Category: Youth Leagues

Countdown to HSL – first chance to see the teams ahead of the 2022 British baseball season
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Countdown to HSL – first chance to see the teams ahead of the 2022 British baseball season

The biggest pre-season baseball competition in Britain is back. Commencing on March 19, the Herts Spring League (HSL) will see 19 teams compete over the 3 weeks of the HSL. Organised by Herts Baseball Club, it is Britain’s version of MLB’s Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues currently under way in the US, and it signals that the season is just around the corner.

Format

The 19 teams will be entered into three HSL tiers – NBL, Double-A and Single-A.

The organisers considered the possibility of a tournament format, but ultimately adopted a league format in the same way as the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues in MLB. “The objective of the HSL is to enable the teams to prepare for the new season and we have noticed that teams are increasingly starting to approach the HSL in the same way as MLB teams approach the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues” said HSL Commissioner, Aspi Dimitrov. He added “we have taken this into account when formulating the schedule putting greater emphasis on the preferences and preparatory requirements of the teams over the format of the competition”.

The teams finishing at the top of their respective division will be the HSL champions.

The Venue

The action will take place on the two diamonds at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead, the home of Herts Baseball Club.

Schedule

Over the three weekends 40 games are scheduled to be played on the two diamonds. The competition begins on March 19 with a morning clash on Diamond 1 between the London Metros and the Essex Redbacks in the HSL NBL division. At the same time on Diamond 2, there is a Double-A clash between the Croydon Pirates and the London Musketeers.

The Herts Raptors are the first Herts team in action on that day as they meet the Mustangs. The first opportunity to see the Herts Cardinals’ first ever game will be on Sunday, 20 March, when they will meet ACS Cougars and the Sidewinders.

Alongside the deciding HSL games on the final day (April 3), Grovehill Ballpark will host the NBL Opening Day doubleheader between the Lancashire Legends and newly promoted BC Vetra who won the Triple-A National Championship last year.

Click to view full 2022 HSL schedule

Youth Baseball Open Days

In addition to the games, there will be three Youth Baseball Open Sessions for any boys and girls aged 6 to 14 who are not members of a baseball club at the moment. This is a good opportunity for them to try baseball at no cost. Each session is 2 hours long.

For more details and to book a place, please complete this form.

Excitement building up

The Herts Spring League adds a competitive edge to Spring training. It’s the time for managers to work out their winning formula going into the BBF league season. It is an opportunity to evaluate existing and newly recruited players. Which players will earn a spot in the pitching rotation and who will be batting where in the batting order? Who will make the first team and who will have to work their way up with the minor league teams? Not forgetting, it’s a chance to size up your rivals for the year ahead. It’s the first big challenge and the first big excitement of the baseball year. Don’t miss it.

Get in the Game

Players, from beginners to advanced, are now registering for the 2022 baseball season. For more details about how to join the Herts baseball teams in Hemel Hempstead and in NW London or for more details about the HSL or if you are interested to give baseball a try in this competition contact Herts Baseball Club.

Adult and youth players now registering for the 2022 baseball season
Adult and youth league players now registering for the 2022 baseball season
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Adult and youth league players now registering for the 2022 baseball season

Player registration for the 2022 season has commenced.

In 2021 Herts Baseball Club grew by 44% introducing many newcomers to the game of baseball. The goal for 2022 is to bring performance levels of all Herts adult and youth league teams up and to move up the league standings.

ADULT BASEBALL LEAGUES

How many teams will represent Herts in 2022? The next few weeks will be crucial as the number of players registering will determine how many teams will be entered before the league entry deadline; how many will play in Hemel Hempstead and how many will play in London; which leagues the teams will play in.

KEY DATES – ADULT TEAMS

(events and dates are subject to change depending on Covid-19 restrictions)

  • 30 January – players report for Spring Training
  • 19-20 March – Start of the 2022 Herts Spring League (subject to confirmation of the BBF League Opening Day)*
  • March-April – Great Britain National Team Tryouts (senior and youth teams)*
  • 3 or 10 April – BBF League Opening Day (subject to confirmation)*
  • May – Midweek Evening Baseball commences
  • August-September* – BBF Postseason Playoffs and National Championships
  • September-October – Hunlock Series

* – these are preliminary dates. The BBF will be making its official announcements in due course.

