Friday, January 31, 2014

Gavin Guarrera - 2013-14 Canberra Cavalry

American born Guarrera was originally brought over from the USA by the Weston Creek Indians in the ACT Baseball League. He had previously been playing for the North Carolina Central University in 2013. He was signed by the Canberra Cavalry  before the 2013-14 ABL season and added to their starting rotation. Unfortunately for Guarrera, his debut ABL game game would also end up being his only ABL game after giving up 6 runs in 5 innings off 9 hits and 5 walks.

2013-14 Canberra Cavalry Gavin Guarrera card front - © 2013 Adam East

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Trent Schmutter - 2013-14 Sydney Blue Sox

The ABL's inaugural Rookie of the Year Award winner returns for his fourth season with the Sydney Blue Sox in the 2013-14 ABL season.


2013-14 Sydney Blue Sox Trent Schmutter card front - © 2013 Adam East

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Daniel Schmidt - 2013-14 Perth Heat

Schmidt returns to the Perth Heat for his fourth ABL season in 2013-14. In 2013 he played for two teams in the independent United League Baseball, the Alexandria Aces and the Edinburg Roadrunners.


2013-14 Perth Heat Daniel Schmidt card front - © 2013 Adam East

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Tyler Massey - 2013-14 Melbourne Aces

Colorado Rockies prospect Massey spent 2013 playing for the Modesto Nuts in the high A level California League. The Rockies sent Massey down to Australia to play with the Melbourne Aces for the 2013-14 ABL season. Massey will probably be the player remembered for going through the outfield fence to complete a catch during the season.


2013-14 Melbourne Aces Tyler Massey card front - © 2013 Adam East

Monday, January 27, 2014

Sam Thornton - 2013-14 Canberra Cavalry

To celebrate Australia Day yesterday,I thought I'd post up a card of an up and coming young Aussie - Sam Thornton from Canberra has spent 2012 and 2013 at Fort Hays State University in Kansas. He has joined the Canberra Cavalry and the 2013-14 ABL season is his Rookie season.

I have two shots that I can't decide between, so here are two different card fronts fro Thornton.

2013-14 Canberra Cavalry Sam Thornton card front - © 2013 Adam East

2013-14 Canberra Cavalry Sam Thornton alternate card front - © 2014 Adam East

Friday, January 24, 2014

Ryan Battaglia - 2013-14 Brisbane Bandits

Battaglia returns for his fourth season with the Brisbane Bandits in 2013-14. He spent 2013 split between the Cleveland Indians low and high A affiliates - the Mahoning Valley Scrappers and the Carolina Mudcats respectively.

2013-14 Brisbane Bandits Ryan Battaglia card front - © 2013 Adam East



Thursday, January 23, 2014

Chris Adamson - 2013-14 Adelaide Bite

Adamson is appearing in his third season for the Adelaide Bite during the 2013-14 ABL season. Like many of the other Australians playing with the Bite, Aadmson isn't affiliated to any MLB team, so not a lot to report since I put up his card for the 20112-13 season, except to note that true to form, as an Adelaide player, he's friendly and smiles for the camera. ;)

2013-14 Adelaide Bite Chris Adamson card front - © 2014 Adam East

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Ethan Cole - 2013-14 Canberra Cavalry

The strong bond between the Kansas City T-Bones, forged by swapping a number of pitchers over the last couple of seasons continues with American Ethan Cole being the latest T-Bone to join the Canberra Cavalry. Cole is playing as an import for the Cavalry for the 2013-14 ABL season. Cole spent 2011 and 2012 playing in St Louis Cardinals minor league teams before being released, and playing for the Kansas City T-Bones in 2013.

I have to admit I love this shot of Cole because of the "degree of difficulty" around the shot. It was a hot, sunny 40°C day (that's 104°F for American readers), and there was a harsh shadow from a light tower going across the pitcher's mound.  The pitchers would move through the shadow during their windup and delivery, so I was quite happy to get this action shot from during the game both without shadow from the light tower, or from his cap obscuring his face..

2013-14 Canberra Cavalry Ethan Cole card front - © 2014 Adam East

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Jacob May - 2013-14 Sydney Blue Sox

May is a member of the Chicago White Sox organisation who is playing as an import with the Sydney Blue Sox for the 2013-14 ABL season. May spent 2013 split between the White Sox' Rookie and Single A teams - the Great Falls Voyagers and Kannapolis Intimidators respectively.

2013-14 Sydney Blue Sox Jacob May card front - © 2013 Adam East

Monday, January 20, 2014

Brandon Tripp - 2013-14 Perth Heat

Tripp spent 7 years (2006-2012) in the minor leagues between the Baltimore Orioles, Florida Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies. In 2013 he played for the St Paul Saints of the independent American Association before joining the Perth Heat as an American import for the 2013-14 ABL season.


