Pool on the high C's

The voting in this little breakdown has been ridiculous with readers repeatedly emailing the Defensive Specialist to find out when the next pool is being posted. Well guess what, here it is. The Defensive Specialist has to admit that Joe Quinn’s people were really getting his goat so it is good to have them on side and now contributing financially to Deep in the Hole in an effort to assist the promotion of the game in Australia. Enough of the funny business, let's dive straight into the 3rd round of Aussies who have played in the Major Leagues:

Pool C

Chris Snelling

 http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/snellch02.shtml?redir

Snelling signed as an amateur free agent in 1999 and made his debut with the Seattle Mariners in 2002.  In what would become an all too common theme in his career, he shredded his ACL while running the bases (originally thought to be a sniper), ending his season. In the 2002 campaign he appeared in 8 games, hitting his first big league homerun and posting a .148 average.

If the Defensive Specialist was running a competition to determine ‘Australia’s best big leaguer likely to injure himself sneezing’ then Snelling would be the guy. Due to his consistent injuries, a Mariner fan blog started referring to Snelling as ‘Doyle’ (his middle name) in the hope of changing his fortunes (http://ussmariner.com/index.php?s=chris+snelling).

Snelling next saw the big leagues in 2005, picking up 29 at bats over 15 games. He hit .276 with an OBP of .382. In 2006 he appeared in 36 games hitting .250, with 3 homeruns, 6 doubles and 14 runs. His OBP was a solid .360.

Traded to the Washington Nationals after the 2006 season for the corpse of Jose Vidro, he played in 24 games hitting .204 in 49 at bats, once again displaying a keen eye at the plate by posting a .360 OBP. Snelling was traded midseason to the Oakland A’s where he saw action in 6 games and hit .350 before injury junked his season again.

Snelling was signed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Rays who traded him to the Phillies for a bag of baseballs. He saw his last Major League action in the 2007 season getting 4 Abs with 2 hits and a homerun.  He signed a minor league deal with the Padres after the 2009 World Baseball Classic and was traded to the Pirates where he played AAA baseball before being released.

Over 5 seasons to date, Snelling has a career batting average of .244 and an OBP of .360. With his advancing age and history of injuries, the chance of seeing Major League action is slim.

Mark Ettles

 http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/e/ettlema01.shtml

No, that is not a prison mug shot of Ettles.

Ettles was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 33^rd round of the 1989 amateur draft. He was released from the Detroit organisation in 1991 and signed as a free agent by the San Diego Padres. He spent 6 years in their system before making his big league debut in 1993, where he appeared in 14 games, earning his only career victory and posting a 6.50 ERA.  He did not play another season in the Major Leagues and completed his professional career in 2000 after a stint in independent baseball.

David Nilsson

 http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/nilssda01.shtml

Nilsson is arguably Australia’s best known baseball import. He signed with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1987 and made his first appearance in the major leagues in 1992 at age 22.  Playing in 51 games, Nilsson hit .232 with 4 homeruns and 25 RBI’s. He became the catcher of choice in 1993 although battled injuries, which cut into his playing time. Nilsson saw action in 100 games, popping 7 home runs and driving in 40. He raised his batting average to .257.

In 1994 Nilsson teamed with Graeme Lloyd to form the first ever all-Australian battery. He continued to improve offensively, raising his average to .275, hitting 12 homeruns and knocking in 69 runs. The 1995 season saw Nilsson get stung by a pesky mosquito and contract Ross River Virus restricting him to only 81 games. He matched his homerun totals from the year before, hitting 12 and driving in 57 while batting .278.

The 1996 season was one of, if not, the best of Nilsson’s big league career. He saw action in 123 games, drove in 84, scored 81 runs, hit 17 homeruns and batted .331. His OBP was .407. in 1997 he played in a career high 156 games, racking up 554 at bats, belting 20 homeruns, driving in 81 and hitting .278.

Nilsson played in 102 games in 1998 with a .269 average, 12 homeruns and 56 RBI’s. 1999 was the season that saw Nilsson named to the All Star team – the first Aussie to be afforded that honour. He saw action in 115 games, hit at a .309 clip, had a career high 21 homeruns and drove in 62. Nilsson was a free agent at the conclusion of the season but chose not to sign another major league deal, preferring to remain unsigned so that he could play in the 2000 Olympics.

After the Olympics, Nilsson was offered a deal by the Boston Red Sox but he failed a medical and the contract was withdrawn. Nilsson has not played Major League baseball since the 1999 season as a 29 year old. His career numbers over 8 seasons include a .284 average, 105 homeruns, 470 RBI’s and 389 runs scored.

Nilsson’s professional career concluded after a brief stint in the Braves organisation. He played in 16 games at the AAA level before calling it a career.

The Defensive Specialist has to go and consult with the Deep in the Hole travel secretary to determine when he can bring the loyal readers another comprehensive series recap. Stay tuned for dates. The remainder of Pool C will appear on Thursday morning.