Wayne Lundgren

Wayne Lundgren

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 7", Weight 218 lb.
• High School Crestwood High School (Baulkham Hills)

• Born April 21, 1982 in Sydney, New South Wales Australia

BR register page

Biographical Information

Wayne Lundgren spent 6 years in the minor leagues.

Lundgren debuted as a pro with the 2000 GCL Red Sox, going 2-2 with a save and a 3.41 ERA but allowing a .314 batting average. He pitched in the International Baseball League of Australia in 2000-2001, going 2-3 with a 4.50 ERA. In 2001, he had a 4-2, 2 Sv, .31 record for the GCL Sox, cutting the opponent average to .290. Wayne did not pitch in 2002, then split 2003 between the Lowell Spinners (1-2, 3.46) and Augusta GreenJackets (7 R in 5 IP). He was released by Boston.

In 2004, the tall right-hander was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals. He pitched that year for the Peoria Chiefs (2-2, 3.94 in 33 G) and Palm Beach Cardinals (0-1, 4.26 in 8 G). He spent 2005 with the Swing of the Quad Cities (1-0, 8.76 in 10 G) and Palm Beach (3-3, 4.15 in 25 G, .319 opponent average).

Lundgren pitched for Australia in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. In the 5th against the Dominican national team, he replaced Paul Mildren with a 5-1 deficit. He retired Ronnie Belliard, Wily Mo Pena and Alberto Castillo in order. After Australia made it 5-2, Lundgren opened the bottom of the 6th by hitting Willy Taveras. Taveras stole second and moved to third on a ground out by Alfonso Soriano. Wayne retired Albert Pujols on a grounder but Luis Polonia singled in Taveras to make it 6-2. Lundgren then continued his fine run against MLB All-Stars by retiring Miguel Tejada on a fly to right. Matty Gahan relieved him in the 7th.

Wayne moved to the Cincinnati Reds chain in 2006 and pitched for the Sarasota Reds (0-2, 7.62, .379 average allowed in 8 G) and Dayton Dragons (2-1, Sv, 2.60 in 12 G). He was 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in the 2006 Intercontinental Cup; his 11 2/3 IP were second on Australia (one behind Adam Blackley). Relieving in the 10th against Italy with a 7-7 tie, he went four scoreless to beat Stefano Bazzarini in tjhe 13th. In 2008, he went 11-3 with a 3.28 for the Brockton Rox of the Can-Am League, finishing 6th in the circuit in ERA.

While he had not pitched in the affiliated US minors since '06 and had not pitched in Australia in 2007-2008, Lundgren's strong start to the 2009 Claxton Shield earned him a spot on Australia's provisional roster for the 2009 World Baseball Classic though he did not make the final cut. He had a 9-5, 2.75 record for Brockton in 2009, tying for third in wins and second to A.J. Wideman in ERA. He was the league's All-Star right-handed hurler.

He then had another dominant Claxton Shield turn, winning the Helms Award as MVP. He fell to 7-6, 4.69 for the 2010 Rox. When the Australian Baseball League was re-established in 2010-2011, Lundgren was 4-4 with a 5.30 ERA for the Sydney Blue Sox. He was 1-1 with a 6.35 ERA in 2011-2012, but rebounded to 1-1, 3.79 in 17 games in 2012-2013. In 18 contests in 2013-2014, he was 1-1 with a save and a 2.57 ERA.

The veteran slumped (2-1, 6.75 in 20 G) in 2014-2015. He moved to the rotation in 2015-2016 and had a 3-7, 4.44 record. He tied Daniel Schmidt for the ABL lead in losses. He still made Australia's team for the 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, his first national team selection in ten years. He was not used in the qualifiers, but the team only used six of their 14 pitchers.