History of baseball in the Oceania

Baseball in Oceania is a limited affair. Australia is clearly the top country in Oceania when it comes to baseball, with a history dating to 1857. The Claxton Shield was established in 1934. The first Australian to sign a minor league contract was Bob Nilsson in 1978, while Craig Shipley made the majors in 1986 (Joe Quinn had played in the 19th Century; while born in Australia, he was raised in the US, unlike Nilsson and Shipley). Bob Nilsson's brother Dave Nilsson was the first Australian to play in the All-Star Game. Australia won the Silver Medal at the 2004 Olympics and the Australian national team has participated in the first four editions of the World Baseball Classic.

Other countries in Oceania have produced major leaguers on occasion - American Samoa had Tony Solaita and Guam had John Hattig. New Zealand came close with Scott Campbell and Travis Wilson both peaked at AAA.