Baseball New Zealand shocked by Kyle Glogoski's 'snub' at Halberg Awards

Kyle Glogoski in action for the Auckland Tuatara. Photo / Photosport

Baseball New Zealand have been left wondering what the sport can do to get more acknowledgement in New Zealand, after Kyle Glogoski's snub in this year's Halberg Awards.

The young Kiwi pitcher has risen rapidly out of a country where baseball is still a growing sport, and is viewed as a genuine Major League Baseball prospect.

He shone in spring training and rookie ball with the Philadelphia Phillies and helped put Kiwi baseball further on the map with strong performances for the Auckland Tuatara, recording an ERA of 1.37 in four appearances.

However, despite a promising start to his career in a sport played by at least 65 million people worldwide, Glogoski was overlooked in the Emerging Talent category of the Halbergs.

White Ferns star Amelia Kerr, U-17 Football Ferns hero Anna Leat, Commonwealth Games medal-winning swimmer Lewis Clareburt, youth world champion sailor Josh Armit, and Under-20 world shot put champion Maddison-Lee Wesche are the finalists.

Baseball New Zealand chief executive Ryan Flynn said the snub was a bit shocking to him given the year Glogoski had.

"Getting signed by the Philadelphia Phillies, having a standout year, competing against literally millions of people to get to that spot and then to go 4-0 in Spring Training, get invited to instructional league where he did so well, then to have the kind of season he had with our first ever professional team…and to be considered a true Major League prospect now by anyone you'd ask, I don't know what more a young man can do in such a massive global sport and still not be recognised in his home country," he said.

Flynn praised those nominated for their achievements and said he wasn't in a position to say who should or shouldn't be up for the awards, but wondered what more a Kiwi baseball player had to do to get recognised by the wider New Zealand audience.

The Phillies have a high opinion of Glogoski, who was on a strict pitching limit when he joined the Tuatara for their maiden season in the Australian Baseball League. The young Kiwi was among the top pitchers in rookie ball last season and is a chance to one day make his way to the major league level.

The 19-year-old has been touted as the poster boy of New Zealand baseball, and to achieve what he did at such a young age puts him a few years ahead of the other players at the same point in the Phillies system.

Since joining the Phillies earlier in the year, he's noticed considerable improvement in his slider and curveball, and joining the organisation before the age of 20, Glogoski has extra time to develop, compared to those drafted out of college.

"I've definitely got more years to develop. As a high school guy, they understand you need to develop, you need to get stronger and there's just more room for failure," Glogoski told the Herald in November.

"It's nice getting in the system young. You get more opportunities and more room to fail, so if you're working on something with a coach and it's not working for whatever reason, they'll give you more time to work on it."