From winning his first Australian Baseball League championship with the Brisbane Bandits - making it three straight for the club, to touring with the Australian team to Japan in March, it's had it all.

Throw in defending the Illawarra Baseball League title with his some of his best mates at the Berkeley Eagles and the year couldn't have gone much better for Atherton.

"I love coming back and playing for Berkeley with my mates," Atherton said.

"I actually take a back seat from the pitching and just concentrate on having fun, which is why we all started playing sport as kids in the first place."

On the back of this and a strong showing with the Canterbury Vikings in Sydney, Atherton headed into his second season with the Bandits.

"My preparation did change a little from my first season to my second season with the Bandits," he said.

"My coach [David Nillsson] said I have all these great aspects to my game like my fastball, cutters and curveball but my numbers don't necessarily reflect that.

"I thought to myself, I was having really good games and then really bad games - so I decided to work on that mental toughness to bring the same consistency throughout the season.

"That all showed throughout the regular season when I didn't lose a game."

Although Atherton's team didn't try and look too far ahead, the opportunity of creating ABL history with their potential four-peat was always on their minds.

And when they did finally achieve the feat, by defeating the Perth Heat 9-4 in game two of the championships series, Atherton and his team had a huge sense of relief.

"To be so locked in to the task at hand, by pitching eight innings, I didn't allow myself a moment to enjoy the game until I sat back in the ninth innings and took it all in - it was amazing," Atherton said.

"Then to run onto the field and celebrate with all your team mates and coaches, makes all the hard work during the season worth it."

Atherton, who admits both championships are special in their own regards, was once again awarded the MVP award for the series - making it two-straight for the pitcher.

On the back of this honour, Atherton was named co-captain of the Australian squad that went into camp at the Australian Institute of Sport recently.

"Being named as co-captain of the Aussie squad is a honour I didn't see coming," he said.

"When coach Dave Nillsson told me on the field after the championships, I got goosebumps - although I had to keep it quiet, I asked if I could tell my dad, because I knew he would be so proud of me.

"Considering everything that's going on in both Dave and my lives, it's a special moment that'll I'll never forget."

The camp itself was focussed on getting the team prepared for November's World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier 12 competition in Japan.

"The Premier 12 tournament is hugely important for us because if we beat Korea and Taiwan, we qualify for the Olympic Games - which would be incredible to be able to compete at."