Click here for more details of the membership packages

YOUTH BASEBALL LEAGUES

Last year saw the first season of the Herts Youth Baseball League. The number of registered youth players rose from 21 in 2020 to 75 in 2021 which is the highest in the club’s history. 2021 was just the starting point. In 2022 and subsequent years the club will aim to enhance and develop the programme further to make Herts one of the leading clubs for youth players.

KEY DATES – YOUTH TEAMS

(events and dates are subject to change depending on Covid-19 restrictions)

  • March – players report for Spring Training
  • March-April – Great Britain National Team Tryouts (senior and youth teams)*
  • May – Opening Day of the Herts Youth Baseball League season
  • May-July – Midweek evening baseball sessions
  • June – UK Little League Qualifiers
  • July – European Little League Qualifiers
  • mid-July – Playoffs and Finals of the Herts Youth Baseball League
  • September – BBF Playoffs and National Championships
  • September – Herts Futures Tournament

Click here for more details of the membership packages

WHICH BALLPARK WILL YOU PLAY YOUR HOME LEAGUE GAMES AT?

Herts has two ballparks. The online registration form will ask players to indicate whether they prefer to play their home league games in Hemel Hempstead or in NW London, or whether they would be happy with either. This will provide important information to club management when they configure the adult and youth team rosters for the new season.

HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE 2022 BASEBALL SEASON

Those who already have an account with the club will be prompted to register when they log on next time (click here to go to the Herts online Clubhouse and log on with your existing username and password). Those who are new to Herts Baseball Club and do not have an online account can register as members by completing this form. For more details about joining our teams in 2022 and the membership packages click here or contact us.

2021 MVP vote results are in
by Herts Baseball News Editor

2021 MVP vote results are in

The Most Valuable Players (MVP) of the ten Herts adult and youth teams have been announced.  The players of each team voted to determine their team’s MVP so the results reflect who the players consider to have been the most influential members  this year.

The Falcons voted for Will Zucker who led the team not only as a player but also stepped in as interim co-manager alongside Mike Cresswell in what was a very challenging year for the team. Jack O’Brien has made big strides over the last few years and this has been recognised as he was voted the Hawks MVP. 14-year-old Harry McMenamin was the Raptors MVP in what was his debut year in the BBF senior leagues. There could be no question about the Eagles MVP where Mike Wakelam led not just the team but the entire league with 9 home runs.  He also led the team with a .667 batting average and 1.444 slugging average. Cory English was the Londoners MVP. He made his BBF league debut with Herts this year and in just a few months has become one of the most popular players around the league, not to mention his spectacular fielding which produced multiple nominations for Play of the Year.

The Herts U18 team voted Josh Badenhorst as the MVP after his outstanding pitching performance in the Semi-Final of the U18 National Championships. That game was suspended halfway through and is expected to resume in the Spring so he has some unfinished business. Harry McMenamin was the U15 MVP while Lucas Hao was the U13 MVP after a dominant display which almost gave Herts a win over LS.  The Herts U11 league home run leader Connor O’Neill-Thompson was voted Herts Falcons U11 MVP and Cosmo English of the Herts Londoners U11 became the second member of his family to be voted MVP this year.

Dale Hardwick’s canon throw from centerfield was voted Play of the Year in a close race with Connor O’Neill-Thompson and Rory Graham and Cosmo English and Simon Painvin who turned a triple play in the U11 national championships group stages.

The winner of the not-so-coveted Nob-Out Award was Mike Cresswell who managed to fall on his face while being filmed by a high-tech 2-man camera crew and a microphone attached to him for a promotional video. The club is trying to obtain the video from the tv crew.

