Five years after joining the Auckland Tuatara, Jared Koenig has become a staple of the Milwaukee Brewers’ bullpen in Major League Baseball. He speaks with Christopher Reive about his unconventional journey to baseball’s biggest stage.

Running out of the bullpen to pitch in Major League Baseball’s playoffs in front of a 40,350-strong crowd; the seventh innings, with the game in the balance at home against the New York Mets when you’re already 1-0 down in a best-of-three series.

It’s a situation young baseball players dream of finding themselves in, and it was an introduction to the MLB post-season that Milwaukee Brewers reliever Jared Koenig savoured in 2024.

Koenig threw just seven pitches in the innings - getting two hitters to ground out before allowing Pete Alonso to get on base – but did his job as the Brewers tried to prevent the Mets building on a 3-2 lead.

The Milwaukee side went on to win the game 5-3 to level the series, before being knocked out in heartbreaking circumstances in game three.

For Koenig, it was a setting far removed from his time spent with the Auckland Tuatara in the Australian Baseball League, but a setting the time with the Tuatara helped him reach.

The American lefty joined the now-extinct Tuatara baseball team for their second campaign, signing with the franchise as a starting pitcher for the 2019-20 season. At the time, Koenig had been playing in the American independent leagues after being drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2014 but not signing.

“I was the one reaching out for it,” Koenig recalls of joining the Auckland team.

“I wanted to go to Australia or New Zealand - I actually didn’t even know about New Zealand in terms of winter ball. I knew Australia and I was trying to go to Adelaide. I was talking to a club team there actually, not even the ABL team.”

Jared Koenig pitched for the Auckland Tuatara in the 2019-20 Australian Baseball League season. Photo / @smp_images, Photosport

A teammate at the time had been in contact with both the Tuatara and the Melbourne Aces about joining them for the ABL season, ultimately signing with Melbourne. Koenig suggested that his teammate send his information to the Auckland team, and ultimately pitching coach DJ Carrasco and manager Steve Mintz decided Koenig was the right fit for the team.

“It all worked out. I knew the fact that I got to go to New Zealand was something special, that’s a special place in my heart and I’m excited whenever I get a chance to go back.”

Koenig didn’t set the world on fire as he was finding his feet in Auckland, admitting his pre-season work “wasn’t very good” as he was still figuring things out. But by the time the season started, he quickly established himself as one of the top ace pitchers in the competition.

By the time he had completed his second start, he got wind that MLB teams were starting to take notice.

The Tuatara were a well-connected team in terms of MLB franchises; Carrasco, who pitched for eight years in MLB, was working as an advanced scout for the LA Dodgers at the time, while Mintz and hitting coach Darren Bragg were involved at the minor league level with the Texas Rangers and Cincinnati Reds respectively.

But it was the Oakland Athletics who ultimately signed Koenig, which saw his tenure with the Tuatara end abruptly after six appearances.

Jared Koenig made his MLB debut with the Oakland Athletics in 2022. Photo / Getty Images

Koenig held an unassuming 2-2 record, but his 1.93 earned run average with 31 strikeouts and allowing just seven runs from 27 hits saw him signed, shut down, and shipped back to the States to begin pre-season work.

Koenig was shut down after his six appearances for the Tuatara, before relocating back to the States.

“I think I learned a fair amount more so about myself,” he says of his time in Auckland. “Knowing even when I’m chasing something and yeah, it took me going to another country to get that opportunity, but I think I learned I can go and do this and have fun and still do my job.

“I was able to go explore the country and go do a lot of things that I really wanted to do and yet still go out and compete every week when it was my job to go do that and show up for the team and the Tuatara.

“I think that’s what I learned the most and I think that’s helped carry on into my career here as well as just being able to still go out and do things and then go out and do my job. Other than that, just being in New Zealand made me love it that much more. I tell everyone ‘if you’re going to go to one place, go to New Zealand'.”

