Sydney's Premier Baseball Organisation · Winter PCBL and Masters
Thirty years of baseball. Fifteen titles. One disqualification. This is the full story.
PCBL · Winter 2026 · In progress
4W0L0D
Rd 1Greenway21-0
Rd 2Texas Rangers18-1
Rd 3Kissing Point24-2
Rd 4Greenway19-0
Next up
vs Kissing Point
Sat 12 Apr · Rd 5
Photo galleryView all photos →
The Story So Far
The BaTs Baseball Club was founded in 1995 by Ian Carlisle, who sent faxed communications to friends and potential players he had met in his travels, then placed an advertisement in the local Tee Ball association newsletter. A meeting was held to democratically choose the club name and mascot. Bats beat out the Cassowaries and the Dingoes. With seven of the founding members based in Forestville, the club was called the Forest BaTs.
They applied to be placed in 5th Grade because they could not play in 6th Grade, as there was no 6th Grade. The Manly Warringah Winter Baseball Association placed them in 4th Grade anyway. There were 47 teams in the competition. The BaTs won 10 of their first 15 games and have been going ever since.
Carlisle ran the club for its first fifteen years, communicating with members through weekly Batfaxes covering results, injury updates, training schedules and baseball vocabulary. He handed managing duties to Dave Gleeson in 2011 and retired to the position of El Presidenté. He passed away on 4 May 2017. The Carlisle Cup is awarded in his honour each season.
Fifteen titles across thirty years. A disqualification that still stings. A formal complaint written in immaculate prose after a catcher put his shoulder into a defenceless base runner. A kangaroo court. A fantasy baseball league. The BaTeSky. The BaTkiTTy.
This site covers the full history, with the pre-2013 era pieced together from documents, Batfaxes and the memories of those who were there.
The BaTs, Est. 1995
Season record
2025
Winter 10-1 Premiers
def Kissing Point 6-5
2024
Winter 2-3-2
Masters Spr: Runner-up · Masters Aut: GF washed out
2023
Winter 7-6-2 Runner-up
lost 7-8 vs Tigers · Masters Spr: Runner-up · Masters Aut: Runner-up
2022
Winter 7-5 Premiers
def West Boomers 17-4 · Masters Spr: Premiers · Masters Aut: Runner-up
2021
Winter 5-3 · Masters 8-1 Premiers
Masters def Ryde Eastwood 4-3 (lights out)
2020
4-0 Premiers
def West Boomers 5-2 (COVID-shortened)
2019
8-5
lost SF 4-8 vs North Ryde
2018
10-5-1 Premiers
def North Sydney Leagues 12-6
2017
10-6-3 Runner-up
lost 13-15 vs Kissing Point · BaTwhip passes away
2016
9-1 Premiers
def Boomers 16-5
2015
10-4 Premiers
def Tigers 12-10 · BaTwhip first Hall of Famer
2014
5-8
First PCBL season · Lewisham Oval
2013
1-9 Runner-up
Final MWWBA season · lost 6-16 vs DY RSL Dogs
2012
8-2-1 Disqualified
Minor Premiers stripped 4 days before GF
2011
6-4-1
Chill takes over as manager
2010
Premiers 2nd Grade
New high for the team
2009
Runner-up 2nd Grade
Best result at the time
2008
Premiers 3rd Grade
Goat pitches 7 innings
2007
2nd Grade · No finals
2006
Runner-up 3rd Grade
2005
Premiers 3rd Grade
2004
2nd Grade · No finals
Gleeson joins · promoted and demoted
2003
Semi-final loss
Steve McDonald tragedy
2002
Premiers 3rd Grade
2001
Runner-up 3rd Grade
Near three-peat
2000
Premiers 4th Grade
Back to back
1999
Premiers 4th Grade
1998
Runner-up 4th Grade
1997
Premiers 4th Grade
First ever title
1996
10-5 · Semi-finalists
The first season · 47 teams in the comp
Season Archive
All competitions · 1996 to present
The BaTs first chapter, played in the Manly Warringah Winter Baseball Association. Records for this era are reconstructed from club documents, Batfaxes and the memories of those who were there.
