Softball: Wilson keen to stand up for Black Sox after nine-year gap

Travis Wilson

The last time Travis Wilson stood up to the plate for the Black Sox was in Michigan in the final of the 1996 World Championships.

On that occasion the Black Sox blew off Canada to win the world title.

Nine years later, the Black Sox are still the best team in the world and Wilson is keen to be around to see that status maintained in the next world championships in 2009.

Wilson, 28, returns to the Black Sox for this weekend's series against Samoa after an eight-year stint in the US where he came within a whisker of playing for the Atlanta Braves in the major baseball league.

Achieving more than any other New Zealander in American baseball, Wilson played in the triple A competition for the Braves, which is the step below the major league.

His baseball career ended last year partly because of his age but also because of visa problems. Since the September 11 terrorist attacks, Wilson said baseball is not allocated as many visas, forcing the organisation to pick wisely which countries they want visas for. "No one is going to go out on a limb and ask for a New Zealand visa when I am the only one available for it," Wilson said.

To end his career having not quite accomplished his goal of playing in the major league, was disappointing.

"If I could I would still like to be playing. A couple of times I felt like I had the chance ... to play, but it never eventuated. By having not gone there you don't know how well you could have done."

Wilson said if baseball was bigger in New Zealand, he believes the natural skills and power our softball players possess would make them equally as effective in baseball.

"I feel a number of guys I played with in 1996, if they had grown up playing baseball, they could have been major baseball league players for sure. But when you get to 19 and play your first game of baseball ... I was playing against guys who had played the game since they were four or five ... it is hard to make up those years of learning."

Returning to softball had come easily.

"It is what I grew up playing. There are still a few players around from 1996. You can still see the culture and environment that we had in 1996 is still there. There is still a great amount of pride playing for the Blacks Sox.

"The game has progressed, there is funding from the academy of sport and the coaching staff are always looking at ways of improving. You can see the team has gone forward in leaps and bounds."

While he admits it will be a little strange donning the black kit today and lining up against a Samoan side who are expected to challenge the world champions, Wilson sees a long future in the game.

"2009 is the next world championships. It is a long way away but I feel it is something I really want to do: be back in the Black Sox and go for that fourth consecutive world title."


Four-test series

Today: Norana Park, Auckland
Black Sox v Samoa at 1pm and 3pm

Tomorrow: Rosedale Park, North Shore
Black Sox v Samoa, 11am and 1pm.

Teams
* New Zealand: Jarrad Martin, Marty Grant, Thomas Cameron, Tane Richardson, Patrick Shannon, Lyndon Andrew, Nathan Nukunuku, Travis Wilson, Darren Davies, Michael Cameron, Steven Ratu, Thomas Makea, Stacey McLean, Fabien Makea, Corey Matakatea, Daniel Milne and Gus Leger.

* Samoa: Heine Shannon, David Gollan, Penese Iosefo, Gerard Long, Jerome Smith, Aaron Neemia, Duane Jerard, Doyle Matautia, Wayne Laulu, Gene Lutton, Bowen Annandale, Rangitoto Marks, Kurt Allan, Michael Fenton, Tony Niu, Josh Niu, Walter Hati, Bradley Annandale, Jeremy Stanley, Luke Allan and Michael Niu.