Author: Herts Baseball News Editor

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts confirm Jeff Witter’s board appointment as head of under-14 baseball

At its Annual General Meeting, Herts Baseball Club announced the appointment of Jeff Witter as a board member heading the under-14 baseball department. He has been a member of the club since 2009 acting both as a player and as a member of the club’s under-12 and under-14 coaching staff, in addition to other roles.

For the last two seasons the under-14 baseball department was headed by Jake Caress, who has now moved to the club’s Triple-A League department, as the co-manager of the Herts Eagles alongside Arnie Longboy.

The club is currently preparing its plans for the 2015 season and the under-14 department is an area it hopes to grow and develop further. “The next two years are critical for the Herts youth baseball programme and we need passionate and professional people like Jeff to realize the ambitious plans which we are putting in place at the moment” said club president, Aspi Dimitrov. If these plans materialise Jeff Witter will be hoping to add quite a large number of coaches to his department. The club’s annual general meeting indicated that these expansion plans depend on a grant application which was submitted recently. Securing such funding would give Jeff Witter and the club’s other youth baseball departments the start-up capital needed to launch this expansion project.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Bochan-Slater era begins for Herts Hawks

Yesterday we reported on the appointment of Arnie Longboy and Jake Caress as co-managers of the Herts Eagles. Further managerial appointments were announced at Herts Baseball Club’s Annual General Meeting. With Longboy moving up to manage the Herts Eagles and Herts Hawks co-Manager, Andy Cornish, stepping down to spend more time with his family in 2015, the club announced a new managerial team to head the Herts Hawks in 2015.

The two co-managers are Greg Bochan and Andrew Slater. Bochan has been a manager of the Herts Hawks for many years so the camaraderie and continuity of the team will be preserved. The 7-foot-tall Slater gave Double-A opponents a weekly dose of crafty pitching and clutch hitting this year and in 2015 he will look to add his managerial nous to that. He brings an impressive win-loss record as a manager having previously led the Herts Raptors to their first season over .500 in the Single-A League.

Despite finishing the 2014 regular season with 6 wins and 14 losses, the Hawks produced some impressive performances when their team was at full strength. What will 2015 bring for the Hawks? One thing is certain, with Bochan and Slater at the helm, the Herts Hawks will have a fun season.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Managerial duo to lead Herts Eagles into 2015

Jake Caress (left) and Arnie Longboy (right) will hope to turn Herts Eagles’ fortunes around in 2015 (photo by Paul Holdrick)

At its Annual General Meeting Herts Baseball Club announced that Carlos Casal will be stepping down as manager of the Herts Eagles.  In his place the club has appointed two co-managers – Arnie Longboy and Jake Caress.

Longboy is a long-standing member of the club who has managed the Herts Raptors in the Single-A League, the Herts Hawks in the Double-A League and now he makes the step up to the Triple-A League with the Eagles.

Jake Caress is a product of the Herts youth programme.  He has grown through the ranks playing for the club’s Under-14, Under-17, Single-A, Double-A and Triple-A teams.  His progress has not gone unnoticed and this summer he was a member of the Great Britain Under-19 National Team which had a successful qualifying campaign in Croatia winning promotion to Pool A for the European Championships next year. In the last two seasons Caress was the manager of the Herts Cardinals in the BBF Under-14 League. He led the Cardinals to a bronze medal finish in this year’s U14 National Baseball Championships.

The Herts Eagles had a difficult 2014 season in the Triple-A League.  They finished last in the standings with a record of 2 wins and 14 losses (W-L% .125).  Can the new managerial team improve the team’s record in 2015?

by Herts Baseball News Editor

2014 Herts MVPs announced

The 2014 Most Valuable Player awards for the Herts adult and youth baseball teams were presented on Sunday at the club’s annual general meeting.

Abel Salas was voted Herts Falcons 2014 MVP. This came as no surprise given that a few weeks ago his outstanding season was recognised by awarding him all three MVP awards in the whole of the National Baseball League, including Most Valuable Batter, Most Valuable Pitcher, Most Valuable Two-Way Player. He also won the 2014 NBL Home Run title which he shared with Essex Arrows’ Maikel Azcuy who will be wearing the Herts Falcons uniform in 2015.

The Herts Eagles MVP award went to Takaya Miki. He joined the club one month into the season after a move from the Essex Redbacks, but quickly established himself in the team. He rounded off an excellent season with a leaping catch at the wall in the Hunlock Series Final which was later nominated as one of the plays of the season.

Greg Bochan has been an unsung hero of Herts Baseball Club for many years being a major contributor in numerous departments and one of the best loved members at the club. On Sunday his on-field contribution was recognised as he was voted 2014 Herts Hawks MVP. His consistent performances at third base and on the mound combined with him being one of the most dangerous hitters on the Hawks roster made it a very easy choice for members when they cast their votes.

There was a very close race in the Herts Raptors MVP poll. It went right down to the wire. At the end the MVP award went to Michael Cresswell. 2014 was his third season with the club and he has been taking his game up a notch every year. This year he proved to be a key player offensively, defensively and on the mound for the Raptors. For the Herts Raptors coaching staff, Michael Cresswell was always one of the first players in the lineup.