2012Manly Warringah · 2nd Grade
Disqualified
Team photo
8 wins, 2 losses, 1 tie. Minor Premiers. Four days before the Grand Final, the committee voted 6-2 to strip the BaTs of their Minor Premiership and Grand Final place due to an unregistered player having featured in four games during the season. The paperwork error was the manager's alone.
Chill's statement to the club: "It is not his fault that these problems have occurred, it is mine. I screwed up." All avenues of protest were declined. See the full account in Club Lore.
Chill wins the Silver Slugger Award (.512 avg). Andrew "Asterix" Gauld's nickname changed to Sunshine. Logo and uniforms updated.
Chill handed managing duties by Ian Carlisle, who retired to the position of El Presidenté. Made the first week of finals but lost to arch-nemesis DY RSL Dogs. Nicknames are firmly established across the roster from this season.
Peter (Magnet) Brew, Neil (Bolts) Boulton, Ian (Whip) Carlisle, Colin (Dassie) Davidson, Michael (Doc) Davidson, Anthony (Strapya) Dixon, Matt (Goat) Dolan, Dave (Chill) Gleeson, John (Goldie) Goldrick, Glen (Liz) Hurley, Guy (Sands Doll) Jeffrey, Ben (Steamer) Pride, Blake (Pacman) Shailer, Luke (Big Snot) Smalls
2010Manly Warringah · 2nd Grade
Premiers
Team photo
2nd Grade Premiers. A new high for the team. Club logo updated. Chill wins the Silver Slugger Award. Ben "Chwarmer" Pride and Blake "Pacman" Shailer nicknames first documented this season.
Colin Davidson, Neil Boulton, Peter Brew, Dave Gleeson, John Goldrick, Brent O'Brien, Ben Pride, Blake Shailer, Guy Jeffries, Glen Hurley, Jason Spencer-Scarr, Matt Dolan, Michael Davidson, Mike Dever, Pistol Pete
2009Manly Warringah · 2nd Grade
Runner-up
Team photo
2nd Grade Runners Up. The best result (highest placing in the highest grade) in BaTs history to that point.
2008Manly Warringah · 3rd Grade
Premiers
Team photo
3rd Grade Premiers. New uniforms and caps. Matt "Goat" Dolan pitched 7 innings to win the BaTs the premiership.
Neil Boulton, Peter Brew, Dave Gleeson, John Goldrick, Ian Carlisle, Colin Davidson, Michael Davidson, Brent O'Brien, Ben Pride, David Crincoli, Blake Shailer, Guy Jeffrey, Simon Chapple, Nick Barrett
2007Manly Warringah · 2nd Grade
No finals
Team photo
Promoted to 2nd Grade again. Did not make the finals and were demoted. Colin Davidson, Ben Pride and Blake Shailer all join the roster this season.
Neil Boulton, Peter Brew, Dave Gleeson, John Goldrick, Ian Carlisle, Chris MacDonald, Colin Davidson, Brent O'Brien, Paul Terry, Ben Pride, David Crincoli, Blake Shailer
2006Manly Warringah · 3rd Grade
Runner-up
Team photo
3rd Grade Runners Up. Grand Final appearance in the BaTs' second year back in 3rd Grade.
2005Manly Warringah · 3rd Grade
Premiers
Team photo
3rd Grade Premiers. Back in 3rd Grade and straight back to the title. Peter Brew joins the roster.
Peter Brew, Allan Fairhurst, Bruce Alaimo, Paul Terry, Dave Gleeson, Ian Carlisle, Murray Black, Neil Boulton, Neil Willis, Nolan Doug, Jay Stuurop, John Goldrick, Matt Moseley, Ollie Tams, Wayne Plant
2004Manly Warringah · 2nd Grade
No finals
Team photo
Promoted to 2nd Grade. Did not make the finals and were demoted back to 3rd Grade. Dave Gleeson joins the roster for the first time.
