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mrbucket · 04-02-2018, 05:02 AM

December 2002

1 December, 2002
The Newcastle Ducks beat the Canberra Power in their three match series to secure The Shield. Their first defense of the Shield will be against the Taranaki Bulls. The Canberra Power successfully defended the Shield 7 times and held it for 58 days. (taken from the start of the season)

2 December, 2002
Terrible news for Otago as they lose closer Yen Ouwerkerk to injury for four months. Ouewerkerk led the league in saves last season with 55. It's a huge blow but the Thunderbolts do have a decent replacement for that role.

5 December, 2002
The Newcastle Ducks have their first Shield defense against the Taranaki Bulls and immediately lose it. They managed to hold onto the Shield a mere 4 days. Taranaki will next defend it against the Wellington Lions.

The rookie draft happens. We'll cover three picks from each from Australia and New Zealand.

New Zealand
The Northland Giants used their #2 pick to grab Rex Mekville, a pitcher from Victoria University of Wellington. Scouts are predicting that this 6'7"/235lbs monster will develop into a fantastic starter. His slider could be potentially off the charts and has had a handy fastball, changeup, and forkball pitch as well. He got a signing bonus of $2.5m.

The Tasman Sunbirds used their #3 pick to grab Kumsa Vaartjes, he had been drafted by the Vikings last year but who never signed with the organisation. This time round, he accepted a signing bonus of $1.4m from the Sunbirds. He has the making of a fantastic hitter.

The Hawke's Bay Vikings used their #6 pick to grab Tye Basnfield form the Auckland University of Technology. He has the makings of a great all-round hitter and a good defensive player. He accepted a signing bonus of $900k.

Australia
The Melbourne Sting used their #1 pick to grab Koi-Sho Chu from Knox Grammar School where he played a star role in their way to winning the Australian High School Competition. His slash line was .476/.621/.862. He's expected to turn into a disciplined player, skilled at drawing walks, with above average raw power.

The Sydney City Sharks used their #4 to pick to grab Zachariah Ollson, also from Knox Grammar -- and Chu's partner in crime. Ollson is less disclipined than Chu but possess a fair more power

The Bendigo Gold Rush used their #5 pick to get Seb Buckby from the University of Adelaide. He possesses a lot of power in his 6'4"/215lbs frame -- after two years at university level, he's second in career home runs.

26 December, 2002
The Taranaki Bulls managed to successfully defend the Shield against challenges from Wellington, Hawke's Bay, and Queensland but lose it to the Canberra Power who grab it back again. It's almost like these games didn't matter if it just ended up back where it started! Taranaki successfully defended 3 times, and held the Shield for 17 days. Canberra will next defend the Shield against Queensland in the new year after the all-star break.

December Awards

Kiwi Batter of the Month: Finlay Mackay (Bay of Plenty, RF), that's his second batter of the month award this season (out of a possible 3!), he's completely tearing it up for the Steamrollers and a huge reason for their success. In December, he put up a .382 batting average, 12 home runs, 25 RBIs, 26 runs scored, and a .462 on-base percentage.
Kiwi Pitcher of the Month: Randolph Alport (Waikato) -- last's season rookie of the year picks up his second lifetime pitcher of the month award. He posted a 5-0 record in December with a 0.96 ERA. Over 37.1 innings he collected 42 strikeouts and kept the opposition to a .221 average.
Kiwi Rookie of the Month: Euan Mackay (Canterbury, CF), this 31 year old is a rookie it appears. He picked up a .308 average with 5 RBIs and 10 runs scored over December.

Kangaroo Batter of the Month: Zachariah Birss (Queensland, LF) has been a bright spot in Queensland's dire 8-17 December. He put up .330 with 7 home runs, 16 RBIs, and 23 runs scored.
Kangaroo Pitcher of the Month: Jai D'antonio (Canberra), last season's reliever of the year picks up December's pitcher of the month award. He collected 7 saves and 16 strikeouts in 12 innings, holding the opposition to .351 and posting a 4.50 ERA and a 3-0 record.
Kangaroo Rookie of the Month: Willem Robilliard (Adelaide) -- this is his second rookie of the month award this season. Over December he hit .347 with 5 home runs, 16 RBIs and 21 runs scored.

Bay of Plenty and Canberra put daylight between them and their competition in their individual conferences. The New Zealand conference barely changes from a month ago but there's a bit more movement in Australia. Adelaide and Sydney City rise a fair bit while Queensland and Geelong fall.

Once again, the Geelong Green Sox proves a disappointment to their fans hoping for a winning season. It's still not too late to turn it around, they might be 16 games behind Canberra, but they're only 5 games off from a playoff spot.

