G’Day When the Dodgers Signed Australian Craig Shipley

Dodger President Peter O’Malley was asked to assist the Australian Baseball Federation with professional instruction and he was happy to do so, sending Dodger pitching coach Red Adams and Dodger infield and bench coach Monty Basgall to make the long trip to Sydney in October, 1979.

The following August, O’Malley invited a group from Australia, including Lyn Straw, the head coach of the Australian Junior Side, to visit Dodger Stadium.

Those gestures of goodwill wound up helping Australia to get back on the global baseball map. The land known for koala bears, kangaroos, the Outback, the Great Barrier Reef and beautiful beaches has a history of baseball being played since the 1850s, thanks to American gold miners who visited there. Baseball.com.au/baseball-australia/history/ But, in the land of cricket, Australian rules football and tennis, baseball did not rank high in popularity.

A 19-year-old named Joe Quinn, a second baseman, was the first Australian-born to play in the U.S. professional leagues in 1884. Quinn played 17 years professionally and had a .261 batting average. But, no Australian had played since Quinn’s retirement in 1901.

O’Malley’s friendship with Australia started in the 1970s with his frequent interactions with John Ostermeyer, a key executive for international amateur baseball. They attended international baseball meetings all over the world and Ostermeyer was Executive Director and longtime board member of the Australian Baseball Federation when O’Malley sent Adams and Basgall to Sydney to help. 

The Dodger guest instructors were happy to share insights and fundamentals to coaches and players to improve the caliber of play in Australia. 

An enthusiastic young baseball player by the name of Craig Shipley lived in Paramatta, Australia, a suburb of Sydney. He distinctly recalls the coaches from the United States made the nearly 15-hour flight to come to Sydney and wound up instructing his junior national team.  

“I just remember them standing on our field in a Dodger uniform,” said Shipley. “It made a huge impact. We weren’t exposed to Major League Baseball. We didn’t get it on TV, nobody scouted our country. We knew it existed, but it was in this far-away place with no legitimate access to information. To see these guys on the field, that was a big deal.” Mark Saxon, ESPN.com/blog/los-angeles, March 10, 2014

At the time, Shipley had dropped out of Epping High School when he was 15 (which was legal at that time), prior to his junior year, and was working in a bank as a 16-year-old. Abpaa.com, Brett Ward interview with Craig Shipley, Part 1 He had developed a love of baseball through his father, Barry, an inventor and plastic goods salesman. Rory Costello, “Craig Shipley bio”, SABR.org/bio.pro/person/craig-shipley/ As a teenager Barry Shipley played cricket during the Australian summers and found time to play the less popular baseball in the winters. But by his 20s, baseball had changed to a summer sport in Australia and he played for 20 years for the Auburn Orioles, considered the best of the country’s major league club teams. Mark Saxon, ESPN.com/blog/los-angeles, March 10, 2014 Barry started to get his son Craig active in baseball when he was about seven, when he had to join a league for 12-year-olds since no organized baseball was offered to a younger age group. Craig also played rugby and a little bit of soccer. He literally grew up around the game, serving as a batboy for the Auburn Orioles, which drew the attention of his fellow classmates who hardly understood baseball. Rory Costello, “Craig Shipley bio”, SABR.org/bio-pro/person/craig-shipley/ Barry helped to provide baseball tips and instruction that he had learned along the way to his three sons – Craig, Mark and Grant. Brothers Mark and Grant played baseball in the New South Wales Major League.

When he was 16, shortstop Shipley and a group of Australian baseball players traveled to the United States for an instructional camp at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, GA. “It was my first exposure to American baseball,” said Shipley. Mark Saxon, ESPN.com/blog/los-angeles, March 10, 2014 It was there that he met Roger Smith, who had just become an assistant baseball coach at the University of Alabama, having left Georgia Southern but returned to help with the camp. Shipley told Smith that he was interested in attending college and playing baseball in the U.S., but wasn’t sure how that could happen. Smith told Shipley that he needed to finish high school. “I got back from that trip,” said Shipley. “I went to the bank manager and…gave him two weeks’ notice, left and went back to school, finished high school.” Abpaa.com, Brett Ward interview with Craig Shipley, Part 1  

Shipley stayed in contact with Coach Smith, who made an instructional trip to Sydney the next year and served as assistant coach for the Auburn Orioles. “When Roger came to Australia, he more or less left it up to Craig to come to Alabama,” said Barry Shipley. In 1980, Craig returned to the U.S. with the Australian Junior National Team. Craig began playing for the Auburn Orioles, the club baseball team for whom his father had starred. On February 1, 1981, a story in The Sydney Morning Herald sports page read, “Craig Shipley, the latest and youngest addition to the Australian baseball team, has stars and stripes in his eyes.” The Sydney Morning Herald, February 1, 1981 He graduated from high school in 1981.