2013-14 Perth Heat Brandon Tripp card front © 2013 Adam East

Friday, January 17, 2014

Corey Kimes - 2013-14 Melbourne Aces

Kimes is an independent American import who joined the Melbourne Aces for the 2013-14 ABL season via the inuagural ABL Draft held in 2013. Kimes spent 2011 and 2012 in the Minnesota Twins minors system before spending 2013 with the Joliet Slammers of the independent Frontier League.

2013-14 Melbourne Aces Corey Kimes card front - © 2013 Adam East

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Jack Murphy - 2013-14 Canberra Cavalry

No week of facial hair would be complete without the "Murphtache". Fan favourite and American import Murphy managed to convince the Toronto Blue Jays to send him back to Canberra for the 2013-14 ABL season, following his successful stint here in 2012-13. During 2013 Murphy mainly played for the AA level New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the Eastern league, but also had a brief stint at AAA with the Buffalo Bisons.


2013-14 Canberra Cavalry Jack Murphy card front - © 2013 Adam East

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Brad Dutton - 2013-14 Brisbane Bandits

The Parade of Beards continues, with everyone's favourite Grizzly Adam's impressionist from the sunshine state, Brad Dutton. 2013-14 is Dutton's fourth ABL season with the Brisbane Bandits. He always claimed to have the best beard in the family.

2013-14 Brisbane Bandits Brad Dutton card front - © 2013 Adam East

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Matthew Williams - 2013-14 Adelaide Bite

It was an eventful off-season for Williams. After winning the ABL's 2012-13 Reliever of the Year Award, Williams took up the job of Baseball Coordinator with the South Australian Baseball league, resulting in a move from the Blue Sox to the Adelaide Bite for the 2013-14 ABL season. He has also made the move from relief into the starting rotation for the Bite.

The "week of beards" continues. Matthews, the previously undisputed ABL Beard Champion is now facing some pretty tough competition on the facial hair front to maintain his record.

Unfortunately, the fact that Williams was starting pitcher the day I was taking photos of him meant that he was focussed on warming up for the game before hand and I didn't get to see the jovial and camera aware Williams that I've so often seen in the past.


2013-14 Adelaide Bite Matthew Williams card front - © 2014 Adam East

Monday, January 13, 2014

Joey DeMichele - 2013-14 Sydney Blue Sox

DeMichele is an American import from the Chicago White Sox organisation. He played for the Winston-Salem Dash in the high A Carolina League in 2013, and has joined the Sydney Blue Sox for the 2013-14 ABL season.

Following on from Jesse Barron's full beard effort posted last Friday, I've gone with a bit of a "Beard Week" theme this week, featuring the most "bearded" players from the other teams. With the loss of Matthew Williams to the Bite in the off season, DeMichele came across as the most "bearded" player for the Blue Sox when I photographed the team.


2013-14 Sydney Blue Sox Joey DeMichele card front - © 2013 Adam East

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Updating the Blog Header

Not that I think anybody will overly notice, but I changed the header graphic yesterday. I previously had images of Matt Williams, Phil Brassington and Mitch Nilsson on the blog header.



Brassington is no longer playing. Nilsson is still on the Bandits roster but has only had two games in the last two seasons, and Matt Williams has moved on from the Blue Sox to the Bite. I figured it was time for an update.

So, the three players I've chosen to replace them?

Donald Lutz - former Cavalry player - chosen to represent the ABL players now playing in the Major Leagues.
Brad Thomas - current Blue Sox player - representing the local Aussie players in the league.
Komei Fujisawa - former Aces player - representing the imports who come down and play in the ABL.

Friday, January 10, 2014

Jesse Barron - 2013-14 Perth Heat

Barron's time in Port Headland in the off-season certainly gave him an image change. Following his clean shaven look in his ABL rookie year in 2012-13, Barron's return to the Heat for his second ABL season in 2013-14 has him featuring a beard to rival fellow ABL player Matthew Williams.

2013-14 Perth Heat Jesse Barron card front - © 2013 Adam East

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Ryan Casteel - 2013-14 Melbourne Aces

Casteel is an American import from the Colorado Rockies organisation playing for the Melbourne Aces in the 2013-14 ABL season. Casteel spent the 2013 season playing for the Modesto Nuts, the Rockies high A level team in the California League.

I don't remember which of hsi team amtes he was talking to in the photo, but he certainly seems rather emphatic about what he's saying.