The club doesn’t have a personality of the year award but, if it did, it surely would have gone to 6-year-old Mason Barnaby. He was already recognised during the trophy presentation at the end of the Herts Youth Baseball League season for an outstanding act of sportsmanship. During one of the championships-deciding games he asked the umpire for time in order to run to the team bench area to encourage his teammate Owen Ridgway to rejoin the game after he had picked up a knock earlier in the day. He is one of the youngest members from the new generation of players who joined the Herts youth baseball programme this year and after the end of the season he has been involved in raising awareness of diabetes. He was on BBC radio to talk about diabetes and playing baseball. (Click to listen on BBC Sounds)

Herts AGM – club grows by 44% and aims to move up the league standings in 2022
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts AGM – club grows by 44% and aims to move up the league standings in 2022

Herts Baseball Club’s 25th Annual General Meeting was held on Sunday, 5 December, and it provided an analysis of the 2021 season, the club’s current position on and off the field and plans for 2022 and beyond.

Growth

It was confirmed that the club grew by 44% this year and has reached the milestone of 200 adult and youth members. The club managed to reverse the decline in its youth programme and it is bigger now than at any time in its 15-year history growing from 21 members in 2020 to 75 this year. Co-Director of Youth Baseball, Aspi Dimitrov, pointed out the key role that the parents played in ensuring that the club had the capacity to welcome so many new boys and girls to the club. He emphasised that: “This is only Year One of this project and there are many more components that we need to add and enhance.”

Competitiveness

Competitiveness on the field of play was a hot topic as the five Herts teams struggled to compete in the BBF senior leagues this year, particularly in the NBL and Double-A. While the issue with the Herts Hawks can be addressed next year by moving the team to the Single-A League, for the Falcons the solution is more complex (see a separate article with more detailed analysis on the subject of competitiveness).

Aspi Dimitrov updated members about the project to rebuild the Falcons roster.  The club is currently in discussions with candidates to become Herts Falcons manager. Excluding players who played for the Falcons this season, so far 25 players have completed the online form to express interest in playing for Herts in the National Baseball League in 2022. Among them are players who have played in America, Australia, Japan and for the Great Britain National Teams.  The recruitment process continues and players and coaches can express interest in playing or managing in the NBL with Herts in 2022 by completing this form.

Although the three Herts Single-A league teams ended up with a much better win-loss record than in 2019, they did not qualify for the playoffs. The club presented the results of its end of season survey of members and one of the questions was whether to build one of the two Single-A teams at each branch to compete for a place in the playoffs while the other to develop new players.  The majority felt that this would be a better approach, but the final decision will of course be at the discretion of the team managers who have the flexibility to fine-tune the extent to which this approach is adopted.

Finances

Off the field the club continues to be in a healthy financial position with a good level of cash reserves.

Ballparks

The £8,174 project to repair the vandalised fencing at Grovehill Ballpark was completed in April and the club made further investments in Hemel Hempstead with the purchase of 10 tons of higher grade infield clay mix and implementing aeration of the turf (see video above) which produced a visibly better grass playing surface. The club plans to make the aeration process a permanent element of the annual maintenance plan at Grovehill. 

Aerial view of the first phase of the Basing Hill Ballpark project (photo by office@azariahgrossphotography.co.uk)

Thanks to the incredible generosity from club members and the wider community who donated to the Basing Hill Ballpark crowdfunding project, the club implemented the first phase of the project to level and resurface the playing field with new grass. It is now exploring grant and other funding options for the next phase of the project which includes installation of the backstop, the infield cut-out areas and pitching mound.

Events

After the winter lockdown was lifted in April the club saw a record 22 teams play in the Herts Spring League. Grovehill Ballpark also hosted the BBF Triple-A and Single-A League Playoffs, the U13 and U11 National Championships, Women’s GB Team events and the filming of a children’s television programme about baseball which aired on Channel 5 in September featuring Herts youth team players. The Hunlock Series was back too.

BBF news

Club members were updated about news coming out of the BBF AGM which took place a week earlier. It was reported that over the last few months the interim board encountered many obstacles while implementing the transition process after several board members stepped down in May.

