2009 Claxton Shield

Overview

The 2009 Shield series excluded the Australian Provincial baseball team and consisted of four, three-game series against each team including a two home, two away and a bye round for each of the teams. On top of this to start off the tournament, there was also a showcase round where each team played each other once. To celebrate the 75th anniversary, the showcase round also hosted a variety of other events such as a Home Run Derby. Teams that competed in the 2009 Claxton Shield were the New South Wales Patriots, Queensland Rams, Perth Heat, Victoria Aces and the South Australia.

The competition served as the primary selection trial for the national team to compete in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. The first round of the WBC commenced Mexico City on 8 March 2009, a month after the final round.

Teams

Rosters

Main article: 2009 Claxton Shield team rosters

Venues

The 2009 Claxton Shield will be competed between 5 teams from around Australia in 13 different venues.

• Perth Heat
  • Baseball Park – Perth
• South Australia
  • Anderson Reserve – Glenelg
  • Blue Lake Sports Park – Mount Gambier
• Victoria Aces
  • Melbourne Ballpark – Altona
  • Geelong Baseball Park – Geelong
  • Aerodrome Oval – Mildura
• New South Wales Patriots
  • Blacktown Baseball Stadium – Sydney
  • Narrabundah Baseball Park – Canberra
  • Aquatic Reserve – Manly
  • Fred Finch Park – Wollongong
• Queensland Rams
  • John Murray Field – Redlands
  • Holloway Field – Windsor
  • Baxter Field – Lismore

Regular season

The regular season was held from 2 December 2008 through to 18 January 2009, followed by a two-week finals series from 23 January to 8 February 2009. The season started with a showcase round featuring all five teams in a single round-robin series of matches at Blacktown Olympic Park. This was followed by five rounds of home and away games, with each team playing four 3-game series, one against each other team, two at home and two away. As there was an odd number of teams, each team also had a bye round. At the end of the home and away season, the top three teams qualified for the finals series.

Standings

Showcase - Round 1

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Round 2

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Round 3

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Round 4

Round 5

8 January 2009 at 7.00pm, [[Baseball Park (Perth)|Baseball Park]]

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9 January 2009 at 7.00pm, [[Blacktown Baseball Stadium]]

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9 January 2009 at 7.00pm, [[Baseball Park (Perth)|Baseball Park]]

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10 January 2009 at 7.00pm, [[Blacktown Baseball Stadium]]

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Round 6

Championship series

The 2009 Claxton Shield finals series will have the top three teams after regular fixtures qualify. The team who finishes first will auto-qualify for the final where they will meet the winner of the 2nd vs 3rd. Both semi-finals and finals are best of three series.

23 January 2009 at 7.00 pm, [[Melbourne Ballpark]]

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24 January 2009 at 3.00 pm, [[Glen Waverley, Victoria|Waverley]]

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25 January 2009 at 12.00 pm, [[Melbourne Ballpark]]

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6 February 2009 at 7.00 pm, [[Empire Ballpark|Baseball Park]]

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7 February 2009 at 7.00 pm, [[Empire Ballpark|Baseball Park]]

Perth Heat def. New South Wales Patriots.

8 February 2009 at 7.30 pm, [[Empire Ballpark|Baseball Park]]

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Conditions

Blacktown Baseball Stadium experienced quite warm December summer weather for New South Wales. Although the average maximum temperature is 25 °C (77 °F), most games were above this, with Game 8 of the showcase round between South Australia and Victoria Aces hitting 32 °C (90 °F) during the match.

On 7 December, the temperature dropped to a maximum of 22 °C with a strong breeze over Blacktown as well as clouds, however, no rain fell and the games finished as scheduled.

A large low-pressure system and long periods of rain forced the postponement of both games on 12 December in Altona, Victoria and Canberra. Games the next day were rescheduled to allow for 7-inning double headers. Game 1 between Queensland Rams and Victoria Aces was relocated to Mildura, Victoria where Game 2 and 3 were also being played.

On 3 January, the New South Wales Patriots vs Queensland Rams second game at Baxter Field, Lismore was delayed during the 6th inning due to a small stint of heavy rain. Drizzle was present throughout the game, but was only delayed for approximately ten minutes.

