Curtis Mead is the 'stupid' Australian who will take a very smart preparation into his third Major League Baseball season.
The Tampa Bay Rays infielder will join firebrand Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Liam Hendriks as the two players from this country on rosters for opening day.
While reigning World Series champions Los Angeles played the Chicago Cubs last week in Japan, the rest of the MLB season starts on Friday (AEDT).
Mead will be on the Rays' opening-day roster for the second year in a row after an excellent spring.
That included a game against the Red Sox this week where his hit was the only blemish for Hendriks, who threw 20 pitches.
"Clean inning and the only hit I gave up was to the stupid Australian," Hendriks joked.
Mead had a big Australian summer, training with his home team the Adelaide Giants and notably putting on several kilograms of muscle.
"Obviously it's nice to see some balls fall and hit some balls hard. It gives you a lot of confidence going into the season and I'd say that's from gaining some weight and making some small mechanical adjustments with my swing," Mead told AAP.
"I actually got to face him (Hendriks) in spring training for the first time, which was pretty cool.
"He's probably one of the most successful Australian big leaguers of all time, so I'd definitely like to face him this season and test my skills against one of the best Australians to do it."
Hendrik's home-country feeling is mutual for Mead.
"I definitely keep in touch and keep an eye out for the young guys coming up, stay in touch with the guys I've played with and against," he said.
"I'm on the lookout to see how the other guys are doing."
Given the Rays and Red Sox are in the same American League East division, an Australian re-match looks likely.
After memorably recovering from cancer and returning for the Chicago White Sox in 2023, Hendriks needed elbow surgery that sidelined him for all of last season.
In that time, he also joined the Red Sox and is now trying to cement a role as their No.1 closer.
Likewise, Mead's task now is to become a regular in Tampa Bay's starting lineup.
"The only way to attack that would be to control what I can and make the most of my opportunities when I get them," Mead said.
"Hopefully everything falls into place from there."
After making the 2023 post-season, the Rays finished second-last in the AL East.
Hurricane Milton last October also damaged their home stadium, meaning they will host games this season at the smaller George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa - normally the spring training home for the New York Yankees.
"I feel like our chances are really good. We had a lot of high-level pitching out last season because of injury," Mead said.
"To be able to get them back healthy this year is super-exciting and hopefully we can get back to where we were in '23.
"The (home field) dynamics are definitely going to be challenging, but we're excited. It's better than nothing and the boys are excited.
"The field is a little bit smaller and everyone's going to enjoy playing outside again."