Tom Thornhill who is a member of the Norwich Iceni has now been elected as the new President of the BBF. It was also announced that the Triple-A National Champions BC Vetra will be promoted to the NBL in 2022.

Beyond 2022

The meeting presented details of two large upcoming developments – Hemel Garden Communities and Brent Cross Town – which will create thousands of new homes, jobs, transport and other infrastructure within a few hundred metres of the two ballparks. These are expected to make both Grovehill Ballpark and Basing Hill Ballpark even more valuable in the coming years with an even larger number of potential new adult and youth players and fans on the club’s doorstep.

MLB

Finally, the club analysed the various news and statements by the Mayor of London on tv and in the newspapers  which suggest that MLB will return to London in the next one or two years having cancelled the 2020 London Series due to Covid-19. The timing of this would coincide very well with the club’s ambitious expansion plans over the next few years.

Board elections

With the AGM being held on Zoom, members will receive an email with details how to cast their votes over the next two weeks by email as it is not possible for members to vote anonymously on Zoom. A number of Board positions are up for election either as part of the annual retirement of a third of the Board positions or because they are vacant.

No silverware but Herts youth teams put on strong performances in the national championships. U18s still in the hunt.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

No silverware but Herts youth teams put on strong performances in the national championships. U18s still in the hunt.

Herts Baseball Club entered five teams into the BBF U18, U15, U13 and U11 National Baseball Championships. As expected, they came up against more experienced teams so the odds were stacked firmly against them, but that didn’t seem to faze the Herts boys and girls.

U11 Division

Two Herts teams competed in the U11 division – Herts Falcons U11 made up of players from its Hemel Hempstead branch and Herts Londoners U11 representing its NW London branch. Both had closely-fought encounters with LYBL U11 and London Mets U11 but those two teams made it to the final which the Mets won 8-7. It would have been interesting to see what the outcome would have been if Herts had entered an all-star team selecting the top players from the Falcons and Londoners.

U11 Division

DateHomeTime/ResultsAwayField
Grovehill Ballpark
Grovehill Ballpark
Grovehill Ballpark
Grovehill Ballpark
Grovehill Ballpark
Grovehill Ballpark
Grovehill Ballpark

U13 Division

LYBL U13 proved too strong for all teams that came up against them. They overcame the Mets U13 by 19-1 in the Final.  The Herts Falcons U13 was a combined squad with players from the club’s Hemel Hempstead and NW London branches.  Although they couldn’t cope with LYBL, they were in control against London Sports U13 in the first half of the game but four runs in the last inning cost them.

BBF (U13) Pool A

DateHomeTime/ResultsAwayField
Grovehill Ballpark
Combined B U13Combined A U13
Grovehill Ballpark
Grovehill Ballpark

BBF (U13) Pool B

DateHomeTime/ResultsAwayLeagueField
BBF (U13), Pool B
Grovehill Ballpark
BBF (U13), Pool B
Grovehill Ballpark
BBF (U13), Pool B
Grovehill Ballpark

U15 Division

The Herts U15 team were expected to struggle as they were missing key players, but they came very close against both the Mets and London Sports, losing 8-13 and 7-10, respectively.  Once again LYBL dominated and they went on to lift the trophy.

DateHomeTime/ResultsAwayField
Williams Field
Williams Field
Williams Field
Williams Field
Williams Field
Williams Field
Williams Field
Williams Field

U18 Division

Heavy downpour in Surrey halted the U18 contest with the semi-final between Herts Falcons U18 and LYBL U18 finely poised at 0-0. The game was suspended in the bottom of the third inning with one out and it will resume on a date and at a venue which will be confirmed by the BBF in the coming days. There are signs that the Herts team, led by co-managers Colin Barrett and Duane Badenhorst, could cause an upset and progress to the Final.

