List of Major League Baseball players from Australia

Joe Quinn, the first Australian to play in MLB

Graph showing the number of Australians to have played at least one MLB game in a season since 1986

The first recorded baseball event in Australia took place in Melbourne, Victoria in 1857, between teams from Collingwood and Richmond. Accounts vary as to the details, including whether it was a single game or a series of three games, though details in common include a score of 350–230 in favour of Collingwood, and that the rules used were some form of hybrid between cricket and baseball, with teams batting until all players were out, and runs being scored for every base crossed, rather than just for reaching home plate.^[1][2] Though there are no records to confirm it, the commonly held belief is that baseball in Australia originated on the Ballarat gold-fields among American miners.^[1] The Claxton Shield, the first annually recurring national tournament, commenced in 1934. Though the tournament itself has been supplanted at various points in its history, the physical Shield is still awarded to the national champions in the Australian Baseball League.^[3] From 2011, the national champions will meet other champions from Japan, South Korea and Chinese Taipei in the Asia Series.^[4]

As of the 2012 Major League Baseball (MLB) season, 31 Australians have played in at least one MLB game. Of those players, 28 were born in Australia, the remainder having been born elsewhere but raised in Australia and have played for the Australia national baseball team at International Baseball Federation or sanctioned tournaments such as the Olympic Games and World Baseball Classic. 21 of the players have been pitchers and the other 10 have been position players.

Australia became the sixth country (not counting the United States) to have a player represent it in the major leagues, when Joe Quinn made his debut on 26 April 1884 for the St. Louis Maroons. Quinn also became the first Australian-born manager, as a player-manager for the St. Louis Browns in 1895.^[5] After Quinn played his last MLB game, it was almost 85 years before another Australian would appear in an MLB game: Craig Shipley on 22 June 1986 for the Los Angeles Dodgers.^[6] The most recent Australian-born player to make his debut in the major leagues is Liam Hendriks, who played for the Minnesota Twins on 6 September 2011.^[7]

As of 2013, Grant Balfour and David Nilsson are the only Australians to have played in an MLB All-Star Game. In 2013, Balfour was added to the squad by AL manager Jim Leyland as a 'Sunday replacement' pitcher. In 1999, Nilsson was one of two players from the Milwaukee Brewers to be selected.^[8] At this time the starting lineup was selected by the fans through voting at stadiums and online. The remaining players were selected by the managers of the respective teams, themselves having been the managers of the league champions from the previous season: in Nilsson's case, he was selected by Bruce Bochy, who had managed the San Diego Padres to the 1998 World Series against the New York Yankees.^[9]

Trent Durrington became the only Australian position player to pitch in an MLB game when he appeared for the Milwaukee Brewers on 17 April 2004 against the Houston Astros.^[10] Durrington had already entered the game initially as a pinch hitter and remained in the game playing at third base. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Durrington faced one hitter and induced a fly ball out.^[11]

Players

Key

1B	First baseman
2B	Second baseman
3B	Third baseman
C	Catcher
DH	Designated hitter
IF	Infielder
M	Manager
OF	Outfielder
P	Pitcher
SS	Shortstop
U	Utility
*	Member of Baseball Australia Hall of Fame

Peter Moylan playing for the Atlanta Braves in San Diego, August 2009

Trent Oeltjen playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, June 2011

