Author: Herts Baseball News Editor

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.

Basing Hill Ballpark campaign boosted after Barnet pledges £4,000
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Basing Hill Ballpark campaign boosted after Barnet pledges £4,000

The Basing Hill Ballpark crowdfunding campaign has received a boost with the news that its pitch to the London Borough of Barnet was successful and they have made a pledge of £4,000 to the project.

Herts Baseball Club suffered a setback in March when they learned that they narrowly missed out on funding from The Mayor of London‘s Make London Fund.

Since then the club has been in discussions with businesses and organisations and, although the campaign is still far from its fundraising target, today’s news may have a positive effect on the discussions which are taking place with other potential backers.

The pledge from Crowdfund Barnet means that, to date, the campaign has received pledges from 125 backers amounting to £16,528 which is 29% of the £55,804 target.

Back the Basing Hill Ballpark project on Spacehive

Businesses, sponsors and other backers who may be interested to support the project can contact the club to discuss ways in which this could be a good fit and beneficial for them. They would have the additional assurance from the fact that the club passed the project viability verification process carried out by the independent organisation Locality, which was a prerequisite to pitch to the Mayor of London.

Matt Davis joins the Herts coaching staff
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Coach Matt Davis to work with Herts players this summer

In June 2019, just ahead of the MLB London Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, Herts baseball players had the rare opportunity to be coached by Monte Brooks, head coach of The Master’s University baseball team with over 700 college wins.

He was accompanied by a number of player-coaches from his university. One of them was Matt Davis (pictured above, far left). This week it was confirmed that he will be back working with Herts players during the Wednesday evening baseball sessions at Basing Hill Ballpark twice a month over the next three months, starting tomorrow, Wednesday, 9 June.

Matt Davis was a pitcher with Liberty University (NCAA Division 1) from 1990-1991 and with The Master’s University (NAIA Division 1) from 1992-1994. In 2020 he was assistant coach at The Master’s University under coach, Monte Brooks. Currently, he is chaplain for the London Broncos (Rugby League).

Coach Monte Brooks at Basing Hill Ballpark in June 2019



Matt Davis specialises in pitching but he will also cover other aspects of the game with the Herts players this summer.

Although these sessions are for club members only, new players are able to come to one of these sessions to try baseball and to help them decide if they would like to join the club. Contact the club to book a place at an upcoming session.

14th Herts baseball team makes a late league entry
by Herts Baseball News Editor

14th Herts baseball team makes a late league entry

The 2021 baseball season is now in full swing. Last weekend there were eight adult and four youth league games involving five Herts adult league and eight youth league teams. Herts Baseball Club is growing and now has thirteen teams.

The news of the Herts Youth Baseball League (HYBL) which was launched this season has been spreading and a new fourteenth team – the Herts Hawks U11 – has just made a late entry into the league. They will be based in Hemel Hempstead and will be added to the U11 Division of the HYBL.  They missed the opening games but the league schedule will be adjusted so that they can make up those games over the course of the season.

The Hawks (U11) will play their first league games this Saturday, 5 June, with a total of six games being played at the club’s two ballparks in Hemel Hempstead and in North West London.

DateHomeTime/ResultsAwayLeagueField
HYBL (U15)
Grovehill Ballpark
HYBL (U11)
Grovehill Ballpark
HYBL (U11)
Grovehill Ballpark
HYBL (U11)
Grovehill Ballpark
HYBL (U15)
Basing Hill
HYBL (U11)
Basing Hill

Players are continuing to register and they are being added to the teams every week.  New players are able to come and play in the next games to help them decide if they would like to join the league.  Contact the club for more details.

Herts Baseball Club receives grant to promote baseball for children in Grovehill
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Baseball Club receives grant to promote baseball for children in Grovehill

Herts Baseball Club has been awarded a £1,000 Herts Sports Partnership grant from its Active Local Tackling Inequalities Fund secured from Sport England.

The fund aims to help reduce the negative impact of COVID-19 and the widening of the inequalities in sport and physical activity in ten Active Local areas around Hertfordshire which have high number of people on low income.