DateHomeTime/ResultsAwayField
ACS Cobham
ACS Cobham
Game 1 LoserGame 2 Loser
ACS Cobham
Game 1 WinnerGame 2 Winner
ACS Cobham

Herts launched its own Herts Youth Baseball League this year which saw an influx of new youth players join the club, the majority of whom are playing baseball for the first time in their lives this year.  The weekend’s action showed that there is enormous talent in the Herts youth teams and it is now for the club, the coaches and the players to realise that potential in the coming years.

Five Herts teams go into the national youth baseball championships this weekend
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Five Herts teams go into the national youth baseball championships this weekend

Five Herts teams go into the 2021 British Baseball Federation (BBF) National Youth Baseball Championships this weekend.

The club launched its own Herts Youth Baseball League this year which saw a new generation of boys and girls join the club. The club currently has over 80 registered youth players with the majority playing baseball for the first time in their lives this season.

The five Herts teams go into the weekend as the underdogs but it will be interesting to see if they can put on a good performance and maybe even cause an upset.

The BBF selected Herts to host the U13 and U11 divisions at its Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead, while the U15 bracket will be hosted by the Kent Buccaneers and the U18s by ACS Cobham.

The U11 Division will play a double-elimination format where teams are eliminated if they lose two games until only two teams remain and those two teams will play in the final to determine the national champion.

U11 Division

DateHomeTime/ResultsAwayField
Grovehill Ballpark
Grovehill Ballpark
Grovehill Ballpark
Grovehill Ballpark
Grovehill Ballpark
Grovehill Ballpark
Grovehill Ballpark

The U13 Division has been divided into two pools.  The winners of each pool meet in the final.

BBF (U13) Pool A

DateHomeTime/ResultsAwayField
Grovehill Ballpark
Combined B U13Combined A U13
Grovehill Ballpark
Grovehill Ballpark

BBF (U13) Pool B

DateHomeTime/ResultsAwayLeagueField
BBF (U13), Pool B
Grovehill Ballpark
BBF (U13), Pool B
Grovehill Ballpark
BBF (U13), Pool B
Grovehill Ballpark

The U15 Division is also base don double-elimination.

DateHomeTime/ResultsAwayField
Williams Field
Williams Field
Williams Field
Williams Field
Williams Field
Williams Field
Williams Field
Williams Field

The U18 Division will see four teams play semi-finals with the winners meeting in the final.

DateHomeTime/ResultsAwayField
ACS Cobham
ACS Cobham
Game 1 LoserGame 2 Loser
ACS Cobham
Game 1 WinnerGame 2 Winner
ACS Cobham
Herts youth baseball teams about to commence preparations for the 2021 National Championships. New players can still join.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts youth baseball teams about to commence preparations for the 2021 National Championships. New players can still join.

As the end of the school summer holidays nears, the Herts youth baseball teams will be returning to training on Saturday, 4 September, in preparation for the 2021 National Youth Baseball Championships (NBCs) which is scheduled for 18 and 19 September. 

Herts Baseball Club submitted a bid to host some or all of the age divisions  at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead and is awaiting the decision of the British Baseball Federation (BBF).

The club is planning to enter teams in all four age divisions, and the coaching staff of the five teams has been confirmed.

U18 Herts All Stars

Co-Manager – Colin Barrett

Co-Manager – Duane Badenhorst

U15 Herts All Stars

Manager – Will Zucker

Coach – Bryan Mencias

Coach – Aspi Dimitrov

U13 Herts All Stars

Co-Manager – John Kjorstad

Co-Manager – Donnie Parsons

Coach – Aspi Dimitrov

U11 Herts Falcons

Co-Manager, Jordon Fox

Co-Manager, Nick Barnaby

Coach – David Sanok

Coach – Joe Brown

Coach – Aspi Dimitrov

U11 Herts Londoners

Manager – Cory English

Deputy Manager – Marshall Stark

Coach – Marko Petromarkov

Coach – Mo Milosavljevic

Coach – Aspi Dimitrov

Preparatory Training Sessions

The training schedule ahead of the NBCs has also been confirmed as follows (note venues alternaing for some of the teams):

