{"id":581455,"date":"2026-04-02T21:15:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T21:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/581455\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T21:15:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T21:15:26","slug":"queensland-teenager-patrick-crotty-signs-with-united-states-major-league-baseball-team-for-2026-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/581455\/","title":{"rendered":"Queensland teenager Patrick Crotty signs with United States major league baseball team for 2026 season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Redcliffe teenager Patrick Crotty was just five years old when he pitched his first baseball in the backyard with his three older brothers.<\/p>\n

Now the 17-year-old has become the first Australian to secure a professional baseball contract for the 2026 season after signing on with the Philadelphia Phillies last week.<\/p>\n

For Crotty, the signing is a “dream come true”.<\/p>\n

\"A Patrick is the first Australian baseballer to sign a professional baseball contract this year.(Supplied)<\/p>\n

“It was awesome. Me and Mum were sitting down and they gave us a call and it was just a moment we got to experience together.”<\/p>\n

Crotty said his mother had been instrumental in his success.<\/p>\n

“She’s had to pay for a lot of things, especially with all four boys playing competitive baseball,” he said.<\/p>\n

“A lot of money has gone to the game, so hopefully it’s worth it for her.”\"A Patrick Crotty with his mother Jo Crotty.(Supplied)<\/p>\n

Of course, she has provided more than just financial support.<\/p>\n

“She’s been by my side through everything, through the ups and downs she’s just been able to provide and she’s really special to me,” he said.<\/p>\n

The downs included a shoulder injury in 2024 which forced him off the pitching mound for six months while he recovered.<\/p>\n

\"Four The youngest of four boys, Patrick Crotty was born into a family of baseball lovers.(Supplied)A family sport<\/p>\n

The sport is in his blood \u2014 it is a passion the teenager’s late father shared alongside his mother.<\/p>\n

Crotty now wears the number 43 on his jersey to honour his father, who passed away when he was just a year old.<\/p>\n

“It’s to remember my dad’s age, when he died. It’s something I take with me to every game and it’s something I can wear with pride,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"A Patrick Crotty’s father, Rohan, was also a baseball pitcher before he passed away at the age of 43.(Supplied)<\/p>\n

“Having his number with me is just really good.”<\/p>\n

A pitcher just like his dad, Crotty said he had clocked nearly 150 kilometres per hour out on the field.<\/p>\n

He said while “it’s pretty fast”, he would have to work to get faster to break into the top leagues in the US.<\/p>\n

Older brother Eddie Crotty said the entire family was proud of him.<\/p>\n

“We all love the game. The whole family has had heaps of people reaching out congratulating him because it’s a big achievement for himself.”<\/p>\n

\"A Patrick said one of his favourite memories was going undefeated for an entire season when he was in Little League.(Supplied)<\/p>\n

Patrick Crotty said one of his favourite memories was going undefeated for an entire season when he was in Little League. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

\"A Patrick Crotty (third from right) when he represented Australia for the first time in 2024.(Supplied)<\/p>\n

Patrick Crotty (third from right) when he represented Australia for the first time in 2024. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

\"A xxx(Supplied)<\/p>\n

A keen baseball player on and off the field. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

\"Patrick Patrick and his brothers played for their local Redcliffe baseball teams throughout their childhood.(Supplied)<\/p>\n

Patrick Crotty and his brothers played for their local Redcliffe baseball teams throughout their childhood. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

He said their next goal was to travel to the US to watch him play.<\/p>\n

“It’d be good to be on the sidelines and watch your brother perform on the world stage. It’d be unreal.”<\/p>\n

Crotty has already represented both Queensland and Australia on the international stage.<\/p>\n

He is now one of just 43 Australians who are playing baseball professionally overseas.<\/p>\n

\"A Patrick’s fastball clocks in at almost 150 km\/h.(Supplied)<\/p>\n

Crotty will travel to the Dominican Republic next week where he will continue training while his US work visa is processed.<\/p>\n

From there, he will relocate to Florida to begin his six-year contract with the Phillies at the rookie league level.<\/p>\n

Crotty encouraged other keen baseballers to pursue their passion.<\/p>\n

“It’s always possible, just keep chasing the dream.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Redcliffe teenager Patrick Crotty was just five years old when he pitched his first baseball in the backyard…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581456,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,81,4034,284826,5882,591,19548,5136,2365,33372,94,701,120149,85],"class_list":["post-581455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian","tag-baseball","tag-crotty","tag-major-league-baseball","tag-mlb","tag-patrick","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-phillies","tag-professional","tag-qld","tag-queensland","tag-redcliffe","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}