Australian Baseball League

PERTH,--Last night 'Alcohol Think Again' Perth Heat players from the past, present, and future appeared at "Batting For Youth", a charity event for youth suicide prevention. The event raises money for "Ride for Youth", a charity that consists of an annual bike ride from Albany to Perth. Graeme Lloyd, Daniel Schmidt, and Joshua Kennelly all appeared together on stage promoting the positive message of baseball and how it has impacted their lives.

The event was hosted by ABC Grandstand's Clint Wheeldon and Channel Ten's Katie Price. Both Wheeldon and Price had poignant questions pertaining to baseball's effect on youth.

Lloyd said baseball provided a positive reinforcement in his development, and the level of camaraderie helped keep him out of trouble. It instilled a sense of pride and accomplishment that would later translate to his professional successes.

With the recent success of the Perth Heat, Price posed the question "With baseball being popular in the 90's with the old ABL,can you see baseball getting back to that level gauging by the public interest?"

"Well Katie I hope so, I see more and more fans coming back to the ballpark. There were 3,000 at the Championship games each night which is good. You know Major League Baseball is behind us also. They are a part owner in the league and hopefully we can get the media behind us and obtain a television deal, so we can get back on television like we were in the early 90's," said Lloyd.

With the Australian Baseball League's return, it seemed fitting to have the Heat players included in the the panel of guests that ranged from David Pocock (Western Force), Nathan Sharpe (Western Force) and Shaun McManus (Fremantle Dockers).

The event was an overwhelming success as it raised several thousand dollars for the charity. Attendees bid in a silent auction as each team brought merchandise to the event. The Perth Heat auctioned off a team autographed baseball and bat.