Is Nickolas Martinez asking the Queen to autograph a baseball or is the Queen

hoping to get the signature of one of Herts Baseball’s most promising young talents?

Members of Herts Baseball Club are celebrating Christmas this weekend in all corners of the world from America to Japan, but one Herts family in particular had the honour of celebrating together with the Royal family .  The Queen and other royals made their traditional appearance after morning service at Sandringham, the monarch’s country retreat in Norfolk.

Representing Herts Baseball was the Martinez family.  Nickolas Martinez (pictured) met with the Queen.  Herts Baseball Newswire will try to find out what the topic of discussion was.  Were they discussing the Herts All Stars unforgettable win against the London Mets in the National Final this year or perhaps they were looking forward to next year and wondering which of the four Herts adult teams Martinez will be making his senior debut with in 2011.

The Herts Little Leaguers are bringing the 2010 British Championships trophy back to Herts. (photo by Ward Davis)

Members and fans of Herts Baseball Club are celebrating today as the club’s youth team was crowned the 2010 British Champions. They came from behind to beat the London Mets 2-1 in the Final which proved to be yet another colossal encounter between the two teams.

This championship game was originally scheduled to be played two weeks ago as part of the National Baseball Championships on Merseyside but had to be postponed due to rain and so it was moved to the recently renovated home of the Essex Arrows in Waltham Abbey. The overnight rain left substantial amount of water on the infield surface so it took a big effort from the hosts Essex and parents and officials from London and Herts working side-by-side to get the infield ready. There may be a big rivalry on the field between Herts and London but this was a good example of the mutual respect between the two clubs and another proof of the tremendous community spirit which the game of baseball always seems to inspire.

Herts started the game nervously. Despite retiring the first two batters, London managed to take a one-run lead after two uncharacteristic errors by the Herts defence. The pressure of the occasion must have been weighing heavily on the shoulders of the Herts players as they committed four errors during the game, which was more than the total number of errors in all three of the team’s postseason games before the Final.

In the bottom of the first inning it became obvious that this was going to be a difficult battle for Herts as London starting pitcher Taichi Tsuruta started throwing flames. He worked quickly through the first and second inning allowing only one runner to get on base.

Brodie Caress came home to score the tying run for Herts in the third inning.(photo by Ward Davis)

In the bottom of the third Herts managed to tie the game. Brodie Caress got on board with a walk and eventually came around to score with aggressive running from third as the Mets infield got sucked into making the play at second on a steal by Jonny Compton-Weight from first.

Herts starter, Jesse Reinebold, was pitching with the maturity and confidence of a 15-year MLB veteran. With the game on the line he did not allow any Mets runners to get on base in the third, fourth and fifth inning retiring 9 batters in a row, 6 of which were strikeouts. He pitched a complete game striking out 10 batters, allowing only 3 hits, no walks and no earned runs on 82 pitches, 68 of which were strikes – an incredible strike-ball ratio.

The Herts fans proved that they are the loudest supporters in British baseball. (photo by Ward Davis)

With the game tied 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth, Herts once again turned on their running game. Jonny Compton-Weight reached first on a ball four wild pitch, but with the backstop standing 60 feet behind the catcher he decided not to settle for first base and made the big turn to get to second base in a mad race with London catcher, Chris Saltzgaber, who was desperately trying to retrieve the ball and throw it to second base. Compton-Weight was safe at second and Herts brought on Kieran Manning to pinch run for him. It was Manning that became one of the many heroes for Herts. He advanced to third and later took advantage of a wild pitch to come home to give Herts the lead. It may not have been pretty but a lot of credit has to be given to the London pitching staff who kept Herts batters swinging and missing, so they needed some ultra aggressive base running to take the lead in this game of very small margin for error.

Herts took this one-run lead to the final inning and all eyes were on Herts starting pitcher Jesse Reinebold. Leading off for London was their Lithuanian centerfielder, Vykintas Dulius, who put the ball in play with a scuffed hit down the third base foul line. In a desperate attempt to get the out, Herts third baseman Richard Ganster barehanded the ball but couldn’t get a good grip on the wet ball so his throw went wide of the first baseman. Dulius took advantage and found himself on second base representing the tying run with no outs. Herts retired the next batter on a ground out to first baseman Zack Longboy. This moved the London tying run to third base with one out. There are over 20 different ways to bring a runner home from third base with less than two outs so the odds were very much against Herts. Up stepped Mets third baseman Elliot Coffey and he hit a hard line drive but Herts shortstop, Nick Martinez, was in the right place at the right time to snag the ball out of the air for the second out while holding the all important runner at third. Herts needed just one more out. Very fittingly, that final out of the game was a strikeout on a nasty pitch by Jesse Reinebold sparking wild celebrations as players, coaches along with those crazy Herts fans invaded the field.