One of those ten Active Local areas is Grovehill in Hemel Hempstead which is where the club’s baseball ballpark is located.

The funds will be used to promote baseball for children in Grovehill by staging free open days at the ballpark and taster sessions in local schools.

Kids will then be able to join the youth baseball teams playing in the Herts Youth Baseball League which the club is launching this year for boys and girls aged 6 to 14. The aim is to give local children the opportunity to play baseball in a family environment and keep them physically active and involved in community activities for many years to come.

The club received the funding last month and has already staged three open days at Grovehill Ballpark. There is one more coming up this Saturday, 22 May, before the league season starts on Saturday, 29 May. Boys and girls, from complete beginners to advanced players, can contact the club to book their place to try baseball for free at an upcoming event.

For more information about Herts Sports Partnership visit their website.

Basing Hill Ballpark crowdfunding deadline extended
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Basing Hill Ballpark crowdfunding deadline extended

The Basing Hill Ballpark crowdfunding campaign deadline has been extended to July 21.

Herts Baseball Club suffered a setback in March when they learned that they narrowly missed out on funding from The Mayor of London‘s Make London Fund.

Since then the club has been in discussions with businesses and organisations and, although the campaign is still far from its fundraising target, it may receive a considerable boost if one or several of these discussions lead to a pledge.

The extension of the deadline gives the potential backers, who have expressed interest in the Basing Hill Ballpark project, additional time to consider whether they would like to make a pledge.

To date, the campaign has received pledges from 124 backers amounting to £12,528 which is 22% of the £55,804 target.

Back the Basing Hill Ballpark project on Spacehive

Businesses, sponsors and other backers who may be interested to support the project can contact the club to discuss ways in which this could be a good fit and beneficial for them. They would have the additional assurance from the fact that the club passed the project viability verification process carried out by the independent organisation Locality, which was a prerequisite to pitch to the Mayor of London.

2021 Opening Day – British baseball teams have waited 20 months for this
by Herts Baseball News Editor

2021 Opening Day – British baseball teams have waited 20 months for this

The last British baseball league game was played twenty months ago. The wait is finally over as baseball teams up and down the country are gearing up for the Opening Day of the 2021 baseball season this Sunday.

2021 Opening Day Schedule

DateHomeTime/ResultsAwayLeagueField

The league schedules produced some enticing matchups for the five Herts teams. The Herts Falcons open the season at home against the Essex Arrows. The two teams in fact faced each other this last weekend as part of the Herts Spring League. The Falcons came out on top with a 7-6 win but the pre-season games are not always a good predictor for the season ahead as managers often use these Spring League games to evaluate new players in different roles.

In the Double-A League, the Herts Hawks start their campaign on the road against the Oxford Kings. This will be manager Tetsuro Shinkawa’s (pictured above) first official league game as a manager at Herts and his roster is expected to feature many players who will be making their first appearance in the third tier of British baseball.

The Herts Raptors are also away this Sunday.  They face the Essex Redbacks who finished above them in 2019 and new Raptors manager Ken Pike will want to get off to a good start in the race for the Single-A playoffs.

The Raptors are one of the three Herts teams in the Single-A Central division.  The other two are the Herts Eagles and Herts Londoners who will face each other at Basing Hill Ballpark in the first of many Herts derbies this season. In fact there will be at least one Herts derby in each month of the regular season from May until August, but two dates stand out in particular. On May 30 and August 8 all three Herts teams will be playing at the same venue in back-to-back games which are expected to attract bumper crowds, with social distancing of course.

The season is about to begin but new players are still registering to play and the managers have deliberately left room in the rosters at all league levels, in order to be able to welcome new players, from beginners to advanced, throughout the year.  For more details about joining the Herts adult and youth league teams or to try baseball at a free open session, contact us.

