Hoolahan and Foreman would face off again in the decider.

Matt Dickinson hit a HR in the 1st to get the scoring underway. The Roos tied it up in the 4th via a Wilkins solo effort, but the Aces got the lead back in the top of the 5th. They added an insurance run in the top of the 9th. The Roos scored 1 in the bottom of the inning, and had a runner on 3rd with only 1 out, but were not able to bring him home.

A 3-2 victory gave the Aces their maiden Championship.

Hoolahan's 8 innings for only 2 hits, 1BB and 1ER saw him get the victory over Foreman, who went 7, allowing 5 hits, 1 walk, and giving up 2ER.

Hurler of the Series was awarded to Rick Hoolahan on the back of his stellar Game 7 performance.

Slugger of the Series went to Matt Dickinson. He hit .346/.452/.846, with 4HR and 9RBI across the Championship.

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The Venom had a clean-out at season's end, firing their GM, Manager and Pitching Coach. Manager Andrew Griffin had only been at the Venom one season.

The Cavalry had already fired their manager in March, and made public the sacking of their GM as soon as the season finished.

The Prospects dumped their manager as well.

Ian Spicer, appointed interim manager of the Central Coast Thunder mid-February 2026, had reason to feel aggrieved, as Thunder owner Andy Cresswell gave him the boot the moment the season was signed off. There are no direct quotes from Ian Spicer at the time of his firing in the archives, but he's quoted several years later as saying, "Yeah, I was pretty pissed. Who wouldn't be? I was hitting coach for Melbourne's Short-A team, the Dubbo Octopi, when Cresswell called me up personally and asked if I wanted to manage in the big-time. How could I say no? I thought, 'the season's almost done, I'll get my real shot at proving myself next year.' Then he just up and fires me, telling the media that he'd made a mistake. Maybe. But that sure as hell wasn't his only mistake. If you're going to employ a man, you've gotta let him have a pretty good suck of the sav. And that is what I did not get."

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2025 Leaderboards

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2025 Awards

Gold Gloves

Pitcher: Cooper Wakely (Sydney Blue Sox)
Catcher: Cody Mcnatty (Perth Heat)
First Baseman: Kelvin Ackland (Auckland Metros)
Second Baseman: Liam Robilliard (Auckland Metros)
Third Baseman: Bruno Donovan (Central Coast Thunder)
Shortstop: Matthew Flynn (Auckland Metros)
Left Fielder: James Thwaites (Auckland Metros)
Center Fielder: Jamie Worsfold (Brisbane Bandits)
Right Fielder: Gareth Cobb (Perth Heat)

Rookie of the Year

This award went to Cowboys 3B Bailey Johnston. He hit .272/.371/.440 in his debut season, slugging 16HR and driving in 71. He had a WAR of 4.9 and a VORP of 49.8. He made the jump from Single-A straight to the Big Show. Surprisingly, he picked up no Rookie of the Month honors during the 2025 season, but did get Player of the Week twice, and was selected to the All-Stars.

The Perth Heat's Rick 'Wildcat' Fallon and Cameron Dutton finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in the voting.

Skipper of the Year

Dale Sims of the Aces took home Skipper of the Year. In his 2 seasons at the helm of Melbourne he had guided them to 2 Championship series, winning the 2025 bout.

Hurler of the Year

Keiran Tennant from the Heat snared this one. He went 20-5 across 34 starts, throwing 242 innings. His FIP of 4.18 was considerably higher than his ERA of 2.71, suggesting the Gold Clove caliber Heat defense gave him a lot of help. His WAR was only 2.7, his VORP 57.7. His was only the second 20-win season on record.

His fellow starter Gareth Bagshaw (19-10) finished 2nd in the voting, Simon Stobbie of the Fury (18-8) finishing 3rd.

Slugger of the Year

Stewart Warwick collected this award again, for the 6th time in 7 years. While his offensive numbers were down in 2025 (.313/.383/.527, 31HR, 102RBI), his WAR (7.0) once again led the league, as did his VORP of 68.8. His RC/27 of 7.32 was also a league best, as was his OPS+ of 151.

Fury catcher Gavin Moss finished second, Roos SS Dermott Ford third.

The dominant topic of conversation on fan forums, baseball sites and the like appeared to be where Warwick, a free agent at the end of the 2025 season, would end up and how much it would cost to get him there.