This is one of the most memorable days in the club’s 15 year history. A very proud moment for everyone connected with the club and especially for the players, coaching staff and their families who have worked so hard since losing in the final one year ago and have now managed to win the trophy with an unbeaten 10-0 record in 2010.

The waiting is over for the Herts All-Stars. Judgement day has finally arrived.

Herts Baseball Club’s young superstars have some unfinished business this Saturday.  After eliminating the Bracknell Broncos and the Essex RedBacks in the playoffs and the Halton Polecats in the National Under-14 Semi-Final two weeks ago on Merseyside, they were all set to face their old rivals, the London Mets, in the final, and then the rain came.

And so, this Saturday the nation will finally find out which is the best Under-14 team in Great Britain (weather permitting).  This will be a repeat of the 2009 National Final which the London Mets won in an epic 1-0 win.  Can Herts end London’s recent supremacy of British youth baseball and become the dominant force in the country at youth level.

Celebrities usually like to pay a visit to the ballpark in Essex.  TV Presenter, Jerry Springer, was a guest of the Essex Arrows last year and even umpired their game.  Who knows who might drop by this Saturday?

The game will be held at the home of Essex Baseball Club in Waltham Abbey.  It has undergone extensive renovation this year and now boasts brand new dugouts, backstop and the only spectator grandstand in the country.  The Herts travelling fans will be out in force once again and it will be interesting to see who will win the battle of the fans, both in terms of numbers and noise levels.

The game starts at 11am and will be followed by the Under-17 Final between the Cobham Cougars and the London Mets at 2pm.

Hot Dogs and other snacks and refreshments will be available on the day.

Venue address: Waltham Abbey Town Mead Leisure Park, Brooker Road , Waltham Abbey, Essex. EN9 1JH

Base umpire Jerry Springer making the call at first base to the sound of Jerry…Jerry…Jerry, from the stands.

Herts All Stars – with the 2010 title in their sights.

The Herts All-Stars maintained their unbeaten record this year with a win against the Halton Polecats in the Semi-Final of the 2010 National Youth Baseball Championships.

This is the second successive year that the Herts All-Stars reach the showpiece event where the top four teams in the country battle it out for the championship. This year the event was held at John Mills Ballpark, which is the home of Halton Baseball Club. The venue was prepared immaculately by the hosts and the stage was set for two days of top class British youth baseball.

All hotels in the Runcorn and Warrington area were packed as teams and fans descended on Halton. The Herts travelling contingent had filled one of the hotels in Warrington to capacity and observers could easily have concluded that Herts are the home team based on the number of Herts supporters making the long trip to Merseyside.

Herts and Halton had met once before in their history and it was once again at the semi-final stage of the Championships 12 months ago. Herts were the winners on that occasion but it was a nail-biting win which had to be decided in extra innings.  A lot can change in youth baseball over 12 months so it was difficult to predict who had the upper hand ahead of this game.

The Herts All-Stars got the start they wanted in the top of the first inning when Marty Cullen Jr launched a 2-out solo home run over the right field wall. Herts extended their lead with five runs in the second inning. This included a towering one-run double from Brodie Caress which dropped just short of the outfield fence. Jesse Reinebold, Jonny Compton Weight and Mikito Ariga added more pressure with hits of their own to drive in the other four runs, including Kieran Manning who worked the walk to get on base.

After this Halton settled down defensively and allowed only one more Herts run to come in with Carlos Casal Jr taking advantage of a wild pitch to come slide home and extended the lead to 7-0.

Starting on the mound for Herts was Nick Martinez. He produced yet another outstanding performance allowing only 2 hits over 5.1 innings striking out 12 batters.

Most teams would struggle to lift themselves with a 7-run deficit, but credit has to be given to Halton Polecats who went into the bottom of the final inning with a lot of determination. They loaded the bases and managed to get two runs in.

In came the All-Stars closer, Marty Cullen Jr, needing one more out to put his team into the Final. Despite the pressure of having the bases loaded on a catcher’s interference and the tying run waiting on deck, Cullen Jr executed with precision to strike out Halton’s final batter.

In the second semi-final, reigning champions, London Mets, won comfortably against the Manchester Saints. This set up a London Mets vs Herts All-Stars final in a repeat of last year’s unforgettable final. Can the Herts All-Stars gain sweet revenge over their arch-rivals? After heavy rain in Merseyside all games on Sunday were postponed so everyone is left on the edge of their seats awaiting the decision from the British Baseball Federation about the date when the games will be played for the crowning of the 2010 British Champions.

The Herts Baseball Newswire will keep you up-to date with all the news. Stay tuned.