AUCKLAND TUATARA

The Auckland Tuatara is a professional baseball team in the Australian Baseball League (ABL)based in Auckland, New Zealand. They are the only team from New Zealand to compete in the ABL, and one of two expansion teams that entered the league in the 2018/19 season.

Prior to the team's foundation in 2018, Baseball New Zealand, the country's governing body of the sport of baseball, held talks starting in 2009 regarding the prospects of adding a New Zealand-based team in the ABL. In November 2017, the league decided to expand to eight teams beginning in the 2018/19 season, and Baseball New Zealand was officially awarded a spot in the competition.

On 26 August 2018, the club's name was announced as the Auckland Tuatara, named after the oldest surviving species endemic to the country. According to one of the team's original board members, Brett O'Riley, the Tuatara was chosen as the name in order to celebrate the resilience of the ancient reptiles, and to raise awareness of New Zealand's commitment to species protection. The club's colours, teal and navy blue, are representative of the region's marine heritage.  The Tuatara played its home games at McLeod Park in Te Atatu South for the 2018/19 season, and moved to an expanded North Harbour Stadium in Albany for the 2019/20 season and beyond.

A section of seating has permanently been removed and replaced by an outfield wall which is termed "The Teal Monster" after the Green Monster wall in Boston.