1994-1995 Australian Baseball League

The 1994-1995 Australian Baseball League season marked the first time a champion team had won previously. The Waverley Reds, the league's first titlists, took home the win this time, led by Dave Nilsson, who played on his third champion in four years.

The Reds won 15 of their last 16 games in the regular season, all away from home. They then won 4 of 5 in the playoffs to lock it up. Paul Runge managed Waverley, which boasted All-Star C Nilsson (.388, .775 SLG, the batting title) and All-Star P Phil Dale (12-2, 2.76, tied for the lead in wins). The other 12-game winner in the league was also on Waverley - Dirk Blair (12-3, 3.93). Blair beat Graeme Lloyd in game one of the playoffs, with Nilsson's 2-run single off of Milwaukee Brewers teammate Lloyd being the key blow. Dale then won game two with a four-hitter to be named championship series MVP.

The runner-up Perth Heat were led by All-Star 3B Scott Metcalf (.365, .750 SLG), who led the league in homers (22), hits (76) and RBI (67) and was second to Nilsson in average. Metcalf won the MVP award.

Brisbane All-Star SS Steve Hinton hit .403/.466/.771 but failed to get enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title or else he would have won.

Standings

1. Waverley Reds, 44-14
2. Perth Heat, 45-18
3. Sydney Blues, 34-27
4. East Coast Cougars, 33-28
5. Adelaide Giants, 32-30
6. Brisbane Bandits, 26-34
7. Melbourne Monarchs, 27-36
8. Canberra Bushrangers, 18-42
9. Hunter Eagles, 17-47

Playoffs: Perth def. East Coast, 2 games to 0. Waverley def. Sydney, 2 games to 1. Waverley def. Perth, 2 games to 0.

Sources: Flintoff and Dunn, 1996 Baseball Almanac