2013-14 Melbourne Aces Ryan Casteel card front - © 2013 Adam East

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Michael Crouse - 2013-14 Canberra Cavalry

Michael Crouse hails from Canada and fittingly plays for the Toronto Blue Jays organisation. He has joined the Canberra Cavalry as an import for the 2013-14 ABL season following a season with the Dunedin Blue Jays in the high A level Florida State League in 2013.

I couldn't decide between the two photos of Crouse - the first photo is a nice player shot, but I love the sneer-like look Crouse has in the second photo.


2013-14 Canberra Cavalry Michael Crouse card front - © 2013 Adam East

2013-14 Canberra Cavalry Michael Crouse alternate card front - © 2013 Adam East


Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Justin O'Conner - 2013-14 Brisbane Bandits

O'Conner is a catcher from the Tampa Bay Rays organisation playing as an American import for the Brisbane Bandits during the 2013-14 ABL season. O'Conner played for the Bowling Green Hot Rods in the single A level Midwest League in 2013.

I've seen his surname spelt O'Connor in a lot of ABL references, but from what I can tell with a bit of research, it should be O'Conner with an "e", not a third "o".

2013-14 Brisbane Bandits Justin O'Conner card front - © 2013 Adam East

Monday, January 6, 2014

Chris Jacobs - 2013-14 Adelaide Bite

Jacobs is an American import from the Los Angeles Dodgers organisation playing with the Adelaide Bite for the 2013-14 ABL season. Jacobs split his time between the high A level Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and the AA level Chattanooga Lookouts during 2013.


2013-14 Adelaide Bite Chris Jacobs card front - © 2014 Adam East

Friday, January 3, 2014

Mike Ekstrom - 2013-14 Perth Heat

Former MLB player Ekstrom joined the Perth Heat as an import for the 2013-14 ABL season. Ekstrom pitched in 51 MLB games with three different teams (San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays and Colorado Rockies) between 2008 and 2012. In 2013 he had stints with the AAA teams for both the Oakland Athletics (Sacramento River Cats) and the Los Angeles Angels (Salt Lake Bees). His signing with the Heat continued their tradition of signing ex-MLB pitchers.

I have two images for Ekstrom. The game I was shooting of his was my first outing with my new camera, and I messed up a few settings here and there. I like the post-pitch shot but it's not as crisp as I'd like. In contrast, I love the shot of him warming up, but it's a pity about the fence in the background being so prominent.

2013-14 Perth Heat Mike Ekstrom card front - © 2013 Adam East

2013-14 Perth Heat Mike Ekstrom alternate card front - © 2013 Adam East

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Dingo 2013-14 Sydney Blue Sox - Series Two Checklist

Here is the checklist for series two of the 2013-14 Sydney Blue Sox cards released by Dingo Cards on the 1st December 2013.

Dingo 2013-14 Sydney Blue Sox  Series Two Header/Checklist Card - front

Dingo 2013-14 Sydney Blue Sox  Series Two Header/Checklist Card - back


Here are the ten cards that make up Dingo's 2013-14 Sydney Blue Sox Series Two set of cards:

Card Number: Player: (Nationality, current or past MLB affiliation)
073 Aaron Sookee  (Australia, played 3 seasons with the Los Angeles Angels organisation between 2010 - 2012.)
074 Jacob Younis (Australia, played 2 seasons with the Minnesota Twins organisation between 2011 - 2012)
075 Jacob May (USA, played in Chicago White Sox organisation in 2013)
076 Joey DeMichele (USA, played in Chicago White Sox organisation in 2013)
077 Daniel Arribas (USA, played in Pittsburgh Pirates organisation in 2013)
078 Trent Oeltjen (Australia, former MLB player)
079 Keon Broxton (USA, played in Arizona Diamondbacks organisation in 2013)
080 Connor Whalen (USA, played 2 seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers organisation between 2011 - 2012)
unnumbered - Header / Checklist Card
unnumbered -  Dingo advert on front / Release Schedule for Sydney Blue Sox card sets on back

An important note - if you have a copy of card 73 featuring Boss Moanaroa, rather than Aaron Sookee, then the Moanaroa card has come from the Nachos to Go promotional packs. Moanaroa was in the cards created for the promotional inserts, but was replaced with Sookee's card in the team sets when Moanaroa failed to make the Sydney roster for this season.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Happy New Year! - Brad Thomas' Big League Experience Camps Use My Card Design

Was flattered to learn that the Big League Experience Baseball Camps - being hosted by Aussie former MLB and current Sydney Blue Sox player Brad Thomas - are using one of my card designs for Thomas in their advertising and flyers on the Baseball NSW website. I can only assume that whoever designed the flyer must have seen my image on the web and thought that my card design was one of the commercial card designs for Thomas.


Oh, and a Happy New Year to everyone! Only a month of the regular ABL season left before the play-offs start.