A natural right-hander, at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds, Shipley’s dream of playing in the United States began to come to fruition as he enrolled at the University of Alabama and played his freshman baseball season for the Crimson Tide in 1982. The Sydney Morning Herald ran an article that stated on July 13, 1982, “Craig Shipley, who last year was a fresh-faced kid in the Auburn team, is now being described as having the potential to be the first Australian to play regular professional baseball in the ‘big time’. This gigantic rise has stemmed from Shipley being offered a four-year scholarship (to Alabama).” The Sydney Morning Herald, July 13, 1982  

In 1983, Alabama’s baseball team advanced to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska and Shipley’s dad Barry made the long trek from Australia to watch his son play. Barry watched Craig, a sophomore, collect a game-winning hit in the 11th inning against Arizona State University enabling Alabama to move into the second round. Assistant Coach Smith had convinced Craig to become a switch-hitter to improve his chances of making it to the majors. On an infield single, Shipley batted from the left side and beat out the play at first base to win the game. 

“The way the game ended certainly made the trip all the more worthwhile,” said Barry to The Tuscaloosa News. “It’s practically like a dream come true for me. Compared to the United States, baseball is more of a social sport in Australia. I played baseball and cricket and I took Craig with me at every opportunity when he was young. He just naturally took to baseball and he had a very pronounced ability at a young age. I tried to give him the proper foundation for the game and provided him with all the proper information and instruction I’d gained from friends who play the game in the States.” Billy Mitchell, The Tuscaloosa News, June 6, 1983

Eventually, Texas defeated Alabama in the 1983 College World Series championship game, 4-3.

“The biggest adjustment I had to make was playing baseball every day,” said Craig during the 1983 College World Series. “In Australia, baseball is the same as an intramural sport. If you played, you played at a club level and mostly just on the weekends. I had to get used to playing every day here.” Ibid.  

Major League Baseball teams were already following the slick fielding infielder.

“After my second year (sophomore) year, Roger (Smith) told me that there were scouts that were interested,” said Shipley. “I stayed at Alabama (until) after my junior year. I had turned 21…I signed that summer.” Abpaa.com, Brett Ward interview with Craig Shipley, Part 1  

At the end of Shipley’s junior season, the Dodgers were ready to sign him. Since he was not from the United States, Shipley was not subject to the June first-year player draft. He was considered a free agent. Shipley had a soft spot in his heart for the Dodgers, ever since Adams and Basgall had come to Australia in 1979.

“When I was in college, if I had an opportunity to sign with the Dodgers, it was pretty much a done deal,” Mark Saxon, ESPN.com/blog/los-angeles, March 10, 2014 Shipley said. “It was a fun process. I had a lot of choices, about 15 teams I could have signed with. On the first trip we went to Georgia Southern in 1979, we went back through L.A., went to Dodger Stadium, saw a game. My mind had pretty much been made up. I’d been in Dodger Stadium. I loved the Dodgers. The Dodgers were interested, I signed with the Dodgers.” Abpaa.com, Brett Ward interview with Craig Shipley, Part 1  

Thus the Dodgers signed him May 28, 1984. The Sydney Morning Herald ran this headline July 29, 1984, “Home Run!” The article states, “Australian baseballer Craig Shipley has signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a reported $90,000. That’s not a lot of money by American baseball standards, but it’s a huge amount for an Australian sportsman – especially a virtually unknown one.” The Sydney Morning Herald, July 29, 1984 Dodger Director of Scouting Ben Wade said of Shipley, “He has the arms, hands and quickness necessary. He has the opportunity to be a very good hitter.” Ibid.

“My first year in the minor leagues, I had a really fun year,” said Shipley. “I went to Vero Beach (Florida). It has so much history there. I signed in June. I played 80 something games that season there. My manager was Stan Wasiak, who at that time was the winningest manager in the minor leagues. He was a great manager. He just let you play. I think I played in 84 of 85 games after I signed. That was a great experience. Just signing with the Dodgers was a big deal. I still have a soft spot for the Dodgers.” Abpaa.com, Brett Ward interview with Craig Shipley, Part 1

In 1985, Shipley was fast-tracked to play for the Triple-A Albuquerque Dukes, where he played 124 games. Finally, Shipley was playing for the Dukes in 1986 when he got the news that the injury-riddled Dodgers needed his services. During the season, Bill Madlock, Dave Anderson,  Mariano Duncan, among others, had been slowed by injuries.