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Offense improved in 2025, the league average .259, the league ERA 3.99.

Some career leaderboards, after 7 seasons of the AUNZBL:

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The Metros opened the offseason free agent signing spree by committing 29 year-old SP Alistair Blanksby to a 6-year deal. Blanksby had been with the Metros for the last 2 seasons, but they hadn't been able to sign him to an extension before free agency. 69-62 lifetime with a 3.98 ERA and a 3.59 FIP, the Metros obviously expected he would be an essential staple of their rotation for the foreseeable future.

Former Aces 2B Vinnie 'Rip' Egan moved over to Perth, signing a 4-year deal with the Heat. The 30 year-old had a lifetime stat line of .315/.383/.409. Heat fans were justifiably excited over the news.

In the biggest free agency news of the 2025 offseason, Stewart Warwick signed a 6-year deal with the Wellington Fury. Fury GM Dean Warren said this signing would make his team "instant Championship contenders." Christchurch Cowboys fans were devastated Warwick wouldn't be coming home to the South Island.

Phillip DeGruchy, whose 2025 season had been crueled by injury, also left the Cavalry, signing with the Metros for 2 years. He would be 39 at the conclusion of the contract.

The Cowboys re-signed outfielder Luke Speed for 4 years. While the local fans in general loved Speed, a few publicly wondered whether the money could've been better spent.

38 year-old 3B Byron Eissens signed with the Bandits for 2 years. His main drive to keep playing was likely the chance to break the 200 HR mark. He was sitting on 180 at the time of the deal.

Tu-An Tseng, who'd started with the Metros, been traded to the Blue Sox and then to the Cowboys, signed a 2-year contract with the Metros. Auckland felt the 34 year-old workhorse still had some good innings left in him. In interesting related trivia, Tseng owned the top 4 season records for complete games.

In what many thought a strange trade, Hobart sent their star shortstop Martin 'Headcase' Collard, 1 year into a 3-year deal, to Sydney in exchange for 5 minor leaguers, none rated particularly highly by the experts.

Having signed a star second baseman, the Heat shipped off their current one, 27 year-old Bob Wise, along with a prospect, to the Blue Sox, in return for 25 year-old RHP Norman Silk (no relation to Tyler). Drafted in 2020, Wise played 12 games across single and double-A before going into the majors. He was a career .278 hitter. Silk was in the 'average to middling' AUNZBL pitching group.

35 year-old 2025 Championship hero Matt Dickinson extended his stay with the Aces for 3 more years.

The Bandits signed 35 year-old SP Bert 'Schoolboy' Blanksby to a 2-year deal. The left-hander had a career 91-71 record, 3.48 ERA and 3.82 FIP.

In another big off-season deal, the Heat signed 29 year-old former Blue Sox shortstop Ethan Worboys to a 6-year contract. A lifetime .270 hitter, most of the experts didn't see any improvement in Worboys future.

Travis 'Roo' Mullens, closer, signed a 3-year contract with the Newcastle Roos. Given the nickname, maybe he was destined to go there all along. He wouldn't assume the closer role for the Roos, though, slotting into a setup role behind Terence Tunnicliffe.

Two weeks into the 2026 preseason, Central Coast owner Andy Cresswell passed away. His son Andy Cresswell, jnr, with a reputation for being a big spender with a lot of patience, took over the reins.

To the delight of Aces fans, 1B Ralph Vader agreed to a 2-year contract extension just as spring training commenced.

None of the big names injured themselves during spring training.

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2026 Preseason Predictions

In light of their big offseason moves, the Heat were tipped to finish 3 games ahead of the Bandits in the Australian Division. 2025 champions, the Aces, were picked to play less than .500 ball and finish well out of postseason contention.

The Roos were once more predicted to own the NSWNZ Division, though that division would be the strongest of the two in the 2026 season.

Offense was picked to rise again, and the Fury and Roos would joust it out for the team HR crown.

Warwick was again tipped to be the league's best overall hitter, though the experts said he'd only hit .305.

The surprising picks for top 2 pitchers were Bert Blanksby and Norman Silk. Archived data suggests opinions were mixed as to how Tyler Silk would return from his two serious injuries. Hayden Foreman wasn't on anybody's top pitching lists.

