Author: Herts Baseball News Editor

2 April 202111 April 2021 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
TEAM	CLASS	HSL RANKING
Essex Arrows		3
Herts Falcons		4
London Capitals		2
London Mets		1

HSL – Triple-A
TEAM	CLASS	HSL RANKING
BC Vetra		8
Essex Redbacks		6
London Archers		7
London Marauders		9
London Mammoths		5
Milton Keynes Bucks		10

HSL – Double-A
TEAM	CLASS	HSL RANKING
Croydon Pirates		13
Herts Hawks		14
London Musketeers		12
Sidewinders		11

HSL – Single-A
TEAM	CLASS	HSL 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

30 March 202130 March 2021 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Spring Training groups announced

As announced by Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, yesterday, organised outdoor sport can now restart.

The five Herts adult league teams will report for Spring Training this week. The teams will initially be divided into three groups. Those trying out to play in the National Baseball League and in the Double-A League will be in one group. There will be two further groups – Single-A League for players based in Hemel Hempstead and a separate Single-A group for the teams based at the club’s ballpark in North West London.

NBL / Double-A	Single-A Hemel Hempstead	Single-A NW London
Amane Sobue	Adam Scales	Adam Collins
Andy Cornish	Bradley Charalambous	Alex Plehn
Antonio Lourenco	Cameron Schultz	Alexander Trautman
Antony Lavender	Charlie Beach	Andrew Slater
Charlie Obrien	Connor Lunn	Andy Stratford
Charlie Plausin	Dale Hardwick	Arnold Longboy
Cristobal Hiche	Daniel Shaw	Aspi Dimitrov
Daniel Bartram	Danny Preston	Benjamin Markscheffel
Daniel Gipple	Declan Carlean	Cory English
George Morgan	Dowan Bellerose	Dan Taylor
Gilberto Medina	Efthymios Rizoglou	Ellie Page
Jack Obrien	George Greenstreet	Greg Bochan
Joe Gipple	Gregory Clark	James Hawes
Kai Rajah	Harry Mcmenamin	Jamie Lang-Richards
Laurence Currington	John Kjorstad	Kevin Abioye
Lee Manning	Kennet Pike	Kumail Jaffer
Matthew Jackson	Lauren Dutch	Max Trautman
Michael Cresswell	Lee Odell	Michael Wakelam
Michael Johnson	Luis Martins	Mohamed Abdule
Noah Tabor	Michael Cunningham	Nicolas Goetz
Paul Barton	Michael Long	Norman Peng
Rene Torcato	Michelle Green	Rob Jones
Robert Smith	Nick Clohessy	Ryan Bartlett
Tetsuro Shinkawa	Paul Le Guillou	Saira Smith
Theo Clark	Pavneet Purewal	Sam Kumar
Will Davis	Pedro Martins	Zack Case
Will Zucker	Taysir Barakat
Yasu Ichige	Tom Lock
	Troy Mayer

All three groups will report at 10am at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead this Sunday, 4 April. In the following two weeks the groups will continue preparations at their respective ballparks on 11 and 18 April. To comply with Covid procedures, registered players are required to mark their availability for these events in the online Clubhouse.

All of these sessions are open to anyone aged 14 and over to come and try baseball and to help them decide whether they would like to join the teams for the 2021 baseball season.

Contact us if you are not a club member yet but want to book a place to try baseball at an open session

Later in April, the managers will announce the preliminary rosters for the 2021 Herts Spring League which will have a condensed format with games being played over the weekend of the 24 and 25 April at Grovehill Ballpark.

The Opening Day of the 2021 BBF league season is Sunday, 2 May. The schedule for the various leagues is expected to be published later this week.

Midweek evening baseball will return to both Grovehill Ballpark and Basing Hill Ballpark in the first week of May. The teams may have midweek evening sessions even earlier and the managers will communicate this with their players.

The youth league players will report for Spring Training at their resepctive ballparks a week later than the adult teams on 10 and 11 April. See more details here.

