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1998–99 Australian Baseball League season

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1998–99 Australian Baseball League season
LeagueAustralian Baseball League
SportBaseball
Duration17 October 1998 – 13 February 1999 (1998-10-17 – 1999-02-13)
Number of games132
Number of teams8
Regular season
Season MVPAdam Burton (Melbourne Reds)
Finals series
VenueSydney Showground Stadium
ChampionsGold Coast Cougars (1st title)
  Runners-upSydney Storm
Seasons
1999–2000 →

The 1998–99 Australian Baseball League season was the 10th season of the original Australian Baseball League, contested between six teams representing state and regional capitals: Adelaide Giants, Gold Coast Cougars, Melbourne Monarchs, Melbourne Reds, Perth Heat and Sydney Storm. The championship was won by the Gold Coast Cougars, who defeated the Sydney Storm in 2 games in the championship series at the Sydney Showground Stadium. The Adelaide Giants finished the season on top of the ladder but were knocked out in Semi-final 1 by the Sydney Storm.

All play-off games in the 1998–99 ABL season were held at the then-recently completed Sydney Showground,[1] which was to become the main venue for baseball at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

1998–99 was the final season of the original Australian Baseball League. At the completion of the season the rights to the league were purchased by Dave Nilsson who then attempted to form the International Baseball League of Australia.

Teams

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Only 6 of the 8 teams from the previous season returned, The Hunter Eagles and Brisbane Bandits were both unable to continue in the league due to increasing financial pressure.

Rosters

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

Adelaide Giants

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Adelaide Giants roster - 1998–99 ABL
Active roster
Pitchers

Right-handed pitchers

Left-handed pitchers

 Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders


Current as of February 1999.

Melbourne Monarchs

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Melbourne Monarchs roster - 1998–99 ABL
Active roster Coaching Staff
Pitchers

Right-handed pitchers

Left-handed pitchers

 Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

 Manager

Coaches

Current as of February 1999.[2]

Melbourne Reds

[edit]
Melbourne Reds roster - 1998–99 ABL
Active roster
Pitchers

Right-handed pitchers

Left-handed pitchers

 Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders


Current as of February 1999.

Sydney Storm

[edit]
Sydney Storm roster - 1997–98 ABL
Active roster
Pitchers

Right-handed pitchers

Left-handed pitchers

 Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders


Current as of February 1998. Incomplete

Venues

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Teams in the ABL
Team City State Stadium Ref
Adelaide Giants Adelaide South Australia Norwood Oval
Gold Coast Cougars Gold Coast Queensland Carrara Oval
Melbourne Monarchs Melbourne Victoria Melbourne Ballpark
Melbourne Reds Melbourne Victoria Moorabbin Oval
Perth Heat Perth Western Australia Bassendean Oval
Sydney Storm Sydney New South Wales Sydney Showground Stadium

Match results

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Key
† Clinched final berth
Regular season standings
Team[3] W L Pct. GB Home Road
Adelaide Giants† 28 17 .622 - 15-9 13–8
Gold Coast Cougars† 24 20 .545 31⁄2 16–10 8–10
Melbourne Monarchs† 22 22 .500 51⁄2 13–8 9–14
Sydney Storm† 21 22 .488 6 13–10 8–12
Melbourne Reds 20 23 .465 7 15–8 5–15
Perth Heat 17 28 .378 11 12–9 5–19

Top 10 Stats

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Postseason

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Finals series at Sydney Showground Stadium

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The 1999 Postseason was held at the newly constructed Sydney Showground Stadium, The Showgrounds Stadium was to be the main venue for Baseball at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

The Postseason followed a 3-game Semi-final playoff format, 1st vs 4th and 2nd vs 3rd. The winners of the two Semi-finals series then played off in a 3-game Championship series.

