Sport
1 October, 2026
Baseball taking Wollondilly by storm
The region’s newest sporting club, the Wollondilly Dodgers Baseball Club, has more than 120 registered players and a whole army of volunteers to help it function from week to week.
Baseball is taking the Wollondilly by storm.
The region’s newest sporting club, the Wollondilly Dodgers Baseball Club, has more than 120 registered players and a whole army of volunteers to help it function from week to week.
The Dodgers hosted their first home games of the season at Douglas Park Sportsground on Saturday morning, with CEO of Wests Group Macarthur Daniel Perkiss called on to throw a ceremonial first pitch to celebrate the occasion.
Other guests on the day included Member for Wollondilly Judy Hannan, Baseball Australia CEO Glenn Williams and president of the Macarthur Baseball League, Shane Dodd.
The Dodgers are fielding 11 teams in this year’s Macarthur Baseball Leage, starting with Beeball for the very youngest players through to T-Ball, Coach Pitch, Little League, Seniors and Over 35s.
Vice president Matt Redman – who established the club with (now) president Mathew Keenan – said the response from players, parents, coaches and other volunteers had been overwhelming.
He compared it to the same level of interest 11 years ago when he established the Camden Red Sox – now the biggest baseball club in NSW.
He believes the Dodgers’ growth will follow a similar trajectory with Wollondilly’s population set to boom in coming years.
He said there may even be the potential for other clubs in the Wollondilly Shire.
Mr Redman described baseball as a “great first sport” for boys as well as girls but said age shouldn’t stop anyone from enjoying the game.
“If you can walk you can play baseball,” he told The Southern Wire.
Mr Redman said baseball was now considered “very much an Australian sport” and predicts its popularly will continue to rise.
He said an Australian baseballer, Travis Bazzana, made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut for the Cleveland Guardians this year after being selected first overall by the Guardians in the 2024 MLB Draft.
He said Australia was “punching above its weight” in terms of baseballing talent with Australian players getting noticed on the world stage.
Locally, he said the Dodgers’ senior team was still finding its feet given some members of the team were new to the game.
“They are gelling and are getting and are getting better all the time,” he said.
At this stage, only the Dodgers’ junior teams will enjoy home games because there is no dedicated baseball facility in the Wollondilly.
However Mr Redman hopes that will change and the Dodgers would ideally like to see a purpose-built facility somewhere in the shire.
Baseball Australia CEO Glenn Williams – himself dual Olympian and Athens 2004 Silver medallist – described Saturday’s turnout as “fantastic” and said it was a credit to everyone involved.
Mr Williams said baseball was continuing to enjoy a growth in popularity across the country, particularly in regional areas.
He said Baseball Australia’s membership had increased by seven per cent last year to 72,000 members.
Mr Williams agreed that dedicated facilities were “really important” and said a bespoke facility in the Wollondilly would be “extremely advantageous” in terms of the sport’s future growth at a local level.
Mr Williams grew up playing for the Ingleburn Magpies and made Major League Baseball debut in 2005 playing for the Minnesota Twins.
Photos Stuart Carless.
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