Hayden Beard - Fort Wayne TinCaps, Fort Wayne, Indiana

Hayden Beard pitching for South Australia during the 09/10 Claxton Shield

Since signing a contract with the New York Mets back in 2005, former Bandits right armer, Hayden Beard, has been toiling away on the Minor League circuit trying to realise his dream of one day becoming a pitcher in the major leagues.

Hayden Currently plays for class A, San Diego Padres affiliate team, the Fort Wayne TinCaps in Indiana. Situated three and a half hours outside the capital, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne has been ranked inside the top ten as one of the best cities in America for minor league sports and boasts the title as the city in which the NBA was born.

Hayden has represented the ACT in just about every national tournament that is/has been held, all the way from Under 12’s through to the Claxton shield and everything in between.

In the 2009-2010 Australian season, Hayden pitched for runners up South Australia, meaning a lot of time is spent in transit.

“I am pretty lucky as I get to spend about five months a year back home during the off season.

“Playing for South Australia in the Claxton Shield competition was great but it meant spending 3 or 4 days a week interstate which was kind of tough.

“With the start of the new ABL and having a Canberra team, at least I will be able to spend every second weekend at home playing a home series.”

With Canberra possessing such a close knit baseball community, Hayden can’t wait to get out onto the diamond and represent Canberra on such a big stage.

“We’ve been hearing about the possibility of a new ABL for the past five or so years, it is great that is finally going to happen.

“I remember being a little kid and my Dad taking me out to watch the Canberra Bushrangers in the old ABL. Spending time out there definitely had an impact on me.

“Now it’s my turn to be out there on the field, and I am really looking forward to being part of that experience for the young kids of Canberra.

“I feel very lucky and fortunate that I am in a position at the moment where I am able to be part of this.”

Hayden says the new ABL will be something completely different for the fans that head out to the games each week.

“I think the new ABL is going to be an eye opener for a lot of people back home, and give them a small taste of what it is like playing over here.

“Baseball over here is a lot different to playing back home, so I am hoping that with the backing of MLB we are going to have an exciting and entertaining product to give the people of Canberra.”