Flintoff & Dunn's AUSTRALIAN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

AUSSIES & AMLB PLAYERS
NEWS FROM US LEAGUES

***** PAGE LAST UPDATED - 2 SEP 2010 *****

Hoping to reward the interest of our subscribers who have requested this, Flintoff & Dunn aim to bring you the latest news about our Australian players (and former AMLB imports) plying their baseball trade in the USA (or overseas).

Please BOOKMARK this page (and REFRESH) as we aim to update it as often as possible throughout the Australian winter... with obvious apologies to anyone we may miss! If by some chance we do miss someone, PLEASE let us know.

'Flintoff & Dunn' CONGRATULATES AUSTRALIA'S No.28 player to reach the US major leagues on 29 April 2010 (AUS time), 25yo West Australian infielder LUKE HUGHES.

Luke Hughes

No.28

25yo WA infielder LUKE HUGHES today (29 April 2010 AUS time) became the 28th Australian to reach the US major league. Hughes made his debut starting at third base for the Minnesota Twins against the Detroit Tigers at Detroit’s Comerica Park, in front of just under 20,000 fans. Batting in the #9 hole, Luke had an unusual first plate appearance with one on and two out in the top of the second inning when, after working a 3-1 count while facing starter Matt Scherzer, he saw team mate Delmon Young out caught stealing third base to end the inning. Still at bat to start the top of the third Luke slammed a 2-2 fastball from Scherzer over the right field fence for a leadoff home run... from his very first major league at bat! In the top of the fourth he flied out to the catcher in foul territory off Scherzer’s second pitch fastball. Then, in the sixth, he grounded out to the third baseman from the first pitch he saw from Aussie compatriot Brad Thomas. Hughes then made the third out in the top of the eighth when he was struck out swinging on a nasty third pitch curveball from Phil Coke. It ended Luke’s debut with the bat at 1-4 (.250) with the RBI coming from the home run that he won’t ever forget. It hardly mattered that his Twins were beaten 6-11 by the hosting Tigers. Welcome to a select and very elite club LUKE HUGHES.

No.29 - ML Aust

We reserve this space to pay tribute to the next Australian(s) who will earn their way into baseball's pinnacle... 'The Show'... 'The Big League'... The obvious possibilities are BRENDAN WISE, ALLAN de SAN MIGUEL, DREW NAYLOR, SHANE LINDSAY ... or will someone else emerge?

'Flintoff & Dunn' wish them all good luck and good health for the 2009 season.

CLICK HERE to view Australia's other current ML players.

No.30 - ML Aust

To make things easier for our loyal suscribers we will adopt a new format of
providing news involving AUSTRALIAN Players in yellow text, while
news about former AMLB IMPORT Players will be in white text.

2 SEP 2010 - MOYLAN CLOSES WIN OVER METS!

Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Peter Moylan

After a quiet workload lately, Australia's PETER MOYLAN was back in action yesterday, putting the lid on the Atlanta Braves' big 9-2 victory over the New York Mets. Pete hurled the ninth inning for the Braves in conclusive style with 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k (3.33ERA) to maintain the blowout. He started by fanning Ruben Tejada on four pitches before getting Luis Hernandez to ground out to the second baseman and veteran Luis Castillo to line out to the same second baseman. In all he threw eight of his ten pitches for strikes. In the same game his battery mate DAVID ROSS (MLB All-Stars 2001) had a big game offensively with 2-4 (.282) including a GRAND SLAM home run for four RBIs. It was his second long ball of the season.

Toronto Blue Jays evergreen slugger VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) was at it again batting 2-5 (.267) and driving in a pair to help his team to hammer the Tampa Bay Rays 13-5 yesterday.

29 AUG 2010 - THOMAS & THOMPSON TAKE THE HILL!

Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Brad Thomas

Rich Thompson

Australian pitcher BRAD THOMAS did his job well again for the Detroit Tigers, even though they came up short in a 4-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Brad took over after Aaron Hill led of the bottom of the sixth with a double and he wasn't able to strand the runner when Travis Snyder next hammered a RBI double to deep centre field. He avoided any earned run damage for himself by getting Edwin Encarnacion to ground out to second base then striking out Jose Molina on three pitches and striking out Fred Lewis with four pitches. His line for the game was 1.0ip 1h 0er 0bb 2k (4.29ERA). VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999 batted 0-4 (.268) but he drove in a run for the Blue Jays. In yesterdays game, won 3-2 by Toronto, Thomas pitched a brief 0.1ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k (4.37ERA). In this game he took over to get the first out in the bottom of the ninth when his fourth pitch had Adam Lind ground out to the second baseman. Wells batted 0-5 on this occasion.

