Ahead of the third week of the Hunlock Series the Red Kites and Blue Rockers had a mountain to climb to catch up with the Black Barracudas who had a commanding lead in the standings. By Sunday evening both teams managed to close that gap to set up an exciting finale next Sunday, 15 October.

To start the day the reigning Hunlock Series champions, Red Kites, edged the Blue Rockers with two wins, one loss and a tie in the four games between the two teams.

All the players seem to up their game when Conner Brown is in town (photo by Rob Jones)

The Blue Rockers then bounced back with much better performances in the next four games against the Black Barracudas picking up one win, two ties and a loss, thanks to dominant performances by Conner Brown and Cris Hiche. They worked together well as pitcher and catcher, swapping their positions halfway through those games.

IN BASEBALL YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHEN AND HOW TO CELEBRATE

The Blue Rockers’ would have had an even better record at the end of the day if it wasn’t for a strange case of premature celebration of a walk-off win which ended up costing them dearly. In the bottom of the last inning with the score tied and the bases loaded, Dany Bueno had a good at bat against ace pitcher Mike Wakelam and was rewarded by getting on base on a hit-by-pitch. This gave his team a walk-off win as that hit-by-pitch meant that all the runners advanced one base and the runner on third base came in to score the winning run. The runner on first base was Aspi Dimitrov and as he started running towards the dugout and high-fiving Dany Bueno to congratulate him on earning his team a win everything seemed normal, until the loud voice of plate umpire, Darrin Muller, was suddenly heard saying “Batter is out. Run does not score”. There could be no argument that the hit-by-pitch was a game-winning and game-ending play, but under the rules the game is not over until the batter physically steps on first base. Bueno was on his way to step on first base but the runner ahead of him on first base ended up behind the batter violating the rule that a runner cannot overtake the runner ahead of them.

Whether it was the fact that the Hunlock Series has the fast-paced format and Dimitrov was going towards the dugout to quickly get set for the next inning, or perhaps the fact that time was called by the umpire as soon as the batter was hit by the pitch, this may have contributed to what occurred, but the rules of the game have to be observed. It must be said that many umpires may have missed this fine technical detail, but on this occasion the game was umpired by the most experienced and best umpire in the UK. Blue Rockers pitcher Cris Hiche spent a long time hoping to find something in the rulebook which would bring the win back for the Rockers. For example, does the fact that time was called when the batter was hit by the pitch have an effect on the ruling? Unfortunately for the Blue Rockers not even OJ Simpson’s legal team could get them out of this one.

MEMORIES OF 1999 NLCS

Over 2,430 games of baseball, plus the postseason, are played in MLB every year, but we don’t see this occur very often. The MLB incident which comes closest is the so called “Grand Slam Single” by Robin Ventura for the New York Mets in the 1999 National League Championship Series. The Atlanta Braves had a 3–2 lead going into the bottom of the 15th inning. The Mets loaded the bases against Braves relief pitcher Kevin McGlinchy. Mets catcher Todd Pratt drew a bases loaded walk, tying the score 3–3. The next batter was Mets third baseman Robin Ventura with the bases still loaded. Ventura crushed the 2–1 pitch over the wall in right-center for a grand slam, winning the game for the Mets and driving the Mets players and fans into a frenzied celebration. Ventura, however, never reached second base as Todd Pratt, the runner who was on first, picked up Ventura in celebration.

Subsequently, Ventura was mobbed by his teammates, never finishing his trot around the bases. Because he failed to touch all four bases, the hit was officially scored a single. Roger Cedeño, the runner on third at the time, was ruled the only runner to have crossed home plate before the on-field celebration began and the Mets were awarded a 4–3 victory. Thus, Ventura was only credited with a single and one RBI.

After this incident, we can say with certainty that Herts teams will be celebrating walk-off wins very carefully when the 2018 British baseball league season begins.

SERIES NICELY POISED FOR FINAL WEEK

Anyway, to wrap-up week 3 of the Hunlock Series, Red Kites ended the day with 2 wins and two ties against the Black Barracudas and as a result they stand just one game back in the standings ahead of the final round of games on Sunday, 15 October. Blue Rockers are also in contention just 3.5 games back with 8 games to play.

It is not too late to play in these games. Free agents players, experienced or complete beginners, can contact us for details how to take part.

The games schedule for the 2017 Hunlock Series has been published. All games will adopt the “9th Inning” format where games are decided over a single inning only. This format recreates the tension and drama of the ninth inning. The Red Kites open with a 4-game series against the Black Barracudas, while the Blue Rockers will have to wait until 2:30pm for their first game when they will face the Barracudas.

The Hunlock Series Rules have also been published and they include the following regulations which apply to the “9th Inning” format.

• The batting order of each team remains unchanged for the duration of the day unless a substitution is made.

• A substituted player cannot re-enter the same game, however that player can re-enter a subsequent game.

• The batter who was next to bat upon completion of the previous game will be the first batter in the next game with the rest of the batting lineup coming up to bat in order.

What is also noticeable from the schedule is that the home team alternates over the course of the 4-game series which implies that the fielding team in the bottom of the inning will remain on the field in the top of the inning of the subsequent game. This scheduling approach was adopted in previous years and it sped-up the games enormously as there was no need for teams to go in and out of the field. There even was no need for warm-up pitches as the pitchers were ready. The downside is that a pitcher will need to stay on the mound for 6 outs without a break as opposed to the usual 3 outs, which could mean twice as many pitches thrown in an inning. This is where the defence can really help pitchers, by minimising errors and not adding to the pitcher’s pitch count.

Over the course of the Series each team will play a total of 24 games, 12 games against each of their opponents. The team finishing top of the league standings will be the 2017 Hunlock Series Champion.

The other rules which differ from what teams are used to in the BBF leagues are:

• Pitching Restrictions. A player can appear as a pitcher in one, two or more games per day, but no player shall accumulate more than 3 innings (9 outs) as a pitcher over the course of the day. It is the responsibility of the opposing team to inform the umpire when a pitcher reaches the limit. Managers must inform opponents of the number of innings pitched by each of their pitchers during the day prior to the start of each game.

• No Mercy Rule will be in force.

• If the game is tied after completion of the final inning, each team is awarded half a win and half a loss in the standings.

The 2017 Hunlock Series Draft took place on Wednesday night.  See more details here.

If you have not signed up to play in the Hunlock Series, it is not too late. Contact Herts Baseball Club for details on how to sign up.

The 2017 Hunlock Series Draft was completed a few hours ago. The managers of the teams had a plethora of talent to choose from with 60 players drafted over 20 rounds.

THE FIRST ROUND PICKS

On a toss of a coin Black Barracudas had the first pick. Manager, Duane Badenhorst, selected Herts Falcons starting pitcher, Tyler Badenhorst. Despite being only 16 he has been one of the stars for the Falcons in the NBL this season so he was among the favorites to be picked first in an online poll which was running prior to the Draft.

Next up was the turn of the Blue Rockers. With their first pick they selected Great Britain and Cologne Cardinals catcher, Conner Brown. Brown was also picked in the first round last year. He has just completed his season in the Bundesliga and everyone at the club is looking forward to seeing him back at Grovehill Ballpark, although opponent players from the Red and Black team, less so.

Next it was the turn of reigning Hunlock Series Champions, the Red Kites, to make their first pick. Manager Matt Jackson selected Herts Hawks pitcher and infielder Louis Hare. Over the years hare has been a leader at every team that he has played for so this is seen as a very shrewd move by Jackson.

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, 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, 24 September. The first games start at 1:00pm at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead. Admission is free. For complete Series schedule click here.