| Greater Brisbane League | |
| Current Season: | Greater Brisbane League 2020–21 |
| Pixels: | 200px |
| Sport: | Baseball |
| Founded: | 1946 |
| Teams: | 20 (9 Div 1&2 teams) |
| Country: | Australia |
| Champion: | Pine Rivers Rapids |
| Mvp-Alt: | Playoff MVP |
| Mvp: | Brandan Bidois |
| Website: | http://www.qld.baseball.com.au |
| Related Comps: | Claxton Shield |
| Founder: | Baseball Queensland |
The Greater Brisbane League or formerly the Greater Brisbane Baseball Board league (GB3) is the largest baseball league in the Australian state of Queensland and covers all teams from Brisbane North, South, West, Metro as well as three Gold Coast teams. These are from age groups Little League (U12) through to seniors. It is run by the governing body of Baseball Queensland.[1]
To participate in the Greater Brisbane Major League, clubs must meet certain criteria set by Baseball Queensland. Generally the hardest criteria for clubs to meet is to field a team in the junior age levels U14's, U16's and U20's. When this criterion is not met, senior teams may only compete in the South Queensland Baseball League or Pacific League competition.
The GBL consists of six senior division teams from Major/Pacific League A and B through to South Queensland League A-C and a separate Masters competition. Juniors consist of an U20 competition, division one and two U16 and a division one and two U14 competitions. U8, U10 and U12 competitions are run by their respective regions and are non-divisional.[2]
See also: List of Greater Brisbane League seasons. The Greater Brisbane League was originally known as the Queensland Baseball Association fixtures, which began in 1946 when six teams entered the competition playing primarily at New Farm Park, Kalinga Park, Langlands Park, Perry Park and the Brisbane Exhibition Ground. Uniforms were made out of surplus army uniforms and teams made up of many American ex-pat soldiers from World War II and A-Grade cricketers to keep game fit during the off-season.[3]
The current format of the league consists of six divisions as well as a concurrently run 'masters' division for players aged over 35 and women's competition. The competition is scheduled to last 16–20 rounds played on Fridays and Sundays between the first week of October with the playoffs finishing prior to Easter.
Rounds played in Division 1 see teams match up twice in the round, usually on a Friday followed by Sunday. Rainouts are made up mid-week if possible. Division 2 is fixtured essentially as a reserve team for Division 1, playing the same club match ups prior to the Sunday game.
Clubs who do not field a Division 1 team may field individual teams in Division 3–6.
Playoffs are a top four McIntyre system, with Division 1 playing a best of three series to determine winners.
Clubs currently in the Greater Brisbane League are:
| Division | Team | Based | Field | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold Coast | Coomera Cubs Baseball Club | Coomera | Gambamora Park | [4] |
| Mudgeeraba Redsox | Mudgeeraba | Firth Park | [5] | |
| Surfers Paradise | Benowa | Sir Bruce Small Park | [6] | |
| Brisbane South | Mt Gravatt Eagles | Mackenzie | Weedon Street | [7] |
| Beenleigh Hawks | Beenleigh | T E Costigan Field | [8] | |
| Runcorn Indians | Runcorn | Dew Street | [9] | |
| Redlands | Sheldon | John Murray Field | [10] | |
| Brisbane West | Ipswich Musketeers | Tivoli | Church Street | [11] |
| Western Districts Bulldogs | Darra | Atthows Park | [12] | |
| Toowoomba Rangers | Toowoomba | Commonwealth Oval | [13] | |
| Southern Stars | Browns Plains | Regency Park | ||
| Sunshine Coast | Sunshine Coast* | Mudjimba | Mudjimba Multisports Complex | |
| The Mackerels Baseball Club** | Maroochydore | Elizabeth Daniels Fields, Maroochydore Cricket club | ||
| Brisbane North | Narangba Demons | Narangba | Narangba Sport & Recreation Complex | [14] |
| Redcliffe Padres | Redcliffe | Talobilla Park | [15] | |
| Pine Rivers Rapids | Bray Park | Les Hughes Sporting Complex | - | |
| Brisbane Metro | All Stars | Hendra | Bannister Park | [16] |
| Carina Redsox | Carina | Foley Field | [17] | |
| Pine Hills Lightning | Bunya | James Drysdale Reserve | [18] | |
| Windsor Royals | Newmarket | Holloway Field | [19] |
**The Mackerels Baseball Club currently fields players 11 years to 17 years of age in association with Narangba Demons as the club was established in July 2020 with support from Baseball Qld.
Below is a map indicating the locations of all eighteen teams competing in the Greater Brisbane League competition. The Brisbane CBD is represented by the black square. Also note Toowoomba is located off the map to the west:
The Commissioners Cup or Commissioners Shield is an annual, end of year event that usually coincides with the Christmas break of the season. It is a one off game in Major A, B and C grades between the current Greater Brisbane League leaders of the Northside and the Southside.
Major A standings are on win percentage, whereas Major B and C-Grade standings are on points.
The basics to qualifying for Major League criteria, clubs must have a minimum of:
See: List of Greater Brisbane League seasons#Greater Brisbane League
The Greater Brisbane League is covered across many media sources from Quest Community Newspapers including the Redcliffe and Bayside Herald,[20] Caboolture Shire Herald,[21] Albert and Logan News,[22] Pine Rivers Press,[23] Northern Times,[24] and the Logan West Leader,[25] as well as many other regional newspapers such as the Hinterland Grapevine,[26] The Sunshine Coast Daily,[27] Gold Coast Bulletin,[28] Benowa Garden News,[29] and the Mudgee Guardian.[30]
Major League results are also covered by the television network 7 and more in depth results are covered by The Sunday Mail and The Courier Mail.[31]