Welcome to Australia’s professional baseball league.
Six teams from across the country compete each summer for one of Australia’s oldest trophies – the Claxton Shield.
Those involved in the baseball community are very well aware of the talent the Australian Baseball League produces.
Major League Baseball organisations send top prospects to develop, past Big Leaguers come to Australia to pave their way back to the promised land, players from Asian powerhouse baseball clubs compete, all members of Team Australia are contracted, and it offers a breeding ground for the next generation of talent.
It’s not uncommon to see a 16-year-old rising Australian talent face a former MLB star.
The games are broadcast on Baseball+.
In 2024/25, we can confirm there will be players from all four major baseball leagues including:
– Players from at least 12 MLB franchises;
– Players from five NPB teams (Japan);
– Players from six CPBL teams (Taiwan);
– Players from two KBO teams (Korea);
Founded in 2010 as a joint venture between Baseball Australia and Major League Baseball, the Australian Baseball League (ABL) continues to thrill fans around the world with a dazzling combination of Australia and New Zealand’s best homegrown talent and top prospects from around the world.
The creation of the ABL gives Oceania’s best baseball talent the rare chance to showcase their skills in front of a home crowd, and reinforces the existence of a legitimate pathway to the Big Leagues right in our own backyard.
The ABL season takes place during the Southern Hemisphere summer, running from November to February. Each year’s campaign concludes with the best-of-three Championship Series and the winner is awarded the Claxton Shield, the same trophy that’s been awarded to the winners of interstate baseball competitions since 1934.
History of the Baseball in Australia
Baseball was brought to Australia by American gold miners and played on the gold fields of Ballarat for fun on their rest days in the 1850s. Cricketers Gaggin & Goldsmith tried to play baseball at Yarra Park, Melbourne in 1867, but AFL fans arriving for the adjacent AFL football disrupted the games. Read More
All-Time Claxton Shield Winners
When Norrie Claxton (1880-1951) donated a trophy to be awarded to the State winning the annual Australian Championships. Claxton, first president of the South Australian Baseball League, in 1913 originally intended the team which won the trophy for 3 successive years to become the permanent holder. After South Australia won the first 3 years of competition involving presentation of the trophy, all States agreed that it become a permanent competition trophy and named it the Claxton Shield Competition. Read More
All-Time Helms Award Winners
The Helms Award has been presented annually to the most outstanding player of the Claxton Shield competition since 1962, with the exception of 1990-99, when the original Australian Baseball League presented its own Most Valuable Player Award.
The award gets its name from the now-dissolved Helms Athletic Foundation, based in Los Angeles, California in the United States. Read More
ABL Players in Major League Baseball
Since its relaunch in 2010, the Australian Baseball League has served as a stepping stone for 71 players who have been called up to MLB clubs following a season in the ABL. Read More
Australians in Major League Baseball
While not all played in the Australian Baseball League, We celebrate the careers of all 38 Aussie MLB players as the next generations of stars from Down Under cross the lines in pursuit of their big league goals.
From Joe Quinn, Australia’s first Major Leaguer who was one of the game’s early colourful personalities, to recent and current stars like Graeme Lloyd and Grant Balfour, learn more about your heroes here and keep your eyes open for Australia’s next rising greats. Read More
Notice of filming and photography
Attendees consent to their filming and sound recording as members of the audience. By entering this event site, you agree to being filmed or photographed and the Australian Baseball Federation and the ABL, their successors, assigns and licensees may use attendees image and likeness in perpetuity for various purposes, including for marketing and promotional purposes.
Please be aware that by entering this area, you consent to your voice, name, and/or likeness being used, without compensation, in films and tapes for exploitation in any and all media, whether now known or hereafter devised, in perpetuity, and you release the Australian Baseball Federation and the ABL, their successors, assigns and licensees from any liability whatsoever of any nature. Do not enter this area if you do not wish to be subject to the foregoing.
