Brisbane Bandits – It’s A Wrap!

By Anna James
Updated: February 9, 2012

This article was co-written by Alexis Brudnicki

Baseball is essentially a game of numbers. And after hitting numerous milestones, superseding many expectations and accumulating a list of firsts, the Brisbane Bandits are winners this season despite an early finish.

They had 22 home games and 23 on the road for the up to 24-man roster. Narrowly missing out on a playoff position, the Bandits were supported by a team of dedicated coaching staff, round-the-clock volunteers (more than 30 throughout the season) and an endless array of supportive families, friends and fanatical Queensland sport goers.

Nine is the number of games Brisbane took wins from in the first half of the season, though after a slow start, the team came together and ended up finishing strong. The latter half of the season was a source of pride for Bandits General Manager Paul Gonzalez.

“The highlight of the season for me was the continued improvements this organisation made both on and off the playing field,” Gonzalez said. “We won 11 of 20 games in the back end after the departure of our Japanese imports. It was a true test for our coaching staff, and with the support of our local Brisbane clubs the Bandits fought to the very end.”

Manager Kevin Jordan shares Gonzo’s sentiment over the Bandits finish to the year, and has also acknowledged the impact that the local players had on the line up, stepping up to the plate when called upon. The additions to the team complimented the strengths of their other teammates, and helping the whole club makes strides for improvement.

“The second half of the year was probably the best highlight for us as a team,” Jordan said. “I think that probably getting some of the younger guys like [Andrew] Campbell in and getting them some consistent playing time helped. I think guys that started with us earlier, players like [Matt Roxburgh], got more comfortable. Having [Sean] Jarrett in the starting rotation helped us a lot, and guys like Rhys Niit, who hadn’t been with us early in the year. I could go on and on, there are so many guys that stepped up, that either were there in the first half and got better in the second half. I think we just gelled as a team more after the break.”

Brisbane’s season kicked off with a ‘Moneyball’ film launch, sponsored by Major League Baseball, uniting the players and supporters towards the one goal of having a season to remember. Under the guidance of MLB, several local companies including Alderley Hire, Ready Towing, Subway, Ii Naa Japanese Food and Fielder’s Choice pledged their support to the Bandits and the ABL for the entirety of the season.

Four highly anticipated Japanese imports arrived in Brisbane in late October, courtesy of the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of the Japan Pacific League. At the same time, star pitcher Alex Maestri made the trip from Italy. Maestri stayed out the season to the very end, becoming Brisbane’s ace along the way and becoming a fan favourite from the start.

American arms Jarrett and Jon Durket slotted into the bullpen nicely for the Bandits, as did Andrew Marck from our nation’s neighbour New Zealand. With plenty of Aussie talent on the roster, and a number of players returning after the ABL’s inaugural season, team captain Brad Dutton felt the Bandits made strides over last year.

“The group of guys on the team were a year older,” Dutton said of the biggest difference between the first season and the second. “They knew what to expect of the season and of each other. As a group we have become closer, and the new faces like Maestri came into our team and bonded right from the start. Our coaching staff was great, with KJ bringing his knowledge of the game and understanding what the players were going through, and helping us out and having fun on the field. At the end of the day it is a game.”

While the role of the manager is often overlooked and undervalued when giving credit to a baseball team, Jordan made a huge impact on his players and also on the organisation as a whole.

“We improved this year because the guys truly believed that they could compete in the league,” the Bandits GM said. “This is a true credit to the leadership of Kevin Jordan and his coaching staff and the team leadership of our captains [Dutton, Josh Roberts and Simon Morriss].”

Coming from the first base coach side of things and moving into the role of the skipper, Jordan learned firsthand how different the game can be from a new perspective, and how tough it is from the manager’s seat on the bench.

“I probably took the losses a lot harder,” the first-year skipper said. “More than the year before when I was coaching first base, because I was actively involved in every aspect of the game outside of playing.

