Author: Herts Baseball News Editor

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Doley, Gregory and Deacon are the first round picks

The 2019 Hunlock Series Draft was completed on Monday night. The managers of the teams had a plethora of talent to choose from with 64 players drafted over 22 rounds.

THE FIRST ROUND PICKS

On a toss of a coin Black Barracudas had the first pick. Manager, Duane Badenhorst, selected Herts Falcons’ slugger, Chris Doley (pictured above). The Australian joined the club just a few weeks ago but he has already shown enough to warrant a pick in the first round.

Next up was the turn of Blue Halibut’s managerial duo, Geoff Hare and Mike Cresswell. With their first pick they selected Herts Londoners right handed pitcher, Chris Gregory. He has had a phenomenal debut season with the Londoners leading the team in wins. He also played his part with the Herts Falcons in their European Federations Cup campaign earlier this year. he was the starting pitcher who picked up the ‘W’ in the team’s only win of the competition against the Lithuanian champions.

The third team to make their pick were the Red Carp managed by Mantas Poderys and Tetsuro Shinkawa. They too went for one of the young pitching prospects of the Herts Falcons, Alex Deacon, who earlier this year received a call from the Great Britain Under-18 National Team in their European Championship qualifying tournament in Sweden. This is the second consecutive year that Deacon is picked in the first round of the Hunlock Series Draft.

FREE AGENTS AND TRADES

The full team rosters determined at last night’s draft are shown here. As more players sign up to play they will be able to join the teams as free agents. We will keep you updated about free agent signings and trades over the course of the Series.

New players aged 14 or above, regardless of whether they are members of Herts or another club or completely new to baseball, can be added to the teams at any point. To be added to the teams or for more details contact Herts Baseball Club.

OPENING DAY

The Series commence on Sunday, 22 September. The first games start at 12:30pm at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead. Admission is free. For complete Series schedule click here.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Hunlock Series managers announced. The Live Draft is this Monday.

We are counting down to the 2019 Hunlock Series Draft which will take place this Monday, 16 September at 8:00pm. This year the Draft will not be televised, but players and fans can follow the Draft picks here as they happen. Participants will also be able to interact and chat about the Draft on the Herts Facebook Page and Herts Twitter as the managers make their picks.

Three teams go into this year’s competition and the managerial appointments have just been announced.

Last year’s winners, the Black Barracudas, are back with their manager Duane Badenhorst. They dominated in 2018 and will be looking to retain the title. Badenhorst has an uncanny ability to put together strong rosters which feature some of the most talented South African players around. Will he manage to do it again during Monday’s Draft?

The experienced duo of Geoff Hare and Mike Cresswell will aim to knock the Barracudas off their perch as the co-managers of the Blue Halibut. Mike Cresswell is the manager of the Herts Hawks and this year he also appeared for the Herts Falcons in the European Federations Cup. Geoff Hare needs no introduction. He has been involved in the game since the 1980s first with the Hemel Red Sox and then with the Herts Falcons since the 1990s. Over the last 13 years he has been umpiring in the National Baseball League and is one of the most respected officials in Great Britain.

The third team is the Red Carp who will managed by co-managers Mantas Poderys and Tetsuro Shinkawa (pictured below). This could prove to be a winning formula as Shinkawa played for the Herts Londoners and Herts Falcons in the European Federations Cup this year, while Poderys has spent the year with the Herts Raptors and also has knowledge of the Herts Eagles. Their ability to evaluate the vast number of players in the Hunlock Series could work in their favour especially during the Draft.

It is noticeable that the fish theme is running through the team names. The Black Barracudas name was already in place as the reigning champions. Tetsuro Shinkawa then went for Carp – perhaps he has allegiance to the well-known Japanese baseball team, Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Before that they were seriously considering naming the team the Red Flying Mantas, sticking with the fish theme while paying homage to co-manager Mantas Poderys. Not to be outdone, Geoff Hare and Mike Cresswell went for a fish which can weigh 10 times as much as carp and barracuda. Is this a sign that the 2019 Hunlock Series will see mind games on a par with Ferguson-vs-Keegan?