When he did get back to the States, he barely had time to settle into his new surroundings before Covid-19 brought the world to a halt. Koenig did what he could in that time to work on his skill set, and when baseball activities resumed in 2021, he was started at AA level – two steps down from MLB.

Promoted to the Las Vegas Aviators at AAA level a year later, it wasn’t long before he got the call from the Oakland Athletics informing him he would be making his Major League Baseball debut.

His first assignment? Starting against then-reigning World Series champions Atlanta Braves, with superstar Ronald Acuna Jr – another ex-ABL player – the first hitter he faced in the majors.

“It was hard to process,” Koenig says.

“I mean, the moment it settled in was probably around the second inning where I was able to at least have a little more of a deep breath. I was able to hold on to and maintain that.

“I mean, the first hitter being Acuna and then I almost hit him on the first pitch of my career. I’m like, ‘that’s not what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to throw this ball in the strike zone.’

Jared Koenig made 55 appearances for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2024, including his maiden post-season appearance. Photo / AFP

“That was a good lineup. They won the World Series the year prior and it was just something special. I was fortunate my family was able to make it and some friends.”

Koenig went on to play in 10 games for the Athletics in 2022, including five starts, for a 1-3 record before joining the San Diego Padres in free agency on a minor league deal for 2023 where his move to being a fulltime relief option began.

While things didn’t take off for Koenig in San Diego and he was released after 48 appearances across their AA and AAA teams, 2024 saw him emerge as a bonafide MLB talent.

Joining the Brewers on a free-agent minor league deal, the 30-year-old made just six appearances at AAA before he was called into the MLB team – becoming the 1000th player in Milwaukee Brewers history.

He has become the team’s Swiss Army Knife in the pitching stocks, being deployed in several different roles throughout the campaign, stepping up where he needed to, be it due to injury or match-ups.

“I think this year I pitched in innings one through 11, so I don’t know how many other pitchers did that this year or have done that in MLB, but I thought that was something cool.”

In June, Koenig achieved the rare feat of opening in back-to-back games against the Philadelphia Phillies. In baseball, a starter will usually be called upon once every five or so days. When working as an opener, however, saw Koenig pitch the first inning or two before being replaced.

Against the Phillies, he faced the powerful trio of Kyle Schwarber, JT Realmuto and Bryce Harper on back-to-back nights, allowing just one hit across those six at-bats.

In doing so, he became only the fourth pitcher since 1969 and the second since 1978 to start consecutive games more than once in a single season.

“I think it helped that I had a little bit of starting experience in the big leagues, as well as starting my whole life. So, I think the routine came naturally and it was just more so ‘hey, go get these four or five guys out’. They didn’t tell me who I was facing though, that’s what I prefer. Like, let me just go out and then when I’m done, tell me I’m done and take me out. That’s perfect.

“So when they asked about it, I was like, ‘sure. Sounds good. Sounds like fun. We’ll see what happens’ and it all worked out.

“Then they did it a few more times the rest of the year and I was like, ‘alright, cool. This is a unique experience’. I mean, not a lot of people get to open back-to-back games in the season in general, so that’s something unique.”

Koenig ultimately appeared in 55 games in the Brewers' 2024 season, finishing the year with a 9-4 record, a save, a 2.47 ERA and, impressively, allowing just four home runs in 62 innings pitched while retiring 188 of the 265 hitters he faced, including 63 strikeouts.

While he didn’t have the most conventional route into MLB, Koenig has established himself as a real asset in the Brewers bullpen, and will look to continue that momentum in 2025 in whatever role the team sees fit for him.

From pitching in front of about 1000 at North Harbour Stadium, to tens of thousands in Major League stadiums, the journey so far has been a wild ride for Koenig. He is still in touch with Carrasco, who he says has become a great mentor with whom he speaks every couple of months.

“My route’s been different compared to others, but I wouldn’t change a thing if I had to.”

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.