04-02-2018, 05:02 AM	#44
mrbucket All Star Reserve Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: New Zealand Posts: 902	December 2002 1 December, 2002 The Newcastle Ducks beat the Canberra Power in their three match series to secure The Shield. Their first defense of the Shield will be against the Taranaki Bulls. The Canberra Power successfully defended the Shield 7 times and held it for 58 days. (taken from the start of the season) 2 December, 2002 Terrible news for Otago as they lose closer Yen Ouwerkerk to injury for four months. Ouewerkerk led the league in saves last season with 55. It's a huge blow but the Thunderbolts do have a decent replacement for that role. 5 December, 2002 The Newcastle Ducks have their first Shield defense against the Taranaki Bulls and immediately lose it. They managed to hold onto the Shield a mere 4 days. Taranaki will next defend it against the Wellington Lions. The rookie draft happens. We'll cover three picks from each from Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand The Northland Giants used their #2 pick to grab Rex Mekville, a pitcher from Victoria University of Wellington. Scouts are predicting that this 6'7"/235lbs monster will develop into a fantastic starter. His slider could be potentially off the charts and has had a handy fastball, changeup, and forkball pitch as well. He got a signing bonus of $2.5m. The Tasman Sunbirds used their #3 pick to grab Kumsa Vaartjes, he had been drafted by the Vikings last year but who never signed with the organisation. This time round, he accepted a signing bonus of $1.4m from the Sunbirds. He has the making of a fantastic hitter. The Hawke's Bay Vikings used their #6 pick to grab Tye Basnfield form the Auckland University of Technology. He has the makings of a great all-round hitter and a good defensive player. He accepted a signing bonus of $900k. Australia The Melbourne Sting used their #1 pick to grab Koi-Sho Chu from Knox Grammar School where he played a star role in their way to winning the Australian High School Competition. His slash line was .476/.621/.862. He's expected to turn into a disciplined player, skilled at drawing walks, with above average raw power. The Sydney City Sharks used their #4 to pick to grab Zachariah Ollson, also from Knox Grammar -- and Chu's partner in crime. Ollson is less disclipined than Chu but possess a fair more power The Bendigo Gold Rush used their #5 pick to get Seb Buckby from the University of Adelaide. He possesses a lot of power in his 6'4"/215lbs frame -- after two years at university level, he's second in career home runs. 26 December, 2002 The Taranaki Bulls managed to successfully defend the Shield against challenges from Wellington, Hawke's Bay, and Queensland but lose it to the Canberra Power who grab it back again. It's almost like these games didn't matter if it just ended up back where it started! Taranaki successfully defended 3 times, and held the Shield for 17 days. Canberra will next defend the Shield against Queensland in the new year after the all-star break. December Awards Kiwi Batter of the Month: Finlay Mackay (Bay of Plenty, RF), that's his second batter of the month award this season (out of a possible 3!), he's completely tearing it up for the Steamrollers and a huge reason for their success. In December, he put up a .382 batting average, 12 home runs, 25 RBIs, 26 runs scored, and a .462 on-base percentage. Kiwi Pitcher of the Month: Randolph Alport (Waikato) -- last's season rookie of the year picks up his second lifetime pitcher of the month award. He posted a 5-0 record in December with a 0.96 ERA. Over 37.1 innings he collected 42 strikeouts and kept the opposition to a .221 average. Kiwi Rookie of the Month: Euan Mackay (Canterbury, CF), this 31 year old is a rookie it appears. He picked up a .308 average with 5 RBIs and 10 runs scored over December. Kangaroo Batter of the Month: Zachariah Birss (Queensland, LF) has been a bright spot in Queensland's dire 8-17 December. He put up .330 with 7 home runs, 16 RBIs, and 23 runs scored. Kangaroo Pitcher of the Month: Jai D'antonio (Canberra), last season's reliever of the year picks up December's pitcher of the month award. He collected 7 saves and 16 strikeouts in 12 innings, holding the opposition to .351 and posting a 4.50 ERA and a 3-0 record. Kangaroo Rookie of the Month: Willem Robilliard (Adelaide) -- this is his second rookie of the month award this season. Over December he hit .347 with 5 home runs, 16 RBIs and 21 runs scored. Bay of Plenty and Canberra put daylight between them and their competition in their individual conferences. The New Zealand conference barely changes from a month ago but there's a bit more movement in Australia. Adelaide and Sydney City rise a fair bit while Queensland and Geelong fall. Once again, the Geelong Green Sox proves a disappointment to their fans hoping for a winning season. It's still not too late to turn it around, they might be 16 games behind Canberra, but they're only 5 games off from a playoff spot. Last edited by mrbucket; 04-12-2018 at 04:24 PM.