TOKYO -- Pressure doesn’t faze Tim Kennelly. How could it? The longtime captain for Team Australia -- he’s held the role since 2018 -- has been in real pressure-packed situations: When he’s away from the field, he’s a firefighter in his hometown of Perth. (He’s not the only firefighter in this tournament: His teammate, Logan Wade, is one in Brisbane and so is Czechia pitcher Martin Schneider.)
“Playing in front of 50-60,000 here, people can put a lot of pressure on themselves. But I've been inside burning houses before. And that's pressure, because if you don't perform there, it's life or death,” Kennelly said. “But I love being in those situations and I've always found myself playing at a higher level when you're in those high-pressure situations, like at the fire brigade and playing on the national level.”
Kennelly's name is all over the Australian record books. He owns the ABL’s record for most hits (509), home runs (63), RBIs (256), games played (453), and he’s second in steals with 69. He’s played in every World Baseball Classic since 2013 and he lined up for Australia at the 2019 and 2024 Premier12 tournaments. Australian fans almost can’t picture the national team without Kennelly being at the center of it.
Soon they’ll have to: The 39-year-old father of two is retiring from the game at the end of the tournament.
“A couple of years ago, I probably would have thought I could play forever, but it comes to the stage where you can't,” Kennelly said. “Obviously, super grateful to have been able to play the game for this long and in these tournaments. Putting this uniform on has been the motivation to keep playing and keep trying to stay healthy and keep my body in shape to perform at this level.”
Playing for the national team for so long has allowed the team's captain to see the sport’s growth in the country up close. The team qualified for the quarterfinals for the first time in tournament history in 2023 and is one win away from doing so again this year.
“This tournament is so important to the smaller nations,” manager Dave Nilsson said earlier this week. “I feel like we as a nation have transitioned away from that now. We have really high expectations and we don't consider ourselves a second-tier nation. We kind of feel we're right in the mix of it now.”
This year, Kennelly’s playing alongside the White Sox Curtis Mead -- whose home run helped defeat Czechia 5-1 -- and Travis Bazzana, the No. 1 overall Draft pick in 2024.
“They're some of the best athletes that have ever come out of Australia,” Kennelly said. “So, for me, I’m just making sure they fit into the environment as quick as they can, and then they can go out there and play with the same passion that has got them to this level. They're two really special guys that we're lucky to have on this team.”
He also gets to play with A’s prospect Max Durrington, whose father -- big leaguer Trent Durrington -- was a veteran when Kennelly first broke into the national program.
“The first time I ever put the team Australia uniform on, Trent was on the team,” Kennelly recalled. “It wasn't an official tournament. It was in Perth and we were playing against Chinese Taipei for some practice games.”
Just 18 or 19 years old at the time -- the same age Max is now -- Kennelly remembers how Trent took him under his wing and made him feel comfortable with the veterans. It’s what he is trying to do for the young players on this year’s ballclub.
“Hopefully, I can be that for Max for this year -- and then he'll be on his way,” Kennelly said. “For me, being a captain means going out there, leading by example on and off the field. Play the game hard. We’ve got a lot of young guys that have come into the team and [I need to] make sure they feel as comfortable as quick as they can and they can be themselves in a really comfortable environment.”
When Kennelly’s playing days are done, he’ll use those same skills to raise his two children. His son is nine years old and just won a gold medal at a state Tee Ball championship.
“I was able to FaceTime my wife and watch some of the games,” Kennelly said. “He was super excited. He got a little gold medal. He was just pumped. He loves baseball and loves being around the game, so hopefully he can follow in my footsteps.”
His six-year-old daughter is more into dance than baseball, but she’s well known to the Tokyo Dome fans. At the 2023 tournament, she inspired the Japanese fans to join her in a “Let’s go, Daddy!” cheer every time he stepped up to the plate.
“Oh yeah, she reminds me that she's more famous than me,” Kennelly joked. “I think my wife showed her those old videos, just so she knows what she's competing with.”
Kennelly may have played in the Tokyo Dome often during his national team career, but he still gets chills when he walks into the stadium. But that’s not where he wants his career to end: He wants to help send Australia to Miami for the quarterfinals and beyond.
“I think if we can get to Miami, anything past the quarterfinals is a good feat for Australian baseball, and will support Australian baseball for years to come,” Kennelly said. “That's the goal. Once we get to Miami, we've got nine innings -- and I know that this team, in a nine-inning game, can beat any team in the world.”