U18 Herts All Stars

DAYDATETIME (START)TIME (END)VENUE
Sat11-Sep-2109:4512:00Grovehill Ballpark

U15 Herts All Stars

DAYDATETIME (START)TIME (END)VENUE
Sat04-Sep-2109:4512:00Grovehill Ballpark
Sat11-Sep-2114:3016:30Basing Hill Ballpark

U13 Herts All Stars

DAYDATETIME (START)TIME (END)VENUE
Sat04-Sep-2109:4512:00Grovehill Ballpark
Sat11-Sep-2114:3016:30Basing Hill Ballpark

U11 Herts Falcons

DAYDATETIME (START)TIME (END)VENUE
Sat04-Sep-2109:4512:00Grovehill Ballpark
Sat11-Sep-2109:4512:00Grovehill Ballpark

U11 Herts Londoners

DAYDATETIME (START)TIME (END)VENUE
Sat04-Sep-2114:3016:30Basing Hill Ballpark
Sat11-Sep-2114:3016:30Basing Hill Ballpark
Tue14-Sep-2117:0019:00Basing Hill Ballpark

Team Rosters

The five teams currently have a total of 75 registered players with three additional players on standby. Click here to view the full roster.

There are a few available places in some of the teams so new players can still register in time to play in the National Championships.  They can also come to try baseball at the upcoming training sessions to help them decide before they register.  Those interested to register or to try baseball before registering should contact the club.

Contact us for details about joining or trying baseball before registering
Herts to battle on all fronts in the national youth baseball championships. Badenhorst and Barrett to manage the U18s.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts to battle on all fronts in the national youth baseball championships. Badenhorst and Barrett to manage the U18s.

The Herts adult league teams may be struggling to qualify for the playoffs, so the club’s youth teams may have to carry the flag in the national baseball championships (NBCs) this season.

Herts is preparing to enter teams in all age divisions, U18/U17, U15, U13 and U11.  The club has submitted a bid to host the Youth NBCs at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead.  The event is expected to take place on 18 and 19 September.

The Herts youth baseball programme was restructured this season and has seen significant growth from 21 registered players last year to over 70 this season and that number is continuing to grow as new players are still registering to play in the NBCs.

The majority of these players are playing baseball for the first time in their lives so they will have the difficult task of competing against the more experienced teams from around the country, but it will be interesting to see how they will respond to the challenge.

The club has also confirmed that Duane Badenhorst and Colin Barrett (pictured above) will be the joint managers of the Herts U18/U17 team. Both bring a wealth of baseball experience having played and coached in South Africa and Great Britain, including at international level with the South Africa U12 National Team, South Africa Men’s Softball Team and, currently, the Great Britain Men’s Softball Team.

Duane Badenhorst (centre) with the Herts U17 team in the Youth NBC

Six members of the Badenhorst and Barrett families have worn the Herts jersey over the years and fans of the club will be delighted to see them back.

For more details about joining the Herts youth baseball teams for the upcoming national youth baseball championships contact us.

The kids put on a show in dramatic season finale
by Herts Baseball News Editor

The kids put on a show in dramatic season finale

The Herts Londoners clinched the Under-11 division of the Herts Youth Baseball League after a dramatic race with the Herts Raptors and the Herts Falcons which went right down to the wire.

At the start of the day the Londoners and Eagles were in third and fourth place, two games back on the Falcons and Raptors. 

The Eagles struck first with a 3-2 win over the Hawks helped by Sterling de Vita’s first home run of the season. On the other diamond the Londoners also won in their clash with the Falcons. This win proved to be crucial later in the day.

The Hawks may have been eliminated from the race but they were determined to leave their mark and they did so by causing a major upset beating the league leading Raptors and then the Falcons to derail their title push.

The gap at the top was beginning to close. The Londoners and Eagles were now just one game back but they were to face each other next, knowing that the losing team would no longer have a chance to win the title. The Londoners came out on top, 6-2. The Eagles were now out of the race.

It came down to the final games of the day. The Falcons, Raptors and Londoners were tied in first place. The Londoners faced the Raptors. The Falcons were up against the Eagles.  Both games started at the same time on adjacent diamonds which enabled the fans to witness the drama on both diamonds as it unfolded.

