New South Wales Major League

New South Wales Major League

Current season or competition: NSW Major League 2010-11
Sport	Baseball
Founded	1899
No. of teams	10
Country(ies)	Australia
Most recent champion(s)	Club Championship: Ryde Eastwood Hawks 1st Grade Premiers: Canterbury Bankstown Vikings[1]
Most titles	Club Championships: Baulkham Hills (11) 1st Grade Premierships: Canterbury Bankstown Vikings(9)[1][2][3]
Related competitions	Claxton Shield Sydney Winter Baseball League
Official website	www.nswml.baseball.com.au

The New South Wales Major League (also called the Sydney Major League or NSWML) is the highest level of play for the sport of baseball in New South Wales. It is currently composed of clubs predominantly from Sydney, with one club from the Central Coast. The current first grade premiers are Blacktown, and the current club champions are Baulkham Hills.

Structure

The NSW Major League is composed of four separate divisions of play. Each club participating is required to field a team in each division, of:

• 1st Grade
• 2nd Grade
• 3rd Grade
• Under 18s^[4]

The teams play a round-robin format of games that forms the regular season. The teams in each division are ranked on their win/loss percentage, dividing the number of wins (counting ties as a half win) by the number of games played.^[5] The five highest-placed teams from each division progressing to compete in their respective finals series in the post-season, to determine the four division Premiers.^[6] The finals are played at the neutral venue of Blacktown Olympic Park, one of the venues for baseball during the 2000 Sydney Olympics,^[7] and home of the Sydney Blue Sox during the Australian Baseball League, ABL.^[8]

At the end of the regular season, the Club Championship is calculated by:

1. multiplying first grade's win/loss percentage by 20
2. multiplying second grade's win/loss by 10
3. multiplying both third grade's and under 18s' win/loss by 5
4. totalling the above figures

The club with the highest total is declared the Club Champion.^[9]

Teams

The following 10 clubs competed in the 2010-11 season.

Club	Team Name	Home Ground(s)	Location	Club Championships	Grade Premierships
					1st	2nd	3rd	U/18
Baulkham Hills	Kookaburras	Kellyville Park Northmead Reserve	Kellyville, Sydney Northmead, Sydney	11†	7	9†	7†	4‡
Blacktown	Workers	Laybutt Reserve	Huntingwood, Sydney	-	1	-	-	-
Canterbury Bankstown	Vikings	McLaughlin Oval	Riverwood, Sydney	-	9†‡	1	6	3
Central Coast	Marlins	Adcock Park Baseball Park	West Gosford, Central Coast East Gosford, Central Coast	1	-	2‡	-	1
Cronulla Sutherland	Sharks	Tom Evans Field Tonkin Oval	Bonnet Bay, Sydney Cronulla, Sydney	2	1	3	4‡	5†
Macarthur	Orioles&	Gilchrist Oval	Campbelltown, Sydney	-	1	-	1	-
Manly Warringah	Eagles	Aquatic Reserve	Allambie Heights, Sydney	-	2	3	-	5†
North Shore	Knights	Blacktown Olympic Park	Rooty Hill, Sydney	-	-	-	1	1
Penrith	Panthers	Andrews Road	Cranebrook, Sydney	-	-	-	-	-
Ryde Eastwood	Hawks	ELS Hall Park	North Ryde, Sydney	6‡	3	3	4	1

• ^† - signifies most championships/premierships by an active club^[1][2][3]
• most championships/premierships by any club, where held by a non-active club;

 - 1st Grade: 17 (Waverely & Petersham)
 - 2nd Grade: 19 (Petersham)
 - 3rd Grade: 16 (Petersham)

• ^‡ - signifies current champion/premier^[1][2]
• ^& Macarthur Colts merged with Auburn Orioles in 2010/11. Prior to the merger Macarthur had one (1) 1st Grade title and one (1) 3rd Grade title.
• Championships correct as of the completion of 2009-10 season.

History

The NSW Baseball Association (the precursor to Baseball NSW) was first established in 1894. But it was not until 1899 that what is now known as the NSW Major League was played, with Redfern as the inaugural winners.^[10] The league expanded in 1901 to include a second grade, with clubs fielding teams in both. Paddington won the premiership for both grades that year, a feat which has been achieved a total of 27 times over the 107 seasons of Second Grade played.^[10]

The League expanded again in 1911 to three grades. Though First and Second Grades have both been contested continuously since their respective introductions, Third Grade initially only lasted until the 1915 season. It was reintroduced for the 1918 and continued through to 1941. The league expanded to three grades once more in 1944, and with the exception of the following year has continued as such since.^[10]

1973 was the final year that the League played during the winter months, as the Australian Baseball Federation decided to make baseball a summer sport. The move was designed to allow more favourable weather conditions for spectators and players alike, and to bring it in line with baseball in the United States.^[11] This saw the creation of the Sydney Winter League in 1974, and the first summer season of the NSW Major League played in 1974-75.

