Earlier this evening Herts Baseball Club issued the following statement regarding the Herts Londoners:
Friday, 16 August 2019
On Tuesday, 13 August 2019, Herts Baseball Club submitted an appeal in relation to the way the playoff places had been allocated in the BBF Triple-A League, after the Herts Londoners finished in a 3-way tie for the two remaining places.
We have now received the decision of the BBF Appeals Committee confirming that our appeal has been rejected and therefore the Herts Londoners have been eliminated from the Triple-A League Postseason.
This is a heavy blow for the Herts Londoners players, in particular, who have worked so hard to earn their place in the Postseason, but they and our club as a whole accept and respect the decision of the BBF.
We have seen a large number of comments on social networks, speculating about the grounds for our appeal.
In the interest of accuracy, below we have included links to our appeal document and the decision of the BBF Appeals Committee. We hoped the BBF will also publish the decision in accordance with its procedures, but we feel that it is important to publish it now in order to avoid any further speculation and inaccurate information being posted on social networks.
We understand that the Appeals Committee was made up of the other six teams in the Triple-A League. We also understand that the Appeals Committee may not have received a copy of our appeal document and therefore they may not have been aware of the grounds on which our club is appealing against the Triple-A playoff places.
This dispute was never about an argument with a specific club, and we have no ill will towards any of the Triple-A teams which have gone forward to the postseason. Our concern was that published rules were not being followed, and we feel this sets a worrying precedent for the future governance of our leagues. We hope our position on this case, and on the underlying issue, will be clarified by the documents we are now releasing.
We thank the BBF and in particular the BBF Board members who had the difficult task of stepping into the vacant role of BBF Senior League Commissioner at a very short notice.
The Herts Londoners extend their gratitude to the other six teams in the Triple-A League for a very enjoyable season and some truly memorable games.
We take the opportunity to wish all the very best to the five remaining teams in the Triple-A League Postseason.
· LINK: Herts Baseball Club appeal document
· LINK: BBF Appeals Committee decision on the appeal by Herts Baseball Club
Note: In accordance with data protection guidelines, names, email addresses and other personal information has been removed from the document links above.
Herts Baseball Club