During most of the season the Falcons relied on the home run power of Connor O’Neill-Thompson.  He continued his bombardment adding to his tally to finish the season as the league’s leading home run hitter with five home runs. Rory Graham, who comes from the same school as O’Neill-Thompson, joined the Falcons partway through the season but he proved to be another power hitter for the team.  It was his home run that clinched the 2-1 walk off win for the Falcons. On the other diamond, the Raptors and the Londoners were tied 3-3 and the game had to go into extra innings.  On the hottest day of the year so far, to avoid heat exhaustion, the league had decided in advance that tied games would be determined in a hitting contest where the teams would nominate one of their players and the team whose representative hits the ball furthest would be awarded the win.  A high flying shot by Cosmo English won it for the Londoners.

HYBL U11 Division – Final Standings

PosTeamWLPctGB
1401.0000
2110.5002
2330.5002
4560.4552.5
5230.4002.5
View full table

This meant that the Falcons and Londoners were still tied in first place.  The league rules state that “the head-to-head results between the tied teams should be used to establish placings”.  The players and fans had to go through an anxious wait while the league commissioner and team officials were going through the season’s scores between the two teams. The confirmation came over the public announce system that the Londoners are the 2021 Under-11 Herts Youth Baseball league Champions having won two of their three games against the Falcons over the course of the season.

In the Under-15 Division, the championship was decided in the final game between the Hawks and the Londoners who found themselves tied in first place.  The age superiority of the Londoners was a big factor on the day as they won the game to become the U15 champions.

HYBL U15 Division – Final Standings

PosTeamWLPctGB
1401.0000
2110.5002
3340.4292.5
4460.4093
5010.0002.5
View full table

An outstanding act of sportsmanship by one of the youngest players in the league was recognised during the trophy presentation. 5-year-old Mason Barnaby from the Herts Raptors U11 asked for time during one of the games in order to run to the team bench area to encourage his teammate Owen Ridgway to rejoin the game after he had picked up a knock earlier in the day.

A considerable number of players missed out on these dramatic last few weeks of the season as they were required by their schools to self-isolate in compliance with Covid guidance, but the baseball season is not over.  The national championships are coming up in September and it will be interesting to see how the new generation of Herts youth players will do on the national stage against teams from around the United Kingdom.

Players are still able to register in order to represent Herts in the national championships. For more details contact us.

Herts submits its bid to host the 2021 National Baseball Championships
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts submits bid to host the 2021 National Baseball Championships

Herts Baseball Club has submitted its bid to host 2021 Postseason Playoff games in the adult leagues of the British Baseball Federation (BBF). If the BBF awards any of these events to Herts, they will be staged at the club’s Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead.

Richmond Flames lifting the NBL trophy at Grovehill Ballpark in 2010 (photo by event-photos.co.uk)

The events which clubs are invited to bid for include the Wild Card Playoffs and National Semi-Finals and Finals of all four BBF league tiers, from the Single-A League to the National Baseball League (NBL).

Grovehill Ballpark has previously hosted the National Baseball Championships (NBCs) in 2010 and 2012.  In 2013 the national baseball and softball complex at Farnham Park was constructed and these NBC games were held at that venue since then.

Action from the 2010 NBL playoffs hosted by Herts (photo by event-photos.co.uk)

However, the costs of staging these events at Farnham Park are proving to be very high and the BBF has decided to open the opportunity for clubs to host these high-profile events at their own ballparks similar to how the Football Association held England national team and Football League Playoff Final games around the country while the new Wembley Stadium was being built.

Championship-winning moments like this from 2010 could return to Grovehill Ballpark this year (photo by Will Baxter)

Herts Baseball Club has also expressed interest in hosting the National Youth Baseball Championships and is awaiting details from the BBF of the bidding process.

The Postseason games will be played in September. The exact game schedule and the successful bidder(s)  will be announced by the BBF in the coming weeks.