Training sessions and games will follow the Covid-secure protocol for baseball which was approved by the government.

Adult and youth payers now registering for the 2021 league season

20 March 202116 April 2021 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Spring Training schedule announced for the Herts adult and youth teams

With the success of the Covid vaccination roll out, families around the country are looking forward to resuming outdoor activities in April. The government’s timetable currently indicates that organised outdoor sport can commence from Monday, 29 March. On the basis of this Herts Baseball Club has published the Spring Training schedule for its adult and youth teams.

The adult teams are set to return to the ballpark for the first time on Sunday, 4 April, while the youth teams start preparations on the following weekend, 10-11 April.

Youth players who are new to the sport will have the opportunity to come to one of the Open Days in April to try baseball and see if they will enjoy it before they register for the 2021 inaugural season of the Herts Youth Baseball League. These will be held at both of the club’s ballparks in Hemel Hempstead and in North West London.

New adult players will have the opportunity to do the same during the Spring Training sessions in April.

Although the youth teams do not have a session on Easter weekend, the Great Britain National Team is inviting all players aged between 9 and 12 who are British passport holders, or soon to be passport holders, to attend the first GB Under-12 National Team workout which we understand will be used as a tryout in preparation for the U12 European Championships to be held in Germany this summer between 4 and 10 July 2021.

All Herts events will follow the Covid-secure protocol approved by the government which allows baseball activities for up to 30 players and coaches on a baseball diamond at any given time. In view of this, players will need to book their places for the sessions in advance by marking their availability in the online Clubhouse. Those who are not registered for the 2021 season yet but who are interested to come to one of these open sessions to try baseball, must contact the club in advance to book their place. If we reach the limit of 30 players per event, the club will give priority to registered members and will put non-registered players on a waiting list so that they are given priority at the next event which has available places.

Contact us if you are not a club member yet but want to book a place to try baseball at an open session

Before the players return for their first baseball sessions at Grovehill Ballpark, the club will have its annual Field Maintenance Day on Saturday, 3 April. Players and volunteers are invited to come and help to prepare the field for the upcoming season. The club will provide more details about this closer to the event.

Note: The schedules may be subject to change to comply with Covid restrictions.

Schedule – Adult teams based at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead

DAY	DATE	TIME (START)	TIME (END)	EVENT NAME	VENUE
Sun	04-Apr-21	10:00	12:00	Spring Training	Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead
Sun	11-Apr-21	10:00	12:00	Spring Training	Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead
Sun	18-Apr-21	10:00	12:00	Spring Training	Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead
Sat	24-Apr-21	TBC	TBC	Herts Spring League	Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead
Sun	25-Apr-21	TBC	TBC	Herts Spring League	Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead
Sun	02-May-21	TBC	TBC	BBF League Opening Day	TBC

Schedule – Adult teams based at Basing Hill Ballpark, NW London

DAY	DATE	TIME (START)	TIME (END)	EVENT NAME	VENUE
Sun	04-Apr-21	10:00	12:00	Spring Training	Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead
Sun	11-Apr-21	12:30	14:30	Spring Training	Basing Hill Ballpark, NW London
Sun	18-Apr-21	12:30	14:30	Spring Training	Basing Hill Ballpark, NW London
Sat	24-Apr-21	TBC	TBC	Herts Spring League	Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead
Sun	25-Apr-21	TBC	TBC	Herts Spring League	Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead
Sun	02-May-21	TBC	TBC	BBF League Opening Day	TBC

Schedule – Youth teams based at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead

DAY	DATE	TIME (START)	TIME (END)	EVENT NAME	VENUE
Sat	10-Apr-21	10:00	12:00	Open Day – Spring Training	Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead
Sat	17-Apr-21	10:00	12:00	Open Day – Spring Training	Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead
Sun	25-Apr-21	10:00	12:00	Open Day – Spring Training	Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead
Sat	01-May-21	10:00	12:00	Open Day – Spring Training	Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead
Sat	08-May-21	TBC	TBC	HYBL Opening Day	Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead

