Will Adam Gilchrist Be the Future Jason Varitek?

Baseball and cricket have long been viewed as distant cousins at loggerheads. But if one goes by news reports, Australian cricket star Adam Gilchrist might be the bridge to connect these stick and ball sports. However, it's still iffy whether Gilchrist could end up as the next biggest slugger in America. He has got the power, precision, and timing — traits that mold a slugger's career.

Obviously, Gilchrist's smashing hits have not only made headline news in Australia, but also in one certain ball club that now seemingly basks in the glory of demystifying an 86-year-old myth (need anymore clues?). Recent news reports about the Boston Red Sox planning to offer Gilchrist a tryout cannot be rubbished aside as mere PR glib.

According to an Associated Press story, the Red Sox first base coach and recruiting agent Jon Deeble had informed the club about Gilchrist's swashbuckling stroke play.

"We expressed interest in him and we think he has a lot of potential, and the club has tapes of him batting," Deeble said. "Boston has a payroll of $160 million a year and it's something worth having a look at."

Considering the paycheck that cricket offers, Gilchrist, though his agent strongly refutes any idea of Gilchrist crossing the pond, could be lured into signing a contract since baseball salaries often dwarf those of cricket's.

For his part, Gilchrist's agent, Steve Atkinson, issued a bland press statement.

"Adam has taken this as a compliment," Atkinson told the AP. "There are any number of collegiate players in America who would cut their non-pitching arm off to get a call from a major league team saying we would like to come down and have a look at you.

He went on to reiterate Gilchrist's commitment toward cricket. "Cricket remains his number one priority and the approach may not come to anything but it is genuine. If we did anything it would have to fit in with his cricket commitments."

But Deeble in an e-mail has suggested that the whole issue has been blown out of proportions by the press. "This was beat up by the press and was never an option," Deeble said. However, with the ahead-of-the-curve thinking and 'moneyball' tactics by Theo Epstein and the Red Sox front office, anything is possible. Moreover in baseball, anything that's outrageously ridiculous is just a spring training away from reality.

Getting Gilchrist wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. He has the uncanny knack of sweet-spotting the ball every time he comes to the crease (nee plate.) He has amazing hand-eye coordination, a pre-requisite in both baseball and cricket. But talking him into accepting an offer to move his family to the States will be a tall order and his age might be a deterrent from offering a major league contract right away. Gilchrist, who is now 33, has already plotted his cricketing career, and would want to hang up his boots by the end of 2007 to spend more time with his family.

It will be interesting to see how the Australian wicketkeeper (catcher) manages to cope with a round bat rather than a straight one — if he ends up in major leagues, that is. But getting to the basics won't be a problem since Gilchrist has played baseball as a school kid when he was 14-years-old.

Still, Deeble and Atkinson would want us to believe that this whole issue is far-fetched and pretty much a matter of barstool banter.

However, Gilchrist won't be the first Australian to play in the major leagues. There have been several occasions when Australians have tried out baseball. Brett Lee, Australia's strike bowler (pitcher in baseball lingo) actually tried out for the Arizona Diamondbacks. But he got disinterested and came back to Australia to kick-start his successful cricket campaign.

Furthermore, great Australian cricketers of the past eras have always tested the waters in baseball. Allan Border, Greg Chappell, and Ian Chappell are a few of the Aussie greats to have taken up the sport either out of curiosity or for sheer fun. One of Chappell's nephews actually made it to the farm system of the Toronto Blue Jays.

If the various hurdles are cleared for Gilchrist to play for the Red Sox, it could actually open up new vistas for several hard-hitting cricketers. And the only problem would be for the scouts. Not only will they be camping in Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, but England, South Africa, and India might also be included in their travel schedule. But that remains a stretch at the moment, thankfully.