By Parker McKenzie
16-year-old Jack Ratcliffe has had a huge year of baseball — winning a division one senior premiership and representing Australia in the United States to name a few achievements — and he will cap off the year by playing in the u18 World Cup Qualifiers for Team Australia Baseball.
When the Star Mail spoke to Ratcliffe on Friday 9 December, he was preparing to fly to New Zealand for the qualifiers, where he will play Guam and New Zealand.
He said he grew up watching his father Simon play the game and his aim is to play college baseball in the United States before going professional.
“Qualifying for the under-18s World Cup would mean playing with the best players in Australia, against the best players in the world,” he said.
“It’s been my dream to play for Australia.”
Ratcliffe plays for the seniors at Upwey Ferntree Gully Baseball Club, cementing himself in the team’s starting lineup this season as the club won its first premiership in 20 years.
He said there are challenges when playing against adults as a teenager.
“They’ve got much more muscle than you, but you’ve got to know what you can and can’t do and stick with the basics,” he said.
“I’d say the strongest parts of my game are my fielding and batting, hitting is a lot harder than fielding I find.”
In August, Ratcliffe qualified to represent Australia at the Senior League World Series in South Carolina after winning the National Championships with Eastern Athletics. The Australian representative side finished 5th in the tournament, beating Guam and Canada before losing to Panama in the semi-final.
Ratcliffe said it was one of three moments to remember in 2022 for him.
“Winning MVP at the u16 national tournament in July and getting to play with my mates in the World Series in the United States were two of my best moments,” he said.
“Getting to play for Australia I’d say nearly tops it.”
Upwey Ferntree Gully Baseball Club first team coach Donovan Hendricks, a former Major League Baseball player, said Ratcliffe is one of the best players in Australia at his age level.
“Playing seniors at his age isn’t big of a thing, but I suppose the uncommon part for Jacky is that he’s playing division one firsts,” he said.
“A lot of kids his age are playing in the second division, still learning their craft and increasing their ability. In his case, he’s playing in the best competition and level in Victoria.”
Ratcliffe said there one thing playing under Hendricks has taught him is to stay composed.
“His biggest thing is you need to stay composed and know what you are going to do,” he said.
“It’s all about getting the job done.”
Hendricks said Ratcliffe has the ability to play Major League Baseball if he continues to apply himself.
“I think he’s on his way, he’s obviously still very young and has a lot of maturing to do physically and learning for his game,” he said.
“We are all just really proud of him. He’s very coachable, he’s always asking questions and trying to learn. He’s come a long way and it’s a huge achievement, but we are also looking forward to where he’s taking this.”