Schedule – Youth teams based at Basing Hill Ballpark, NW London

DAY	DATE	TIME (START)	TIME (END)	EVENT NAME	VENUE
Sun	11-Apr-21	10:00	12:00	Open Day – Spring Training	Basing Hill Ballpark, NW London
Sun	18-Apr-21	10:00	12:00	Open Day – Spring Training	Basing Hill Ballpark, NW London
Sun	25-Apr-21	10:00	12:00	Open Day – Spring Training	Basing Hill Ballpark, NW London
Sun	02-May-21	09:30	11:30	Open Day – Spring Training	Basing Hill Ballpark, NW London
Sat	08-May-21	TBC	TBC	HYBL Opening Day	Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead

20 March 202120 March 2021 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Crowdfunding campaign continues for Basing Hill Ballpark despite setback

It has been a hotly anticipated few weeks as Herts Baseball Club rallied support for the Basing Hill Ballpark crowdfunding campaign on Spacehive. Facing steep competition, the club hoped to be one of the projects to receive financial backing from the Mayor of London as part of the Make London Fund. Results were announced earlier this week and sadly Basing Hill Ballpark did not succeed in its pitch for mayoral funding. Despite the setback, perhaps there is some comfort in the fact that Herts Baseball Club only narrowly missed out.

The Make London Fund had two tiers: Tier 1 for projects up to £5,000 and Tier 2 for projects over £5,000. With a target of £55,804, Basing Hill Ballpark was placed in Tier 2. Of the 35 projects that were successful in their campaigns for the Mayor’s fund, around fifteen were in Tier 2. Shortly before the results were announced, Herts Baseball Club had 120 backers which ranked it 17th out of a total 98 projects. Although the decision is not based entirely on the number of backers, it must have been very close.

And let us not forget the very worthy projects we were up against, from cookery schools supporting social integration, which received a pledge from the Duchess of Sussex, to projects tackling loneliness and homelessness. Club President, Aspi Dimitrov, congratulated all the other projects and said that, “although this is a setback, we are determined to build this baseball venue. Apart from the Mayor of London, we have pitched to several other organisations such as the London Borough of Barnet and are continuing to approach other potential backers as part of our crowdfunding campaign”.

There is no denying that missing out on the Make London Fund, with its potential to back up to 50% of the project, was a blow. But the club has not given up. Although holding considerably smaller funds, backing from the London Borough of Barnet is still a potential source of financial support, and with 53 days left to reach its crowdfunding target, Herts are doing everything they can to reach out to other organisations and potential backers.

Back the Basing Hill Ballpark project on Spacehive

To date, the campaign has received pledges amounting to £12,123 which is 21% of the £55,804 target. If the campaign fails to reach the target by the deadline all of the pledges will be cancelled and no payments will be taken. The club hopes it does not come to this and will continue to promote the unique and exciting project that Basing Hill Ballpark is. It is also becoming more necessary. One development which emphasises the importance of the project is this week’s launch of the club’s brand new youth baseball league. This will see boys and girls aged between 6 and 14 playing games in Basing Hill Park and at the club’s existing Grovehill Ballpark baseball complex in Hemel Hempstead.

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.

Our goal is to recreate that special baseball atmosphere in our ballparks

18 March 202118 March 2021 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Behind the scenes of the newly launched Herts Youth Baseball League

Last month, Herts Baseball Club elected Will Zucker and Aspi Dimitrov as Co-Directors of Youth Baseball. We asked them about the launch of the brand new youth baseball league.

What can young players look forward to when the new league commences?

How many of the children and their parents watching MLB on their TVs have wondered what it would be like to wear those uniforms and play for a team on a beautiful baseball diamond? Or compete in playoffs surrounded by cheering fans enjoying the food and unique atmosphere of the ballpark? Even without MLB’s multi-billion dollar budget, we want to offer the players and families of our new league an experience as close to MLB as possible.