The MVP race in the club’s Under-17 team, the Herts Harriers, proved to be just as close. Only one vote divided the top candidates and the MVP award went to pitcher Zack Longboy. He may have missed a large proportion of the U17 season due to his commitments in the American Varsity League and the GB Under-17 National Team, but there can be no doubt about the progress which he has made to become one of the top young prospects at Herts and in Great Britain as a whole. He was recording wins with more or less every one of his starts this season in the U17 league, Varsity League, Little League Europe Qualifier, GB U17 Team, Herts Hawks (BBF Double-A League), Herts Eagles (BBF Triple-A League) and even made a winning debut with Herts Falcons in the NBL, Britain’s top league.

The Herts U14 programme had a difficult year as part of its restructuring process, but managed to put together a team which surprised everyone by eliminating Brentwood Bucks, Essex Redbacks and London Sports in the bronze medal game. One player in particular stood out and he was voted 2014 Herts Cardinals MVP. Mikey Sylvester maintained a 0.00 ERA throughout the U17 National Championships with an opponent’s batting average of just .061 and 23 strikeouts per 9 innings which is unheard of. His offensive numbers were just as good – batting average of .900, slugging average 1.600, 1 HR and 8 RBI.

In the Herts Under-12 programme the MVP was awarded to Aaron Witter. There was little doubt about the identity of the winner as Aaron Witter made a real impression not only with Herts fans but with coaches from other clubs and the Great Britain national Team programme. On Sunday, Aaron could not pick up his MVP trophy during the club’s annual general meeting as he was attending the GB under-17 National Team tryouts. This is his first ever tryout with GB and he will face very tough competition as he has just turned 12 years of age, but it will be exciting for Herts fans to follow his progress in the coming years.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Baseball AGM details announced

Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that its 18th Annual General Meeting will take place on Sunday, 23 November 2014.

Following one of its most successful seasons in 2013, this year Herts teams have seen more losses than wins on the field of play. Despite this the club has continued its success off-the-field and with two high-profile off-season player signings already announced, the club is in a good position to bounce back in 2015. The AGM will provide a deeper understanding of the club’s present position, and will set out the plans for 2015 and beyond.

Members will receive the AGM Information Pack in due course and that will give a better idea of what to expect at the meeting, but speaking ahead of the event, club President, Aspi Dimitrov, said that “Herts Baseball Club is at a stage where some pivotal decisions are about to be made and if we get them right we could see the club make big strides in the next few years”.

As part of the meeting, club members will elect members of the Board to fill the positions which will be vacated as part of the annual retirement of Board members. The positions which will be up for election at this AGM are Club Secretary, Third Team Manager, Fourth Team Manager, Youth League Commissioner, Head of under-14 Baseball, Head of U-12 Baseball and Communications Director.  Nominations for Board members are currently invited and those who are interested to put their name forward or second a nomination can contact the club for more details.

The Most Valuable Players of the various Herts adult and youth league teams will also be announced at the event.

Although only 2014 club members have the right to vote at the AGM, the meeting is very much open to former members and those who are considering joining the club in 2015 as players, members of staff, volunteers and fans. This is a good opportunity for newcomers to learn more about the club and meet its members. The meeting is also open to observers who are not members of the Club. Non-members who plan to attend would need to advise the club in advance as spaces are limited. If you are not a current member and wish to attend the AGM please contact the club.

The AGM will be held just a few minutes away from Grovehill Ballpark. The venue is the Gadebridge Community Centre.

DATE: Sunday, 23 November 2014

TIME: Registration starts at 12:45pm, the AGM will commence at 1:00pm (expected to end at around 4:45pm)

VENUE: The Halsey Hall, Gadebridge Community Centre, The Nokes, Rossgate, Gadebridge, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 3LF (Directions and Map)

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

2015 Spring Training starts today for Louis Hare

Louis Hare wearing the Herts Falcons jersey in game 5 of the 2012 NBL Postseason against the London Mets (photo by Will Baxter)

Herts pitcher and infielder, Louis Hare, has just received clearance from doctors to start running again.

This evening his facebook status said “Just been on my first run in over a year. Next goal – get back to Herts Baseball”. This news will be a boost for Herts fans. 2014 was a difficult year for Herts as all four of its adult league teams finished the season with a win-loss ratio of below .500, bringing back memories of 2011 which was the club’s most painful year. The club will be looking to mount a big comeback when the 2015 baseball season commences and the return to fitness of key players like Louis Hare is exactly what the club will need.

Hare suffered a double blow in 2013. First he fractured his elbow and then underwent a knee ligament operation – both injuries were football related.

Before the injuries his 2013 batting average was .312 and his slugging average .438. His return will also help in the pitching department having had some outstanding starts for the Herts Falcons (NBL), Herts Eagles (Triple-A) and Hawks (Double-A) in the past.

These types of injuries usually require a great amount of hard work to recover full mobility and put strength back into muscles which have not done much work for more than 12 months. The next few months will not be fun for Hare, but it will pay off in the Spring.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

What is the best league system for British Baseball?

