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Gilchrist to change codes?

Mister Wright

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Gilchrist has been approached by the Boston Red Sox to play baseball!

Read on here

For those to lazy to go to the link:

Red Sox want Gilly's power
By Robert Cradock and John Pierik
April 7, 2005

BATTING dynamo Adam Gilchrist has received an approach from the World Series baseball champion Boston Red Sox despite having played the game only once in his life.


Pinch hitter ... Gilchrist can hit the ball miles. Pic: Agence France-Presse

Gilchrist's thunderous stroke play has echoed across the world to trigger the offer of a personalised assessment session in Australia to see whether his dynamic skills are transferable to a game he played only once as a 14-year-old in Lismore.


Australia's Olympic baseball coach Jon Deeble, the Red Sox first base coach and recruiting agent, informed the club of Gilchrist's freakish power play and triggered the expression of interest which they claim could be heightened when Gilchrist, 33, retires from cricket.

"We expressed interest in him and we think he has a lot of potential, and the club has tapes of him batting," Deeble said last night. "Boston has a payroll of $160million a year and it's something worth having a look at."

Gilchrist's manager Stephen Atkinson said no decision had been made on whether Gilchrist would accept the offer of a skills assessment session, most probably before pitchers and a pitching machine in Perth, and his prime focus was on the forthcoming Ashes series.

"Adam has taken this as a compliment," Atkinson said. "There are any number of collegiate players in America who would cut their non-pitching arm off to get a call from a major league team saying we would like to come down and have a look at you.

"Cricket remains his number one priority and the approach may not come to anything but it is genuine. If we did anything it would have to fit in with his cricket commitments.

"But it is not pub talk or someone day dreaming. It is this guy's job to identify players and he likes the look of Adam. Baseball people have been saying for years that Adam would be suitable to the sport."

The chances of Gilchrist switching codes are extremely remote but he is an open-minded character who enjoys fresh challenges.

Major league salaries dwarf those earned by Australia's top cricketers who earn around $1million a year from Cricket Australia and often as much again in sponsorship.

The average major league salary last season was $US2,555,476, according to figures released by The Associated Press. For the average baseball player in 2004, a night at the ball park brought in $15,000, or $5116 per hour for work.

New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez, arguably the league's best all-round player, is the highest paid, earning $US25,000,000 this year.

Mike Young, fielding coach with the Australian cricket team and a former Australian baseball coach, said several years ago that Gilchrist, Andrew

Symonds and Matthew Hayden had major league potential had they started as youngsters in the sport.

"Had Adam played baseball as a youngster he would have had a real good shot at it," Young said. "I commend Boston for having an open mind but he is too old now. I don't think there is any chance he could make it."
 

shaka

International Regular
I doubt he would want to leave cricket and Australia, if this story is true.
 

Smudge

Hall of Fame Member
From another article:

Paceman Brett Lee was once approached by major league outfit Arizona Diamondbacks to try out as a pitcher.
Allow me to set this cat among the pigeons and then step away.... :D
 

Nate

You'll Never Walk Alone
Voltman said:
From another article:



Allow me to set this cat among the pigeons and then step away.... :D
Been there, seen that.

I have no idea how well they might go, but they`d earn SO much money! :-O
 

shaka

International Regular
"Gilchrist was approached informally before Australia's recent tour of New Zealand by Jon Deeble, the Australian-born Pacific rim scout" - from www.stuff.co.nz
That is the reason Afridi is not mentioned
 

BoyBrumby

Englishman
Interesting article in this month's Spin magazine where Ian Pont (ex-Essex quick & former Philadelphia Phillies trialist) tried to pick the 9 cricketers he thought would make the best Baseball team for a cross-code challenge.

He went for:

Brett Lee - starting pitcher.
Chris Cairns
Adam Gilchrist - the catcher
Andrew Flintoff
Matthew Hayden
Shahid Afridi
Herschelle Gibbs
Andrew Symonds
Chris Lewis (!)

All hard-hitters who have strong throwing arms & are decent in the field.
 

age_master

Hall of Fame Member
i reakon Brett Lee would be pretty useful, but i dunno how good, pitching is very different to bowling

the perfect player for mine to baseball would be Murali as he could chuck to his hearts content ;)
 

Deja moo

International Captain
age_master said:
i reakon Brett Lee would be pretty useful, but i dunno how good, pitching is very different to bowling

the perfect player for mine to baseball would be Murali as he could chuck to his hearts content ;)
But I guess Warne would find it tough to make it in given the recent toughening of drug testing procedures in Baseball...;)
 

vic_orthdox

Global Moderator
mike young, that baseballing guy who helps out the aussies with their fielding a bit, shut gilchrist down straight away. that was rather humourous.
 

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