Melbourne Aces

The Melbourne Aces are a professional baseball team based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia that previously competed in the Australian Baseball League. Their home field is the Melbourne Ballpark in Altona.

LocationMelbourne, Victoria

BallparkMelbourne Ballpark

Founded2009

Post-season championships2 (2019–20, 2020–21)

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Melbourne Aces
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Information
Location	Melbourne, Victoria
Ballpark	Melbourne Ballpark
Founded	2009
Post-season championships	2 (2019–20, 2020–21)
Division championships	2 (2016–17, 2020–21)
Colours	Red Midnight blue White
Ownership	Brett Ralph and Shaun Ralph
General manager	Justin Huber
Manager	Jon Deeble

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History

On 20 August 2010 it was announced that ex-Australian Baseball player Philip Dale would take up the head coaching role at Melbourne Aces.^[1]

On 12 October 2010, it was announced by newly appointed General Manager Windsor Knox that the Aces would play home games at a redeveloped Melbourne Showgrounds.^[2]

In their inaugural season the Melbourne Aces qualified for the finals before being defeated in the semi-finals series against the Adelaide Bite.

On 24 March 2011 the team announced Jet Couriers as their naming rights sponsor for the 2011–12 season.^[3]

On 13 July 2012, after many rumours and internet hype, the Melbourne Aces finally announced that they will move from their home field at the Showgrounds to the Melbourne Ballpark in Altona.^[4] The move has annoyed and ostracized many Aces supporters from the South Eastern suburbs, but it was the only viable option for them to continue playing in the ABL. The Showgrounds was deemed to be an unsuitable field to play on in the 3rd season. The main reasons being the Aces would not be the sole occupants of the field, having to compete with carnivals, horse shows, music festivals etc. The Showgrounds were also alleged to be booked out until late December, meaning the Aces would have to find a different home venue for the first half of the season.

The Aces won their first ABL championship in 2020 when they defeated the Adelaide Giants in the 2020 ABL Championship Series 2 games to 0, bringing the Claxton Shield to Victoria for the first time since 2010, the 24th time a team from Victoria has won the shield.^[5]

Withdrawal from the ABL

On April 28, 2025, after what the club described as "years of discussions with the ABL regarding unresolved concerns," the Melbourne Aces announced their decision to withdraw from the ABL ahead of the 2025–26 season.^[6] They also announced plans to compete in the Korea Baseball Organization's Ulsan-KBO Fall League beginning in October 2025, while hosting several games against KBO clubs at Melbourne Ballpark in January and February 2026.^[7]

The Aces opened the 2025–26 campaign in October with a strong showing in the KBO Fall League, posting a 9–2 record in league play before falling 1–0 in the semifinals to the Lotte Giants. Following their stint in Korea, the club hosted six three-game series against the Black Sox Road Warriors, Killer B’s, New Zealand Diamondblacks, Downunder Travellers, the Hanwha Eagles, and the KT Wiz, finishing with an overall record of 22–7–1 while winning five of the six series.^[8] Off the field, the team saw notable developments. On December 24, 2025, shortstop Jarryd Dale signed a six-figure contract with the Kia Tigers of the KBO League.^[9] Less than a month later, on January 11, 2026, former MLB pitcher Danny Duffy made his debut for the Aces.^[10] Following the conclusion of the season, Dale, Ulrich Bojarski, Chris Burke, and Aaron Whitefield represented Australia in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.^[11]

Season‑by‑season

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Melbourne Aces
Season^[12]	League	Overall	Win %	Finish^[a]	Manager	Playoffs
2010–11	ABL	18–21	.462	4th	Philip Dale	Lost semifinal series (ADE) 2–0
2011–12	ABL	21–24	.467	2nd	Philip Dale	Lost major semifinal series (PER) 3–1 Won preliminary final series (SYD) 3–2 Lost championship series (PER) 2–1
2012–13	ABL	15–31	.326	6th	Philip Dale	Did not qualify
2013–14	ABL	22–24	.478	4th	Philip Dale	Did not qualify
2014–15	ABL	15–31	.326	6th	Tommy Thompson	Did not qualify
2015–16	ABL	20–35	.364	6th	Joe Vavra	Did not qualify
2016–17	ABL	26–14	.650	1st	Jon Deeble	Lost championship series (BRI) 2–0
2017–18	ABL	17–23	.425	4th	Jon Deeble	Lost semifinal (BRI) 1–0
2018–19	ABL	23–17	.575	2nd (Southwest)	Jon Deeble	Lost wild card (CAN) 1–0
2019–20	ABL	23–17	.575	2nd (Southwest)	Jon Deeble	Won semifinals series (AUC) 2–0 Won championship series (ADE) 2–0^[13]
2020–21	ABL	19–9	.679	1st	Allan de San Miguel	Won semifinals (CAN) 1–0 Won championship (PER) 1–0
2021–22	ABL	Season cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic)
2022–23	ABL	15–21	.417	3rd (Southwest)	Peter Moylan	Did not qualify
2023–24	ABL	21–19	.525	4th	Jon Deeble	Lost semifinal series (ADE) 2–1
2024–25	ABL	18–22	.450	5th	Jon Deeble	Did not qualify
2025–26	KBO Fall	9–2	.818	1st (Group A)	Jon Deeble	Lost semifinal (LOT) 1–0
2025–26	Independent	13–4–1	.750	—	Jon Deeble	None
ABL totals		273–308	.470	—	—	12–15 (.444) 2 championships