Baseball: Former Major Leaguers to take Kiwi coaching clinics

Graeme Lloyd will host baseball coaching clinics in New Zealand. Photo / Supplied

Former New York Yankees relief pitcher Graeme Lloyd and perennial Major League Baseball All Star outfielder Reggie Smith form half of the expert team of professional baseball coaches coming to Auckland this week to co-host a weekend of clinics designed for New Zealand's growing roster of club coaches.

The tall Australian Lloyd will join former USA National Baseball Coach Peter Caliendo, along with 48-year coaching veteran Tom O'Connell (current president of ISG), and former (Boston) Red Sox, (St Louis) Cardinals, (Los Angeles) Dodgers (San Francisco) Giants and Yomiuri (Japan) Giants outfielder Reggie Smith in Auckland for the three-day clinic, the first of its kind in the programme's history.

Baseball New Zealand CEO Ryan Flynn is delighted with Lloyd's addition to the clinic, saying, "It is fantastic to have someone of Graeme's pedigree and stature in the game joining this already distinguished group to help upskill our coaches, and Graeme's ten years of MLB experience, with seven different professional organisations, means he knows what he is talking about.

"I've spoken with Graeme a number of times now in his role as pitching coach with various Australian national baseball teams and he has a depth of pitching knowledge that few in our region can match," said Flynn, adding that having Lloyd in town shows our young people that if Australians can make it, so can Kiwi players. "Graeme has a great manner with kids and other coaches, and has transitioned from playing to coaching seamlessly, playing a key role in refining the pitching talent in Australia."

Lloyd first played in the major leagues in 1993 with the Milwaukee Brewers, but it was his move to the New York Yankees that brought Lloyd his fame in the sport, playing a pivotal role in the bullpen of one of the sport's true dynasties. Lloyd also spent time with the Toronto Blue Jays, Montreal Expos, Florida (now Miami) Marlins, New York Mets organisations, and he finished with the Kansas City Royals in 2003. He pitched for Australia in 2004 at the Athens Olympic Games and brought home a silver medal for his efforts.

Alongside Lloyd, the coaching clinic team also includes former MLB superstar Reggie Smith, who played for four different MLB teams over 16 years before finishing his career with a two-year stint in Japan. Smith, who will be visiting New Zealand for the first time, said recently via email, "I'm looking forward to speaking at the International Sports Group Baseball Coaches clinic coming up in September," he wrote. "Baseball worldwide is growing and coaches' development is critical to its growth of the sport and my passion to give back to the game that gave me so much, especially in helping coaches become better educators and role models."

The International Sports Group (ISG) is a non-profit organisation based in the United States that for more than 25 years has hosted coaching programmes around the world, bringing together some of the most respected coaches in the sport with up-and-coming baseball nations like New Zealand.

The three days of clinics and courses will run from 22 to 24 September and will be held primarily in West and North Auckland at several different indoor and outdoor locations.