CURTIS MEAD CALLED UP TO MLB
We are delighted to hear the news from Tampa Bay overnight, that Curtis Mead has been called to suit up for the Rays against the Detroit Tigers this weekend. We wish him all of the best and congratulate him on such a milestone moment... For now, read the full story from Eric Balnar below:
South Australian baseball player Curtis Mead has made history today by being called up to the Major Leagues by the Tampa Bay Rays.
Mead, 22, is just the fourth South Australian to make it to Major League Baseball. He is the first Adelaide-born player to make it to the Big Leagues in over 20 years. Luke Prokopec was the last South Australian to play in an MLB game when he did so with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2002.
He joins an exclusive list of Australian players by becoming the 37th from Down Under to make it to the world’s top baseball competition.
It’s particularly significant because Mead is the first position player (batter) from South Australia to make it.
Curtis will join the Tampa Bay Rays in time for their three-game series vs the Detroit Tigers starting on Friday night in Detroit. He is not expected to be in the starting lineup for Game 1 of the series (Friday @ 6:40PM Detroit time).
Curtis is expected to make his first MLB start on Saturday 5 August in a 1:10 EDT game vs the Tigers - that's 2:40AM in Adelaide on Sunday morning.
He could make an appearance from the bench, however, on Friday. You can watch Friday's game on AppleTV+ and the rest of the games on MLB.TV.
"It's surreal," says Curtis Mead. "When I found out, it was obviously a really special moment that I’ll never forget. The best part was getting to tell the people I love and share the moment with them.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3mRtKN0ck4
The Curtis Mead Story
Mead started playing baseball at West Torrens Baseball Club and quickly rose the ranks. He is the son of Tim Mead – a former South Australia representative player and Adelaide Giant in the 1990s.
Mead was part of three SA state representative teams that broke long baseball droughts – the Under 16 State Team (2016), the Under 18 State Team (2018) and the Senior League Championship with the Adelaide Armada (2017). He was a key contributor to the West Torrens 2016 Premiership when he was just 16-year-old.
He came through the Baseball South Australia pathways.
He made his Australian Baseball League debut with the then-called Adelaide Bite in the 2017-18 season. In four seasons of ABL action, Mead has a .302 career average with 12 home runs in 124 games for Adelaide. In 2021 he signed a five-year contract with the Giants.
Mead was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2017 but traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in November 2019.
His ascent from a relatively unknown international baseball prospect to a blue-chip prospect was staggering. Entering this season, Mead was in the Top 30 prospect rankings by MLB.com and considered the #2 prospect in the Tampa Bay Rays system.
In 276 minor league games, he has a career .302 average with 35 home runs and 170 RBI. He was an All-Star in the 2021 Arizona Fall League – a post-season competition meant for the best prospects in the game.
Mead started the 2023 season with the Durham Bulls – the ‘Triple A’ affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. He did not participate in the ABL season because of an elbow injury sustained at the end of the 2022 minor league season.
He also missed two months of action with a hand injury at the start of this year's minor league season. Mead returned to the Durham Bulls' line-up in late-June and put-up outstanding numbers.
Mead is known for his exemplary hard work. He trained with the Giants every day during the ABL season.
"There are no coincidences," says Giants' General Manager Nathan Davison. "While others were sleeping, Curtis was putting in the work."
Davison recalls that when Curtis Mead was in high-school at Immanuel College, he would show up to the ballpark every day in the morning before school to workout with Chris Adamson.
"It's a testament to how hard he works. It is no surprises that he is now officially one of the best baseball players in the planet," says Davison. "It's amazing that he came from Lockleys."
Congrats Curtis. This is a long time coming and well deserved.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qJAOSx5ttc
By Eric Balnar