Bananas, bears and baseball: Blake Cavill brings the fun wherever he goes

The impacts of positivity and joy on one Aussie’s baseball career
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Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Aug. 21, 2015.

Blake Cavill is on the mound for Team Australia, pitching against Venezuela in the opening round of the 2015 Little League World Series.

Pitch after pitch, he is setting batters down by way of the strikeout. Throwing over 70 mph and mixing in a nasty slider, the 12-year-old looks untouchable.

His pitch count is rising, but he doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Mowing through the competition, Blake looks to put his name in the record books.

Through just 3 2/3 innings, he strikes out his 10th batter of the game. That mark makes it the most strikeouts ever in a game for an Australian-born pitcher in the LLWS.

Blake has worked since he was just 4 years old to get to this moment, and it’s living up to every expectation he had, and then some. From playing in front of 30,000 people, to signing hundreds of autographs on the walk to the field, it was a dream come true.

“Before we even went [to Williamsport], we watched videos of all the years thinking, ‘Imagine that could be us,’” Blake said. “We watched highlight videos of every team, then when we actually [got there], I couldn’t believe it.”

Nearly 10 years later on Saturday, July 29, 2024, Blake finds himself on a completely different stage, climbing into the left-handed batter’s box for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

He’s getting his first at-bat with his new team, in a game against the Brewster Whitecaps on the road. After taking one pitch, Blake turns on a changeup, depositing it over the right field wall at Stony Brook Field for a home run.

There’s been a lot of change throughout the near-decade between these two moments, but one thing has stayed consistent — Blake’s love for the game of baseball.

The Sydney native has played for countless different teams, both pitching and hitting over this time, learning so much about how to play the game the right way.

The "right way" could be seen in many different ways, depending on who you ask, but for Blake, that means having fun above anything else.

“Everything you do, you’ve always gotta have fun with it,” Blake said. “I love having fun at the baseball field, I like having fun everywhere. That fits my personality great, going to the ballpark every day knowing that I’m going to have so much fun either way.”

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In 2024, there’s a new form of baseball that has taken the world by storm. "Banana Ball" has been popularized over the last two years, with the Savannah Bananas creating a whole new way to play and watch America’s pastime.

The whole goal behind the new type of baseball is to have the most fun possible. This caught the attention of Blake’s father, Matthew Cavill. Matthew decided to get involved in the festivities, creating a team that could face off against the Bananas, and thus, the Aussie Drop Bears were born.

The Drop Bears traveled to Savannah to take on the Bananas in June 2023, with Blake’s name on the roster. This new type of baseball, along with being a fun experience, taught him the best ways to stay loose and have fun at the field, no matter what team he’s playing for.

“They teach you [with the] Bananas how to have fun, and I can bring that [anywhere] and show the guys that baseball is fun,” Blake said. “You don’t have to worry about bad games, even if you have a bad game, [you have to] make sure you’re still having fun while you’re playing.”

This mindset has created Blake into a fan favorite across every team that he’s been with to this point. This is especially prevalent with the Harbor Hawks, where he has made sure to put on a show for every fan in attendance, whether he’s on the field or in the dugout.

Whether it’s his big smile that seems to never leave his face, or his willingness to talk to any fan who’s willing to listen, the Aussie has left his mark on the Hyannis faithful.

You can see Blake plastered across the team’s social media, taking every opportunity to showcase his personality. He proves day in and day out that he is the biggest fan of everyone in the organization, from players and coaches, to interns and board members.

This positivity that he brings has proved to be huge in the Harbor Hawks finishing the regular season atop the Western Division.

“[Blake] has a contagious personality that everybody wants to be around,” head coach Mitch Karraker said. “He makes coming to the yard fun every day … I’ve [coached] some energetic guys, but I don’t think anybody talks as much as Blake does, and it’s great because it keeps everybody loose.”

Baseball as a sport is a game of failure, with even the best hitters only being successful around 30% of the time. Slumps happen as well, and Blake unfortunately dealt with one after his initial home run in his debut in the blue and orange.

Most fans wouldn’t know any different, however, because there was no change in how Blake handled himself on a day-to-day basis. He knew that getting down on himself would only make it harder to get back on track.

