There was a baseball league in Australia from 1989-99. It hemorrhaged cash, and was eventually bought by ex-Brewer Dave Nilsson. The league folded around then. I assume Nilsson still plays with it in his basement or something.
But now there’s a new one -- also called the Australian Baseball League -- that just debuted on Saturday. It’s styled more like a winter league a la Mexico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. It has Ryan Rowland-Smith and Peter Moylan in it, so it has to be legit. There are six teams: The Adelaide Bite; the Brisbane Bandits; the Canberra Cavalry; the Melbourne Aces; the Perth Heat; and the Sydeny Blue Sox. If it’s successful in its first year they expect to expand with the Maitland Midnight Oil and the Victor Harbor Vegemite.
Or maybe not, but I have to get my daily Australia bashing in somehow.
Anyway, this time around the ABL has extensive financial backing from Major League Baseball, so it may last a bit longer. Perhaps INXS of ten years this time.