Another Aussie righty RICH THOMPSON hurled the last inning for the Los Angeles Angels who were shut out 0-5 by the Baltimore Orioles today. Richard was very solid in a hopeless cause, getting Josh Bell to fly out to right field and Julio Lugo to fly out to centre before his one blemish was a six pitch walk to Nick Markakis. However his next pitch saw Ty Wiggington line out to third base to end the inning. His pitching line today was 1.0ip 0h 0er 1bb 0k (1.69ERA). The opposing starter in this game was veteran KEVIN MILLWOOD (Melbourne Monarchs 1997) and he enjoyed his best outing of the season with a masterly 8.0ip 6h 0er 1bb 5k to lift his sagging record to 3-14, 5.34ERA.

MIKE HESSMAN (Melbourne Monarchs 1999) batted 1-1 (.167) as a pinch hitter for the New York Mets during their 1-4 defeat at the hands of the streaking Houston Astros.

27 AUG 2010 - THOMAS HOT & MOYLAN NOT SO!

Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Brad Thomas

Peter Moylan

Aussie BRAD THOMAS has become a regular and reliable bullpen guy for the Detroit Tigers, pitching another sturdy 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k (4.39ERA) in their latest 3-4 defeat by the Kansas City Royals after 12 long innings yesterday. Brad needed only five pitches to tuck away the top of the ninth in a deadlocked 3-3 ballgame at the time. His first pitch had Jai Miller lining out to the first baseman, his fourth pitch got Chris Getz to fly out to centre field and his fifth got Gregor Blanco to ground out to the second baseman. He threw all five pitches for strikes as a model of efficiency on this occasion.

Unfortunately, Australian ace PETER MOYLAN was one of the Atlanta Braves pitching culprits in a game where his team saw a 10-1 lead evaporate into an agonising 10-12 loss to the home standing Colorado Rockies. Pete was the first to relieve starter Jair Jurrjens just as the wheels were starting to wobble for the Braves in the sixth inning. The gap had narrowed to 10-6 by the time that Moylan was summoned with a runner on second base an one out in the bottom of the sixth. He started by losing a battle with Chris Iannetta who milked a full count walk then pinch hitter Ryan Spilborghs thumped a 2-2 pitch for a two RBI double into deep centre field. Our man was lifted without getting an out as the game became increasing ugly for the division leading Braves.

Former All-Star outfielder VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) was the undoubted star of the game for the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday when he batted a gaudy 3-4 (.273) with four RBIs, including his 23rd home run of the season in their 6-3 romp over the New York Yankees. In the previous game Wells batted 2-5 and he drove in two runs for Toronto, but it was not enough as they were outslugged 5-11 by the Yanks.

25 AUG 2010 - THOMAS DOES IT EASY IN WIN v ROYALS!

Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Brad Thomas

Aussie BRAD THOMAS enjoyed a relatively comfortable inning of work for the Detroit Tigers who romped to a huge 12-3 win over the Kansas City Royals yesterday. Brad was gifted the padding of a 12-2 lead in the game when he relieved starter Jeremy Bonderman for the top of the seventh inning. In neat succession he got Chris Getz to ground out to the third baseman, Gregor Blanco to ground out to the short stop and pinch hitter Brayan Pena to fly out to centre field. His uneventful line ended at 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k (4.47ERA).

Veteran outfielder VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) batted 1-3 (.268) and he walked once as his contribution to the Toronto Blue Jays in their 3-2 win over the New York Yankees.

RYAN LANGERHANS (IBLA Internationals 2001) walked and scored a run while batting 0-3 (.211) for the Seattle Mariners who were doubled 3-6 by the Boston Red Sox.