Fielders Choice Player of the Series

This is awarded recognition of outstanding individual performances each round of the 2009 Claxton Shield by the Australian Baseball Federation.

• Round 1 – Nick Kimpton
• Round 2 – Daniel Berg
• Round 3 – Tim Kennelly
• Round 4 – Luke Hughes
• Round 5 – Wayne Lundgren
• Round 6 – Justin Huber

Statistics leaders

Awards

References

References

1. Bostrom, Ryan. (November 2006). "A History of Australian Baseball: Time and Game". Sport History Review.
2. Stockman, Jennifer. (3 November 2008). "2009 Claxton Shield Schedule". Australian Baseball Federation.
3. Stockman, Jennifer. (24 November 2008). "2009 Claxton Shield Media Guide". Australian Baseball Federation.
4. Collins, Kingsley. (5 December 2008). "Claxton Shield a fillip for Sunraysia baseball". Australian Baseball Federation.
5. (3 November 2008). "2009 (75th Anniversary) Claxton Shield Schedule". Australian Baseball Federation.
6. Originally scheduled for 14:00 start. Delayed by 45 minutes due to storm.
7. Originally scheduled for 19:00, 12 December at Melbourne Ballpark. Re-scheduled to be first game of a doubleheader (7 innings) after a washout.
8. Re-scheduled as a 7 inning game as part of the doubleheader.
9. Originally scheduled for 19:00, 12 December. Re-scheduled to be first game of a doubleheader (7 innings) after a washout.
10. [http://www.baseball.com.au/site/baseball/abf/downloads/2009%20Claxton%20Shield/Play%20By%20Play/29.htm?MenuID=2009_Claxton_Shield%2F21613%2F48573%2CPlay_by_Play%2F21730%2F0 Victoria vs West Australia 8 Jan 2009]
11. [http://www.baseball.com.au/site/baseball/abf/downloads/2009%20Claxton%20Shield/Play%20By%20Play/sc30.htm?MenuID=2009_Claxton_Shield%2F21613%2F48573%2CPlay_by_Play%2F21730%2F0 South Australia vs New South Wales 9 Jan 2009]
12. [http://www.wa.baseball.com.au/site/baseball/results/Claxton/0809/g31/xhome.htm Victoria vs West Australia 9 Jan 2009]{{Dead link. (September 2018)
13. [http://www.baseball.com.au/site/baseball/abf/downloads/2009%20Claxton%20Shield/Play%20By%20Play/cs32.htm?MenuID=2009_Claxton_Shield%2F21613%2F48573%2CPlay_by_Play%2F21730%2F0 South Australia vs New South Wales 10 Jan 2009]
14. [http://www.baseballvictoria.com.au/site/baseball/vic/downloads/State%20Programs/Claxton%20Shield/2009/SF1/xlive.htm New South Wales vs Victoria Semi-Final 1] {{webarchive. link. (6 July 2011)
15. [http://www.baseballvictoria.com.au/site/baseball/vic/downloads/State%20Programs/Claxton%20Shield/2009/SF2/xhome.htm Victoria vs New South Wales Semi-Final 2] {{webarchive. link. (6 July 2011)
16. "Programs/Claxton Shield/2009/SF3/xvisitor.htm New South Wales vs Victoria Semi-Final 3".
17. [http://www.wa.baseball.com.au/site/baseball/results/Claxton/0809/gf44/xlive.htm New South Wales vs Perth Grand-Final 1]{{dead link. (May 2015)
18. [http://www.wa.baseball.com.au/site/baseball/results/Claxton/0809/GF46/xhome.htm New South Wales vs Perth Grand-Final 3] {{webarchive. link. (30 March 2009)
19. Foster, Ben. (13 December 2008). "BEAUTIFUL DAY FOR A BALLGAME...Let's play two!". Australian Baseball Federation.
20. (May 2015)
21. [https://archive.today/20120723193403/http://www.baseball.com.au/default.asp?MenuID=2009_Claxton_Shield/21613/48573,Player_of_the_Series/21944/49330/ FIELDERS CHOICE Player of the Round]