Fans will see some new faces in the Hunlock Series this year who have joined the club in the last few weeks, so there will be an element of surprise in Monday’s Draft. Some of them may be new to Herts fans but they are not new to the game. The Hunlock Series could be a glimpse at some of the new players who will be wearing the Herts uniform for the first time in 2020.

HOW TO REGISTER

All Hunlock Series players will be drafted into teams. To be eligible for the Draft players will need to update their availability for all the Hunlock Series dates in the online Clubhouse by 7pm on Monday, 16 September. If you miss the deadline or the first one or two weeks of games, don’t worry. New players will still be eligible to play but will have to be assigned as free agents after the Draft.

If you already have a Clubhouse account you can update availability by logging on with your existing username and password. Click here to go to the Clubhouse.

If you do not have a Clubhouse account but wish to play in the Hunlock Series, please register here and select “Play Hunlock Series” in the membership category list. After registering you can log on and mark your availability.

To be eligible to play in the Hunlock Series, players must be 14 years of age or above on 31 December 2019.

ENTRY FEE
2019 club members do not have to pay an entry fee as the Hunlock Series is part of their membership package. If you don’t have a Hunlock Series team shirt, you can buy one before your first game. The cost is £5.

New players or players from other clubs can play by paying the £10 entry fee which includes a free Hunlock Series shirt of the team which has drafted you.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

2 current and 1 former Herts players are in the GB European Championship roster. They face Netherlands tomorrow.

Two current and one former member of the Herts Falcons will represent Great Britain this week in the European Championships. Catcher Conner Brown and infielder Gary Davison are included in the 24-man roster announced a few minutes ago.

Herts fans will also notice that former Falcons and all-time home run leader in the National Baseball League, Maikel Azcuy, will be playing alongside them.

Conner Brown has inspired many Herts youth players. He has a chance to do it again with GB over the next 10 days.

GB Team staff have kept the roster a secret for as long as they could but with less than 24 hours before their opening game they have announced a strong squad which will be looking to secure a place in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The European Championships will be played from 7 to 15 September in Germany. It will feature the twelve top teams in Europe and the games will be played at the ballparks in Bonn and Solingen.

Gary Davison (centre) with Carlos Peña (left) and Cliff Floyd (right) at the 2017 MLB Battlegrounds in Hyde Park. Photo credit Extra Innings UK.

There is even more at stake as, apart from the European Championship crown, teams are also battling for a place in the 2020 Olympic Games qualifier. Immediately after the European Championships the best five teams will play in the European-African Olympic qualifier. The winner of this tournament would book their ticket to Tokyo. The runner-up will have a second chance to gain an Olympic spot through another world qualification tournament.

In 2015 Maikel Azcuy became the all-time NBL home run leader

Great Britain’s first game is in Solingen against the Netherlands who are ranked 8th in the world going into the tournament. The game is at 3pm BST (4pm local time) on Saturday, 7 September,

Games will be streamed live on the WBSC TV channel.

Click to WATCH Great Britain vs Netherlands 3pm BST, 7 Sep 2019

WATCH: Robert Smith becomes the first ever Herts player to appear in the U18 World Cup
by Herts Baseball News Editor

WATCH: Robert Smith becomes the first ever Herts player to appear in the U18 World Cup

Earlier today, over 5,600 miles away, Robert Smith became the first ever Herts player to appear in the U18 World Cup.

He took the mound in relief in the third inning for South Africa against Panama, who already had an unassailable lead. Below is the video link to the game.

Smith allowed only 3 earned runs for the remainder of the game which gives him the third best ERA out of the eight South African pitchers who have pitched so far.

