Padres sign Australia's Triple Crown winner
A spectacular winter Down Under earned second baseman Adam Buschini a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres.
Buschini, 25, recently won the Triple Crown in the Australian Baseball League. Over 42 games for the Canberra Cavalry, Buschini hit .363 with 15 homers and 50 RBI.
San Diego vice president of player development and international scouting Randy Smith told MLB.com, "Quite frankly, he tore it up. He had very good numbers, runs well, is a good athlete. So we gave him a spring training invite. We'll see what he can do."
A Northern California native who played at Cal Poly, Buschini was selected in the fourth round of the 2009 draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. He lasted just two seasons in the Phillies organization, hitting a combined .222 in the low minors.
Buschini batted .288 for Chico in the independent Golden Baseball League in 2011, then hit .354 with 14 homers and 70 RBI in 96 games for Amarillo in the independent American Association last year.