Semi-final 1: 1st vs 4th

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Game 1: 10 February 1999
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Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Sydney Storm 0 1 0 1 0 0 3 1 1 7 10 2
Adelaide Giants 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 ? ? ?
Starting pitchers:
Storm: C. Anderson
Giants: S. Bennett
WP: C. Anderson (1–0)   LP: S. Bennett (0–1)   Sv: C. Lewis
Home runs:
Storm: G. White, C. Snelling
Giants: D. Phillips
Attendance: 1,500[4]
Game 2: 10 February 1999
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Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Sydney Storm 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 8 1
Adelaide Giants 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 2
Starting pitchers:
Storm: G Glover
Giants: M. Herges
WP: G Glover (1–0)   LP: M. Herges (0–1)   Sv: G. Cassel
Home runs:
Storm: -
Giants: -
Attendance: 1,500[5]

Semi-final 2: 2nd vs 3rd

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Game 1: 11 February 1999
[edit]
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Melbourne Monarchs ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Gold Coast Cougars ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
WP: ? (1–0)   LP: ? (0–1)   Sv: ?
Home runs:
Monarchs: ?
Cougars: ?
Game 2: 11 February 1999
[edit]
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Melbourne Monarchs ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Gold Coast Cougars ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
WP: ? (1–0)   LP: ? (0–1)   Sv: ?
Home runs:
Monarchs: ?
Cougars: ?

Championship Series at Sydney Showground Stadium

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Game 1: 12 February 1999

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Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Sydney Storm 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 7 13 1
Gold Coast Cougars 0 3 1 0 2 0 0 0 2 8 12 1
Starting pitchers:
Storm: C. Lawrence
Cougars: K. Calvert
WP: A. Meagher (1–0)   LP: G. Cassel (0–1)   Sv: nill
Home runs:
Storm: -
Cougars: R. Jonhnson, B. Pollard, P. Gorman
Attendance: 3,120[6]

Game 2: 12 February 1999

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Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Sydney Storm 2 0 1 0 2 1 2 0 0 8 13 8
Gold Coast Cougars 1 2 0 1 0 8 2 0 - 14 9 1
Starting pitchers:
Storm: C. Lewis
Cougars: P. Brassington
WP: P. Brassington (1–0)   LP: S. Pepper (0–1)   Sv: nill
Home runs:
Storm: S. Tunkin, G. White (2)
Cougars: S. Hinton, A. Pearce
Attendance: 5,600[7]

Awards

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Award Person Team
Most Valuable Player Adam BURTON Melbourne Reds
Championship M.V.P. Paul GORMAN Gold Coast Cougars
Golden Glove Gary WHITE Sydney Storm
Batting Champion Adam BURTON Melbourne Reds
Pitcher of the Year Pat Ahearne Perth Heat
Rookie of the Year Clinton BALGERA Perth Heat
Manager of the Year

All-Star Team

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Position Name Team
Catcher Gary WHITE Sydney Storm
1st Base Andrew SCOTT Adelaide Giants
2nd Base Adam BURTON Melbourne Reds
3rd Base Paul GONZALEZ Melbourne Monarchs
Short Stop Matt BUCKLEY Sydney Storm
Out Field Brandon POLLARD Gold Coast Cougars
Out Field Matt Quatraro Melbourne Reds
Out Field Chip SELL Adelaide Giants
Designated Hitter Craig WATTS Adelaide Giants
Starting Pitcher Pat Ahearne Perth Heat
Relief Pitcher John CHALLINOR Adelaide Giants
Manager Tony HARRIS Adelaide Giants

References

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  1. ^ Flintoff, P. (1999?) Flintoff & Dunn's Australian Major League Baseball – The First 10 Years Archived 23 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed on 28 July 2010.
  2. ^ "Melbourne Monarchs Roster". Melbourne Monarchs. Archived from the original on 22 April 1999. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  3. ^ "FINAL FAI CUP STANDINGS". Australian Baseball League. Sydney Storm. Archived from the original on 29 April 1999. Retrieved 12 February 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ "FAI CUP – Playoff 1 Game 1". Sydney Storm. Archived from the original on 29 April 1999. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  5. ^ "FAI CUP – Playoff 1 Game 2". Sydney Storm. Archived from the original on 29 April 1999. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  6. ^ "FAI CUP – Championship Game 1". Sydney Storm. Archived from the original on 29 April 1999. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  7. ^ "FAI CUP – Championship Game 2". Sydney Storm. Archived from the original on 29 April 1999. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
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