At five years old, David Sutherland didn’t know where this sport could take him.
He just wanted to play baseball.
His older brother had started playing T-ball with school friends at Mitchelton, now Pine Hills Baseball Club, and David went along to watch.
He wasn’t quite old enough to play, but he knew immediately that he wanted to be part of it.
The following year, he got his chance.
“They let me play and I was just hooked from the start,” David said.
From then on, baseball became the thing David couldn’t wait for.
The time between school finishing on a Friday and the play ball call at his weekly game seemed like an eternity.
“I do remember sitting there waiting in my uniform and stuff from the time school finished to when the games were at like 6:00 that night.”
While his two brothers eventually stopped playing as juniors, David kept going. He wanted to play the next season, and then the next one, and the one after that.
“I just wanted to play and I loved it.”
That simple love of the game would eventually become a career spanning the highest levels of Queensland and Australian baseball — and now, more than three decades after that five-year-old first stepped onto the diamond, it has taken David all the way to the Baseball Queensland Hall of Fame.
The kid who couldn’t wait to play
There was never much need to convince David to get ready for baseball.
The excitement was already there.
Even as his career progressed, that eagerness remained. He describes himself as someone who was always organised and always ready to go, but his approach on game day was deliberately calm.
Rather than spending hours thinking about the game ahead, David preferred to switch off, relax and save his energy for when the first pitch arrived.
“I just actually tried to be as relaxed as possible and as low-key as possible and just save it off when the game starts.”
Once the game started, though, there was a plan.
David always wanted to know what he was facing and what he wanted to do, but perhaps most importantly, he wanted to stay in the moment.
“The most important thing for me was just being in the moment all the time.”
That approach would serve him throughout a career that eventually took him far beyond the fields where it began.
From Pine Hills to the Bandits
As a teenager, opportunities began to emerge.
After representing Queensland and attending the Australian Academy, David attracted interest from several Major League organisations, including the Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Dodgers.
As a young player, however, those possibilities weren’t necessarily what drove him.
He simply remembered watching the Brisbane Bandits play at the RNA Showgrounds and QE2 Stadium and thinking how incredible it would be to one day take the field himself.
That dream eventually became reality.
When the Australian Baseball League entered its new era around 2010, David was part of the Brisbane Bandits’ return, playing alongside many of the players he had shared the field with throughout his Queensland career.
“There was just a lot of excitement at the start,” he said.
The Bandits didn’t immediately find success, but David remembers those early years fondly.
“Having all these people get to watch us play at that level was a lot of fun.”
The moments that stay with you
For David, some of his greatest baseball memories aren’t necessarily about individual achievements.
They’re about the teams.
The teammates.
The moments when everyone played their part.
He remembers Queensland’s Claxton Shield victories and one dramatic comeback against Victoria, when the team found itself six or seven runs behind late in the final before fighting its way back to level the game.
David contributed a triple before Queensland eventually completed the comeback.
“Everyone just played their part.”
There were individual moments, too.
One of the most memorable came during his time with the Bandits, when David hit a walk-off home run against the Melbourne Aces in a dramatic one-game playoff.
It remains a moment his former teammates still bring up whenever they catch up.
“I’ve never been one to talk myself up, but yeah, guys love that moment.”
For David, there was always satisfaction in making a big contribution when his team needed it.
While he took great pride in his defence, there was still nothing quite like coming up with a big hit.
“There’s no better feeling than hitting a home run or coming up with a big hit, to be honest.”
Stay in the fight
If baseball gave David a career, it also gave him lessons he could carry into life.
The sport is humbling. There will be days when the ball doesn’t bounce your way, when you don’t get a hit or when you make an error.
But there is always another opportunity.
As many teens are as they grow and learn how to use their new limbs, David was easily distinguished out on the diamond for his tall lanky appearance. An attribute lending itself to a few stumbles and ‘goofy’ moments.
A name that he would take in his stride for the rest of his career.
“It’s not going to be awesome the whole time. It’s going to be hard.”
The important thing, David learned, is to stay in the fight.
“There’s always the chance to bounce back and come back and just stay in the fight.”
It’s a philosophy he now takes into coaching, encouraging young players to remember that one difficult moment doesn’t define their game.
There’s always another ground ball.
Another at-bat.
Another chance to contribute.
A full-circle return
After years playing at the highest levels, David eventually returned to Pine Hills, taking on the role of player-coach for two seasons.
It was a fitting return to the club where his baseball journey began.
“I’ve always wanted to be at Pine Hills. I never really wanted to leave.”
For David, the opportunity to coach at his original club was a chance to give something back to a place that had given him so much.
“It was a really cool thing to be able to do that.”
A Hall of Fame honour
David’s induction into the Baseball Queensland Hall of Fame came as something of a surprise.
He knew he had been nominated, but when Rob Moden contacted him with the news, he wasn’t expecting it.
“It was a pretty big shock. I didn’t expect it at all.”
He spent the evening talking to his parents and messaging friends, sharing the news with the people who had been part of his journey.
The reaction was one of overwhelming happiness.
“They all believe I deserve this.”
For David, the honour is made even more meaningful by what it represents.
He has watched the names already in the Hall of Fame throughout his baseball life, and now his own name will sit alongside them.
“It’s the coolest thing I think about it — just that they’ve recognised what I’ve done and what I’ve done to help Queensland Baseball.”
It is an extraordinary full circle for the kid who once came home from school, put his baseball uniform on and waited by the door for hours until it was time to leave.
He didn’t know where baseball would take him.
He just knew he wanted to play.