Baseball WA is pleased to announce BWA Hall of Fame nominations are now open for 2022.
The BWA Heritage Committee and the BWA Hall of Fame Panel are looking forward to new nominees after the inaugural 34 inductees were honoured at this year’s BWA Awards Night. The BWA Hall of Fame features players and officials dating back to the 1930s who have shaped our beloved sport in WA through elite performance on the field. Club nominations were vital in establishing the first round of inductees, and after great success in recognising our champions, clubs are once again encouraged to nominate past players and members. Please contact your club regarding players that you believe are deserving of such a prestigious honour. Nomination forms for previously submitted players should be updated with additional information and testimonials to help the panel consider their candidacy. Nominations for the 2022 induction close Saturday 30 October 2021. To submit nominations and learn more about the BWA Hall of Fame click HERE. Please email admin@baseballwa.asn.au with any questions and the Heritage Committee and a designated resource will contact you as required. Click HERE to visit the website and read the current BWA Hall of Fame inductees’ biographies. Baseball WA and the Tee-Ball Association of Western Australia (TBAWA) are pleased to announce the signing of a revised MOU outlining an increased partnership for future grassroots development.
As part of the MOU, Baseball WA will deliver participation and recruitment tee-ball programs at the entry level into diamond sports, while TBAWA will promote machine pitch as the preferred transition program from tee-ball to baseball. Together this will enhance the player development pathway to accommodate tee-ball and baseball participants. Both Baseball WA and TBAWA agree this is a significant step forward in boosting participation numbers and ensuring clubs can integrate tee-ball, machine pitch, and baseball activities to attract and retain more players. "Baseball WA and TBAWA have worked well together over many years and to solidify the relationship with a development agreement is fantastic,” Baseball WA Participation Program Manager David Hayes said. “To work directly on programs designed to grow grass roots tee-ball and keep them in the game all the way through until they become Little Leaguers is an exciting challenge and should prove fruitful for both baseball and tee-ball clubs alike.” "The Tee-Ball Association is pleased to sign the new MOU with BWA. It will further enhance the relationship and pathway between tee-ball and baseball in Western Australia." said Di Mount-Bryson, President of Tee-Ball Association of WA. “TBAWA and its clubs have achieved the highest numbers of tee-ball participants in Australia thanks to the great leadership of Di Mount-Bryson and her team over the years,” Baseball WA CEO Lachlan Dale said. “Collaborating on grassroots programs will further consolidate the pathway of our sports and promote tee-ball and baseball as fantastic sporting opportunities, giving young players room to learn, grow, and thrive.” Neville Pratt, a longtime baseball administrator who featured at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, has been named as a 2021 inductee into the Australian Baseball Hall of Fame.
Pratt, who passed away in 2012 aged 81, and former Big Leaguer Justin Huber are this year's inductees into the Hall of Fame, which launched in 2005 and recognises players, officials and administrators who have achieved excellence domestically or abroad. FULL LIST: Australian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Pratt was Australian Baseball Federation president from 1987-1998 after serving more than a decade on the Australian Baseball Council. He was a strong advocate of the importance of international baseball to Australia’s development, and served in a number of leadership roles in WA. Pratt was elected as president of the Baseball Confederation of Oceania and vice president of the Asian Baseball Federation. He also spent time on the International Baseball Federation Board and helped open the door for Australia to qualify for the Olympics through Oceania, as they did in 2004 when they claimed an historic silver medal in Athens. He himself was an Olympian after representing Australia at the 1956 event in Melbourne. Pratt also played for Australia at a number of other events, including the 1978 and 1980 World Cups. He was an eight-time WA Claxton Shield representative. Pratt was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 1992 for his service to baseball and in the same year gained Australian Baseball Federation life membership. Huber and Pratt are the first inductees into the Australian Baseball Hall of Fame since 2018. Earlier this year, Pratt was named in the group of inaugural inductees into the Baseball WA Hall of Fame. Click HERE to read his full story. West Australian Liam Hendriks converted the save as the American League topped the National League in the 91st Major League Baseball All-Star Game on Wednesday.
Hendriks gave up a pair of hits but got out of trouble to close out a 5-2 win for the AL at Colorado’s Coors Field. Omar Narvaez singled off the 32-year-old Chicago White Sox closer to start the bottom of the ninth ahead of Hendriks benefitting from a bit of luck. A lucky bounce off the backstop turned what would have been a wild pitch into an out at second. Hendriks punched out Chris Taylor for the second out before a double from Ozzie Albies kept the National League alive. Those hopes were snuffed out a pitch later when Hendriks got Trea Turner to ground out. It completed an eighth-straight All-Star Game win for the AL and 15th in the last 18 matchups. Hendriks has featured in the past two. He made history with his selection for the 2021 exhibition, becoming the first Australian to be a two-time All-Star. Japan’s Shohei Ohtani provided the AL with a scoreless first inning and made All-Star Game history by pulling double duty as a pitcher and hitter. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Mike Zunino homered to power the AL’s offence. Hendriks finished what Ohtani started. “It’s a world game now,” Hendriks told baseball.com.au. “There’s a lot of us us over here and hopefully there’s more to come with the exposure that Shohei and guys from the DR and Venezuela can bring to this game.” Hendriks’ White Sox will return to action on Saturday morning against Houston. First pitch at Guaranteed Rate Field is set for 9.40am AEST. The White Sox sit atop the AL Central with a 54-35 record. Hendriks is second in all of MLB with 23 saves this season, a 4-2 record, and a 2.75 ERA. Registrations are now open for the 2021/22 Women's Super League season.
Now into the third year of the program, more exciting changes have been made to make the competition even better than ever and we encourage all female players in WA to consider trying out for one of our WSL teams. With smaller squad sizes in 2021/22, we expect more game time for all players and if we have sufficient nominations, we are hopeful of creating a third team. Players who are already under contract with one of the teams are now asked to pay their season fee through the registration portal HERE. If you need to confirm your current contract status, please see the roster doc HERE. For those interested in trying out, we ask that you check out all the program details and register for the tryouts HERE. Players who were under contract last season where contracts have expired will need to register for the draft tryout. Also, as a reminder, we are seeking a new General Manager for the Force with applications open HERE through the end of July. For all other enquiries, please email Participation Program Manager David Hayes at participation@baseballwa.asn.au. |
Archives
March 2024
Categories |