Matthew Sheldon-Collins

Matthew Sheldon-Collins

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 176 lb.

• Born April 13, 1963 in Melbourne, Victoria Australia

Biographical Information

The brother of Simon Sheldon-Collins, Matthew Sheldon-Collins was a two-time Olympic shortstop. He was the hardest batter to strike out in the history of the Australian Baseball League.

Sheldon-Collins played for Australia in the 1988 Olympics.

Matthew debuted for the Australian national team at age 19 and remained with them for over a decade. In the 1989-1990 Australian Baseball League, he hit .317/.367/.473 to help the Waverley Reds to a title. He tied Randy Knorr and three others for the most extra-base hits (18) and tied Ron Carothers for third with 53 hits. Sheldon-Collins only struck out four times in a league-leading 167 AB, an ABL record that would never be broken. He was the first ABL All-Star shortstop and its first Championship Series MVP.

He slumped to .228/.257/.386 in the 1990-1991 ABL. That summer, he played in the World Amateur All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium, one of three Australians selected. He was with Australia for the 1991 Asian Championship. In 1991-1992, he improved to .273/.344/.357 at the plate. Matthew had a fine year in 1992-1993, batting .306/.337/.382 with 11 steals in 14 tries. He was the second-team All-Star SS after former major leaguer Greg Jelks. He played in the 1993 Asian Championship. In the 1993 Intercontinental Cup, he split second-base duties with Andrew Spencer but went just 1 for 16 with two walks; his only hit was a homer for one bright spot.

Sheldon-Collins batted .257/.325/.331 in the 1993-1994 Australian Baseball League with a career-high 15 strikeouts in 148 AB. Matthew helped Melbourne win the 1994-1995 ABL pennant; he hit .319/.405/.443 that season. He slumped to a .196/.250/.304 batting line in the 1995-1996 Australian Baseball League. In the 1996 Olympics, the veteran infielder was 1 for 7 with three strikeouts. No longer quick enough to man shortstop as he once had, he played first base and catcher.

Sheldon-Collins produced at a .213/.268/.314 clip in 1996-1997 and announced his retirement to assume the role of Director at the Victorian Institute of Sport.

In 8 seasons in the Australian Baseball League, Matthew hit .275/~.329/.386. He only struck out 65 times in 1,110 AB, the lowest rate in ABL annals. He hit .351 with only one strikeout in the postseason.

Sheldon-Collins used to be announced as "your friend and mine", a tribute to his popularity in Melbourne.

In 2007, he was inducted into the Baseball Australia Hall of Fame.

Sources

• Flintoff & Dunn Australian Baseball Almanacs
• Defunct IBAF website