24 AUG 2010 - MOYLAN KNOCKED IN EASY TEAM WIN!

Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Peter Moylan

Kevin Millwood

Geoff Blum

Australian ace PETER MOYLAN wasn't at his best yesterday, but then he didn't need to be while pitching with a massive lead late in a blowout game that was dominated by his Atlanta Braves 16-5 over the hapless Chicago Cubs. Our Pete took over to pitch the eighth inning with a 14-3 lead at the time and he might have struggled for a tad of motivation when he leaked a couple of runs while pitching to contact with 1.0ip 3h 2er 0bb 1k (3.22ERA). His problems started immediately when his first pitch produced a lead off single to Aramis Ramirez and his third resulted in a double into left field by Alfonso Soriano. His fifth pitch of the inning ended with Blake DeWitt slapping a RBI single into left field and his eighth pitch allowed a second run on Xavier Nady's fielder's choice ground out to the first baseman. Moylan re-grouped well to strike out Koyie Hill who fanned on three pitches before he ended the inning with Tyler Colvin grounding out to the second baseman. It wasn't his proudest moment, yet he did what was asked by pounding the strike zone with 11 of his 13 pitches thrown for strikes.

After a strong outing for a loss last time, it was another struggle for veteran starter KEVIN MILLWOOD (Melbourne Monarchs 1997) yesterday when he suffered his 14th defeat of the season when his Baltimore Orioles fell short 4-6 to the Texas Rangers. 'Big Kev' pitched 6.0ip 6h 6er 2bb 2k to see his record decline further to 2-14, 5.63ERA.

VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) supplied two of the six hits recorded by the Toronto Blue Jays who were blanked 0-5 by the Boston Red Sox. He batted 2-4 (.267). The previous day Wells batted 1-5 in a game also lost 4-5 to the 'Bosox'.

... and from other weekend games:

Journeyman lefty RON MAHAY (Gold Coast Cougars 1996) pithed 0.0ip 1h 1r 0er 0bb 0k (3.44ERA) for the Minnesota Twins in their 3-9 loss to the Los Angeles Angels before heading to the disabled list.

DAVID ROSS (MLB All-Stars 2001) batted 1-3 (.284) plus a walk for the Atlanta Braves during their tight
4-5 defeat by the Chicago Cubs.

Not able to help the Houston Astros to avoid a 3-6 defeat by the Florida Marlins was GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995) who pinch hit for 0-0 (.263) but he walked from his only plate appearance and he scored a run... so he could do not much more than that!

21 AUG 2010 - MOYLAN WINS HIS 5th OVER DODGERS!

Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Peter Moylan

Australia's PETER MOYLAN added his fifth win of the season today with a tidy 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k at the pointy end of the Atlanta Braves 5-3 win over the Chicago Cubs. Pete pitched the vital bottom of the eighth in relief of starter Jair Jurrjens with his team 2-3 down at the time. He needed only eight quality pitches to get Marlon Byrd to ground out to the short stop, Aramis Ramirez to ground out to third and Alfonso Soriano to foul out to the first baseman. His team hit back with three runs in the top of the ninth to give him the victory and to improve his season record to 5-2, 2.92ERA.

MOYLAN also did his job perfectly yesterday when he pitched a brief 0.1ip 0h 0er 1bb 1k for Atlanta in their 2-6 loss to the Washington Nationals. In this game he inherited a runner on second with two out in the top of the eighth and his first task was to intentionally walk 'Nats' star Ryan Zimmerman to fill the empty first base. He then threw three successive strikes to a paralysed Michael Morse who struck out looking at all three… good morning, good afternoon and good night! Unfortunately it didn't result in a victory.

20 AUG 2010 - THOMAS TAKES HIT FROM YANKS!

Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Brad Thomas

Aussie reliever BRAD THOMAS was just one of the three Detroit Tigers' pitchers to find the going tough with 1.2ip 2h 2er 1bb 1k (4.56ERA) during their 5-9 loss to the New York Yankees. Thomas relieved starter Jeremy Bonderman to start the bottom of the sixth and he hurled a neat 1-2-3 inning with Ramiro Pena popping out to second before Brett Gardner flied out to centre field and Derek Jeter grounded out back to the mound. It wasn't such smooth sailing for him in the seventh after Mark Teixeira singled up the middle to lead off the inning, even after Robinson Cano flied out to right field. Nick Swisher put runners on second and third with his automatic double to deep right field, causing an intentional walk to be issued to Jorge Posada that loaded the bags. Thomas fought back to strike out Curtis Granderson but he was then relieved by Enrique Gonzalez. Unfortunately Gonzalez cashed in two runs onto Thomas' ledger when the next batter Austin Kearns pounded another automatic double from his second pitch... Gee thanks mate!

