The 2010–11 Australian Baseball League season was the inaugural Australian Baseball League (ABL) season, and was held from 6 November 2010 to 13 February 2011. It came 12 years after the old Australian Baseball League ceased and is the successor of the mostly amateur Claxton Shield competition that has been played since 1934. The season consisted of six teams competing in a 40-game schedule, followed by a three-round finals series to determine the ABL champion.
At the conclusion of the regular season, the Sydney Blue Sox, Perth Heat, Adelaide Bite and Melbourne Aces progressed to the finals series, while the Brisbane Bandits and Canberra Cavalry were only eliminated from contention on the final day of the season. Both Melbourne and Sydney were eliminated by Adelaide in the minor semi-final series and the preliminary final series, respectively. Perth became the inaugural ABL champions when they defeated Adelaide two games to one in the championship series.
Formation
In June 2009, it was announced that the rights to the Claxton Shield had been sold to a new Australian Baseball League, with ownership split between Major League Baseball's 75 percent share and the 25 percent share owned by the Australian Baseball Federation. The 2010 Claxton Shield tournament was considered preparation for the inaugural ABL season.
Although initial reports suggested that between eight and ten teams would contest the first season, including the possibility of a team based in New Zealand, six teams representing Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney were announced in November 2009 as the foundation clubs.
Compared to the previous season's Claxton Shield tournament, there were few structural changes to the competition. With the expansion from five to six teams, the need for teams to have a bye was eliminated, with all teams participating in games each round. The individual rounds were expanded from three to four games per round, resulting in an increase from 24 to 40 games per team for the season. The postseason was also expanded to include the top four teams, rather than only the top three.
Teams
Rosters
During the season each team made use of a 22-man active roster, drawn from 35-man squads announced on 28 October 2010.
Venues
Four of the six teams used their existing venues from the Claxton Shield: the Adelaide Bite, Perth Heat and Sydney Blue Sox all used the same grounds used in the 2010 Claxton Shield by the respective state teams, and the Canberra Cavalry used the same venue used by Australia Provincial when they last contested the Claxton Shield in 2008: Narrabundah Ballpark.
The Melbourne Aces played at the Melbourne Showgrounds, after the Victorian state government announced a A$300,000 upgrade of the grounds. Similarly the Queensland state government announced a A$300,000 upgrade of the Brisbane Exhibition Ground for use by the Brisbane Bandits as their home field.
Regular season
The regular season was held from 6 November 2010 through to 22 January 2011. All six teams competed in a double round-robin format, playing each other team in two series of four games each, totalling 40 games played each. The top four teams progressed to the postseason. The winner of the championship series will be awarded the Claxton Shield.
At the end of the regular season, the Sydney Blue Sox finished in first place with a 24–15 win–loss record. Half a game behind Sydney were the Perth Heat in second place. The third place team was the Adelaide Bite a further game behind. The Melbourne Aces finished in fourth place six games behind the Blue Sox. The Brisbane Bandits and Canberra Cavalry, who played only 36 games due to 2010–11 Queensland floods, finished in fifth and sixth place, eight and a half and ten and a half games behind the leader respectively.
Standings
Opening night
The season started on 6 November 2010, when the Sydney Blue Sox hosted the Canberra Cavalry at Blacktown Olympic Park. The Blue Sox won the inaugural game of the league, defeating the Cavalry 1–0. In what was effectively a pitchers' duel, Blue Sox starting pitcher Chris Oxspring was the stand-out performer for the night, having scattered 3 hits and 1 walk over 6 innings and striking out 8. The Cavalry, however, opted to use several pitchers, each throwing two complete innings.
Sydney left fielder Tim Auty registered the league's first hit of the season in the bottom of the first with a line drive single to centre field. Canberra did not register a hit until the fourth inning to see their first baserunner when third baseman Kyu-Hyun Moon singled to right field.