Melbourne Reds


The Melbourne Reds were a Victorian-based baseball team in the Australian Baseball League. They were the only team to win the championship 3 times. The Reds originally played at the home of VFL/AFL football, Waverley Park from 1989 until the 1994 Championship, when they moved to the former home ground of the St Kilda Football Club, Moorabbin Oval for the 1994/95 Championship and played there until the end of Australian Baseball League in 1999.

History

Birth of the Reds

After the 1988 Claxton Shield the idea of an Australian Baseball League was floated, with the Waverley Baseball Club being one of the strongest clubs in Victorian Baseball they stepped forward in instigating a team to represent the south-east of Melbourne, and the Waverley Reds were created.
In the first Australian Baseball League championship the Reds went through the season winning 34 out of 40 games, with a home record of 17 wins 2 losses, the Reds went into the championship series favourites against cross town rival the Melbourne Monarchs winning 3 out of the 4-game series to become the inaugural Australian Baseball League Champions.
The Waverley Baseball Club were the original majority owners and managers of the team, until it was foreseen that ownership of the team was not going to be a profitable exercise and distanced themselves to avoid future debts affecting the future of the baseball club.

After Waverley

In 1993, shortly after the owners’ departure, the young and ambitious American, Andy Karetsky, bought the team. Karetsky owned and operated the Reds, determined to lead them to victory.
Karetsky was truly a trailblazer for Australian baseball. He brought his US baseball knowledge and innovative thinking to Waverly. Karetsky’s leadership style resulted in the 1994-1995 Championship title and a 2nd place finish in the 1995-1996 season. Towards the end of the “Karetsky Era”, the Australian Football League did not renew the Reds’ lease of Waverly Park so the team moved to Moorabbin Oval where they adopted their new name: The Melbourne Reds. After 3 highly successful seasons, Karetsky sold his ownership of the Reds and returned to the US.

Decline of the ABL

After Karetsky, local baseball junkie and businessman Geoff Pearce purchased the majority ownership of the Reds, leading into the most difficult time of the ABL. Dwindling crowd numbers, severe lack of media attention and the ever-shrinking budget of the club took away a lot of the early excitement and entertainment from the Reds games. However, with all these factors Pearce lead the club to its last hurrah in the 1997/98 Championship, becoming the only team to win the ABL competition 3 times.
Late into the 1998–99 Australian Baseball League championship, the Reds were in the process of making a deal with ACES Sporting Club in Keysborough to convert their golf driving range into a light baseball diamond with grandstand to be the home of the Reds, however with the Australian Baseball League collapse after the 1999 Championship this deal never went ahead, however the Sporting Club entered into a sponsorship with the successor Victorian team after the ABL, the Victoria Aces as naming rights sponsors of the team.

Seasons

The Reds were one of the most successful team in ABL history, having won the Championship title 3 times.

1989–90">1989–90 Australian Baseball League season">1989–90

AwardNameStatsAwardNameStats
Batting ChampionDavid Clarkson.444 Pitching ChampionPhil Dale1.44ERA
RBI ChampionRon Carothers41 Pitching WorkhorseCarl Grovom82.1IP
Home Run KingRon Carothers6Strikeout KingCarl Grovom70
Base Path PirateMark Linger13 of 16Sigh of ReliefMark Respondek4 Saves

The first season of ABL play the Reds burst out of the blocks winning 34 out of the 40 games, only losing 2 games at home. The Reds played off with cross-town rivals, the Melbourne Monarchs, winning 3 out of the 4 play-off games to take out the Inaugural ABL championship.

1990–91">1990–91 Australian Baseball League season">1990–91

AwardNameStatsAwardNameStats
Batting ChampionDavid Clarkson.370 Pitching ChampionMike Anderson2.58ERA
RBI ChampionRon Carothers33 Pitching WorkhorsePhil Dale68.0IP
Home Run KingRon Carothers10Strikeout KingMike Anderson48
Base Path PiratePete Beeler6 of 7Sigh of ReliefDave McAuliffe3 Saves, 5.76ERA

1991–92">1991–92 Australian Baseball League season">1991–92

AwardNameStatsAwardNameStats
Batting ChampionJon Deeble.323 Pitching ChampionPhil Dale2.12ERA
RBI ChampionR. Carothers & David Clarkson33Pitching WorkhorseScott Ryder92.1IP
Home Run KingRon Carothers7Strikeout KingScott Ryder71

Base Path Pirate		Brian Kowitz
Kevin O’Connor
Sigh of ReliefMark Respondek3 Saves

1992–93">1992–93 Australian Baseball League season">1992–93

AwardNameStatsAwardNameStats
Batting ChampionM. Sheldon-Collins.306 Pitching ChampionCarlos Reyes2.02ERA
RBI ChampionDavid Clarkson24 Pitching WorkhorseCarlos Reyes98.0IP
Home Run KingD. Clarkson & Andrew Spencer4Strikeout KingCarlos Reyes74
Base Path PirateGlenn Reeves11 of 11Sigh of ReliefPhil Dale7 Saves

1993–94">1993–94 Australian Baseball League season">1993–94

AwardNameStatsAwardNameStats
Batting ChampionAaron Harvey.284 Pitching ChampionPhil Dale2.72ERA
RBI ChampionAndrew Spencer28 Pitching WorkhorseSimon Sheldon-Collins71.1IP
Home Run KingAndrew Spencer7Strikeout KingSimon Sheldon-Collins50
Base Path PirateAaron Harvey17 of 22Sigh of ReliefPhil Dale5 Saves

1994–95">1994–95 Australian Baseball League season">1994–95

AwardNameStatsAwardNameStats
Batting ChampionDavid Nilsson.388 Pitching ChampionPhil Dale
Dirk Blair		2.76ERA
3.21ERA
RBI ChampionDavid Nilsson56Pitching WorkhorsePhil Dale101.0IP
Home Run KingDavid Nilsson16Strikeout KingPhil Dale75
Base Path PirateAdam Burton22 of 29Sigh of ReliefBrendan Ratcliffe2 SV, 2.56ERA

In their first season at Morrabbin Oval the Reds, with many new faces, the reds won 44 of the 58 games. Facing the 4th-placed Sydney Blues in the "Best of 3" Semi-Finals, the Reds defeated the Blues 5–1 in Game 1, and then 7–4 in Game 2, allowing the Reds to qualify for the Championship Series against Perth Heat. The Reds defeated Heat 5–1 in game 1, and then 4–2 in game 2 of the series to win their second ABL Championship.

1995–96">1995–96 Australian Baseball League season">1995–96

AwardNameStatsAwardNameStats
Batting ChampionGreg Jelks.364 Pitching ChampionS. Sheldon-Collins3.40ERA
RBI ChampionMyles Barnden & D. Clarkson23Pitching WorkhorseSimon Sheldon-Collins76.2IP
Home Run KingMyles Barnden6Strikeout KingDamian Moss58
Base Path PirateAaron Harvey21 of 24Sigh of ReliefPhil Dale3 Saves

1996–97">1996–97 Australian Baseball League season">1996–97

AwardNameStatsAwardNameStats
Batting ChampionMyles Barnden.299 Pitching ChampionGreg Resz2.27ERA
RBI ChampionMyles Barnden32Pitching WorkhorseWarren May53.2IP
Home Run KingMyles Barnden8Strikeout KingGreg Resz & Ben Ford31
Base Path PirateBen Utting9 of 12Sigh of ReliefHeath Martin19 Appearances