Wayne Plant, Allan Fairhurst, Brendan Manning, Bruce Alaimo, Paul Terry, Dave Gleeson, Ian Carlisle, Murray Black, Neil Boulton, Neil Willis, Nolan Doug, Paul McGuire, Peter Inman, Tony Pollock, John Goldrick
2003Manly Warringah · 3rd Grade
Semi-final loss
Team photo
With the BaTs leading in the semi-final, the game was stopped when a player on a nearby field collapsed. Steve McDonald, aged 19 and playing for the Stubbies in 4th Grade, died on the way to hospital with his parents watching from the stands. After play resumed, the BaTs made numerous errors and lost the game. To be frank, no one's heart was in it.
Story contributed by Neil Boulton.
Linc McClatchie, Allan Fairhurst, Brian Leathem, Jay Stuurop, John Goldrick, Murray Black, Nathan Smith, Neil Boulton, Neil Willis, Paul McGuire, Paul Terry, Ron Siwinski, Yuzuru (Ken) Ishika, Tom Organ (Bat-Godfather)
2002Manly Warringah · 3rd Grade
Premiers
Team photo
3rd Grade Premiers. The three-peat that eluded them in 2001 arrived a year later.
2001Manly Warringah · 3rd Grade
Runner-up
Team photo
Moved up a grade. Within an inch of three consecutive titles. Club communications described the move as going "to a higher branch in the tree, in order to excrete on more people below."
Ian Carlisle (Bat WIP), Adrian Cranage, Brian Leathem, Grant Kennedy, Mark Radford, Murray Black, Neil Boulton, Neil Willis, Paul Terry, Peter Flew, Ron Siwinski, Steve Elliot, Yuzuru (Ken) Ishika
2000Manly Warringah · 4th Grade
Premiers
Team photo
4th Grade Premiers. Back to back! An invitation to members described the Grand Final against the Brewers as being of "Olympic proportions". The first documented reference to the capitalised T in BaTs also dates from this year.
1999Manly Warringah · 4th Grade
Premiers
Team photo
4th Grade Premiers. No move to 3rd Grade, which worked well for the BaTs. Premiers again.
1998Manly Warringah · 4th Grade
Runner-up
Team photo
4th Grade Runners Up. Grand Final appearance in year three. Discussion of a move to 3rd Grade in 1999. Brian Leathem ejected for arguing with the base umpire — no fines or suspensions recorded.
End of season awards initiated — the first ever BaTs awards: Ron S won the "Pollution Award" for constant verbal diarrhoea, Brian L the "Dummy Spit Award" for the ejection, Ian C the "Goose Award" for managing the BaTs, Neil B the "Wuss Award" for missing the GF, Tim the "White Knight Award" for getting the BaTs into the GF, Mike the "Insubordination Award" for swinging at first pitches against instructions, Rex the "Bandage Award" for being, well, Rex, Steve the "Gaol Award" for stealing so many bases and the "Macho Man Award" for being topless so often, Pete the "Best Performance Award" for stealing a Heat hat, Brian the "Infield Play Award" for his unassisted double-play in the GF, Joel the "Catch Award" for an amazing 3rd base catch in the GF, and Gary the "Batter Award" for starting the 7th inning GF rally.
1997Manly Warringah · 4th Grade
Premiers
Team photo
4th Grade Premiers! The first ever BaTs premiership. Iain McGregor introduced mid-season to cover injuries.
1996Manly Warringah · 4th Grade
10-5 · Semi-finalists
Team photo
The first season. Ian Carlisle's faxed recruitment drive and a democratic meeting chose the name, BaTs beating out the Cassowaries and the Dingoes. The Forest BaTs were placed in 4th Grade despite applying for 5th, because there was no 6th. 47 teams in the competition. Finished 3rd in the regular season, beat the Red Sox 23-6 in the first final, then fell to the Bandits in the semis.
Andrew LeCouteur, Brian Leathem, Gary Ricketts, Gerald Banks, Graeme Collins, Ian Carlisle, Ken Buckley, Mark Bennett, Neil Boulton, Peter Flew, Rex Gauld, Ron Siwinski, Steve Elliot, Ted Fritz, John Higgs
After much disgruntled chatter following the 2013 season under the new MWWBA president John Agostino, the BaTs moved to the PCBL competition in 2014, competing from Lewisham Oval: Don Bradman's home ground.