After taking a few days away from the Harbor Hawks to play again for the Drop Bears this season, Blake got things going at the plate again. A big part of that was the confidence he gained with his new Drop Bears green bat that he named "Steve Irwin."

Named after the infamous Australian outdoorsman, Steve Irwin provided hits in multiple games before eventually breaking just a few days after its debut, luckily not putting an end to Blake’s resurgence at the plate. He was then given "the outback bat" from teammate J.P. Acosta and blasted a home run in his first full game with the new twig.

Acosta is just one of many new players who have made their way to Hyannis over the course of the summer and immediately become close with Blake. His welcoming personality has made the transition for new players much easier when joining the team.

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Blake’s close relationships with teammates comes from exposure to many different teams and teammates throughout his career. Outside of the LLWS team, Blake also had the chance to play for his country in the U-15 and U-18 Baseball World Cups in Japan and South Korea.

These experiences had plenty of great aspects such as staying in five-star hotels, but nothing compared to the new friends and relationships that the players made. Blake ended up meeting Paul Schmitz during his time in Japan, a player he’d end up becoming teammates with eight years later on Cape Cod.

The players played with and against the best of the best, on big stages with more eyes watching than ever, truly getting set up for any big moments that could come in the future.

“Playing in those big crowds when you’re younger, you have to figure out quick what you can and can’t do,” Blake said. “If you do something wrong, even if you’re 12 [years old] fans will still chirp you. You have to figure out how to hold yourself on the baseball field.”

Playing for these prolific teams as a kid set Blake up to start playing professional baseball at just 17 years old for the Sydney Blue Sox in the Australian Baseball League. He got the chance to play with and against an even better level of competition, with some players that he had a hard time believing were his teammates.

Growing up, Blake was a fan of the Boston Red Sox due to his father’s alliance to the team. Despite his mother rooting for the rival New York Yankees, Blake was a passionate fan of the Bo-Sox. Blake grew more and more accustomed to learning from how players like Dustin Pedroia played the game of baseball, hoping to someday be able to play alongside MLB talent.

That wish came true sooner than he expected, with Red Sox legend Manny Ramirez joining the Sydney Blue Sox in Blake’s second season with the team. The two were 30 years apart in age, with Ramirez leading by example by showing the younger guys on the team how to work like a true professional.

Through two years with the team, Blake pitched for one year and hit the next. By playing on both sides, he found that he wanted to pursue hitting exclusively for the rest of his career.

“I decided hitting was more fun,” Blake said. “I just didn’t like pitching that much, it wasn’t my cup of tea.”

With no college sports being played in Australia, it was time for Blake to make a decision on what to do next in his career. He knew that in his limited time in the United States, he enjoyed the food, weather and level of baseball competition, eventually making it an easy choice to search for a college in the U.S. where he could continue to play the game he loved.

The search consisted of Blake doing a Google search of "Best American Junior Colleges." This brought Northwest Florida State College to his attention, and he quickly, after looking where the school was and seeing their baseball field, made sure to reach out.

Within two or three days, the school responded to his message, set up a phone call and offered him a scholarship. No visit, no negotiation needed. Both sides were ecstatic about the opportunity.

Through two years in JUCO ball, Blake of course made a bunch of friends, while also playing at a high level on the diamond. He notched a .338/.490/.532 slash line in his second season. Over both seasons, he recorded 52 hits with 10 doubles, one triple, six home runs and 30 RBI.

Being forced again to make another decision on what was next after his second year, Blake was offered the chance to play at multiple different Division I schools.

He chose to put his name in the transfer portal and ended up deciding to take his talents to Western Kentucky University to play for the Hilltoppers. The decision was based largely on the coaching staff, as the new unit was also coming in from JUCO schools at the time.

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Blake appeared in 58 games while making 57 starts as the everyday first baseman for the Hilltoppers. He finished with a team-high in both batting average at .313 and OBP at .443 with a .527 slugging percentage. He also led the team with 19 doubles and had eight home runs with 47 RBI and 48 runs scored.

Outside of the cold weather in Kentucky, it was a great experience for Blake, setting him up with a chance to come play for the Cape Cod Baseball League.

“One of my mentors gave me a phone call one day and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got you a spot on the Cape if you want to come play,’” Blake said. “I was shocked because I never thought I’d be able to play [on the Cape] ever. When I got the call, I was so excited, and now it’s been a dream.”