A Club Championship was introduced for the 1980-81 season, which was used to determine the best performing club over the three grades. Auburn was the first club to win the Championship, winning nine times in the first twelve seasons, though they have yet to win any since.^[10]

An Under 18s competition was incorporated into the League for the 1985-86 season, with Baulkham Hills the inaugural winners.^[10]

All-star games

The league first considered an all-star game in the offseason of 2001, with the first NSWML All Star Games held during the season's Christmas break on 12 January 2002, held at ELS Hall Park. Three games were played: First Grade, Second Grade, and a combined Third Grade/Under 18s game. To determine the makeup of the teams, the teams were the 'Odds' and the 'Evens', based on their position at the time of the game. The 'Evens' won all three games.^[12]

The following season it was decided to change the format to have a doubleheader contested between the NSW Patriots Claxton Shield squad and a Major League All-Stars team. Though the quality of games was high, fewer were in attendance, which resulted in the decision to revert to having the separate grades each with their own all-star game.^[12]

From the 2003-04 season it was decided that the teams in the all-star games would be determined geographically:

• North East division - including Central Coast, Cronulla, Manly Warringah, North Shore & Ryde Eastwood (as of 2008-09^[13])
• South West division - including Baulkham Hills, Blacktown, Canterbury, Macarthur & Penrith (as of 2008-09^[13])

The current all-star winners are:

• First Grade - South West division
• Second Grade - North East division
• Third Grade/Under 18s - South West division

Since the switch to geographic-based all-star teams, no division has won both the First & Second Grade games in the same season.^[12]

In addition to the all-star games, a home run derby has been held each season (with the exception of the 2006-07 season). Only Dane Tomaszewski has won the home run derby more than once, winning it in both 2002-03 and 2003–04, representing Blacktown both times. The reigning champion from the 2008-09 season is Jaron Van Dyke, representing the Central Coast.^[12]

See also

• Baseball NSW
• Australian Baseball Federation
• Baseball awards#Australia

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "NSW Major League Results". Baseball NSW. March 2009. http://www.nswml.baseball.com.au/default.asp?Page=13393&MenuID=ML_Comp/2312/0/. Retrieved 5 June 2009. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "NSW Major League Club Championship". Baseball NSW. March 2009. http://www.nswml.baseball.com.au/default.asp?Page=37561&MenuID=ML_Comp/2312/0/. Retrieved 5 June 2009. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "NSW Major League Past Premiers by Number" (PDF). Baseball NSW. http://www.nswml.baseball.com.au/site/baseball/nswml/downloads/ML%20Comp/premiers%20by%20amount.pdf. Retrieved 20 September 2008. 
4. ^ "Baseball NSW Major League Playing Conditions & Rules, 2008/2009" (PDF). Rule 1.2. Baseball NSW. 11 August 2008. http://www.nswml.baseball.com.au/site/baseball/nswml/downloads/ML%20Comp/2009%20ML%20rules.pdf. Retrieved 27 September 2008. 
5. ^ "Baseball NSW Major League Playing Conditions & Rules, 2008/2009" (PDF). Rule 4.1. Baseball NSW. 11 August 2008. http://www.nswml.baseball.com.au/site/baseball/nswml/downloads/ML%20Comp/2009%20ML%20rules.pdf. Retrieved 27 September 2008. 
6. ^ "Baseball NSW Major League Finals Series 2009" (PDF). Baseball NSW. http://www.nswml.baseball.com.au/site/baseball/nswml/downloads/ML%20Comp/finals%20series%202009.pdf. Retrieved 27 September 2008. 
7. ^ "Satellite View of Olympic Sites, Sydney 2000". Geoscience Australia, Australian Government. 3 April 2007. http://www.ga.gov.au/acres/gallery/olympics2000.jsp. Retrieved 27 September 2008. 
8. ^ "2008 Claxton Shield Season Schedule". Australian Baseball Federation. http://www.baseball.com.au/default.asp?Page=38420&MenuID=Events%2F95%2F0%2CClaxton%5FShield%2F14075%2F20767%2C2007%5FClaxton%5FShield%5FInformation%2F101%2F20767%2CSCHEDULE%2F20355%2F0%2F0. Retrieved 27 September 2008. 
9. ^ "Baseball NSW Major League Playing Conditions & Rules, 2008/2009" (PDF). Rule 4.2. Baseball NSW. 11 August 2008. http://www.nswml.baseball.com.au/site/baseball/nswml/downloads/ML%20Comp/2009%20ML%20rules.pdf. Retrieved 27 September 2008. 
10. ^ ^{a b c d e} "NSW Major League Past Premiers by Season" (PDF). Baseball NSW. 2008. http://www.nswml.baseball.com.au/site/baseball/nswml/downloads/ML%20Comp/past%20premiers.pdf. Retrieved 20 September 2008. 
11. ^ Kent, Mitsie (2001). "Australian Baseball Backgrounder". Australian Baseball Federation. http://www.baseball.com.au/default.asp?Page=47871&MenuID=About_Us/2/0. 
12. ^ ^{a b c d} "All Star Games - A Brief History". Baseball NSW. 2009. http://nswml.baseball.com.au/?Page=15346&MenuID=All_Star/2310/0. Retrieved 15 July 2009. 
13. ^ ^{a b} "1st Grade 2008/2009 All Star Teams". Baseball NSW. January 2009. http://nswml.baseball.com.au/default.asp?Page=15170&MenuID=All_Star/2310/0/. Retrieved 15 July 2009. 

External links

• New South Wales Major League
• Auburn Orioles Baseball Club
• Baulkham Hills Baseball Club
• Blacktown Workers Baseball Club
• Canterbury Bankstown Baseball Club
• Central Coast Marlins Baseball
• Cronulla Sutherland Baseball Club
• Macarthur Colts Baseball League
• Manly Warringah District Baseball Club
• North Shore Baseball Club
• Penrith Baseball Club
• Ryde Eastwood Hawks
• Baseball NSW
• Australian Baseball Federation