Silverchair hit plenty of home runs in its time.
Band members Daniel Johns and Ben Gillies also hit a few out of the ballpark in their baseball days. Their under-14 team - the Phoenix Redbacks - were premiers.
We wrote on Wednesday that Johns and Gillies played in an under-12 cricket team around the time they started the band, which was originally known as The Innocent Criminals.
Steve Petherbridge coached the Phoenix Redbacks side. The year was 1992. The band was playing under the name of Innocent Criminals.
"Both Daniel and Ben were also very good baseball players," Steve said.
"Daniel was our catcher, a position that requires skill, toughness and a good knowledge of the game and its rules.
"Ben was an exceptional all-round player. He could do everything. Bat, field and pitch. Ben was so good that the under-14 Newcastle representative coach, Shane Barclay, kept badgering him with requests to try out for his team."
Shane is now manager of the Sydney Blue Sox professional baseball team.
"Fortunately for the music world, Ben didn't take up Shane's offer," Steve quipped.
The year the boys won the premiership with Phoenix Redbacks, The Innocent Criminals played at the club's junior presentation.
Away They Went
Toronto's John Carr said the story about the Silverchair boys playing cricket reminded him that The Innocent Criminals "took part in a video shoot at The Lock-Up in the former Newcastle police station [now an art gallery]".
"The building where the recording was made includes a padded cell and an exercise yard. It wasn't long after that they changed their name to Silverchair and away they went," he said.
Oh Christmas Tree
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Perhaps you're in the mood for a real Christmas tree, rather than a plastic one.
If so, 120 real trees will be for sale in Newcastle's Civic Park on Sunday for $40 each. The trees have been part of a Christmas tree maze in the park.
All money raised goes to support the Salvos' Christmas Appeal, helping those doing it tough with hampers, toys and meals.
Christmas Tree Jokes
What does a Christmas tree and Donald Trump have in common? Both will be gone in January.
Why are Christmas trees so bad at sewing? They keep dropping their needles.
What do you call a Christmas tree that only appears in action movies? Spruce Willis.
What do you get when you mix a Christmas tree and an iPad? Pineapple.
Why do you trim your Christmas tree before you put it up? To make sure it's presentable.