South Africa is ranked 23rd in the world and has been drawn in a particularly difficult group with the number one and two seeds, Japan and USA, respectively. They will play Spain next tomorrow Monday, 2 September, at 15:30 local time. The games are played at the impressive newly-unveiled Gijang-Hyundai Dream Ballpark in Busan, South Korea.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Players have started registering for the 2019 Hunlock Series

The 2019 BBF league season will soon be coming to a close, but arguably the best part of the season is still to come.

Every year, just when the MLB season enters its most exciting stage, players come to Grovehill Ballpark for a competition in memory of Herts Baseball Club’s number 36, the late Kyle Hunlock.

This is the fourteenth year of the Hunlock Series. In its inaugural year in 2006 two teams were involved, the Falcons and the Hawks. Herts Baseball Club has been growing rapidly since then and the format of the competition has evolved. As players sign up over the next few weeks we will know how many teams will enter the Series this year.

SERIES FORMAT

This year’s competition will be played over three Sundays. The opening games will be played on Sunday, 22 September. The second round of games will take place on Sunday, 29 September, with the final round scheduled for Sunday, 6 October. If weather conditions affect the first three weeks, 13 October is available as a backup date.

In 2014 we introduced “The 9th Inning Games” where games are played over a single inning. We will be doing this again this year. This format recreates the tension and drama of the ninth inning. Can the teams manufacture the all important go-ahead run? Can they deliver the walk-off hits? Can the pitchers and defence execute with the game on the line?

THE DRAFT

As in previous years, the teams will be selected by the team managers during the Hunlock Series Draft. Who will be the first round picks? How will minor league players and newcomers perform alongside NBL players?

Over the years we have seen how decisions made during the Draft can shape the outcome of the Series before a pitch has been thrown. The managers will have to make carefully-calculated decisions if they are to put together a team which can compete for the Hunlock Series title, otherwise they face miserable few weeks.

With all of the club’s managers and coaching staff observing these games, players who have been pushing for promotion to a higher league team will have the perfect opportunity during the Hunlock Series to make a claim to play on the bigger stage in 2019. The club has also received enquiries from many potential new members over the last few weeks and this event is the ideal opportunity for them to come and play.

HOW TO REGISTER

All Hunlock Series players will be drafted into teams. To be eligible for the Draft you will need to update your availability for ALL the Hunlock Series dates in the online Clubhouse by Friday, 13 September. If you miss the deadline or the first one or two weeks of games, don’t worry. You will still be eligible to play but will have to be assigned as a free agent after the Draft.

If you already have a Clubhouse account you can update availability by logging on with your existing username and password. Click here to go to the Clubhouse.

If you do not have a Clubhouse account but wish to play in the Hunlock Series, please register here and select “Play Hunlock Series” in the membership category list. After registering you can log on and mark your availability.

To be eligible to play in the Hunlock Series, players must be 14 years of age or above on 31 December 2019.

ENTRY FEE
2019 club members do not have to pay an entry fee as the Hunlock Series is part of their membership package. If you don’t have a Hunlock Series team shirt, you can buy one before your first game. The cost is £5.

New players or players from other clubs can play by paying the £10 entry fee which includes a free Hunlock Series shirt of the team which has drafted you.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Baseball Club issue statement on Herts Londoners

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

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Johnny Fretheim to make Herts Falcons debut on Sunday

Herts Falcons have announced that Great Britain Under-23 National Team infielder Johnny Fretheim has joined the club. He will make his debut in Sunday’s doubleheader against the reigning National Baseball League champions, the London Mets. The game starts at 12pm at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead.

Fretheim is currently at Texas State University and will be with the Falcons for a limited period of time as he will be joining up with the Great Britain U23 National Team for the European Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, from 7 to 11 August.

Herts fans are well acquainted with Johnny Fretheim as he has come up against Herts adult and youth teams over the years including the dramatic 2013 Under-17 National Final when Herts lost 6-9 to the Cobham Cougars.