Former All-Star outfielder VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) batted 1-4 (.268) for the Toronto Blue Jays who fell short 4-5 to the Oakland Athletics.

Utility infielder GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995) batted a useful 2-6 (.268) plus a run batted in for the Houston Astros in their 2-3 loss to the New York Mets.

From 14 APR 2005 - MESSAGE FOR SUBSCRIBERS!

If you don't count the 2001 IBLA "boutique league" season, it is a long time since IMPORT players have appeared in AMLB, dating back to the demise of the ABL in early 1999. While we acknowledge that many former ABL fanatics, like us, enjoy reminiscing about those wonderful days and like to keep track of those foreign visitors who helped to shape our league, we can no longer justify the time required to account for every move they make in the majors.

From now on we will devote our time to bringing only the HIGHLIGHTS and important updates about former IMPORT players while we will, of course, try to bring you every move made by any AUSTRALIAN players in the big league. We will continue to maintain our stats for both Australian pro players and former imports in the major league as we have in the past. We hope you understand the reason for this small change in our service to subscribers.


	The latest list of Australian and former AMLB Players currently on US Major League 40-Man Team Rosters.

	To find out the latest statistics recorded by Australian players in the US leagues... just click this button at left. UPDATED 30 AUG 2010

	Click here for the latest list of Major League Statistics for Australian and former AMLB Players, including imports. UPDATED 2 SEP 2010

	From time to time we will "archive" our NEWS items from this page. You can find our old news items on this page... just click the button at left.

Our other US Major League Players:


No.1 - ML Aust Joe Quinn	No.2 - ML Aust Craig Shipley	No.3 - ML Aust David Nilsson	No.4 - ML Aust Graeme Lloyd	No.5 - ML Aust Mark Hutton	No.6 - ML Aust Mark Ettles	No.7 - ML Aust Shayne Bennett

No.8 - ML Aust T. Durrington	No.9 - ML Aust Jeff Williams	No.10 - ML Aust Cam Cairncross	No.11 - ML Aust Luke Prokopec	No.12 - ML Aust Damian Moss	No.13 - ML Aust Brad Thomas	No.14 - ML Aust Grant Balfour

No.15 - ML Aust Chris Snelling	No.16 - ML Aust John Stephens	No.17 - ML Aust Micheal Nakamura	No.18 - ML Aust Travis Blackley	No.19 - ML Aust Glenn Williams	No.20 - ML Aust Justin Huber	No.21 - ML Aust Chris Oxspring

No.22 - ML Aust Peter Moylan	No.23 - ML Aust Phil Stockman	No.24 - ML Aust Ryan Row'd-Smith	No.25 - ML Aust Richard Thompson	No.26 - ML Aust Brad Harman	No.27 - ML Aust Trent Oeltjen	No.28 - ML Aust Luke Hughes

Trent Oeltjen

No.27

'Flintoff & Dunn' CONGRATULATES AUSTRALIA'S No.27 player to reach the US major leagues on 7 August 2009 (AUS time), 26yo New South Wales outfielder TRENT OELTJEN. 26yo NSW outfielder TRENT OELTJEN today (7 August 2009 AUS time) became the 27th Australian to reach baseball’s pinnacle; the US major league. Oeltjen made his big league debut for the Arizona Diamondbacks and he was a major part of the 'D-Backs' comeback victory 11-6 over the Pittsburgh Pirates after 12 innings. In fact Trent could hardly have imagined a more exciting big league debut than he experienced in front of 17,311 fans at Pittsburgh's PNC Park. Batting in the seven hole and starting at left field, he had a dream beginning when he reached on an infield single in the second inning, then promptly stole second base. In the fourth inning he flied out to right field, followed by a pop out to the second baseman in the sixth. All of those at bats were facing Pirates' starter Kevin Hart. Oeltjen's magic moment arrived when he led off the eighth inning facing Jesse Chavez and he made himself an immediate hero for the 'Snakes' with a towering home run to right field that tied the game and gave his team the opportunity to win in extra innings. Facing Matt Capps in the top of the tenth he bunted into a fielder's choice force out and, although he failed to advance the runner, he made up for this by stealing second base himself for his second theft of the game. Trent was asked to leadoff the 12th with another bunt but it was unsuccessful when he popped up to the catcher. It didn't stop him enjoying Arizona's dramatic win, or from enjoying a wonderful debut in the major leagues. You've made it Trent!