Photos by photograher Tony Small

Ballparks are starting to take shape ahead of 2021 Opening Day
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Diamonds starting to take shape ahead of 2021 Opening Day

At Herts Baseball Club’s annual general meeting in January, it was reported that the club has put a more comprehensive field maintenance programme for Grovehill Ballpark in order to preserve it as one of the best baseball venues in the United Kingdom.

On 29 March Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, confirmed that outdoor activities for organised sports can resume. A few days later the first event for Herts was its annual field maintenance day. Since the end of the 2019 baseball season it has been difficult to carry out any significant work at the ballpark due to the pandemic.

The focus on Saturday, 3 April, was to remove weeds and grass which had grown into the infield clay areas. The club hired specialised machinery for this and it delivered visible improvements on both diamonds in Hemel Hempstead. A day later players from the five Herts adult teams were back for their first Spring Training session of the year and that included some field maintenance work which everyone contributed to.

Two days later the project continued with aeration and light rolling of the turf which is expected to improve the surface not only in the short run, but over the medium term as water and nutrients will be able to reach the grass roots, resulting in healthier, stronger growth and a denser grass surface.

The club’s branch in North West London is also being prepared for the new season with rolling implemented in March. Of course that venue is at a very early stage of development and the more significant upgrade of the facility will come as part of the larger Basing Hill Project which the club is currently crowdfunding for.

Countdown to HSL – first chance to see the teams ahead of the 2021 British baseball season
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Countdown to HSL – first chance to see the teams ahead of the 2021 British baseball season

The Herts Spring League (HSL) will see 22 teams play 21 games on the weekend of 24 and 25 April. Organised by Herts Baseball Club, it is Britain’s version of MLB’s Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues, and it signals that the season is just around the corner.

FORMAT

The 22 teams have been placed into four HSL divisions – NBL, Triple-A, Double-A and Single-A – based on the ranking of the teams going into the 2021 baseball season.

Most of the teams have been placed into pools of four teams. The semi-final pairings have been confirmed and the winners will face each other in the final, while the losing teams in each pool will also play each other in their second game of the day.

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

THE VENUE

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

SCHEDULE

The HSL is usually played over three weekends, but the national lockdown reduced the time available for Spring Training ahead of Opening Day on 2 May.

21 games will be played on two diamonds. The competition begins on Saturday, 24 April, with the Double-A division followed by afternoon and evening games from the Single-A division. Among the Single-A teams are the Belles who will make history as the first ever all-women’s baseball team to play in the HSL.

On Sunday, 25 April, the NBL and Triple-A divisions will be in action with several interesting matchups including the London Archers and BC Vetra, a team which will play in the BBF Triple-A league for the first time this year.

Click to view full 2021 HSL schedule

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 through the minor leagues? 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 2021 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 to help you decide whether to join the team contact Herts Baseball Club.

Players now registering for the 2021 season
22 teams enter the 2021 HSL
by Herts Baseball News Editor

22 teams enter the 2021 HSL

Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that 22 teams have entered this year’s Herts Spring League (HSL). The teams come from all British baseball leagues including the National Baseball League (NBL), Triple-A, Double-A and Single-A Leagues.

The London Archers are also back for their third year in the HSL. They made history in 2019 year by becoming the first British team to win the Pony European Championships and qualified for the Pony World Series which was played in Pennsylvania. 

The HSL teams will be divided into four divisions as follows:

HSL – NBL
TEAMCLASSHSL RANKING
Essex Arrows 3
Herts Falcons 4
London Capitals 2
London Mets 1
HSL – Triple-A
TEAMCLASSHSL RANKING
BC Vetra 8
Essex Redbacks 6
London Archers 7
London Marauders 9
London Mammoths 5
Milton Keynes Bucks 10
HSL – Double-A
TEAMCLASSHSL RANKING
Croydon Pirates 13
Herts Hawks 14
London Musketeers 12
Sidewinders 11
HSL – Single-A
TEAMCLASSHSL RANKING
Bracknell Inferno 15
Herts Eagles 22
Herts Raptors 18
Herts Londoners 21
London Mustangs 16
London Minotaurs 20
Milton Keynes Bucks 2 17
Southern Belles 19