Australian Baseball League
Current season, competition or edition: 2016–17 Australian Baseball League season
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| Formerly | Australian Baseball League |
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| Sport | Baseball |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Founder | Australian Baseball Federation & Major League Baseball |
| Inaugural season | 2010–11 |
| No. of teams | 6 |
| Country | Australia |
| Continent | Oceania |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Brisbane Bandits (1st title) |
| Most titles | Perth Heat (4 titles) |
| Qualification | Asia Series |
| TV partner(s) | ABL.tv YouTube (online) ESPN (Championship Series Only) MLB.com MLB Network (United States) MLB International |
| Related competitions |
Claxton Shield |
| Official website | theabl.com.au |
The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF), and is jointly funded by the ABF, Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Australian Federal Government. It uses the same name as a now defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it shares some history of the original league with the Claxton Shield awarded to winners of both competitions, it is considered to be a separate competition.
The current champions are the Brisbane Bandits.
Because the ABL's season takes place from November through February, the ABL has several players who also play in the minor leagues in North America, making it similar to a winter league (although it is summer in Australia when the season takes place.)
The ABL is jointly owned by MLB (75%) and the ABF (25%). Rather than following more traditional models of the franchises being owned privately by individuals or organisations, the league is the owner of each team. One of the rationales for this structure is to closely manage the financial situation, helping to ensure that all teams are equally viable. It is expected that this arrangement will continue for at least the first five seasons: the period of time covered by the financial commitment made by MLB and the ABF.
As a result of the central ownership of the teams, all players are paid by the league. This is to ensure that no team receives an unfair advantage over any other with regards to financial success. The payscale has set a number of tiers which group players of similar experience levels, with all players in the same tier receiving the same pay. The ABL has considered the possibility of having one or two marquee players paid above the standard scale, though no final decision has been made with regard to this. One concern about high rates of pay expressed by the ABF was that it was a contributing factor, if not the main factor, in the failure of the previous Australian Baseball League. ABF management has also expressed the concern that if this league were to fail, there may never be another opportunity for professional baseball in Australia.
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