“My first call up was in ’86,” said Shipley. “I wasn’t ready to go to the big leagues. I shouldn’t have been in the big leagues at that time. Hindsight is 20-20. You learn more and more once you’ve gone through your career. Mentally and physically, I wasn’t ready for that at that time. But, I remember it very well. We were in Portland, an old ballpark like dug out of a bunker. Terry Collins was my manager. About the fifth or sixth inning, he called me over. He said, ‘I’m taking you out of the game, because you are going to the big leagues tomorrow.’ I got up, myself and Ed Amelung, an outfielder, (leaving) from Portland...We got to L.A. It was a Sunday day game, 1 o’clock game and I played that day. Dodger Stadium, sold out crowd. We played the Padres. I’ve got the lineup (card) from that game. It’s not the Dodgers, it’s the Padre lineup card!” Ibid.  

Seven years after Shipley had played for the Australian Junior National team, he was playing on the same team with some of the same Dodgers that he once watched from the Dodger Stadium seats. Tommy Lasorda was his manager, the same man who had graciously addressed his Australian Junior National touring team in 1979. Shipley went 1-for-4 in his debut with a run batted in.

In making his debut with the Dodgers on June 22, 1986, Shipley became the first Australian-born player to participate in Major League Baseball in 85 years and is the first of the modern era. It was a honor for the 23-year-old who had relentlessly pursued his dream. It made him one of the game’s all-time pioneer players. He opened the door for more than 35 more Australian-born players to play in the majors (as of the start of the 2025 season). 

“That was something for me that was difficult,” said Shipley. “Most places now play baseball. Australia has 30 guys that have played in the big leagues. You have people to look to, to know that it’s not an impossible thing to do. When we were kids, I don’t think any of us even entertained the possibility. It didn’t cross your mind. As things evolved, it became a possibility, it was difficult, because I had nobody to look to or nobody to talk to about what was your experience or how difficult was it. So, that was tough.” Ibid.     

His first stay in the majors for was for 12 games and then he returned to Albuquerque. After his batting average dropped in Albuquerque in 1987, he was sent to Double-A San Antonio. Once again, though, the Dodgers had significant injuries to Dave Anderson, Mariano Duncan, Mickey Hatcher and Pedro Guerrero and reached out to San Antonio to promote Shipley in August. He remained with the Dodgers for the balance of the 1987 season. 

His stay with the Dodgers ended abruptly in the final days of 1988 Spring Training. He had a fine spring, batting 11-for-18 (.611) and winning the Jim and Dearie Mulvey Award as the team’s top rookie at Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Florida. When Shipley learned he was to be sent back to the minor leagues again because there were two shortstops (Mariano Duncan and Dave Anderson) ahead of him, he requested a trade. John Weyler, Los Angeles Times, April 2, 1988 On April 1, 1988, he was traded to the New York Mets for catcher John Gibbons, who played for Triple-A Albuquerque that season. Gibbons went on to manage the Toronto Blue Jays for 11 seasons. Manager Lasorda said about Shipley after the deal was made, “I love the guy.” Ibid.

“Going to the Mets was a shock to the system,” said Shipley. “The positive side of a trade is somebody wants you. The negative side is this is where I know everybody. It’s part of the game, it happens all the time. I got to the big leagues very young. I had significant amount of injuries – I was up and down. I had two shoulder surgeries, which I thought my career was over. Then I went on to play seven more years in the big leagues after the shoulder surgeries.” Ibid.

Shipley played 11 years in the major leagues with a career .271 batting average. He was versatile, starting 103 games at shortstop, 101 at third base and 63 at second base. His last game was September 25, 1998 for Anaheim.

He can be proud that he opened the door to more Australians to participate in MLB. In 2024, history was made as second baseman Travis Bazzana became the first Australian to be selected as the first overall pick in the MLB Draft by Cleveland.

Following his playing career, Shipley continues to be active in baseball, both in Australia as well as in the United States. He has been a roving infield and baserunning instructor for Montreal; Special Assistant to the General Manager for San Diego; and Senior Vice President, International Scouting for Boston. He also serves on the board of the Australian Baseball Federation, helping to develop youth, amateur and professional programs throughout the country.

In 2005, Shipley was inducted into the Australian Baseball Hall of Fame. He helped influence the Arizona Diamondbacks trip to play the Los Angeles Dodgers to open the 2014 Major League Baseball season with a two-game series in Sydney at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Shipley is a Special Assistant to the General Manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks.