The once-promising AFL player hitting home runs in US Major League

Curtis Mead, from Adelaide, is one of just a few dozen Australians to make it in Major League Baseball. (ABC News: Cameron Schwarz) Link copiedShareShare articleWhen Curtis Mead tried to introduce Vegemite to his American teammates in Florida during spring training last year, the reaction was as strong as the condiment. "There wasn't a whole lot of fans of it in the clubhouse," he told the ABC. So when he signed with the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball team earlier this year, club manager Blake Butera had a rule. "I told him Vegemite is not good, so he's not allowed to [give any to the other players]," he said. Curtis Mead signed with the Washington Nationals earlier this year. (ABC News: Cameron Schwarz) The 25-year-old hit his fourth home run of the season in April. (ABC News: Cameron Schwarz) Mead, 25, was once a promising young AFL hopeful but as a teenager was forced to choose between the iconically Australian sport and America's pastime. At just 17, he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies for $US200,000 ($276,000) a year. Eight years later, he's earning $US780,000 ($1.1 million) — more than double the average AFL footballer — and he's still on minimum wage by Major League standards. Last month, Mead hit his fourth home run of the Major League season, a feeling few Australians have or will ever experience. "The atmosphere of the Major League stadiums over here is just crazy so to be able to take the slow jog around the base is a nice feeling." A promising AFL player when he was younger, Curtis Mead had to choose between Australian football and baseball. (ABC News: Cameron Schwarz) Curtis Mead is now earning more than double the average AFL footballer's salary. (ABC News: Cameron Schwarz) In Australia, a country dominated by cricket, football and rugby, baseball barely gets a look in. Fewer than 40 Australians have made it to the US Major League. But for Mead, the sport runs in the family, having been passed down through the generations by his grandfather, who picked it up while stationed in Darwin during the war. "The US soldiers in World War II taught my grandpa the game and then he taught his sons," he said. "I'm the third generation of baseball players in our family, so it's pretty cool." Curtis Mead has played for several teams, after he was initially signed on a minor league contract to the Philadelphia Phillies. (ABC News: Cameron Schwarz) His grandfather passed a love of baseball through the generations in Curtis Mead's family. (ABC News: Cameron Schwarz) The atmosphere in Major League stadiums "is just crazy", Curtis Mead says. (ABC News: Cameron Schwarz) Recently, Mead was joined in the Major League by Australian Travis Bazzana, who debuted for the Cleveland Guardians in April after being selected as the first overall draft pick in 2024. Mead said it was a special feeling to be flying the flag together. "He's a great player," Mead told the ABC. "We got to spend a bit more time together at the World Baseball Classic and I'm just super excited for him and looking forward to following his career." Butera is a big fan of his new recruit, who he describes as very curious, hardworking and a lot of fun. The Nationals' manager spent three months in Australia and says he was impressed by the standard of baseball there. "I thought that there were some really good athletes that really care about baseball," he said. "And I think as we've seen internationally, they've done a pretty good job as well in the WBC [World Baseball Classic] in years past." He is hoping to see more players follow in Mead's footsteps. "The coaching over there, the training — I think there's definitely some untapped potential over in Australia that I think they're currently tapping into." Curtis Mead hopes to inspire Australian kids to give baseball a shot. (ABC News: Cameron Schwarz) As a kid, he did not think making the Major League was much of a possibility, Curtis Mead says. (ABC News: Cameron Schwarz) Mead is also hoping that, alongside Bazzana, he can encourage more young Australians to give baseball a go. "Even the college lifestyle and the opportunities over in America to play baseball at that level is something that we probably don't offer a whole lot in Australia," he said. "I'm hoping that [my experience], Travis's and all the other guys' that have played in the big leagues, hopefully that kind of gives the kids a pathway. "Because when I was 12 years old, I didn't really think this was possible." Copy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)Top StoriesNot moving jobs, states or starting businesses: Data says Australians are stuckTopic:Economic Trends and Indicators

The once-promising AFL player hitting home runs in US Major League

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