| Trent Oeltjen | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Oeltjen with the Los Angeles Dodgers | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Outfielder | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born: (1983-02-28)28 February 1983 (age 42) Sydney,New South Wales,Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 August, 2009, for the Arizona Diamondbacks | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 28 September, 2011, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .220 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stolen bases | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Trent Carl Wayne Oeltjen (/ˈtrɛntˈʌltʃɛn/; born 28 February 1983) is an Australian former professionalbaseballoutfielder. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theArizona Diamondbacks andLos Angeles Dodgers. He is 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) tall and weighs 190 pounds (86 kg). In 2004, he was part of theAustralian national baseball team that won a silver medal in thebaseball tournament at theAthens Olympics.
Oeltjen was signed by the Minnesota Twins in 2001. He hit at a .321/.387/.418 clip in his debut year for theGulf Coast League Twins and was quickly promoted to the rookie-levelElizabethton Twins before the end of the season. The following year, Trent continued to excel and was promoted to the Single-AQuad City River Bandits. He continued to improve and by the end of 2003 he was batting just under .300 in 123 games for Quad City and was promoted to theFort Myers Miracle for the 2004 season where he missed games to play for theAustralia national baseball team in the2004 Athens Olympics. Oeltjen would go on to represent Australia at the2005 Baseball World Cup and2006 World Baseball Classic.[1]
Trent was impressing critics as he continued to rise through the ranks, batting at .300 with the Double-A affiliateNew Britain Rock Cats in 2006 and was picked for the World team in the2006 All-Star Futures Game.[2] Following this success, he was promoted to Triple-A in 2007 for theRochester Red Wings and although struggling in the regular season, he was perhaps the most outstanding individual player in the2007 Baseball World Cup where he hit at a 523/.580/.614 clip to lead averages, steals (7) and runs (9) and was picked in the Cup All-Star team.
In 2008, he signed as a free agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He hit .317/.357/.466 for theTucson Sidewinders. His consistent performances continued when Oeltjen was with Australia for the2009 World Baseball Classic and batted 6 for 12 in the tournament. In the 2009 season he was batting over .300 and slugging .505 for theReno Aces. He was called up to the majors on 6 August 2009, whenJustin Upton was injured.[3]
On 6 August2009, Oeltjen recorded his first major league hit againstPittsburgh Pirates' pitcherKevin Hart. Oeltjen then proceeded to steal his first major league base. He then hit his first major league home run off Pittsburgh Pirates' pitcherJesse Chavez in the top of the 8th inning, a blast over the right field wall. Oeltjen finished the game 2 for 6 with an RBI and two stolen bases.
In his third game, he hit a lead-off home run against theWashington Nationals, as well as one against theNew York Mets in his fourth game. Oeltjen hit his three home runs in his first 20at bats.[4] He also came one hit shy of thecycle in a four hit game on 11 August.[5] The four hits meant that he became the fifth player in the "expansion era" since 1961 to have twelve hits in the first five major league games played.[6]
On 29 August Oeltjen was optioned back to Reno forChris Young as he had only 5 hits in his last 55 at-bats.[7] He was recalled only 10 days later,[8] and on 10 September as apinch runner, was the winning run against theLos Angeles Dodgers in a base-on-ballswalk-off.[9]
Oeltjen signed a minor league contract which included an invitation to spring training with theMilwaukee Brewers on 4 December 2009.[10] In 70 games for the Triple-ANashville Sounds, Oeltjen slashed .301/.355/.496 with eight home runs, 38 RBI, and 13 stolen bases. On 1 July 2010, he exercised an out clause in his contract and was granted his release from the Brewers.[11]
On 6 July 2010, Oeltjen signed with theLos Angeles Dodgers and was assigned to Triple-AAlbuquerque Isotopes.[12] He hit .347 in 49 games for the Isotopes. Oeltjen was called up to the Dodgers on 7 September.[13] He appeared in 14 games with the Dodgers, getting 5 hits in 23 at-bats for a .217 average. On 3 December, he was non-tendered, making him a free agent. He was re-signed by the Dodgers to a minor league contract on 7 December. He was named on the roster for theAustralian Baseball League franchiseSydney Blue Sox in the offseason[14] However, he never played during the Australian summer and was assigned to Triple-A Albuquerque for 2011. With the Isotopes, Oeltjen was hitting .339 with eight home runs and 34 RBI in 56 games. He was called back up to the Dodgers on 9 June and remained with the club the rest of the season as a reserve outfielder. He hit .197 in 61 games with 2 home runs and stole 6 bases.
Oeltjen wasdesignated for assignment by the Dodgers on 14 May 2012, but remained with the Isotopes, where he hit .294 in 112 games. On 6 October, Oeltjen elected free agency.
On November 15, 2012, Oeltjen signed a minor league contract with theLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim organization.[15] He spent the 2013 campaign with the Triple-ASalt Lake Bees, hitting .255/.345/.484 with 14 home runs, 49 RBI, and 21 stolen bases across 99 appearances.
On 31 March 2014, the Diamondbacks signed Oeltjen to a minor league contract. He briefly returned to theReno Aces, the Diamondbacks' Triple-A affiliate, before being loaned to theToros de Tijuana of theMexican Baseball League. Oeltjen appeared in 10 games for the Toros before being returned to the Aces, where he played in 13 games before being released on 19 May.
In January 2015, while playing inAustralia for theSydney Blue Sox, he announced his retirement from professional baseball.[16]
During the summer of 2016, Oeltjen briefly joined thePittsburg Diamonds of thePacific Association, an independent baseball league. Oeltjen appeared in only two games, going 3-for-7 (.429) with a home run.
Leading up to the inaugural season of the newABL in 2010/11, Oeltjen was named to theSydney Blue Sox roster and saw action in two games for the Blue Sox that year. After spending 2011 and 2012 with theDodgers, he returned for the 2013/14 and 2014/15 ABL seasons with the Blue Sox, seeing positive returns and his role expanded each year.
Oeltjen would not return for the 2015/16 season, but signed with the defending championBrisbane Bandits for the 2016/17 season. Oeltjen contributed a key two-run double in the Preliminary final series against theAdelaide Bite. The Bandits would go on to defend their title, defeating theMelbourne Aces in two games.
In February 2016, Oeltjen played right field for theAustralia national baseball team in the2017 World Baseball Classic – Qualifier 1. Australia defeated the Philippines and South Africa twice to advance in the tournament. He appeared in all three games, going 5-for-9 with two walks, three runs, and four RBI.
In July 2016, Oeltjen played for Australia during the2016 Haarlem Baseball Week, splitting time between right field and DH. Over seven games, Oeltjen went 8-for-28 (.286) with a solo home run off of the Netherlands'Jim Ploeger. Oeltjen was named Most Popular Player in the tournament. Australia placed third overall.
Oeltjen returned to theWorld Baseball Classic in 2017 to compete with Australia. Australia was eliminated in the first round, losing to both Japan and Cuba. Oeltjen appeared in two games, both times as thedesignated hitter, going 1-for-7, with three strikeouts and a walk. His lone hit was a solo home run off of Cuba'sVladimir García.
Oeltjen completed his schooling atGilroy College,Castle Hill and graduated in 2000. He and pitcherRyan Rowland-Smith co-founded NxtGen Baseball, a training camp for young baseball players.
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