Winter 2025
Grand Final Champions
11W
1L
0D
Batting
Player
AB
H
HR
RBI
R
AVG
Pitching
Player
IP
W
L
SV
ERA
#26
SemiColin Davidson
41.2
6
0
0
3.24
#2
ChillDave Gleeson
7.0
3
0
0
0.00
#36
MaseratiAdam Macerola
4.1
1
0
0
0.00
#20
CyborgChris Nyberg
5.1
1
1
0
10.13
The Masters competition runs on Monday nights. The BaTs entered in 2021 in partnership with five players from the Pitch Slappers. Many of those players have since defected to the BaTs full time.
Masters · Autumn 2024
GF washed out
Players
67 players · click any player for career stats
Active roster
Alumni
Players who have worn the flannel
Former players from the PCBL era, the early Manly Warringah days and everyone in between. Click any name for career stats where available.
All-Time Leaderboard
Career stats · Modern Era · All competitions
Career batting
Player
Seasons
AB
H
HR
RBI
AVG
Career pitching · min 3 IP
Player
IP
W
L
SV
K
ERA
Honours Board
All competitions · 1997 to present
15Total titles
7Early era
6Modern era
2Masters
Defending PremiersWinter 2025 · def Kissing Point 6-5
Modern Era Winter · 6 titles
2025PremiersWinter 2025def Kissing Point 6-5
2022PremiersWinter 2022def West Boomers 17-4
2020Premiers2020def West Boomers 5-2
2018Premiers2018def North Sydney Leagues 12-6
2016Premiers2016def West Sydney Boomers 16-5
2015PremiersWinter 2015def Tigers 12-10
Early Era · 7 titles
2010Premiers2nd GradeNew high for the team
2008Premiers3rd GradeGoat pitches 7 innings
2005Premiers3rd Grade
2002Premiers3rd Grade
2000Premiers4th GradeBack to back
1999Premiers4th Grade
1997Premiers4th GradeFirst ever title
Masters · 2 titles
2022PremiersSpring 2022def Five Dock, undefeated
2021PremiersAutumn 2021def Ryde Eastwood 4-3
Grand Final MVP
2025Chill
2022Rambo7 RBI
2018The Joker
2016DassieComplete game
2015Chill
Notable
2012DisqualifiedStripped 4 days before GF
Runner-up finishes
2024Masters SpringRunner-up
2024Masters AutumnGF washed out, not replayed
2023Winterlost 7-8 vs Tigers in extras
2023Masters Autumnlost 8-2 vs Deadstars
2023Masters Springlost 2-3 vs Five Dock Falcons
2022Masters Autumntied 7-7 vs Deadstars
2019C Gradelost 4-8 vs North Ryde
2017D Gradelost 13-15 vs Kissing Point
2013Combined 1st/2ndlost 6-16 vs DY RSL Dogs
20092nd GradeBest result at the time
20063rd Grade
20013rd GradeWithin an inch of the three-peat
19984th Grade
Silver Slugger · highest batting average
2025Chill.703 AVG
2024Rambo.667 AVG
2023Statsman / Chill.520 / .500 AVG
2022Rambo.600 AVG
2020Chill.833 AVG
2019Chill.605 AVG
2018Chill.629 AVG
2017Chill.633 AVG
2016Gospel.667 AVG
2015Chill.808 AVG
2014Gospel.542 AVG
2013Pacman.500 AVG
2012Chill.512 AVG
2010ChillSilver Slugger Award
Season Awards
Annual awards night · 2014 to present
Cy Young · best pitcher
Sombrero Salesman · most Ks by pitcher
RBI King · most runs batted in
Bronx Bomber · home runs
Golden Glove · best fielding %
Team Bike · most put-outs
Speed Demon · most stolen bases
Klumsy Klepto · most caught stealing
Big Whiffer · most strikeouts (batter)
Erroneous · most errors
Magnet Award · most hit by pitch
Biggest Sac · most sacrifice flies
Rookie of the Year
Coaches Award · never complained
Season MVP
Dustin Hoffman · most walks
Lifetime Achievement
BaTs Invitational
Yahoo Fantasy Baseball · annual league · est. 2022
The BaTs Invitational runs annually on Yahoo Fantasy Baseball. Starting with 6 teams in 2022 and growing to 10 by 2025, it has become a year-round extension of the club rivalry. Team names map to real players, though some connections are more transparent than others.
