By Nick Creely
IT’S been a few months since Lachlan Madden touched down at Melbourne Airport.
The 20-year-old baseball star was a part of the Baseball Australia Under 23 world cup team, where the Aussies claimed historic silver in Mexico from late October to early November.
Despite going into the tournament as extreme outsiders, the Aussies showed off their trademark grit, grinding out win after win, even with foreign and at times daunting conditions.
And Madden told the Gazette that despite it being slightly different from home, he nonetheless enjoyed the experience of wearing the green and gold.
“This was my first time in Mexico, but not my first time playing in a Latin country, but the culture is definitely different over there, I still enjoyed the experience and seeing a new country,” he said.
“Mexico was definitely an experience, in saying that the tournament itself was run really well and the facilities were for the most part very nice, I really enjoyed the trip to Mexico.”
It was a brilliant tournament for the Australian team, stunning the other nations to quality for a do or die clash against top ranked side Japan, where they narrowly went down fighting despite giving the champs a scare.
“The team was outstanding, we had an extremely short time to come together and get ready but we all gelled really well,” he said.
“The team wasn’t the best team on paper but we all worked together and had the same goals.
“We all were extremely proud to wear the Australian uniform.”
On an individual sense, Madden shone bright, and despite limited opportunities, did his job and played a major part of the country’s success.
“I feel like I did well, but I didn’t get slot of game time due to my role as a short reliever but I’m very happy with my performance nonetheless,” he said.
It’s been an intriguing journey for the talented Berwick Dodger and Cheltenham Rustler, who was signed out of high school a few years back by the Houston Astros, before being cut early in 2016 despite some strong performances.
Across the 20-year-old’s 34-game minor league career, he had eight saves and 40 strikeouts from 46.2 innings pitched, numbers that suggest Madden has the talent to make it in the big time.
Only a few months ago, Rustlers vice-president John Ferguson said that the experience of being cut by the Astros, despite the disappointment, probably matured him and made him re-think how he goes about his game.
“He’s really reinvented himself as a mature age player, and that takes a bit of doing,” Ferguson said.
“After his professional experience, he’s really coming back and making the most of the Australian scene, which is quite a strong scene.”
Speaking about the future, Madden does not know where his career will take him, but the taste of international experience this year has him hungry to go one step further with the Aussies.
“I’m unsure where my career will go from here, but I do dream of playing in the Olympics in 2020, which baseball has recently been put back into the Olympics but there is a long road to putting the Australian team in the Olympics,” he said.
