Timothy James Kennelly is an Australian baseball player with the Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

 organisation and Perth Heat

Perth Heat

The baseball team Perth Heat is a team in the current Australian Baseball League and a foundation member of the now-defunct Australian Baseball League...

. He primarily plays catcher and third base, but also plays outfield and first base. He is the son of Mike Kennelly, a 16 year PGA veteran and also the older brother of Matthew Kennelly, who plays minor league baseball for the Atlanta Braves

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

 organisation.

Kennelly signed to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2005 as a third baseman

Third baseman

A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...

 through the Major League Baseball Australian Academy Program where he had a good debut season with the GCL Phillies batting .295 and slugging .420.

He debuted as a 19 year old for the Western Australia Heelers in 2006 Claxton Shield as a utility. Due to a torn labrum, he missed the 2006 minor league season. In the 2008 Claxton Shield Final

2008 Claxton Shield Final: Game 1

2008 Claxton Shield Final series Game 1, Perth Heat Vs. New South Wales Patriots....

, Tim and his brother starred for Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

 as they won the Claxton Shield

Claxton Shield

The Claxton Shield was the name of the premier baseball competition in Australia held between state-based teams, as well as the name of the trophy awarded to the champion team...

. They made it two in a row the following year in the 2009 Claxton Shield. Back in America, Kennelly had a breakout year, being promoted to the Reading Phillies, and batted .256/.338/.393 and named as the DH for the Florida State League postseason All-Star team. His efforts were recognised by being selected on the roster for the 2009 Baseball World Cup

2009 Baseball World Cup

The 2009 Baseball World Cup was an international baseball tournament that started on 9 September 2009. The final was held in Nettuno, Italy on 27 September 2009. It was the 38th time the World Cup took place, and the first time that it was hosted by a continent rather than a single country...

 for the Australia national baseball team

Australia national baseball team

The Australian national baseball team represents Australia in international baseball tournaments and competitions. They are ranked as the top team in Oceania, and are the Oceanian Champions, having been awarded the title in 2007 when New Zealand withdrew from the Oceania Baseball Championship. They...

Kennelly is a keen supporter of Australian Rules Football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

, which he had to give up playing to chase his dream of professional baseball.