Club Lore
Est. 1995 · thirty years of baseball
The History of The BaTs · 1995 to present
Faxed Recruitment Drive Spawns Three Decades of Premier Baseball
In 1995, Ian Carlisle sent faxed communications to friends and potential players he had met in his wayward travels. A meeting was held to democratically choose the club name: BaTs beat out the Cassowaries and the Dingoes. With seven founding members based in Forestville, the club was called the Forest BaTs.
They applied for 5th Grade because "there isn't a 6th." The association placed them in 4th Grade anyway. Forty-seven teams in the competition. The BaTs won 10 of their first 15 games, beat the Red Sox 23-6 in the first final, and have been going ever since.
The first premiership arrived in 1997. Back-to-back 4th Grade titles followed in 1999 and 2000. A move to 3rd Grade — described in club communications as going "to a higher branch in the tree, in order to excrete on more people below" — brought another premiership in 2002. By 2010, the BaTs were 2nd Grade Premiers.
Fifteen titles across three decades, six different competitions, one disqualification, and one kangaroo court. The original logo was designed by Acorn Press. Baseball vocabulary was circulated weekly via Batfax. Injuries were frequent. The frosty ones never ran out.
Read the full history
The Batfaxes
Weekly Communications, 1996-2011
For fifteen years all club business was conducted via weekly Batfaxes. Results, injury updates, baseball vocabulary, and motivational messages from Carlisle to the team. The Batfaxes are the primary source for reconstructing the early era.
Read more
4 May 2017
BaTwhip Passes to the Field of Dreams
Ian Carlisle, founder and El Presidente. The Carlisle Cup is awarded in his honour each season. Fittingly, the opponents rang during the funeral service to say the game was today, not tomorrow. Forfeit.
Read more
Club traditions
The Poker Nights
Pre-season and end-of-season poker nights serve as committee meetings. The winner earns the right to rename another player. Several nicknames currently in use owe their existence to a well-timed bluff.
Read more
Club traditions
The Kangaroo Court
A post-game tribunal conducted around the BaTeSky with a frosty one in hand. Players are fined for errors, rewarded for brilliance, and Judge Judy does not forgive and does not forget. Justice has been served since 1998.
Read more & current fines schedule
The Debacle of 2012
The Disqualification
Minor Premiers. Four days from the Grand Final. Six votes to two, and it was all gone. An unregistered player, a paperwork error, and one of the more dignified statements ever made in amateur sport.
Read the full story
The Debacle of Round 1, 2014
The Shoulder Check
Sunshine surrendered to the tag at home plate. The catcher dropped his shoulder anyway. The BaTs filed a formal complaint. It was written with considerable care.
Read the full story
2003 Semi-final
The Darkest Day
With the BaTs leading in the semi-final, the game was stopped. Steve McDonald, aged 19, collapsed on the adjacent field. He died on the way to hospital. After play resumed, the BaTs lost. No one's heart was in it.
Read the full story
D Grade Grand Final · 2015
The Miracle at Golden Jubilee
One out remaining. Season over. Magnet strikes out. The catcher drops the ball. The first baseman drops the throw. Two runs score to tie it. Sudden death tie-breaker. A borderline curveball. Strike three. Premiers.
Read the full story
The Season of Sorrow and Joy · 2017
The Walk-Off Grand Slam
BaTwhip passed away on 4 May. The BaTs played on. In the final round, bases loaded, bottom of the last, Dinner cleared the fence. Grand slam. Walk-off. Minor Premiership.