Ryan Rowland-Smith playing for the Seattle Mariners in Seattle, August 2008

Australian MLB players

Player	Position	Debut	Debut team	Final game	Final team	Ref(s)
Balfour, GrantGrant Balfour*	P	22 July 2001	Minnesota Twins	Active[P 1]	Tampa Bay Rays	[12]
Bennett, ShayneShayne Bennett*	P	22 August 1997	Montreal Expos	15 August 1999	Montreal Expos	[13][14]
Blackley, TravisTravis Blackley	P	1 July 2004	Seattle Mariners	Active[P 1]	Texas Rangers	[15]
Cairncross, CamCam Cairncross	P	20 July 2000	Cleveland Indians	1 October 2000	Cleveland Indians	[16]
Durrington, TrentTrent Durrington	2B / 3B / DH	6 August 1999	Anaheim Angels	28 September 2005	Milwaukee Brewers	[17]
Ettles, MarkMark Ettles	P	5 June 1993	San Diego Padres	9 July 1993	San Diego Padres	[18]
Harman, BradBrad Harman	IF	22 April 2008	Philadelphia Phillies	8 May 2008	Philadelphia Phillies	[19]
Hendriks, LiamLiam Hendriks	P	6 September 2011	Minnesota Twins	Active[P 1]	Toronto Blue Jays	[7]
Huber, JustinJustin Huber	1B / DH / OF	21 June 2005	San Diego Padres	11 September 2009	Minnesota Twins	[20]
Hughes, LukeLuke Hughes	IF	28 April 2010	Minnesota Twins	Active[P 1]	Oakland Athletics	[21]
Hutton, MarkMark Hutton	P	23 July 1993	New York Yankees	21 May 1998	Cincinnati Reds	[22]
Lindsay, ShaneShane Lindsay	P	2 September 2011	Chicago White Sox	12 September 2011	Chicago White Sox	[23]
Lloyd, GraemeGraeme Lloyd*	P	11 April 1993	Milwaukee Brewers	27 September 2003	Kansas City Royals	[24][25]
Moss, DamianDamian Moss	P	26 April 2001	Atlanta Braves	29 April 2004	Tampa Bay Devil Rays	[26]
Moylan, PeterPeter Moylan	P	12 April 2006	Atlanta Braves	Active[P 1]	Atlanta Braves	[27]
Nakamura, MichealMicheal Nakamura[P 2]	P	7 June 2003	Minnesota Twins	31 July 2004	Toronto Blue Jays	[28]
Nilsson, DavidDavid Nilsson*	C / 1B / DH / OF	18 May 1992	Milwaukee Brewers	3 October 1999	Milwaukee Brewers	[24][29]
Oeltjen, TrentTrent Oeltjen	OF	6 August 2009	Arizona Diamondbacks	28 September 2011	Los Angeles Dodgers	[30]
Oxspring, ChrisChris Oxspring	P	2 September 2005	San Diego Padres	17 September 2005	San Diego Padres	[31]
Prokopec, LukeLuke Prokopec	P	4 September 2000	Los Angeles Dodgers	23 August 2002	Toronto Blue Jays	[32]
Quinn, JoeJoe Quinn	U / M[P 3]	26 April 1884	St. Louis Maroons	23 July 1901	Washington Senators	[5]
Rowland-Smith, RyanRyan Rowland-Smith	P	22 June 2007	Seattle Mariners	Active[P 1]	Arizona Diamondbacks	[33]
Shipley, CraigCraig Shipley*	U	22 June 1986	Los Angeles Dodgers	25 September 1998	Anaheim Angels	[6][24]
Snelling, ChrisChris Snelling[P 4]	OF	25 May 2002	Seattle Mariners	6 June 2008	Philadelphia Phillies	[34]
Spence, JoshJosh Spence	P	24 June 2011	San Diego Padres	Active[P 1]	New York Yankees	[35]
Stephens, JohnJohn Stephens	P	30 July 2002	Baltimore Orioles	29 September 2002	Baltimore Orioles	[36]
Stockman, PhilPhil Stockman[P 5]	P	15 June 2006	Atlanta Braves	11 June 2008	Atlanta Braves	[37]
Thomas, BradBrad Thomas	P	26 May 2001	Minnesota Twins	20 May 2011	Detroit Tigers	[38]
Thompson, RichRich Thompson	P	1 September 2007	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	23 April 2012	Oakland Athletics	[39]
Williams, GlennGlenn Williams	3B	7 June 2005	Minnesota Twins	28 June 2005	Minnesota Twins	[40]
Williams, JeffJeff Williams	P	12 September 1999	Los Angeles Dodgers	28 September 2002	Los Angeles Dodgers	[41]

Notes

1. Denotes that the player played at least one game in the 2012 season
2. Nakamura was born in Japan, but raised in Australia from the age of 3. He competed for Australia at the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
3. Quinn acted as player-manager for the 1895 St. Louis Browns and the 1899 Cleveland Spiders.
4. Snelling was born in the United States, but was raised in Australia. He competed for Australia at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, 2009 World Baseball Classic and 2009 Baseball World Cup.
5. Stockman was born in England, but was raised in Australia. He competed for Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and 2006 World Baseball Classic.

Postseason appearances

Graeme Lloyd, the first Australian to appear in a World Series

Joe Quinn became the first Australian to make an appearance in a postseason game for a Major League team, when the Boston Beaneaters met the Cleveland Spiders in a best-of-nine game series between the season's first half and second half leaders. In 1892, the National League (NL) was the only active Major League, and Boston were already considered to be the NL pennant winners as they had the best record at the end of the season, and the series—won by the Beaneaters 5–0 (with one tie)—was considered an exhibition series.^[42]

In the modern era (considered to be from 1901 to today by MLB, as it was the first season with both of the current Major Leagues in operation), four Australians have played in postseason games, all of them pitchers. Graeme Lloyd became the first, playing with the New York Yankees in 1996. He made appearances against the Texas Rangers in the League Division Series, the Baltimore Orioles in the League Championship Series, and the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. Lloyd was credited with the win in game 4 of the 1996 World Series,^[43] becoming the first Australian player to do so, as well as becoming the first Australian to be a World Series champion when the Yankees won in 1996^[44] and again in 1998.^[9]

Grant Balfour has the most postseason appearances of any Australian.

