New Zealand's latest professional sports club has been unveiled today with the Auckland Tuatara set to join the Australian Baseball League.
Baseball New Zealand revealed the club's official name, logo and colours today with the team opting to pay homage to one of the country's most ancient species.
"The tuatara is an iconic creature unique to New Zealand and part of the Hauraki Gulf Islands conservation programme in Auckland," board member Brett O'Riley said.
"We are celebrating the resilience of the tuatara as our oldest surviving species, and we want the team to mirror those qualities on the diamond."
The former Diamondbacks and Braves pitcher headlines the signings ahead of the unnamed NZ team’s inaugural season in the Australia Baseball League.
The franchise, who made the announcement at Auckland Zoo, also announced they plan to make "annual contributions towards tuatara conservation".
"Global coverage of the team will raise awareness of New Zealand’s commitment to species protection," O'Riley said.
The team will make it's debut later this year in the ABL, however home games will be played at a temporary home at McLeod Park with their permanent base in Albany not ready until 2019.
Their first game on New Zealand soil is on November 22.
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