Brad Harman

No.26

'Flintoff & Dunn' CONGRATULATES AUSTRALIA'S No.26 player to reach the US major leagues on 23 April 2008 (AUS time), 22yo Victorian short stop BRAD HARMAN. 22yo Victorian short stop BRAD HARMAN today (23 April 2008 AUS time) became the 26th Australian to reach baseball’s pinnacle; the US major league. Harman made his big league debut as a pinch hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies during their 8-6 win over the Colorado Rockies in front of a 26,665 crowd at Coors Field, Denver, Colorado. In fact our Brad was to make the last out of the game for the Phillies when he replaced Ryan Madson as a pinch hitter with two out in the top of the ninth. Brad battled Rockies closer Manny Corpas until he popped out to short stop on his fifth pitch fastball. He was then lifted before the bottom of the ninth in a defensive adjustment when he was replaced by closing pitcher Brad Lidge. ‘Flintoff & Dunn’ CONGRATULATES Brad on making it all the way to the top and we hope that he gets plenty more opportunities to become a regular big league player.

Richard Thompson
No.25

'Flintoff & Dunn' CONGRATULATES AUSTRALIA'S No.25 player to reach the US major leagues on 1 September 2007 (US time), 23yo NSW RH pitcher RICHARD THOMPSON.
After climbing to ‘AAA’ level and performing extremely well towards the end of the 2007 season, Australian RICHARD (the Americans like to call him RICH) THOMPSON took advantage of the expanded September rosters to become our 25^th major league player. Thompson was immediately thrust into action to pitch the top of the eighth inning for the Los Angeles Angels during their 6-7 loss to the Texas Rangers, witnessed by 38,342 home fans at the Angels Stadium of Anaheim. He started superbly by having Jason Botts struck out swinging on his fourth pitch which was a canny off speed offering. He followed by having young star Jarrod Saltalamacchia struck out swinging on six pitches, whiffing at the last two 94mph heaters. He was then a touch unfortunate when Ian Kinsler sliced a tidy "low and away" full-count pitch for a soft floater to right field. Richard concluded his scoreless inning of work today by having Ramon Vasquez ground out to the second baseman. His debut day was done with a most satisfying and memorable 1.0ip 1h 0er 0bb 2k (0.00ERA), with 12 of his 19 pitches thrown for strikes… way to go RICH!

Ryan
Rowland-Smith
No.24

24yo NSW right-hander RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH became Australia's 24th player to reach baseball's pinnacle of the US major leagues when he pitched for the Seattle Mariners against the Cincinnati Reds on 23 June 2007 (AUS date) at SAFECO Field, in Seattle. A crowd of 46,340 were on hand to witness the latest Aussie big leaguer make his first out, and one that will be written into folklore, when he had future Hall-Of-Fame great Ken Griffey Junior struck out swinging to end the 6th inning. It could not take the gloss from Ryan's impressive big league debut that his team was already trailing by the ugly final score of 1-16 when he returned to polish off the top of the seventh inning. He had Jeff Conine ground out to the third baseman, before finding himself under a little pressure when Adam Dunn singled to left field and Edwin Encarnacion reached by the unusual route of catcher's interference. He escaped the jam by having Alex Gonzalez fly out to left field and then Josh Hamilton struck out swinging. In all Rowland-Smith threw a high-quality 15 of 20 pitches for strikes for a memorable debut of 1.1ip 1h 0er 0bb 2k (0.00ERA).