Read the full story
Masters Autumn Grand Final · 2021
Lights Out
Masters Grand Final against the Koreans. BaTs lead 4-3. Then the daylight savings timer clicks over and the lights shut off. Game called. Premiers crowned in near-total darkness.
Read the full story
A First in Club History · Winter 2025
The Ryder Lite Award
Thirty years. Hundreds of games. No BaT had ever been ejected. Semi changed that. The inaugural Ryder Lite Award followed.
Read the full story
The Nicknames
Assigned early, changed often, stuck forever
Nicknames are a core part of BaTs culture. They are assigned at the discretion of the team and can be changed by the winner of a pre-season or end-of-season poker night. Chill, channelling his inner Wormtongue, invariably arrives with a prepared list of suggestions to whisper into the ear of the king. Some players have collected several over the years. The following is as complete a record as possible.
Hall of Fame
Four inductees · 2015 to present
The BaTs Hall of Fame was established in 2015 to recognise players who have made an exceptional contribution to the club over their career. Induction is an honour voted on by the team. Four players have been inducted to date.
Recruited the original players by fax in 1995 and founded the BaTs. Ran the club for its first fifteen years through weekly Batfaxes — part match report, part motivational essay, part vocabulary lesson. Oversaw the club's first premiership in 1997, the back-to-back titles in 1999–2000, and the move from MWWBA to NSBA in 2013. Handed managing duties to Chill in 2011 and retired to El Presidenté.
Passed away on 4 May 2017. Fittingly, the opponents rang during the funeral service to say the game was today, not tomorrow. Forfeit. The Carlisle Cup, awarded each season for Best and Fairest, honours his legacy.
"All about the motivational speeches. And the walks. And the strikeouts."
FounderEl PresidentéCarlisle Cup namesake15 years as manager
Starting pitcher in the very first BaTs season in 1996. Originally nicknamed Bolts, then Gospel after the move to the PCBL in 2013, finally Statsman — reflecting his devotion to maintaining the club's unofficial statistical records with an attention to detail no one else could be bothered matching.
Won the Silver Slugger Award in 2014 and 2016, shared it in 2023. Career .456 batting average across 14 seasons and 270 at-bats. One of the club's most consistent contributors across every era of BaTs baseball.
.456Career AVG
14Seasons
123Hits
101RBI
3× Silver SluggerClub statisticianOriginal 1996 player
The BaTs' anchor on the mound. Known first as Dassie, then Dazza in 2015, then Semi from 2021. Named Grand Final MVP in 2016 for a complete game performance as the BaTs belted the Boomers 16-5 for the D Grade premiership.
Departed to the Shoeless Joes before his Hall of Fame induction in 2017, but later returned to the BaTs fold and continues to anchor the pitching rotation.
.283Career AVG
13Seasons
47Hits
57RBI
2016 GF MVPStarting pitcher13 seasons and counting
#4Inducted TBAMagnetPeter Brew · #10
Joined the BaTs in 2005 and has been a fixture ever since. Earned the nickname "Magnet" for his uncanny propensity for attracting injuries — and kept turning up anyway. An original era player whose consistency at the plate and dependability in the field have anchored the lineup across two decades and multiple grades. Ultimate club man and Greenskeeper's Willy aficionado.
Most famously struck out to end the 2015 Grand Final — except the catcher dropped it, then the first baseman dropped the throw, sparking the comeback that won the BaTs the D Grade premiership.
.337Career AVG
10Seasons
61Hits
63RBI
Original era playerSince 20052015 GF legend
Future Inductees
Induction is announced at the end of season. There is no set number of inductees per year. There is no campaign process. You either get in or you do not.
The Carlisle Cup
Best and Fairest · awarded annually since 2018
Named in honour of Ian Carlisle, founder of the BaTs, who passed away on 4 May 2017. Points are accumulated for strong performances, contributions to wins, fair play and positive spirit. The winner is announced at the end of season poker night.
Cup winners
2025Chill
2024Semi
2023Semi
2022TBC
2021TBC
2020TBC
2019TBC
2018TBC
Cup winners prior to 2023 to be confirmed from club records.
