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2023–24 Australian Baseball League season

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2023–24 Australian Baseball League season
LeagueAustralian Baseball League
SportBaseball
Duration17 November 2023 – 4 February 2024
Number of teams6
Regular season
Season MVPLachlan Wells
Postseason
ChampionsAdelaide Giants
  Runners-upPerth Heat
Seasons

The 2023–24 Australian Baseball League season was the thirteenth season of the Australian Baseball League (ABL), and began on 17 November 2023.[1] The Adelaide Giants won their second consecutive championship, beating the Perth Heat two games to one in a best-of-three Championship Series.

Teams

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Main article: List of current Australian Baseball League team rosters

Six teams competed in the season, down from eight in the previous season, due to Auckland Tuatara being liquidated[2] and Geelong-Korea's exit from the league.[3]

Teams in the ABL
Team State/Territory Stadium
Adelaide Giants South Australia Dicolor Australia Stadium[4]
Brisbane Bandits Queensland Viticon Stadium[5]
Canberra Cavalry Australian Capital Territory MIT Stadium[6]
Melbourne Aces Victoria Melbourne Ballpark[7]
Perth Heat Western Australia Empire Ballpark[8]
Sydney Blue Sox New South Wales Blue Sox Stadium[9]

Regular Season

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The regular season began on 17 November 2023 and is scheduled to end on 21 January 2024.[1] Due to the departure of Auckland Tuatara and Geelong-Korea, the ABL returned to a six-team, single-conference model.[1] Each team will play 40 games (20 home and 20 away) across 10 rounds and will face every other team twice (once at home and once away) in four-game series.[1]

The 1 December game scheduled between Canberra and Perth was originally postponed due to rain but later cancelled due to the lack of suitable schedule space to make up the game. Adelaide was the first team to clinch a playoff position in Round 8, followed shortly after by Brisbane and Perth in the same round. Canberra was eliminated in the same round, leaving just Melbourne and Sydney to fight for the final playoff spot in the final two rounds.

Highlights from the regular season include Adelaide's Nick Ward tying the single-game hit record (6) on 14 December with Shuhei Fukuda, formerly of Brisbane.[10] Tim Kennelly surpassed Trent D'Antonio's all-time games record of 395 on 15 December 2023 and became the first player to 400 games in Round 8.[11]

Trent Thomas, the league's most capped umpire became the first to surpass 300 games 19 November 2023.

Standings

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Key
Postseason
Pos Team W L Pct. GB
1 Adelaide Giants 29 11 .725 —
2 Perth Heat 24 15 .615 4.5
3 Brisbane Bandits 22 18 .550 7.0
4 Melbourne Aces 21 19 .525 8.0
5 Canberra Cavalry 12 27 .308 16.5
6 Sydney Blue Sox 11 29 .275 18.0

Statistical leaders

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  1. ^ Minimum 2.7 PAs per team game.[12]
  2. ^ Minimum 0.8 IP per team game.[13]

Awards

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Season awards
Award Player Team Ref
Helms Award (MVP) Lachlan Wells Adelaide Giants
Postseason MVP Todd van Steensel Adelaide Giants
Pitching Champion Lachlan Wells Adelaide Giants
Hitting Champion Nick Ward Adelaide Giants
Reliever of the Year Sam Gardner Brisbane Bandits
Defensive Player of the Year Logan Wade Brisbane Bandits
Rookie of the Year Alex Skepton Brisbane Bandits

Postseason

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The postseason is scheduled to begin on Australia Day, 26 January 2024, with four teams making the playoffs.[1] All postseason series will use a best-of-three format, with the first-placed Adelaide Giants hosting the fourth-placed Melbourne Aces and the second-placed Perth Heat hosting the third-placed Brisbane Bandits.[1][14] The winners of the semi-finals will compete for the Claxton Shield, beginning on 2 February 2024.[1]

Postseason bracket

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Semi-Final Series Championship Series
      
1 Adelaide Giants 2
4 Melbourne Aces 1
SF1 Adelaide Giants 2
SF2 Perth Heat 1
2 Perth Heat 2
3 Brisbane Bandits 1

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "2023-24 Season Schedule Revealed". The Australian Baseball League. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Trans-Tasman Divide as Auckland Tuatara Depart the Australian Baseball League". The Australian Baseball League. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  3. ^ "Geelong-Korea Exits the Australian Baseball League ahead of the 2023/24 Season". The Australian Baseball League. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Dicolor Australia Becomes Stadium Naming Rights Partner at West Beach". Adelaide Giants. 22 November 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  5. ^ "The Brisbane Bandits Announce Home Venue to Be Called Viticon Stadium". Brisbane Bandits. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Contact Us". Canberra Cavalry. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  7. ^ "About Us". Melbourne Aces. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Contact Us". Perth Heat. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  9. ^ "About Us". Sydney Blue Sox. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  10. ^ "RECORDS FLY IN ADELAIDE'S 27-9 WIN OVER THE CANBERRA CAVALRY - NEWS & NOTES, DECEMBER 14". Australian Baseball League. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  11. ^ Smith, Ben (14 December 2023). "Australian Baseball League: Perth Heat legend Tim Kennelly could break two records against Brisbane Bandits". The West Australian. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  12. ^ "League Batting Leaders". Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  13. ^ "League Pitching Leaders". Australian Baseball League. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  14. ^ "ABL Finals Information". The Australian Baseball League. 20 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
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