Chris Andrew Oxspring (born 13 May 1977) is an Australian professional baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who has played

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

, and currently plays in the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it s ...

(ABL) for the Sydney Blue Sox.

Career

Oxspring joined the

Hanshin Tigers The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, next to their main stadium, Hanshin Koshien Stadium. The Tigers are owned by Hanshin Electric Railway Co., ...

(NPB) for the 2006 season. On 15 December 2006, Oxspring signed a minor league contract with the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

. On 10 July 2007, his contract with the Brewers was sold to the

LG Twins The LG Twins () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul, South Korea. They are a member of the KBO League. The Twins play their home games at Jamsil Baseball Stadium, which they share with their rivals, the Doosan Bears. ...

of the

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ) is the Sport governing body, governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League () and KBO Futures League ( (F ...

just one day before serving as the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

in the 2007 Triple-A All-Star Game. Internationally, Oxspring was a star for Australia in the 2004 Olympics, pitching 2–0 with wins both against Japan, earning him a silver medal. Oxspring had the honour of throwing out the first official pitch of the

to catcher Andrew Graham when the Blue Sox played the Canberra Cavalry on 6 November 2010. Oxspring threw six shutout innings in a game Sydney won 1–0. On 8 December 2010, while playing with the Sydney Oxspring signed a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring training with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

. At the end of the

2010–11 Australian Baseball League regular season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to s ...

, he led the league in innings pitched (68.2), game started (11) and strikeouts (71). In June 2011, Detroit released Oxspring after struggling for their AAA affiliate, the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

conceding a 6.53 ERA over 20.2 innings. He shortly after signed with independent team the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American professional Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team based in Bridgewater, New Jersey. They are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League (EL), known as the Double-A Nort ...

for the remainder of 2011. In 2013 and 2014, Oxspring played with the

Lotte Giants The Lotte Giants () are a South Korean professional baseball, professional baseball team based in Busan. They are a member of the KBO League. The Lotte Giants are owned by Lotte Corporation. From 1982 through 1985, they played at Gudeok Baseball ...

of the

. In 2015, he played with the KT Wiz. From 2016 to 2018, he had served as a pitching coach for the

. On 3 December 2018 Oxspring announced that he will no longer coach the Giants and return to Australia to reunite with his family. Oxspring returned to the Blue Sox for the 2022–23 Australian Baseball League season at 45 years old and became the oldest Australian born player to play in the league’s history, making the most appearances in his career since the 2012–13 Australian Baseball League season. He overtook 44 year old Brendan Kingman who pitched one inning in the 2017–18 Australian Baseball League season and is the second oldest player to appear in the league after Dae-sung Koo who made two single appearances at age 48 and 53.Dae-Sung Koo Baseball Reference
/ref> 46 year old Oxspring returned for the last regular season game of the 2022–23 Australian Baseball League season, pitching innings against the Perth Heat, giving up a home-run to Jake Bowey.

References

External links

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Career statistics and player information
from

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oxspring, Chris 1977 births Living people Australian expatriate baseball players in Japan Australian expatriate baseball players in South Korea Australian expatriate baseball players in the United States Australian baseball coaches Baseball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Cook County Cheetahs players Fort Wayne Wizards players Hanshin Tigers players KBO League pitchers KT Wiz players Lake Elsinore Storm players LG Twins players Lotte Giants players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Australia Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Mobile BayBears players Nashville Sounds players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Olympic baseball players for Australia Olympic medalists in baseball Olympic silver medalists for Australia Peoria Javelinas players Portland Beavers players San Diego Padres players Somerset Patriots players Sydney Blue Sox players Toledo Mud Hens players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players 2017 World Baseball Classic players Sportspeople from Ipswich, Queensland Sportsmen from Queensland