Saturday, February 04, 2012

Why's he calling me meat? I'm the one driving the porsche.

It can be tough to be a rookie.

The fresh meat is expected to pick up extra duties around the ballpark and in the clubhouse, all while learning the ropes and trying to save face with impressive on-field performances. Complaints are unacceptable and rookie status can’t be deferred until a plethora of even newer recruits don the uniform.

The Brisbane Bandits had six rookies this year, qualifying for that title on the basis that they are Australian residents and have had less than 50 at-bats or eight pitching appearances in previous Australian senior national competitions like the Claxton Shield or the Australian Baseball League, or with the senior national team, in the World Baseball Classic, Olympic Games or the World Cup.

Four of those six made it onto the ballot for the ABL Rookie of the Year voting, evidence of what kind of an impact they made for the Bandits and in the league. The Bandits candidates for the yearly honour included Andrew Campbell, Ryan Battaglia, Matt Roxburgh and Rhys Niit, all happy to be taken into deliberation for the honour. 

“It feels awesome to be considered,” Campbell said of the Rookie of the Year award. “It really gives me confidence that my season had a good impact on coaches and other people involved. I certainly was a rookie this year.

“I don’t think my shoulders have recovered from carrying the ball bag all season, oh and doing Brad [Dutton]’s washing. Other than the chores involved, being a young rookie is a good thing because I’m experiencing mature-aged baseball already.”

Campbell was impressive out of the leadoff spot in the lineup, batting .301/.387/.376 through his 26 games on the roster. The 19-year-old outfielder led the team in on-base percentage and notched five doubles and a triple during the season. The Cleveland Indians prospect also managed to drive in eight runs from the top of the order and he stole three bases this year. 

Fellow Indians farmhand Battaglia batted .273/.319/.523 over 14 games, while playing behind the dish. He led all Brisbane Bandits in slugging percentage over that time. The 19-year-old had two homers, five doubles and six RBI.

Roxburgh, in his inaugural season, hit .283/.333/.396 with three home runs, three doubles and 16 runs driven in over his 28 games. The Brisbane native stepped up even more in the back half of the year and ended the season better than he started. He batted .414/.514/.690 over his last 10 games and finished the year on a six-game hitting streak.  

Taking the mound this season as rookies were three young pitchers. Niit was used out of the bullpen, closing out a couple of games and making six appearances in total, throwing 11 innings. The 20-year-old managed to notch two three-inning saves on the year, and posted an impressive 1.64 ERA.

Aaron Thompson and Josh Warner were also on the hill for Brisbane this season. After appearing in three games last year for the Bandits, Thompson only got into two this season. He threw three innings and struck out four. Warner made it into the starting rotation at the end of the year, getting three starts and appearing in six games in total, after getting into seven games last season. The 19-year-old completed 12 2/3 frames through his outings and fanned 12 batters.

Though Niit and Thompson are the only two of the bunch who will still technically qualify for rookie status next season, all of the young players will have to hope for a number of even newer faces to come in before they can be relieved of their rookie duties. When that happens though, the new guys will have a lot to live up to after the impressive show that was put by the rookies this year.

Keep it up, meat.

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