Grant Balfour holds the record for most appearances in postseason games for an Australian, having played in a total of seventeen games, thirteen with the Tampa Bay Rays, two with the Minnesota Twins and two with the Oakland Athletics.^[12] Damian Moss and Peter Moylan are the other two Australians to have made a postseason appearance, both having played for the Atlanta Braves against the San Francisco Giants: Moss in the 2002 National League Division Series,^[26] and Moylan in the 2010 National League Division Series.^[27]

Australian players in MLB postseason games

Player	Seasons	World Series			LCS			LDS			Ref(s)
		Series won	Series played	Games played	Series won	Series played	Games played	Series won	Series played	Games played
Grant Balfour	2004 Minnesota Twins 2008 Tampa Bay Rays 2010 Tampa Bay Rays 2012 Oakland Athletics 2013 Oakland Athletics	0	1	3	1	1	4	1	5	13	[45] [46][47][48] [49] [50] [51]
Graeme Lloyd	1996 New York Yankees 1997 New York Yankees 1998 New York Yankees	2	2	5	2	2	3	2	3	5	[52][53][44] [54] [55][56][9]
Damian Moss	2002 Atlanta Braves	—		0	—		0	0	1	2	[57]
Peter Moylan	2010 Atlanta Braves	—		0	—		0	0	1	4	[58]
Joe Quinn	1892 Boston Beaneaters	—			1	1	6	—			[42]

See also

• List of countries with their first Major League Baseball player
• List of Major League Baseball players who played in Australia
• Major League Baseball Australia Academy Program

References

1. Clark, Joe (2003). "The Origins of Australian Baseball". A History of Australian Baseball: Time and Game. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. p. 5. ISBN 0-8032-6440-2.
2. Bjarkman, Peter C (2005). "Europe, Africa, and the Pacific Rim". Diamonds Around the Globe. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 358. ISBN 0-313-32268-6.
3. Nash, Stephen (9 February 2010). "ACES: a message from the General Manager". Baseball Victoria. Archived from the original on 17 October 2010. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
4. Stephan, Gene (19 May 2011). "Heat to take on Asia's best teams". The West Australian. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
5. "Joe Quinn statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
6. "Craig Shipley statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
7. "Liam Hendriks statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
8. "1999 All-Star Game". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
9. "1998 World Series". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
10. "Non-Pitchers with pitching appearances". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
11. "April 17, 2004 – Milwaukee Brewers @ Houston Astros – Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
12. "Grant Balfour statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
13. Anderson, Michelle (28 November 2007). "ABF Formally Announces Inductees to Baseball Australia Hall of Fame". Baseball Australia. Australian Baseball Federation. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
14. "Shayne Bennett statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
15. "Travis Blackley statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
16. "Cam Cairncross statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
17. "Trent Durrinton statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
18. "Mark Ettles statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
19. "Brad Harman statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
20. "Justin Huber statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
21. "Luke Hughes statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
22. "Mark Hutton statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
23. "Shane Lindsay statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
24. Stockman, Jennifer (24 December 2005). "2005 Inaugural Hall of Fame Inductees". Baseball Australia. Australian Baseball Federation. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
25. "Graeme Llyod statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
26. "Damian Moss statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
27. "Peter Moylan statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
28. "Micheal Nakamura statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
29. "Dave Nilsson statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
30. "Trent Oeltjen statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
31. "Chris Oxspring statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
32. "Luke Prokopec statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
33. "Ryan Rowland-Smith statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
34. "Chris Snelling statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
35. "Josh Spence statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
36. "John Stephens statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
37. "Phil Stockman statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
38. "Brad Thomas statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
39. "Rich Thomas statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
40. "Glenn Williams statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
41. "Jeff Williams statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
42. "1892 Championship Series". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
43. "1996 World Series Game 4". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
44. "1996 World Series". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
45. "2004 League Division Series". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
46. "2008 League Division Series". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
47. "2008 League Championship Series". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
48. "2008 World Series". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
49. "2010 League Division Series". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
50. "2012 League Division Series". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
51. "2013 League Division Series". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
52. "1996 League Division Series". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
53. "1996 League Championship Series". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
54. "1997 League Division Series". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
55. "1998 League Division Series". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
56. "1998 League Championship Series". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
57. "2002 League Division Series". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
58. "2010 League Division Series". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 7 August 2011.

General sources

• "Players by birthplace: Australia Baseball Stats and Info". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
• "Australian Players Who Have Reached The US Majors". Flintoff & Dunn's Australian Major League Baseball. Flintoff & Dunn. Retrieved 31 August 2011.