2004 Offseason
THE ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLAR MAN
Bay of Plenty's Right Fielder Finlay Mackay was pretty disgusted as his side fell to pieces in Game 6 of the Trans-Tasman Classic. His 2 home runs in that game provided the only runs in that 20-3 defeat for the Steamrollers.
So it came as no surprise when he elected to use the opt-out clause in his contract, he likely would have done that anyway, he's a top player in the game after all and should be paid like it but that loss may have proved the impetus for Mackay to truly look elsewhere to ply his talents.
It was the Taranaki Bulls that ended up winning that battle, signing him to a $110m contract over 6 years. He joins Geelong's Vaughan Eykelbosch and Otago's Randolph D'antonio in the $100m+ club.
This gives Taranaki three of the best hitters in the country as he joins Tye Jeffes (3 time All-Star and 2-time Platinum Stick winner) and Willem Wellby (2 time All-Star and 2-time Platinum Stick winner) in the lineup.
New Plymouth has decided to bill itself as "The Home of Home Runs". Expect a lot of them in the upcoming season as they hope to reach the playoffs for the first time.
DOMENIC REDELIUS HEADS OFF TO THE TIGERS
After being something of an icon for the Canberra Power these last three seasons, Domenic Redelius has made the move to Tasmania. Over the first three seasons, no Australian team has picked up more wins and Redelius was an integral part of that.
Losing two Australian finals in a row to the Adelaide Zips has taken its toll and Redelius was keen for greener pastures to mount a fresh challenge for the title. There are some talented figures in Tasmania, from Right Fielder Tye Lapthorne (Rookie of the Year, 2 time All-Star, 3-time Platinum Stick Winner), Starter Willem Guyatt (Pitcher of the Year, 3 time All-Star) to Closer Jai Dejong (Reliever of the Year, 2-time All-Star), this is team ready to make some noise.
CANTERBURY, WELLINGTON, MELBOURNE: READY TO RISE?
None of these teams signed up any superstars over the offseason but they made a number of tidy acquisitions over the break to help improve their chances of success. Melbourne, has quietly revamped their entire pitching rotation while Wellington and Canterbury have bought in some veterans to shore up their offense. It remains to be seen if giving 34 year olds big 5 year old contracts will end up being worth it though.
RETIREMENT PARTY
Zachariah Atteridge calculated that the $18m he earned over these last three years were good enough for him and elected to retire rather than seek a new contract. He was a handy contributor for the Taranaki Bulls and will be missed. He finishes his career holding the career records for hits, singles, and doubles for the Taranaki side as well as the single-season record for doubles.
OSA RANKS THE HITTERS
Vaughan Eykelbosch has pipped Finlay Mackay for the #1 spot this season.
In: Ravichandran Prudvi (30 yrs old), Domenic Dethridge (27 yrs old)
Out: Willem Robilliard (29 yrs old), Rex Alldred (31 yrs old)
OSA RANKS THE PITCHERS
Tye Boxsell retains his #1 ranking for the third year running. In rather terrifying news for Australia, the top 9 pitchers in this list are from New Zealand. Baden Colcott from Geelong is the top ranked Australian Pitcher at #10.
In: Rex McLaren (25 yrs old), Baden Wonnocott (27 yrs old), Lin-Chun Tze (27 yrs old), Seb van Noort (32 yrs old), Randolph Owbridge (33 yrs old)
Out: Zachariah Eveson (28 yrs old), Baden Sambandan (40 yrs old), Kazuhito van der Looij (28 yrs old), Vaughan Fingleson (30 yrs old), Vaughan Hovius (29 yrs old)