Melbourne Aces

The Melbourne Aces are a professional baseball team based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia that previously competed in the Australian Baseball League. Their home field is the Melbourne Ballpark in Altona.

History

On 20 August 2010 it was announced that ex-Australian Baseball player Philip Dale would take up the head coaching role at Melbourne Aces.

On 12 October 2010, it was announced by newly appointed General Manager Windsor Knox that the Aces would play home games at a redeveloped Melbourne Showgrounds.

In their inaugural season the Melbourne Aces qualified for the finals before being defeated in the semi-finals series against the Adelaide Bite.

On 24 March 2011 the team announced Jet Couriers as their naming rights sponsor for the 2011–12 season.

On 13 July 2012, after many rumours and internet hype, the Melbourne Aces finally announced that they will move from their home field at the Showgrounds to the Melbourne Ballpark in Altona. The move has annoyed and ostracized many Aces supporters from the South Eastern suburbs, but it was the only viable option for them to continue playing in the ABL. The Showgrounds was deemed to be an unsuitable field to play on in the 3rd season. The main reasons being the Aces would not be the sole occupants of the field, having to compete with carnivals, horse shows, music festivals etc. The Showgrounds were also alleged to be booked out until late December, meaning the Aces would have to find a different home venue for the first half of the season.

The Aces won their first ABL championship in 2020 when they defeated the Adelaide Giants in the 2020 ABL Championship Series 2 games to 0, bringing the Claxton Shield to Victoria for the first time since 2010, the 24th time a team from Victoria has won the shield.

Withdrawal from the ABL On April 28, 2025, after what the club described as "years of discussions with the ABL regarding unresolved concerns," the Melbourne Aces announced their decision to withdraw from the ABL ahead of the 2025–26 season. They also announced plans to compete in the Korea Baseball Organization's Ulsan-KBO Fall League beginning in October 2025, while hosting several games against KBO clubs at Melbourne Ballpark in January and February 2026.

The Aces opened the 2025–26 campaign in October with a strong showing in the KBO Fall League, posting a 9–2 record in league play before falling 1–0 in the semifinals to the Lotte Giants. Following their stint in Korea, the club hosted six three-game series against the Black Sox Road Warriors, Killer B’s, New Zealand Diamondblacks, Downunder Travellers, the Hanwha Eagles, and the KT Wiz, finishing with an overall record of 22–7–1 while winning five of the six series. Off the field, the team saw notable developments. On December 24, 2025, shortstop Jarryd Dale signed a six-figure contract with the Kia Tigers of the KBO League. Less than a month later, on January 11, 2026, former MLB pitcher Danny Duffy made his debut for the Aces. Following the conclusion of the season, Dale, Ulrich Bojarski, Chris Burke, and Aaron Whitefield represented Australia in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Season‑by‑season Melbourne Aces Season League Overall Win % Finish Manager Playoffs 2010–11 ABL 18–21 4th Philip Dale Lost semifinal series (ADE) 2–0 2011–12 ABL 21–24 2nd Philip Dale Lost major semifinal series (PER) 3–1 Won preliminary final series (SYD) 3–2 Lost championship series (PER) 2–1 2012–13 ABL 15–31 6th Philip Dale Did not qualify 2013–14 ABL 22–24 4th Philip Dale Did not qualify 2014–15 ABL 15–31 6th Tommy Thompson Did not qualify 2015–16 ABL 20–35 6th Joe Vavra Did not qualify 2016–17 ABL 26–14 1st Jon Deeble Lost championship series (BRI) 2–0 2017–18 ABL 17–23 4th Jon Deeble Lost semifinal (BRI) 1–0 2018–19 ABL 23–17 2nd (Southwest) Jon Deeble Lost wild card (CAN) 1–0 2019–20 ABL 23–17 2nd (Southwest) Jon Deeble Won semifinals series (AUC) 2–0 Won championship series (ADE) 2–0 2020–21 ABL 19–9 1st Allan de San Miguel Won semifinals (CAN) 1–0 Won championship (PER) 1–0 2021–22 ABL Season cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic) 2022–23 ABL 15–21 3rd (Southwest) Peter Moylan Did not qualify 2023–24 ABL 21–19 4th Jon Deeble Lost semifinal series (ADE) 2–1 2024–25 ABL 18–22 5th Jon Deeble Did not qualify 2025–26 KBO Fall 9–2 1st (Group A) Jon Deeble Lost semifinal (LOT) 1–0 Independent 13–4–1 — None ABL totals 273–308 — — 12–15 () 2 championships

Current roster

Melbourne Aces MLB Players

This is a list of Melbourne Aces players who have played in Major League Baseball (MLB), including their nationality, through the 2025–26 season.

Ronald Acuña Jr. Greg Bird Travis Blackley James Beresford Dylan Cozens Darin Downs Danny Duffy Adam Engel Brian Flynn Jeremy Guthrie Mark Hamburger Brad Harman Jason Hirsh Luke Hughes Justin Huber Byung-hyun Kim Ryan Lavarnway Shane Lindsay Matt Marksberry Peter Moylan Gift Ngoepe Jacob Robson Shane Robinson Lewis Thorpe Virgil Vasquez Aaron Whitefield Delmon Young Randy Wynne

Melbourne Aces

Bron en licentie