Where will the league games be played?

Our club has two ballparks: one in Hemel Hempstead, another in North West London. They are conveniently located within a thirty minute drive from each other. Substantial investment has gone into Grovehill Ballpark, making it one of the best baseball venues in the UK. Crowdfunding is underway to repeat that success story at Basing Hill Ballpark.

What will the league schedule and format be?

Though we have two ballparks, the league will minimise travel for families so that around 75% of the season will be played at the team’s nearest ballpark. The season will start in May and end in the middle of July. Each team will play around twelve games: four home single games, two home doubleheaders and two away doubleheaders. Similar to MLB, teams will be in a race to qualify for the postseason playoffs which will determine the league champions.

We are still considering whether the champions will win the privilege to represent Herts at the National Baseball Championships in September or whether the club will select an All-Star team from all of the Herts teams in the league.

What will game days look like?

Our goal is to recreate that special baseball atmosphere in our ballparks with food, music and a lot more. We want children and their families to enjoy game days, allowing developing players the incredible feeling of playing in front of fans – similar to the superstars of MLB.

The two home and two away doubleheaders will be large scale events, bringing all teams to the same venue. Grovehill Ballpark may even be able to stage games for teams from all age groups – eight or more in total.

We are mindful of the increasing pressures on families to balance work, school and other commitments. Game days will run no longer than two hours, though team managers have discretion to extend that time a little if the players would benefit from extra practice before or after games.

League games are to be played on Saturdays, but we are also considering youth team games in NW London on Sunday mornings before the adult league plays. In this way, Herts adult players can be spectators for the youth league and the younger leagues and their families would feel welcome to stay after their games to watch adult league action in the afternoon.

What age groups will the league cover?

Players aged 6 to 14 with an Under-11, Under-13 and Under-15 league. Initially, the Under-13 and Under-15 leagues will be combined until we accumulate a sufficient number of players for separate U13 and U15 leagues. Players over the age of 14 move up to the Herts adult league teams and we hope to select Under-17 players to represent Herts at the BBF U17 national championships.

What level of coaching can the players expect?

The league already has five coaches in place all of whom have either played or coached in America, Japan, Britain’s National League or the Great Britain National Teams. The league is looking to recruit more coaches. Those interested in getting involved, or who would like more details should contact the club.

How much will it cost to play in the league?

We want baseball to be affordable for every family. We have set membership fees very low – £49 for the U11s and £59 for the U13s and U15s – probably the lowest in the UK.

The club provides all of the baseball equipment such as bats, balls, helmets, including fielding gloves for kids that don’t have their own. The uniform is not included in the membership fee, but to reduce that cost, youth players joining the club for the first time will be given a £6 voucher which they can use when buying a Herts New Era 9FORTY baseball cap.

How many teams will play in the league?

Our aim is to have four league teams in each age group – two based in Hemel Hempstead and two in NW London. We’re assessing the option to add interleague games with teams from neighbouring clubs, with a possibility of external teams joining the league. However, it’s essential that these teams are no more than around 30 minutes from either ballpark. At the moment there are just one or two other clubs that meet that criteria as our two ballparks are the only ones in the region.

Have the team names been announced and what uniforms will they wear?

The teams have adopted the names of the Herts adult league teams. For example, Herts Falcons U11, Herts Londoners U15. This is an approach more common with Premier League football teams and we felt that the young players would enjoy playing under the same Herts team names and they can progress through the age groups and into the big leagues in the coming years. We will be announcing more details about the teams’ uniforms in the coming weeks.

How will coaches select the players for their respective teams?

This league welcomes everyone from complete beginners to advanced players. Everyone plays and will have an important role in the team. Children will be invited to the Open Days in Spring Training to prepare for the season, a great way to introduce newcomers to the game of baseball.

The managers will select players for their teams adopting a system similar to the MLB Draft. This should ensure that all the teams are of equal strength, which should make it an exciting and a close race for the playoffs.

