Auckland Tuatara (baseball)

Auckland Tuatara
Information
League	Australian Baseball League
Location	Auckland, New Zealand
Ballpark	North Harbour Stadium
Founded	2018
Folded	2023
Colours	Teal   Navy blue
Ownership	Baseball New Zealand
Website	https://aucklandtuatara.com

The Auckland Tuatara were a professional baseball team in the Australian Baseball League based in Auckland, New Zealand. They were the only team from New Zealand to compete in the ABL, and one of two expansion teams that entered the league in the 2018/19 season. The team was liquidated and folded after the 2022/23 season.

History

Prior to the team's foundation in 2018, Baseball New Zealand, the country's governing body of the sport of baseball, held talks starting in 2009 regarding the prospects of adding a New Zealand-based team in the Australian Baseball League. In November 2017, the league decided to expand to eight teams beginning in the 2018/19 season, and Baseball New Zealand was officially awarded a spot in the competition.^{[citation needed]}

On 26 August 2018, the club's name was announced as the Auckland Tuatara, named after the oldest surviving species endemic to the country. According to one of the team's board members, Brett O'Riley, the tuatara was chosen as the name in order to celebrate the resilience of the ancient reptiles, and to raise awareness of New Zealand's commitment to species protection. The club's colours, teal and navy blue, are representative of the region's marine heritage.^[1] The Tuatara played its home games at McLeod Park in Te Atatū South for the 2018/19 season, and moved to an expanded North Harbour Stadium in Albany for the 2019/20 season and beyond.^[2] For baseball a section of seating was permanently removed and replaced by an outfield wall which is termed The Teal monster after the Green Monster wall in Boston.^{[citation needed]}

The club's inaugural manager was announced as former MLB pitcher Steve Mintz.^[3]

Three days before the start of the 2019–20 season, Tuatara player Ryan Costello was found dead in his sleep by teammates on 18 November 2019.^[4][5] Players wore 'RC' on their game jersey for the season in his memory.^{[citation needed]}

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team sat out the 2020–21 and 2021–22 Australian Baseball League seasons.^[6]

The team returned to action for the 2022–23 Australian Baseball League season, but went into liquidation following the season.^[7]

Records

Names in Bold are players still active in the Australian Baseball League

Single season pitching records

Notable individual records set in one Season, these include all games between 2018-Present

	Record	Holder	Year
Most Strikeouts	44	Josh Collmenter	2018–2019
Lowest ERA	1.09	Elliot Johnstone	2019–2020
Most Wins	4	Elliot Johnstone	2019–2020
Most Losses	6	Jimmy Boyce	2018–2019
Most Innings Pitched	55.1	Josh Collmenter	2018–2019
Most Saves	5	Hever Bueno	2019–2020

Career pitching records

Notable individual records set in a Career, these include all games between 2018-Present, To qualify players must return for a second Season

	Record	Holder	Year
Most Strikeouts	84	Josh Collmenter	2018–2020
Lowest ERA	1.09	Elliot Johnstone	2018–2020
Most Wins	6	Josh Collmenter	2018–2020
Most Losses	7	Jimmy Boyce	2018–2020
Most Innings Pitched	104.1	Josh Collmenter	2018–2020
Most Saves	5	Elliot Johnstone	2019-2023
Most Games	29	Elliot Johnstone	2019-2023

Career hitting records

Notable individual records set in a Career, these include all games between 2018-Present, To qualify players must return for a second Season

	Record	Holder	Year
Highest Batting Average	.319	Andrew Marck	2018–2023
Most Doubles	12	Kris Richards	2018–2020
Most Triples	4	Max Brown	2018–2019
Most Home Runs	4	Max Brown	2018–2019
Most Runs Batted In	26	Max Brown	2018–2019
Most Hits	42	Andrew Marck	2019–2023
Most Runs	35	Max Brown	2018–2019
Most Games Played	76	Max Brown	2018–2019
Most Stolen Bases	12	Max Brown	2018–2019
Most Strikeouts	67	Max Brown	2018–2019
Highest On-Base Percentage	.357	Andrew Marck	2018–2023
Highest Slugging Percentage	.541	Max Brown	2018–2019
Highest On-Base Plus Slugging Percentage	.741	Andrew Marck	2018–2023
Most Total Bases	78	Max Brown	2018–2019

Single season hitting records

Notable individual records set in one Season, these include all games between 2018-Present

	Record	Holder	Year
Highest Batting Average	.344	Jared Walker	2019–2020
Most Doubles	11	Jared Walker, Kris Richards	2019–2020, 2018-2019
Most Triples	3	Max Brown	2018–2019
Most Home Runs	10	Won-Seok Kim	2019–2020
Most Runs Batted In	33	Jared Walker	2019–2020
Most Hits	42	Jared Walker	2019–2020
Most Runs Scored	31	Jared Walker	2019–2020
Most Stolen Bases	12	Eric Jenkins	2018–2019
Most Strikeouts	46	Zach Clark	2018–2019

References

1. Penrose, David (26 August 2018). "Auckland reveals name and colours". TheABL.com.au. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
2. Reive, Christopher (26 August 2018). "Baseball: Auckland Tuatara officially unveiled as New Zealand entry to Australian Baseball League". NZ Herald. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
3. Penrose, David (26 August 2018). "Mintz named first Tuatara manager". TheABL.com.au. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
4. Daren Smith (18 November 2019). "Twins' Costello found dead in New Zealand". MiLB.com. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
5. "Baseball: Auckland Tuatara players mourning after death of third baseman Ryan Costello". New Zealand Herald. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
6. Long, David (18 June 2021). "Auckland Tuatara pull out of second successive season in Australian Baseball League". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
7. Long, David (14 May 2023). "The extinction of the Tuatara, why NZ's professional baseball team went bust". Stuff. Stuff Ltd. Retrieved 19 September 2023.

External links

• Australian Baseball League website