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2026/2027 Season - October

Fu Lao had a great start to the season, shutting out the Blue Sox on 5 hits and 1 walk. Canberra's #2, Mike 'Mounds' Brodbeck also threw a shutout in his first start, blanking the Venom 11-0 with 5 hits, no walks and 10Ks.

Hayden Foreman sprained his ankle in his second start of the season, but the injury was only listed as day-to-day. In his first 2 starts, he'd registered 2 wins and a 0.00 ERA (1.97 WHIP), allowing only 6 hits in 13 innings. Tyler Silk didn't appear to have lost any of his stuff, punching out 19 in 14.2 innings across his first 2 starts.

In minor league news, but related to an earlier section of this historical account, CF Tom Kirkland, brought over from the US by the Roos as a 16 year-old in 2021, was forced to retire from all baseball with post-concussion syndrome. He'd made his way up to AA-ball before the injury. When asked about his plans, he said he and his younger sister would likely make their way to booming Northern Territory city Alice Springs and try their luck in the mining industry.

Perth LF Cameron Dutton tied the regular season game record for hits, going 6-6 in a 15-5 rout over the Venom. He hit 5 singles and a double.

Aces star Matt Dickinson tore his meniscus and would be out for up to 5 weeks.

In devastating news for both the Metros and Tyler Silk, who'd come out firing upon his return from injury, the ace tore his rotator cuff at the end of October and would be out for the rest of the season. Certainly not what he would've wanted going into free agency. While he refused to be drawn on his immediate future when interviewed following the injury, he did admit that "rehab is hard."

The Metros started off hot, going 20-9 in October. The Fury started off cold, going 10-19. The Prospects were even colder, going 6-23. The Cavalry, Aces and Heat were all trading blows atop the Australian Division.

October Slugger of the Month went to Jason Deas of the Roos. He hit .311/.400/.632 across the opening month, cracking 10 HRs and 4 doubles in his 33-106.

October Hurler of the Month went to Roos closer Terence Tunnicliffe. In 13 appearances across the month he racked up a 3-0 record, with 7 saves, striking out 21 in 14.1IP, without allowing a run. His FIP of 1.11 suggested that, while he'd gotten help from his defense, he didn't need too much of it.

October Rookie of the Month went to Prospects catcher Rodney Hornby. The kid had been playing A-ball before a March call-up in 2025, and made the 25-man roster to begin 2026. He let nobody down, going .406/.406/.781 (13-32) with 3HR and 3 doubles.

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2026/2027 Season - November

The Heat's Keiran Tennant was clinical in shutting out the Cowboys on 6 hits and 2 walks.

Brodbeck threw his second shutout of the season on the 13/11/2026. The Cavalry starter only allowed the Thunder 4 hits, striking out 9. His record at that point was 3-2 with a 3.13 ERA from 9 starts. Factoring in the shutouts, that seemed to indicate he was either very good or very bad when on the mound.

Tennant recorded another shutout, this time against the Prospects, striking out 10 and allowing only 5 hits.

Bert Blanksby, 6-1 in 10 starts with a 1.46 ERA and a 2.88 FIP, shut out Auckland on 3 hits and 9Ks. In his previous start he'd thrown 8 scoreless innings in a 2-0 over the Fury.

Norman Silk chimed into the shutout clique, blanking the Cavalry on 6 hits, no walks and 5 strikeouts.

In a surprising development, the archives find no records of any trades for the months of October and November.

November Rookie of the Month went to Aces LF Luis Chavez. Originally from Puerto Rico, Chavez had won the AAA Slugger of the Year title in 2025. Called up in October to cover an injury to Stewart Digby, he hit .320/.415/.620 in November, going 30-92 with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 6HR and 15RBI.

Hurler of the Month went to Aces SP Carlo Browne, who went 5-1 across 6 starts, striking out 40 in 43.2 innings, with an ERA of 2.06.

Sydney catcher, Wendell Baxter, took him November's Slugger of the Month, with a stat-line of .374/.417/.616 across the month. He was 37-99, with 9 dbls, 5HR, 25RBI, and 8 walks

Stewart Warwick could be found on barely any of the batting leaderboards.

The division races were still very tight going into December. The Heat held a 1-game advantage over the Bandits, with the Aces another game back. The Roos were similarly 1 game ahead of the Metros. The Prospects continued their tradition of just being plain awful.

Standings Dec 1, 2026