Phil Stockman
Australia's
No.23

'Flintoff & Dunn' CONGRATULATES AUSTRALIA'S No.23 player to reach the US major leagues on 15 June 2006 (US time), 6'8", 26yo Queensland RH pitcher PHIL STOCKMAN
Australia salutes its 23rd player to reach the pinnacle of world baseball in the US major leagues with the debut of Queensland's 6'8" pitching giant PHIL STOCKMAN for the famous Atlanta Braves. Stockman, who arrived at Atlanta from the Arizona Diamondbacks this season, has earned his call-up to the struggling Braves' big league roster after his outstanding form at 'AAA' Richmond and 'AA' Mississippi this season. Stockman made his debut pitching the bottom of the eighth inning for the Braves in their 2-3 loss to the Florida Marlins in front of a paltry 7,162 hard-core fans at Miami's Dolphins Stadium.
'Big Phil' did not allow any further damage to the scoreboard, even after the first batter he faced, Jeremy Hermida slapped a double to right field on a full count. He then got an assist for fielding a sacrifice bunt from Alfredo Amezaga for his first major league out. Stockman tidied up the inning by leaving Hermida stranded on third when he induced Miguel Olivio to fly out on a 3-1 pitch and then pinch-hitter Joe Borchard lined out sharply to centrefield. In all Stockman threw 9 of his 17 pitches for strikes in a quite impressive debut performance of 1.0ip 1h 0er 0bb 0k (0.00ERA). Nice job "big fella"!

Peter Moylan
Australia's
No.22

'Flintoff & Dunn' CONGRATULATES AUSTRALIA'S No.22 player to reach the US major leagues on 13 April 2006 (US time), 27yo Victorian utility / RH pitcher PETER MOYLAN.
So, here's one for "Ripleys Believe it or Not?" Peter Moylan, as the commentators at the recent World Baseball Classic would constantly remind us, is the previously unknown pharmaceuticals salesman from Melbourne, Australia who somehow rose from obscurity to find a three-quarter arm fastball in the 95mph range that dazzled some of the major leagues best hitters. 'Big Pete' Moylan is not such a surprise to Australian baseball fans as a guy who has been at the forefront of Aussie baseball for some time. In fact, to explain his versatility, Peter Flintoff recently witnessed him playing at third base and smashing two monster home runs for his Victorian club team Blackburn against the powerhouse club Waverley... he also recently played at first base and pitched in relief for Victoria at the Claxton Shield... that is the type of player that Moylan is! In fact, it was the somewhat eye-catching and remarkable side-arm velocity of Moylan at Blacktown in 2006 that led legendary Australian scout and pitching great Phil Dale to sign Moylan on a minor league contract to join the famous Atlanta Braves. Fast forward to 13 April 2006 and there we find Peter Moylan summoned from the Braves bullpen at Turner Field, in front of 37,107 fans to pitch late relief against the Philadelphia Phillies who were already on their way to a 7-5 victory. Moylan pitched 1.0ip 1h 0er 0bb 1k to become the 22nd Australian player to reach the US major leagues. Pete entered the game in the eighth inning to induce a fly out from Ryan Howard before David Bell drove a two-base hit. He then had catcher Mike Leiberthal pop out to first before halting the inning with David Delluci called out on strikes. In all he threw 16 pitches on debut and nine of them were for strikes. Way to go PETE!

Chris Oxspring
Australia's
No.21

'Flintoff & Dunn' CONGRATULATES AUSTRALIA'S No.21 player to reach the US major leagues on 2 September 2005 (US time), 28yo Queensland born RH pitcher CHRIS OXSPRING.
Australia's 2004 Olympic silver medal star CHRIS OXSPRING has had to be patient before becoming the 21st Aussie to reach the US major leagues. In his fifth season with the San Diego Padres organisation, Chris has steadily worked his way through the minor leagues and has been a steady performer at 'AAA' level for the past two seasons. He finally received the ultimate reward with his call-up to the Padres big league roster this week and with his major league debut today.
Chris was immediately handed a daunting task, coming in after just 1.2 innings to relieve the Padres ailing starter Brian Lawrence who had already allowed five runs. However, while he was touched for a couple of home runs, he also struck out seven in what was a promising debut in the context of a game that was already out of hand for his team. Whatever, he will never forget his major league debut against the Milwaukee Brewers in front of 18,000 fans at Miller Park. Well done Chris, you have deserved it!
He pitched 5.1ip 6h 5er 3bb 7k (8.44ERA) in the Padres 12-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Justin Huber
Australia's
No.20

