CLAXTON AT WAVERLEY - 6 FEB 2002

*** FEBRUARY 6 2002 WAS A GREAT ONE FOR BASEBALL FANS 
LIVING IN THE SOUTH-EASTERN SUBURBS OF MELBOURNE ***

WHAT A GREAT OCCASION IT WAS AT WAVERLEY BASEBALL CLUB ON 6TH FEBRUARY 2002 WHEN A GAME OF THE FAMOUS CLAXTON SHIELD WAS HELD AT ITS NAPIER PARK COMPLEX BETWEEN THE VICTORIA ACES AND THE AUSTRALIAN PROVINCIAL TEAM!

While it was also a fine game, played in great spirit, the fact that Victoria maintained its unbeaten status with a solid 10-5 win was almost secondary to the festive spirit and collective enjoyment of those fans that attended the great occasion.

Make no mistake about this, while the "official record" has estimated the attendance at 800, there was NO FORMAL WAY of counting the accurate number. What we can tell you as a FACT, is that there were between 350 and 400 cars parked on the club grounds, with many more parked in adjoining streets to the west. "Head counts" would suggest that there were more likely between 1,000 and 1,200 fans in attendance. It cannot be disputed that this was a GREAT turn-up, especially considering that the game was played on a mid-week working night at 4:30pm when most people would be hard pressed to get home from work in reasonable time to attend! We could only speculate how many more might have attended had it been staged on a weekend afternoon? No matter... it was a fantastic occasion!!

While we do not officially represent the Waverley Baseball Club, we would all like to thank those fans that attended to make the day a great one. It was particularly noticeable how many loyal baseball people from nearby baseball clubs attended, along with many others who were faithful fans of the Waverley / Melbourne REDS during their great ABL days. Like everybody else, they all greatly enjoyed the return of 'big time' baseball to Melbourne's south-east.

Maybe most heartening about the occasion was the UNIVERSAL praise from fans and players alike that it was a GREAT ATMOSPHERE and you could see the pleasure in most of the faces around the venue. The people at Waverley Baseball Club (and others that helped) can be justifiably proud of making the occasion successful, while the VBA can also take credit for having the foresight to make it possible!

The message to anyone in Victorian baseball is crystal clear... people WILL ATTEND 'big time' baseball games in this area in numbers that cannot be duplicated anywhere else in Melbourne.