American Aces?

[perfeckt]

There's a lot to be said about the ABL, version 2015/16 and a lot of it seems to be on the positive side of the ledger.
I do however question the predominant display of the U.S. flag style bunting by the Aces baseball club.
Melbourne Park displays it in their buntings that surround the boundaries. It features in their online presence, their advertising etc. Why not representations of the Australian National flag? or even the Victorian State flag.
I mean no disrespect to the U.S.A. flag but this is an Australian League and it's being played in Australia for the enjoyment of Australians by a number of Australians.
I am also taking a while getting used to the American commentary team with the online streaming of games. Don't get me wrong, they do a fine job of keeping up the patter, stat's etc. and certainly sound like they've done their homework before the game and are well prepared. It's just that I miss an Australian voice with a more laconic delivery style. Maybe there is room enough for a 3rd. member, an Australian member to the broadcast team.
There are plenty of experienced and knowledgeable Victorian baseball broadcasters that could give the commentary team a more authentic local flavour.
Maybe it's just me but I can assure you that I am not xenophobic (I can't even play one) and I'm not demeaning the work that's been put in so far.

p.s.

Thanx for the broadcasting services Melbourne Aces. I'll be a regular watcher from my overseas base all through the season.

[mc15]

Respectfully, I don't see the points you make as a big deal. Not sure if that's because I'm used to the Americanisms or I just don't notice

[perfeckt]

No mc15 they are not such a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Like I said "Maybe it's just me" and I'm only putting some of my thoughts up here for discussion. Thanx for being the first to respond, I am interested in what others think and certainly hope that I don't spark a head kicking debate.
No disrespect taken either.

[Deleted]

perfeckt, I believe there were at least two qualified and very capable Victorian baseball people who offered their services to the Aces broadcasting team but were knocked back.

There is no doubt that the ABL has gone ahead in leaps and bounds with the frequency, the timeliness, the quality and the variety of its media output to now encompass the written word, streaming, social media, previews, reviews and interviews. All of that is fine, and it is precisely what a professional sporting organisation should be seeking to provide.

What concerns me is this.

The ABL has since the start been touted as a development league. That descriptor was accepted without anyone seriously asking who and what, precisely, the league was seeking to develop.

Sure, the league provides opportunities for U.S. and Asian professionals to state their case for higher honours. And yes, there is an opportunity for our own professionals to get their work in during the southern summer. And of course there have been and will be opportunities for emerging local players to prove their worth – or at least their potential.

But for the ABL to have a snowball’s chance, there needs to be a serious commitment to development in other fundamental areas. We need to be developing clubs, we need to be developing a stronger support base, we need to be developing stronger relationships with government and the corporate sector as an Australian national sporting competition.

Above all else, we need to be developing the capacity of our own people to run this league properly when and if MLB decides to scale back its support – such as it did with the Hawaiian League after five years of funding it in the 1990s. Both as a matter of principle and in simple pragmatic survival terms, we need to be developing our own administrators, our own volunteer base, our own coaches, our own funding streams and certainly our own media people.

I am sure that the ABL clubs would acknowledge this need. And at least a couple appear to be responding accordingly.

We cannot, and should not be relying on MLB interns to keep propping this league up, year after year. Especially when they are people who have no particular commitment to Australian baseball. They may have some academic qualifications, they may come from baseball backgrounds and they may do a great job while they are here – though I expect that their primary focus is on advancement of their own careers rather the development of Australian baseball.

While I appreciate that MLB has a clear majority share in the ABL and can thereby dictate the terms of its involvement, I feel that Australian baseball interests should be striving to negotiate a stronger position on development in all areas to help assure the ABL of a future as either a centrally-controlled stand-alone league or as a group of franchises at some future point.

Good on the Americans who come out here for a baseball experience in the sun – the players, the coaches and the interns. We wish them well, and we should rightly acknowledge the effort that they put in and the fine work that many of them do.

But how about we embark on genuine root and branch development by providing some of our own people – especially our younger, enthusiastic baseball people – with the opportunity to gain the experience and expertise that will enable them, over time, to play a serious and ongoing role in the management and delivery of a genuine and uniquely Australian national league capable of standing on its own feet.

The ABL is likely to be challenged to do precisely that - stand largely on its own feet - at some time in the not too distant future.

[perfeckt]

I can't disagree with a word you wrote kc.
You can't develop a local league without a local identity. In My Humble Opinion.

[Deleted]

It was funded by MLB, Parkman. My point being that as crucial as MLB assistance was in establishing the new ABL, we should never assume that funding or any other support will go on indefinitely.

[Deleted]

Loosely affiliated. BE TOLD! Australian.

[Deleted]

Oh, my mistake for being so terribly uppity in expressing a point of view, Parkman.

The league was reliant on MLB funding.

Now do you want to discuss any of these issues sensibly, or do you want to continue being obnoxious?

Your call.

[doubleplay]

To make it truly the Australian Baseball League, each team should be limited to only four imports, of which only two can be pitchers. Then and only then will it be AUSTRALIAN Baseball League, not the present format it is in, Holiday camp America in Australia.. We don't need excessive amount of holidaying imports, but maybe well credentialled Coaches/Managers who to teach and raise the level of baseball being played. It should be the Aces mantra to exercise the ability to have the so called imports and coaches travelling to each club to pass on the knowledge in an attempt to raise the standard. Also by limiting the exports, more local talent will get that vital exposure to higher level of baseball. I do agree, that the ABL still needs to be propped up by MLB funding, but that money would be better spent developing Australian talent for future possible signings and further further developing junior baseball to level required.