Players now registering to play

The number of youth players was very low last year. Will you be able to grow fast enough before the start of the season and do you have a backup plan if you don’t?

Despite a significant drop of youth players in the previous three years, we are already seeing a lot of interest from both former and new youth players and their families. We started our discussions with schools in Hemel Hempstead and in North West London; we are fortunate to have a newly appointed Head of U13/U11, Cory English who is an active member of his local school working as both parent governor and freelance teacher. Even if a particular age group does not have enough players for a 4-team league, we have alternative options such as a best-of-7 World Series format and interleague games similar to MLB.

Can Herts fans and the wider community help with the launch of the league?

It’s crucial that the league inspires support from the community to spread the word. We are asking Herts baseball families to share news of our league on social media and with their friends, colleagues and neighbours. If every club member recommends the league to two friends, we will reach our target.

How does Covid affect the league’s plans?

The NHS and the government have done tremendously well with the vaccination roll out. It’s encouraging to see the statistics already proving it is effective in controlling Covid. Of course, the virus remains unpredictable and we will ensure government guidance is strictly followed. The government already approved a Covid-secure protocol for baseball games last year so we are hopeful to welcome a full first season of Herts Youth Baseball League (HYBL).

Contact us to try baseball at upcoming Open Days

Players are now registering for the 2021 season. More information about joining the league can be found here.

To come to try baseball at no cost at one of the upcoming Open Days, or if you require more information, contact the club.

18 March 202122 March 2021 by Herts Baseball News Editor

New baseball league aims to give kids the MLB experience in Herts and NW London

With the success of the Covid vaccination roll out, families around England are looking forward to resuming outdoor activities in April. Today’s announcement by Herts Baseball Club gives them even more to look forward to this summer with the launch of a brand new youth baseball league in Herts and London.

The Herts Youth Baseball League (HYBL) aims to bring the MLB experience by incorporating as many of the features of Major League Baseball as possible.

Children and their parents watching MLB on their TVs must have wondered what it would be like to wear those uniforms and play for a team on a beautiful baseball diamond. Or compete in playoffs surrounded by cheering fans enjoying the food and unique atmosphere of the ballpark. Even without MLB’s multi-billion dollar budget, the HYBL aims to offer the players and families an experience as close to MLB as possible.

Boys and girls aged 6 to 14, from complete beginners to advanced players, are able to join the various teams which will play in the different age divisions.

Games will be played at the club’s two ballparks – Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead and Basing Hill Ballpark in North West London. They are conveniently located within a thirty minute drive from each other. Substantial investment has gone into Grovehill Ballpark, making it one of the best baseball venues in the UK. Crowdfunding is underway to repeat that success story at Basing Hill Ballpark.

The regular season will comprise twelve games and around 75% of the season will be played at the team’s nearest ballpark to reduce travel for families. Similar to MLB, teams will be in a race to qualify for the postseason playoffs which will determine the league champions.

The 2021 game schedule for the Under-15 and Under-11 divisions of the league have been published. Visit the League website.

Last month, the Prime Minister unveiled a plan to come out of the Covid lockdown. As a sport which had a Covid-secure protocol approved by the government in July 2020, baseball clubs up and down the country are expected to restart activities from 29 March onwards.

Players now registering to play

Opening Day of the 2021 HYBL season has been scheduled for Saturday, 8 May. In the four weeks before that, children can come to the Open Days to try baseball and to help them decide if they would like to register for the season and play in the league. The Open Days will be held at both ballparks in Hemel Hempstead and in NW London.

The team managers will adopt an MLB-style Draft system to select the teams. This should ensure that all the teams are of equal strength, which should make it an exciting and a close race for the playoffs.

In an interview with the two joint Directors of Youth Baseball, Will Zucker and Aspi Dimitrov, they outlined their goal to “recreate that special baseball atmosphere in our ballparks with food, music and a lot more. We want children and their families to enjoy game days, allowing developing players the incredible feeling of playing in front of fans – similar to the superstars of MLB.”