“You want to win every day. So when you don’t, it’s tough because you prepare the team to win, not just to play the game. It’s a lot of going back and re-evaluating things you could have done differently in the game when you do have those losses, whereas you don’t have that as much when you have the wins because usually that’s when things go the way you want them to. When you lose it’s more of a learning process where you try to figure out if there’s something you could have done different in the game to have a different outcome.”

Including Jordan, several familiar faces returned for a second season this time around, Dutton and Morriss leading the team with always-consistent slugger Roberts dropping football to pick up a bat. Wade Dutton was a standout on defence and David Sutherland made vast improvements on already great numbers last year.

With a busy 45-game schedule, the Bandits still found time for goodwill. Chris Mowday got mowed for the Queensland Cancer Council in November and the Reds lent a hand to raise funds for the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital during the Ballpark Buster. Volunteer Dan Parker also raised funds for cancer with a haircut of his own.

New to the league this year, the ABL All-Star Game saw Brisbane’s top players plucked for both sides of the competition. Justin ‘Bobby’ Erasmus and Roberts represented the Aussie contingent, while Maestri, Yohei Yanagawa, Ayatsugu Yamashita and Kenta Imamiya joined Team World, making it difficult for Bandits fans to choose which side they were on.

Other television coverage for Bandits players was found on 31 Digital this season, as Brisbane launched ‘The Rookie’ in November. The show was hosted by ball enthusiast and Australian media personality Paul ‘Campo’ Campion. This made the Bandits the only team in the league to host their own TV show and it showcased the team to Australia.

The Bandits got a great start to the season at home, taking down the Sydney Blue Sox three games to one in their first series at the RNA Showgrounds. The consensus was that the back half of the season was more successful however. Fresh blood was introduced in December with local club ball talent Campbell, Roxburgh and Josh Warner.

Steven Greer took over in centre field at the tail end of the season, first called in for the series in Perth, and was a huge defensive asset to the club. The outfielder had one home run, two doubles and five RBI through 14 games to go with his glove.

The strides the team made with a variety of different line-ups was impressive, and so was the level of cohesiveness reached. Brisbane’s GM believes that the club will be in contention next season, with plenty for fans to anticipate.

“We have a lot to look forward to next year after a strong finish,” Gonzalez said. “I think on the field, with the talented youth that we have coming through the system and the addition of another year of maturity, we will be a strong contender for the Claxton Shield in 2013. We are hopeful to have some arms back next year and if we can land a big bat in the middle of our already dangerous line-up we show true promise after a successful 2011-12 year.”

Jordan shares Gonzo’s expectations for an even better outcome next year, but knows that there are some uncertainties for the upcoming season. He believes the team will certainly fare better if everyone can avoid injuries.

“A team that’s right on the verge of making playoffs, which is what we were this year,” Jordan said of what to look forward to for next season. “Obviously we don’t know what the roster’s going to be for next year.

“Health will play a big part because we, pretty much the whole year, we were able to have the same core position player guys who stayed healthy, as well as our pitchers. Alex [Maestri] from day one, he threw the whole year and he was healthy the whole time. A lot of times when teams aren’t successful it could be from a couple injuries from major players so I think if we stay healthy as a team then we have a real good shot next year of making the playoffs.”

Despite not knowing what the roster will look like next year, there are several players who already have plans to make their way back into the Brisbane black. Many are leaving Australia shortly to head to their American affiliations or independent ball teams, including Battaglia, Erasmus, Steven Chambers, Mitch Nilsson, Alan Schoenberger, Ryan Searle and Rory Rhodes. A couple are heading to Europe, with Daniel Lamb-Hunt going to Germany and Mowday to spend time in Amsterdam.

The core of the team will likely remain the same when another season approaches and as one of the team captains points out, next year is a new year.

“I’ve learnt that we have a team that can make the playoffs,” Brad Dutton said. “With another year under our belt, our team will be in contention to get to the end. If everyone still believes in the Bandits and we keep playing the game the right way, anything can happen next season.”