1996–97 Australian Baseball League season

The 1996–97 Australian Baseball League Championship was won by the Perth Heat, who defeated the Brisbane Bandits 2 game to 1 in the championship series at ANZ Stadium. The finals series was played in Brisbane even though it was Perth Heats home series, their home ground the WACA was being used for an interstate Sheffield Shield Cricket match.

Perth Heat

Adelaide Giants

Brisbane Bandits

Gold Coast Cougars

Hunter Eagles

Sydney Blues

Melbourne Monarchs

Melbourne Reds

Ladder

Team	Played	Wins	Loss	Win %
Perth Heat		40	20
Brisbane Bandits		33	27
Adelaide Giants		36	23
Sydney Blues		32	27
Gold Coast Cougars		31	29
Melbourne Monarchs		28	29
Hunter Eagles		18	40
Melbourne Reds	58	17	41	.293

Championship series

Semi Final 1: Game 1: 1st Vs 4th at the WACA

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Sydney Blues	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Perth Heat	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
WP: ? (1-0)   LP: ? (0-1)   Sv: ? Home runs: Blues: ? Heat: ?

Semi Final 1: Game 2: 1st Vs 4th at the WACA

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Sydney Blues	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Perth Heat	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
WP: ? (1-0)   LP: ? (0-1)   Sv: ? Home runs: Blues: ? Heat: ?

Semi Final 2: Game 1: 2nd Vs 3rd at ANZ Stadium

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Adelaide Giants	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	1	?	?
Brisbane Bandits	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	2	?	?
WP: ? (1-0)   LP: ? (0-1)   Sv: ? Home runs: Giants: ? Bandits: ?

Semi Final 2: Game 2: 2nd Vs 3rd at ANZ Stadium

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Adelaide Giants	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Brisbane Bandits	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
WP: ? (1-0)   LP: ? (0-1)   Sv: ? Home runs: Giants: ? Bandits: ?

Final Series: Game 1: Winner Semi Final 1 Vs Winner Semi Final 2 at ANZ Stadium

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Brisbane Bandits	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	1	?	?
Perth Heat	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	9	?	?
WP: ? (1-0)   LP: ? (0-1)   Sv: ? Home runs: Heat: ? Bandits: ?

Final Series: Game 2: Winner Semi Final 1 Vs Winner Semi Final 2 at ANZ Stadium

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Perth Heat	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	4	?	?
Brisbane Bandits	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	6	?	?
WP: ? (1-0)   LP: ? (0-1)   Sv: ? Home runs: Heat: ? Bandits: ?

Final Series: Game 3: Winner Semi Final 1 Vs Winner Semi Final 2 at ANZ Stadium

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Brisbane Bandits	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	5	?	?
Perth Heat	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	9	?	?
WP: ? (1-0)   LP: ? (0-1)   Sv: ? Home runs: Bandits: ? Heat: ?

Awards

Award	Person	Team
Most Valuable Player	Andrew SCOTT	Adelaide Giants
Championship M.V.P.	Clayton BYRNE	Perth Heat
Golden Glove	Mark SHIPLEY	Sydney Blues
Batting Champion	Andrew SCOTT	Adelaide Giants
Pitcher of the Year	Kevin MILLWOOD	Melbourne Monarchs
Rookie of the Year	Robbie WELLS	Perth Heat
Manager of the Year

Top Stats

Defensive Stats

Name	Wins	Losses	Saves	ERA
Robbie WELLS	6	1	1	2.36
Alvie SHEPHARD	5	0	0	3.90
David WHITE	7	2	0	5.47
Mark ETTLES	3	3	6	3.45
Peter MOYLAN	5	2	0	6.43
Shane TONKIN	3	3	2	4.25

Offensive Stars

Name	Avg	HR	RBI
Greg JELKS: .375/11/38	.375	11	38
Jason HEWITT	.350	3	13
Sean JONES	.329	12	44
Clayton BYRNE	.316	15	48
Ben NEEDLE	.313	4	22
John MOORE	.301	7	33

All-Star Team

Position	Name	Team
Catcher	Gary WHITE	Sydney Blues
1st Base	Ron JOHNSON	Gold Coast Cougars
2nd Base	Andrew SCOTT	Adelaide Giants
3rd Base	Paul GONZALEZ	Brisbane Bandits
Short Stop	Matt BUCKLEY	Gold Coast Cougars
Out Field	Clayton BYRNE	Perth Heat
Out Field	Brendan KINGMAN	Sydney Blues
Out Field	Grant McDONALD	Brisbane Bandits
Designated Hitter	Greg JELKS	Perth Heat
Starting Pitcher	Kevin MILLWOOD	Melbourne Monarchs
Relief Pitcher	Chuck BEALE	Gold Coast Cougars
Manager	Tony HARRIS	Adelaide Giants