Contact us to try baseball at upcoming Open Days

HYBL is aiming to have four league teams in each age group – two based in Hemel Hempstead and two in NW London. This will not be an easy task as the nation is in the process of coming out a lockdown so there will be bumps along the way. But Zucker, Dimitrov and the rest of the youth baseball department are optimistic that, with support from club members and the wider community, the league has enormous potential to grow into something special, “it’s crucial the league inspires support from the community to spread the word. We are asking Herts baseball families to share news of our league on social media and with their friends, colleagues and neighbours. If every club member recommends the league to two friends, we will reach our target.”

Players are now registering for the 2021 season. More information about joining the league can be found here.

To come to try baseball at no cost at one of the upcoming Open Days, or if you require more information, contact the club.

6 March 20216 March 2021 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Teams starting to enter the 2021 Herts Spring League

The Herts Spring League (HSL) has confirmed the game dates for the 2021 edition of the competition.

The government announced a tentative timetable which indicated that baseball games could resume from 29 March 2021 in accordance with the approved Covid-19 protocol.

In order to give teams three weeks of training to prepare for HSL games, this year the HSL has reduced the length of the competition from three weeks to one week.

The HSL dates are:

Saturday, 24 April 2021
Sunday, 25 April 2021

They are based on the expectation that the BBF league season will start on 1 or 2 May 2021 for all senior leagues (NBL, Triple-A, Double-A, Single-A).

The schedule may be subject to change in line with government guidance on Covid.

Spring is the time when managers put together their teams and aim to turn them into winning machines ahead of Opening Day. Similar to the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues in MLB, the HSL provides a competitive edge to spring training. This is the fourteenth year of the HSL. Every year this competition keeps growing. The geographic spread of participating teams seems to be expanding too. For more details visit the HSL site.

LEAGUE FORMAT
Teams will be placed in two or more divisions based on the teams’ ranking going into the new season. The exact format will depend on the number of teams entering the HSL. Full details will be published when the league line-up is confirmed.

TEAMS
Over the years the HSL has featured teams from the National Baseball League (NBL), Triple-A, Double-A and Single-A Leagues, as well as international teams such as the GB Under-19 and Under-16 National Teams and the ASL Eagles.

Teams from around the United Kingdom will be submitting their entries over the next few weeks and the HSL lineup and games schedule is expected to be published in mid-April.

VENUES

All games will be played at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead, but if there are too many teams to fit all of the games, some may be played at the club’s other ballpark in NW London.

6 March 202114 March 2021 by Herts Baseball News Editor

5 Herts baseball teams enter the 2021 BBF adult leagues

Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that five teams will enter the various adult leagues of the British Baseball Federation (BBF).

Herts Falcons manager, Cris Hiche, will be looking for his team to improve on their 2019 record when they finished in third place in Britain’s top league, 17 games back on the London Mets and 8 on the London Capitals.

There will not be a Herts team in Triple-A, but the Herts Hawks are back in the Double-A League. They will be managed by Tetsuro Shinkawa.

Herts Raptors remain in the Single-A League. They will be managed by Ken Pike who takes over from Mantas Poderys who did an outstanding job with the team last year and who the club hopes will be back in managerial capacity as soon as his personal circumstances allow him to.

The Raptors will resume their rivalry not with one but two other Herts teams as the club’s two NW London teams, Herts Londoners and Herts Eagles, will both play in Single-A. This means that there will be even more Herts derby games this year.

The Eagles will be managed by the newly appointed co-managers, Adam Collins and Jamie Lang-Richards, while the Londoners will be managed by Arnie Longboy and Aspi Dimitrov.

The club’s Basing Hill Ballpark crowdfunding campaign is taking place at the moment. If it reaches the £55,804 target by 11 May 2021, work is expected to commence at Basing Hill Ballpark in August and the club has asked the BBF to schedule the Londoners’ and Eagles’ home games earlier in the season as, once work starts, the diamond will not be available until the 2022 season. To date the campaign has received pledges totalling £12,011 which is 21% of the goal.