Before suiting up for Hyannis, Blake started the 2024 summer playing for the Falmouth Commodores. He tallied four hits and five walks in five games before joining the Harbor Hawks for the rest of the season.

Even playing professionally, in World Cups and in NCAA Division I baseball, Blake noticed the level of play was at its highest in the CCBL. During his time playing summer ball, he decided to transfer schools for his senior year, wanting to make a move to a more competitive conference.

Blake decided to commit to play his fourth collegiate year at Troy University for the Trojans. Besides the higher level of play, Blake came to love the coaching staff at Troy, immediately becoming close with his new leaders.

Learning from his time with the Harbor Hawks, Blake knows that an increase in skill among his opponents could bring some times when he is not as dominant as he can be at times. After homering in his first at-bat for Hyannis, Blake went through a bit of a slump before eventually getting back on track to end out his summer.

Through his struggles at the plate, Blake’s mindset stayed positive, making sure that he didn’t get down on himself at any point.

“If you’re not happy when you’re playing baseball, then you shouldn’t play baseball,” Blake said. “We play every day, so knowing that we have games that keep coming and coming, you just have to wipe the memory after every game.”

This mentality has proved to be effective for Blake both on and off the field, with his constant happiness turning him into a fan favorite on every team that he’s played on to this point.

After a home game for Hyannis this summer, the kids who attended the contest were allowed to run the bases after the conclusion of the ninth inning. The Harbor Hawks had just lost a tough game with many players being upset about the outcome, but if you looked at Blake you would see the opposite.

As each child touched home plate, they were greeted by Blake with an infectious smile, where he introduced himself and asked each and every kid what their name was and if they enjoyed the game. The joy across each child’s face was contagious, inspiring the rest of the players to follow in their teammate's footsteps.

“[The fans] come out, so I have to make sure they get a memorable experience,” Blake said. “… Even if you get out, you don’t show bad body language, you don’t swear, none of that; just in case there’s little kids out there, moms, families. If you always look happy, they’re going to be happy for you either way.”

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Inspiring happiness is something that Blake prides himself on doing daily, whether it’s to keep his teammates loose during a long game or just making a person laugh with a silly joke.

The looseness and fun that Blake brings to his teams has been welcomed in Hyannis, with every player seeming to have only good things to say about their Australian teammate. During a 40-game season where games are almost every day of the week, Blake’s ability to make coming to the field fun each day has been very beneficial.

“There’s a lot of pressure put on kids these days with the draft and the agents and the expectations of things that they’re supposed to do [on the Cape],” Karraker said. “At the end of the day, it’s still a game, and I think that guys play at their best when they’re having fun. Blake helps them remember that, and it gets them in a good spot to where they can free it up and have some fun.”

The main goal of Blake’s goofiness at the end of the day is to help his team win. The first baseman is a great player with a lot of confidence in himself, but he’s still willing to make sacrifices for his team, no matter the cost.

In a game around the midway point of the summer, Blake found himself at the plate with runners on first and second with no outs. Karraker gave no signs down from his spot in the third base coach’s box, letting his big-time bat swing away if he pleased.

Despite being tied for the second-most home runs on the team and being in a great spot to possibly drive in a run or two, Blake decided on his own to attempt a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners up 90 feet.

After two failed bunt attempts, Karraker figured Blake would swing away, but to his surprise, the Aussie attempted another bunt, eventually striking out. Blake goofily smacked his bat on his helmet on the way back to the dugout, and Karraker couldn’t help but laugh.

“That’s the kind of kid he is,” Karraker said. “It doesn’t matter for him that he gets the hit, it matters that we win the game. That selfless mentality, that mentality that, ‘It doesn’t matter what I do, how can I help the team win?’ I think that was a funny way of showing it, but one that I will absolutely never forget.”

Having played for a bunch of different teams at a bunch of different levels of play has exposed Blake to all kinds of people and different ways to play the game of baseball. If there’s one thing that he’s learned along the way, it’s how to have a good time, no matter the circumstances.

“I bring the fun everywhere I go,” Blake said.

Mike Maynard can be reached at mikemay62@gmail.com and followed on Twitter/X @mikecmaynard.