Let Bud pick up the tab!

Even for a finely tuned athlete like the defensive Specialist, the allure of a nice dessert is often too much to resist. Fortunately, the Defensive Specialist’s pow wow with ABL CEO Peter Wermuth just happened to take place on a Wednesday night which also happens to be “cheat day” where the Defensive Specialist can step away from his rigidly controlled diet and indulge in whatever it is he so desires. It’s at dessert that we resume our free-flowing conversation from yesterday:

The Defensive Specialist was interested to ask Peter how Australian players would be allocated to teams, since surely there would be some savvy GM’s out there trying to snag big names off other rosters.

We expect Australian players to play for their home states. The ABL actually has an advantage over minor league teams in that we can create heroes with profiles in Australia. If you think about the minor leagues, team rosters are in a constant state of flux as players move from level to level and rarely spend more than one year in a location. If we have Australians playing in their hometowns we can build up their profiles and market the same players so that kids aspire to be like them - a real opportunity to get to know your team.

The Defensive Specialist has spoken with likely ABL players who’ve inquired about player salaries in the coming season. It made sense to pose the question to Peter.

Each team will have a salary cap and players will be paid under this. Teams have discretion to scale salaries according to various criteria but it wouldn’t make sense to have one player drawing a large proportion of it. I cannot divulge what the salary cap figure is but we need to be conscious of control around financials, as this was a problem area in the last ABL.

The Defensive Specialist took time out from licking his bowl to ask about coaches. There had been scuttlebutt that the ABL was pushing high profile former Australian baseballers over perhaps more experienced coaches.

There is a wealth of talented coaches in Australia and franchises have control over whom they appoint into the roles. MLB may bring over American coaches to assist and be involved which is a good thing for the league because they will bring a different perspective.

The Defensive Specialist was at this stage considering a second dessert while at the same wondering how the ABL head office was going to be able to oversee the league with such a relatively small staff.

We are definitely growing. We have added a couple of interns and have recently appointed a Marketing and Media Manager, which has yet to be announced publicly (DEEP IN THE HOLE SCOOP). This role will be instrumental in increasing the profile of the league and releasing information to the community.

Deciding against gorging on sweet desserts, the Defensive Specialist ordered a selection of cheeses and a Limóncello. The ABL playing schedule was a burning topic of conversation.

This has yet to be finalised and is subject to change but at this stage we would look to play 40 games with 20 at home and 20 on the road.  There will be a combination of series – some being over 3 days (with a double header) and others running over 4. Teams are also looking into combining games with other events or working around activities that may be taking place on that date.

The Defensive Specialist finished his last bite of Caciocavallo Podolico and then asked the big question, “so when is the league launching?”

(Peter choking on his own mouthful) Well I cant give away too much on that issue but what I can tell you is that we have worked with Major League Baseball’s design support team to come up with names, logos and colours. The first series is tentatively scheduled to commence on November 11^th (subject to change).

The Defensive Specialist was obviously not satisfied and pressed for more.

Ok, we are potentially going to host an opening game as part of the launch, which we hope will be pretty big and really announce the league. The location of the game and the participants is something that I can’t share at this stage.

As the espressos were delivered to the table, the Defensive Specialist asked if Peter had anything else he wanted to share?

The main message is that the Australian Baseball League absolutely needs the support of the baseball community. Some of the stuff that is launched or takes place wont please everyone, but it is done with the best intentions and it is what it is. We need to make the league work by getting behind the teams and showing support in numbers through crowd participation.

Things may not be as grand as people expect but there have been a lot of people working hard and making sacrifices (players, state associations, volunteers, Major League Baseball) to get it off the ground and make it work.

My door is open and I am happy to accommodate anyone who is interested in what is taking place.

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So there you have it folks.

The Defensive Specialist attempted Jedi mind tricks to get Peter to tack the bill on to Bud Selig’s expense account but that wasn’t forthcoming so the Deep in the Hole credit card took a flogging. It was a small price to pay for the chance to sit down and hear it from the top.

Many thanks to Peter Wermuth for taking the time to chat with the Defensive Specialist. It would be fantastic to make it a semi regular occurrence as we get closer to the season and throughout the inaugural campaign.