David Sutherland (baseball)

David Sutherland
Sutherland with the Brisbane Bandits in 2013
Brisbane Bandits – No. 43
First baseman
Born: (1985-05-02) 2 May 1985 (age 39)
Brisbane, Australia
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Medals
Men's Baseball
Representing  Australia
Haarlem Baseball Week
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Haarlem National team

David Andrew Sutherland (born 2 May 1985) is a former Australian professional baseball player who played for the Brisbane Bandits. Nicknamed Goofy due to his tall, uncoordinated looks, he is currently the most capped Brisbane player (379) and first player in the Australian Baseball League to accumulate 200 career hits, a feat he reached 5 November 2015.[1]

Career

After playing in the 2002 World Junior Baseball Championship for the Australian U18 national team, Sutherland was signed to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the age of 17. He later made his senior circuit debut at the 2003 Claxton Shield for the Queensland Rams and batted .375/.483/.500 in seven games.

In 2005, he had the best year of his young career, hitting a tournament best .474/.474/.526 in five games for Queensland in the 2005 Claxton Shield and .336/.422/.453 with 44 runs and 47 RBI in 66 Pioneer League games for the Ogden Raptors.

He was released by the Dodgers in 2007 after a season with the Great Lakes Loons.

Sutherland has played every season in the Australian Baseball League and is the all time leader for the Brisbane Bandits in many categories including games played, hits and home runs. He is also a part of the Australian national baseball team setup.

International career

He was selected for the Australia national baseball team at the 2016 Haarlem Baseball Week,[2] 2018 exhibition games against Japan[3] and 2019 WBSC Premier12.[4]

References

  1. ^ Brisbane Bandits player David Sutherland first man to reach 200 career hits in ABL Paul Malone, The Courier-Mail 11 November 2015 11:00pm
  2. ^ "Team Australia squad announced for Honkbal". Baseball Australia Southern Thunder. 6 June 2006. Archived from the original on 22 November 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  3. ^ Baseball Australia Media (20 February 2018). "Team Australia Roster Announced". Baseball Australia Southern Thunder. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  4. ^ Penrose, David (8 October 2019). "BORAL TEAM AUSTRALIA'S PREMIER12 ROSTER ANNOUNCED". baseball.com.au. Retrieved 15 October 2019.