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Australia Is Playing Baseball In The Winter

On this federal holiday that we honor America’s military veterans (Veterans Day), let’s take a look far overseas, where a new baseball league has been created and is in its first year of operation.

Last Saturday, the Australian Baseball League (ABL) officially began play.  It is not the first baseball to be played in Australia, but it could be the most legit installment of professional baseball the country has ever seen.  Major League Baseball is supporting its operation, which currently consists of six teams, with the possibility of adding two more in the near future.

Winter baseball is very popular amongst Minor League prospects, and even some Major League players, who are looking to strengthen their weaknesses and earn additional money in the offseason.  The Caribbean Winter Leagues, comprised of leagues in Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic have been great places for the countries’ natives and American-born players to play in the Winter months.  Australia may be a new alternative to those leagues.

This is great news for baseball agents.  There are more opportunities to place players looking to play in the Winter months, and with more options, agents may weigh where they want to place their clients based on factors like location and salary.  A bidding war between an Australian team and a Puerto Rican team might be unlikely, but at least there is a new league to consider sending your players.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.

4 replies on “Australia Is Playing Baseball In The Winter”

The more baseball opportunities out there the more quality players we’ll have come up in the sport. Good to hear Baseball is still growing globally.

I love the fact that baseball is alive and well in Australia. However there are a few teams in the league that can’ and won’t win with the players they currently have in the line up.Calvalry will continue to lose until the Manager puts the BEST players on the field! Why are guys who have proven themselves in the game of baseball sitting on the bench. Or worse not even on the 22 man roster! What a joke!

Hey Just a Fan —

Give ’em a bloody chance will ya?! Not all the guys on the 35-man roster are even avaiable yet and even so the Cavs won their home opener 5-2 last night. Hypercritical negativity isn’t going to help the ABL succeed.

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