2017–18 Australian Baseball League season

The 2017–18 Australian Baseball League season was the eighth Australian Baseball League (ABL) season, and was held from 16 November 2017 to 11 February 2018. It was the last season of the ABL that was played with 6 teams, as the league expanded to eight teams for the 2018–19 season.

2017–18 Australian Baseball League season
LeagueAustralian Baseball League
SportBaseball
Duration16 November 2017 – 11 February 2018
Number of games119
Number of teams6
Total attendance98,397
Regular season
Season MVPJake Fraley
Championship Series
VenueMelbourne Ballpark
ChampionsBrisbane Bandits (3rd title)
  Runners-upCanberra Cavalry
Seasons

The league also saw a large spike in offensive production with the single season home-run, run, AVG, SLG & OPS records all broken and home runs doubled, leading to a juiced ball theory.[1]

Teams

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Teams in the ABL
Team State / Territory Stadium
Adelaide Bite South Australia Diamond Sports Stadium[2]
Brisbane Bandits Queensland Holloway Field[3]
Canberra Cavalry Australian Capital Territory Narrabundah Ballpark[4]
Melbourne Aces Victoria Melbourne Ballpark[5]
Perth Heat Western Australia Baseball Park[6]
Sydney Blue Sox New South Wales Blue Sox Stadium[7]

Regular season

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Key
Clinched postseason berth
2017–18 regular season standings[8]
Pos Team W L Pct. GB Home Away
1 Brisbane Bandits  28 11 .718 15–4 13–7
2 Perth Heat  26 14 .650 2.5 12–8 14–6
3 Canberra Cavalry  21 18 .538 4.0 14–6 10–9
4 Melbourne Aces  17 23 .425 11.5 9–11 8–12
5 Sydney Blue Sox 13 27 .325 15.5 7–13 6–14
6 Adelaide Bite 11 29 .275 17.5 7–13 4–16

Postseason

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Semifinal Series Championship Series
      
1 Brisbane Bandits 1
4 Melbourne Aces 0
1 Brisbane Bandits 2
3 Canberra Cavalry 1
2 Perth Heat 1
3 Canberra Cavalry 2

Statistical leaders

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  1. ^ Minimum 2.7 PAs per team game.[9]
  2. ^ Minimum 0.8 IP per team game.[10]

Championship Series

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09 February 2018
18:00 (UTC+11:00)
Game 1
Canberra Cavalry 5–1 Brisbane Bandits   Narrabundah Ballpark, Canberra
Attendance: 2,275
Umpires: HP: Takahito Matsuda 1B: Trent Thomas 2B: Matthew Pearson 3B: Ben Nash
WP: Brian Grening (1–0)
Sv: Tyler Herr (1)
Boxscore LP: Ryan Bollinger (0–1)
HR: David Kandilas (1), Robbie Perkins (1) HR: TJ Bennett (1)
10 February 2018
18:00 (UTC+10:00)
Game 2
Brisbane Bandits 12–2 Canberra Cavalry   Holloway Field, Brisbane
Attendance: 2,202
Umpires: HP: Tom West 1B: Mal Mackay 2B: Paul Latta 3B: Takahito Matsuda
WP: Tim Atherton (1–0) Boxscore LP: Lake Bachar (0–1)
HR: 2 Chih-Sheng Lin (2), Mitch Nilsson (1), 2 Andrew Campbell (2), David Sutherland (1), Donald Lutz (1) HR: Travis Witherspoon (1)
11 February 2018
16:00 (UTC+10:00)
Game 3
Brisbane Bandits 4–2 Canberra Cavalry   Holloway Field, Brisbane
Attendance: 1,333
Umpires: HP: Mal Mackay 1B: Paul Latta 2B: Takahito Matsuda 3B: Tom West
WP: Travis Blackley (1–0)
Sv: Ryan Searle (1)
Boxscore LP: Frank Gailey (0–1)
HR: Mitch Nilsson (2), Adam Weisenberger (1)

References

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  1. ^ The Great Australian Home-Run Spike FanGraphs 28 March 2018
  2. ^ "Adelaide Bite Homepage". Adelaide Bite. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 11 November 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  3. ^ "Brisbane Bandits Homepage". Brisbane Bandits. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 11 November 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  4. ^ "Canberra Cavalry Homepage". Canberra Cavalry. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 8 November 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  5. ^ "Melbourne Aces Homepage". Melbourne Aces. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 9 November 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  6. ^ "Perth Heat Homepage". Perth Heat. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 9 November 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  7. ^ "Sydney Blue Sox Homepage". Sydney Blue Sox. Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 9 November 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  8. ^ "2016 Australian Baseball League Final Standings". Australian Baseball League. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  9. ^ "League Batting Leaders". Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  10. ^ "League Pitching Leaders". Australian Baseball League. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
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