Pledge to the Basing Hill Ballpark project

The teams have once again left room in their rosters so new players, from complete beginners to advanced, can join the club and go straight into the race for the playoffs with a team suitable for their level.

Existing players who have not reactivated their registration for the 2021 season can do so here. New players can register for the new season here or, if you would like to take part in one of the upcoming open sessions to give baseball a try and help you decide whether to join the club, then contact us for more details.

Register for the 2021 baseball season

Club members elect five new board members

26 February 202114 March 2021 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Club elects five new board members

The results from the 2021 board elections of Herts Baseball Club have been published confirming that five new members have joined the board.

Ken Pike (pictured above) returns to the board as manager of one of the adult league teams based at Grovehill Ballpark. The identity of his team and which league it will enter in 2021 will be confirmed in the coming days. The most likely scenario is that he will be managing the Single-A League Herts Raptors taking over from Mantas Poderys who did an outstanding job with the team last year and who the club hopes will be back in managerial capacity as soon as his personal circumstances allow him to. Ken has extensive experience in the British baseball league, having previously managed the Raptors.

Adam Collins (pictured above) and Jamie Lang-Richards played for the Herts Eagles over the last two seasons and in 2021 they will have the added responsibility of being co-managers of one of the Herts adult teams based at the club’s north west London branch. The identity of the team and the league which it will play in will be announced soon. Their induction into the role is expected to be very smooth as both have been an integral part of the Herts adult teams in NW London.

*Jamie Lang-Richards has played at Double-A and Single-A league level but which league will he be player-manager in? (photo by Rob Jones)*

Will Zucker has been elected co-Director of Youth Baseball alongside Aspi Dimitrov who served in that role between 2012 and 2014. Zucker is a product of the Herts youth baseball programme. He went on to become the co-founder of the very successful Durham University Baseball programme and his work was recognised when he received the BSUK Young Coach of the Year Award in 2017.

*Will Zucker wearing the Great Britain U19 national team uniform in 2016*

He currently plays in Britain’s top league with the Herts Falcons and has also been selected by the Great Britain Under-19 and Under-23 National Teams.

In the coming weeks, Dimitrov and Zucker will be providing more details of their plans for the new regional youth baseball league which will feature teams from both Herts branches – in Hemel Hempstead and in North West London.

The club’s youth baseball department has been strengthened further with the election of Cory English (pictured above). He will be heading either the Under-13 or the Under-11 programme, or possibly both. He is a member of the Herts Londoners and played a key role last year in the very successful launch of the youth baseball programme at Basing Hill Ballpark. Originating from New York, he brings a wealth of experience and knowledge which is already starting to be reflected in the baseball product which is being offered to boys and girls playing at Herts.

In addition to these five new board members, Greg Bochan, Rob Jones and Aspi Dimitrov were re-elected in their board positions as IT Director, Communications Director and Facilities Manager for Basing Hill Ballpark, respectively.

24 February 202126 February 2021 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Prime Minister unveils plan to come out of the Covid lockdown

On Monday, Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, unveiled a new four-step plan to ease England’s lockdown which could see all legal limits on social contact lifted by 21 June, if strict conditions are met.

It was good to see that organised sport will be one of the first sectors which will be allowed to resume outdoor activities. As a sport which had a Covid-secure protocol approved by the government in July 2020, baseball clubs up and down the country are expected to restart activities from 29 March onwards. Of course, the dates may be adjusted depending on the Covid data which the government will be monitoring, but this announcement means that our club can begin to plan with that timetable in mind.

The club has already started the process of adjusting the 2021 event and game schedule and adult and youth teams will receive an udate on this in the coming days.

We are excited by the prospect that baseball could return from March 29th. We will work closely with the sport’s authorities, and put in whatever work is necessary, to get everyone back in action safely as soon as possible.