'Flintoff & Dunn' CONGRATULATES AUSTRALIA'S No.20 player to reach the US major leagues on 21 June 2005 (US time), 23yo VICT infielder JUSTIN HUBER.
Originally a highly regarded prospect as a catcher in the New York Mets organisation, the strapping Melbourne raised Huber has also had to endure an injury hindered apprenticeship as a baseball professional. But, having been traded to the Kansas City Royals in 2004, the opportunity to make a rapid rise to the big leagues opened up for Justin after the Royals converted him to a first baseman.
Finally, in front of 28,206 opposition fans at the Chicago White Sox home park US Cellular Field, Huber was summoned from the bench in the 9th inning of a 5-1 loss to pinch hit in place of regular first baseman Matt Stairs. He was caught on a solidly hit fly ball to centre field off Sox reliever Damasco Marte to start his career with 0-1, but simply making his debut will be more than enough excitement for Justin Huber on this day! We hope he has many, many more big days in the US major leagues! Good Luck Justin!

Glenn Williams
Australia's
No.19

'Flintoff & Dunn' CONGRATULATES AUSTRALIA'S No.19 player to reach the US major leagues on 7 June 2005 (US time), 27yo NSW infielder GLENN WILLIAMS.
Having been signed as a "golden boy" of Australian baseball, Sydney's Glenn Williams has been made to endure a tough apprenticeship, working his way up through the ranks with the Toronto Blue Jays and having established himself as a quality performer at 'AAA' level over the past few years. Maybe his career break arrived when he was traded to the Minnesota Twins for season 2005, culminating in his major league debut.
Williams made a dream start to his 'big league' career for the Minnesota Twins in their away game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Bank One Ballpark. Glenn delivered a two-out, pinch hit single to second base off the experienced Shawn Estes in the sixth inning to advance a couple of team mates on the bases. He can always say that he made his major league debut with a hit in his first at bat... Way to go Glenn!

Travis Blackley Australia's No.18	'Flintoff & Dunn' CONGRATULATES AUSTRALIA'S No.18 player to reach the US major leagues on 1 July 2004 (US time), 21yo Victorian left-hand pitching star TRAVIS BLACKLEY. After earning his promotion via outstanding performances in the minor leagues over the past couple of years, Blackley took the mound for the Seattle Mariners in his major league debut in front of 35,966 fans at SAFECO Field. Not only did young Travis make his 'big league' debut, but he also performed superbly to pick up the WIN as the Mariners topped the visiting Texas Rangers 8-4. Blackley, signed as a free agent in 2000, worked the first 5.2 innings, departing to a standing ovation after surrendering a three-run home run to Kevin Mench that chopped a six-run Seattle lead in half. This aside, he shackled the very dangerous Rangers lineup with a magnificent start of 5.2ip 6h 4er 3bb 4k.	Travis Blackley
No.17 - ML Aust Micheal Nakamura	CONGRATULATIONS from 'Flintoff & Dunn' to Australia's first new major league baseball "ambassador" in 2003. On Saturday, 7th June 2003 (US time) Melbourne pitcher MICHEAL NAKAMURA became the 17th Australian player to play in the US major leagues. Nakamura made his stunning debut in front of nearly 32,000 fans at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium. Nakamura could hardly have been more impressive coming in with two runners on board in the top of the 8th innings, getting a HUGE strikeout to end the innings, then completing the save with a blank in the ninth innings... he pitched 1.1ip 1h 0er 0bb 2k... WAY TO GO!!
Chris Snelling Australia's No.15 in MLB	CONGRATULATIONS from 'Flintoff & Dunn' to Australia's first new major league baseball "ambassador" in 2002 CHRIS SNELLING who made his big league debut with.the Seattle Mariners on 26 May 2002 against the Baltimore Orioles at SAFECO Field, in Seattle. Snelling became our 15th Australian major leaguer! CONGRATULATIONS from 'Flintoff & Dunn' to Australia's latest major league baseball "ambassador" JOHN STEPHENS who made his big league debut with the Baltimore Orioles on 30 July 2002 against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Tropicana Field, in Tampa. Stephens becomes our 16th Australian major leaguer!	John Stephens Australia's No.16 in MLB

Congratulations to pitchers DAMIAN MOSS, BRAD THOMAS and GRANT BALFOUR who became the 12th, 13th and 14th Australians to reach the Major Leagues in the USA during the 2001 season.