Oxfring, who was the pitching coach for the Sydney Blue Sox, took the mound as the team's second pitcher in the 10th round of the 2023-2024 regular season against the Perth Heat and left the mound on the 21st with one hit (one homer) and one strikeout in one ⅔. He threw only 14 pitches to handle five outcounts.
Oxfring took the mound on the day at the final game of the regular season of the Australian professional baseball. As Sydney was at the bottom of the regular season, the game itself was not of significant importance. However, the situation itself could have been burdensome. He took the mound as his team's second pitcher with one out and runners on the first and second bases in the top of the fifth inning, when his team was trailing 8-5.
He hit the first batter, Ulrich Boyarski, with a fly ball to left field to make it two outs. However, Jake Bowie hit a tying three-run homer. It was 8-8. Jess Williams then struck out swinging and closing the inning.
Oxfring, who came to the mound in the sixth inning, simply played Nehomar Okoa Jr. grounder to shortstop, Sam Kennelly to fly ball to center field, and Riley Spring played fly ball to center field. He left the mound after making a three-and-out inning with six balls.
The Australian professional baseball YouTube channel shared a video of Oxfring's appearance, explaining that it could be his last appearance on the professional stage. However, Oxfring, born in 1977, was still an active player.
Oxfring is so familiar to Korean fans. After building ties with Korea, he built ties for a long time. In 2007, Oxfring entered the KBO League as a foreign player for the LG Twins. Oxfring, who joined as a substitute for Team Harikala, left behind 14 wins, 15 losses and an ERA of 3.71 in 43 games (41 starts) over the past two years.
He was also scheduled to continue his career in the KBO League in 2009, but he was finally announced as a waiver in May without taking the mound due to an elbow injury.
Though he seemed to lose his career by working as a banker in Australia, he never let go of his career, and started throwing balls again from the 2010-2011 season in Australian professional baseball. After playing as a playing coach for the Australian national team at the World Baseball Classic in 2013, he returned to his team after signing a contract with Lotte Giants.
He was already in his mid-30s, but Oxfring remained strong. In 2013, he showed off his ace quality with 13 wins and seven losses and an earned run average of 3.29 in 183 ⅓ in 30 games. In 2014, he also recorded 10 wins and eight losses and an earned run average of 4.20 in 184 ⅓ in 32 games. He showed off his skills by playing more than 180 innings for the second consecutive year.
Although he failed to renew his contract with Lotte in 2015, he continued his career with the KT Wiz and showed off his robustness by recording 12 wins and 10 losses with an ERA of 4.48 in 185 innings in 31 games. Oxfring was already 38 years old. He achieved double-digit wins four times in the Korean league, and played in all regular innings in the season when he threw full-time.
Although he ended his active career in Korea in 2015, he served as a pitching coach at Lotte from 2016 to 2018, and led them to grow by breathing with young pitchers.
Oxfring, who returned to Australia in 2019, still threw the ball. He was the pitching coach for the Australian national baseball team of the 2019 WBSC Premier 12, and was appointed as the pitching coach for the Sydney Blue Sox, but he was always ready to take the mound.
He recorded one save and an ERA of 3.52 in seven ⅔ in six games and seven innings in the 2019-2020 season. And in the 2022-2023 season, he showed off his robust performance with one loss and an ERA of 2.15 in 29 ⅓ in 13 games.
He predicted that it would be his last appearance. However, Oxfring overcame his limitations every year to prolong his career. Maybe he will see Oxfring take the mound again around this time next year.