This will be his debut in a Herts uniform but there are many familiar faces for him on the Falcons roster, including Miguel Rodriguez and Conner Brown with whom he has attended MLB Elite Academy Camps over the years.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

British baseball teams have started entering the 2019 Herts Futures Tournament

Herts Baseball Club has announced that the 2019 Herts Futures Tournament will take place on Saturday, 21 September 2019.

The Herts Futures Tournament (HFT) has been held every year since 2008 and is now a permanent fixture in the British baseball calendar. The number of teams entering the tournament has been going up. The highest number of entries which we have managed to accommodate in previous years has been 21 teams. It will be interesting to see how many teams will enter this year. If the number continues to increase the club will have to consider ways of expanding the venue further.

The event brings together youth teams of all age groups from across the country for a day of baseball at one of the best baseball venues in the UK. Grovehill Ballpark is the home of Herts Baseball Club. Over the years the venue has been selected to host some of the biggest events in the British baseball calendar including the National Baseball Championships and Great Britain National Team events.

During the Herts Futures Tournament additional diamonds are added to cater for all the age groups.

This year’s edition is expected to cover the Under-18, Under-15, Under-13, Under-11 and Under-8 age groups.

For more information about the event, how to enter your team in the Tournament or how players can join the Herts teams in time for the HFT, visit the Herts Futures Tournament homepage or contact Herts Baseball Club.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Falcons’ Robert Smith to represent his country at the U18 World Cup in South Korea next month

Herts Falcons’ pitcher, Robert Smith, received the exciting news that he has been selected by the South Africa Under-18 National Team to compete in the 29th WBSC Baseball World Cup which will be held in South Korea from 30 August to 8 September 2019.

South Africa is ranked 23rd in the world and has been drawn in a particularly difficult group with the number one and two seeds, Japan and USA, respectively. They will open their World Cup campaign against the USA in a night game on 30 August.

The games will be played at the impressive newly-unveiled Gijang-Hyundai Dream Ballpark in Busan (pictured above).

Robert Smith’s family moved from South Africa to the UK in 2016 when he joined Herts Baseball Club playing for the Herts U17 team. He immediately impressed the Herts coaches and soon after joining was added to the Herts Falcons which is the club’s first team playing in the National Baseball League which is Britain’s top league tier.

Rob Smith up to bat for Herts in the 2017 UK Little League Qualifier

Smith will be one of only two players in the South Africa 20-man roster who are based overseas. This adds an additional financial burden on his family.  Herts fans and anyone who wants to help Rob Smith to raise funds to play in the World Cup can do so by going to the online crowdfunding campaign which has started already.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

MLB London Series – we still can’t believe this is happening

We are about to experience a historic week for baseball in Great Britain and Europe. We have been waiting for this for many years. We are just days away but still can’t quite believe that this is going to happen in our home city.

Below you will find details of this week’s events and links to more information to make the most of the MLB London Series.

MLB LONDON SERIES – EVENTS SCHEDULE

  • Sunday, 23 June, – MLB Cup London (U13 Baseball) – The London Stadium
  • Tuesday, 25 June, MLB Elite Development Tournament – Farnham Park, Slough
  • Wednesday, 26 June, MLB Elite Development Tournament – Farnham Park, Slough
  • Thursday, 27 June, MLB Elite Development Tournament – Farnham Park, Slough
  • Friday, 28 June, MLB Workout Day – The London Stadium
  • Friday, 28 June, MLB London Yards – The Truman Brewery
  • Saturday, 29 June, MLB Play Ball Park – The London Stadium
  • Saturday, 29 June, MLB London Yards – The Truman Brewery
  • Saturday, 29 June, New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox – The London Stadium
  • Sunday, 30 June, MLB Play Ball Park – The London Stadium
  • Sunday, 30 June, MLB London Yards – The Truman Brewery
  • Sunday, 30 June, New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox – The London Stadium

MLB LONDON SERIES – USEFUL LINKS

PLAY BASEBALL

You don’t have to be just a spectator this week. We have Midweek Evening Baseball at our ballparks in Hemel Hempstead and NW London. Contact us for details how to take part.