The 2014 league champions in the various BBF leagues have been determined and attention now turns to the 2015 season. The Annual General Meeting of the British Baseball Federation will be held on 15 November in Leicester. This event usually sees a large number of proposals and initiatives being considered with a view to implementing them in the new season. Over the years some of these proposals have contributed to the growth of the league which we are enjoying at present (Number of adult baseball teams reaches 20-year high, 15 August 2014).

Herts Baseball Club has revealed that it is considering submitting a motion to the BBF AGM for the introduction of a system for the promotion and relegation of teams in the various BBF leagues. The Club has decided to make the first draft of this motion public in order to encourage a discussion on the subject and invite feedback which may help Herts decide whether or not to submit this motion to the BBF AGM and, if so, to determine whether this first draft could benefit from one or two amendments taking on board different perspectives from the wider British baseball community.

The first draft of the motion is shown below. Herts members can submit their views on the Herts Baseball Forum. Representatives of other clubs can post their views on Facebook.

DRAFT MOTION FROM HERTS BASEBALL CLUB

BACKGROUND

Over the last few years promotion and relegation of teams in the BBF senior leagues has been determined not on the basis of a team finishing in the pre-determined promotion and relegation places in the top or bottom of the standings, but instead the process involves clubs submitting a written request to the BBF after the end of the season.

If a system is introduced where teams are promoted or relegated based on where they finish in the standings, this is expected to bring the following benefits to the BBF and its members:

• more exciting league;

• removes the ambiguity over the BBF’s decision-making process which is currently in place;

• teams have a clear understanding of what they must do to secure promotion or avoid relegation;

• dramatic reduction in the number of meaningless games, especially in the second half of the season when a large number of teams are already eliminated from the postseason race;

• reduction in the number of meaningless games will also reduce the number of forfeited games – a problem which the league is still struggling with. In 2014 there were 61 forfeited games in the 4 leagues (NBL, AAA, AA, A). In addition, there were another 66 games which had no scores reported which may imply that some or most of them were forfeited. 82% of the forfeited games were in the second half of the season (June to August) when a large number of the teams learn that the results of their remaining games do not matter as they are out of the race;

• the option to introduce relegation-promotion playoffs would provide postseason drama for teams which have missed out on the postseason playoffs;

• the British media gets very excited when their home town team is involved in a promotion or a relegation battle. In such circumstances we have seen how communities rally behind their local team and this could provide much needed publicity for clubs and British baseball as a whole;

 

MOTION

With effect from the 2015 BBF season to introduce a promotion and relegation system with the following parameters:

1. The rules and format which will determine the promotion and relegation of teams in the BBF senior leagues shall be announced before the start of the season;

2. One or more teams which are ranked highest at the end of the season of their respective league are to be awarded automatic promotion to the next higher league tier of the BBF. They shall take the place of the team or teams ranked lowest in that higher league tier, which shall in turn be relegated to the next lower league tier. As an alternative to automatic promotion/relegation, the BBF, at its own discretion, may introduce a promotion-relegation playoff between or amongst the highest ranked team(s) of the lower league tier and the lowest ranked team(s) of the higher league tier. Promotion-relegation playoffs are recommendable especially when there is a significant disparity in the standard of play of the two league tiers and thus reduce the risk of a weaker team being promoted to a higher league tier in place of a stronger team;

3. If promotion and/or relegation is to be determined in a playoff with teams from the same or higher/lower league, such game(s) are to be played after the end of the season at a venue and with a format to be determined by the BBF. Such game(s) is to be treated as a postseason game with all the resulting implications such as postseason eligibility of players etc.;

4. To protect the integrity of the National Baseball League (NBL), which is the BBF’s highest league tier, a team from a lower league shall not be promoted to the NBL if another team affiliated to the same club already competes in the NBL. In such circumstances the promotion place, or promotion playoff place, shall be awarded to the next eligible team in the standings.

5. The restriction in article 4 shall not apply to league tiers below the NBL;

6. The BBF may from time to time introduce minimum requirements which may apply to teams competing in a specific league tier. Such minimum requirements may relate to ballpark and other facilities, youth development, financial stability, etc. The BBF shall have the right to relegate a team to a lower league tier if that team fails to meet the applicable minimum requirements in their respective league tier. Such minimum requirements shall be announced by the BBF in advance in order to give teams adequate time to satisfy them.

7. Teams are permitted to apply for transfer from one conference to another e.g. from Central to North, but must remain at the same league tier. If the conference which the team is moving to does not have that particular league tier, they shall be assigned to a league tier at the discretion of the BBF;

8. The BBF may change the number of teams in a particular league tier or pool or division within such league tier. Such changes shall be announced one year in advance with confirmation of the promotion and relegation implications. For example, if the BBF decides that in 2016 the Triple-A North division should increase from 6 to 8 teams, the BBF must make an announcement before the start of the 2015 season indicating the promotion and relegation process which will be put in place, e.g. award two extra promotion places to Double-A North during the 2015 season.

9. A new team or club which enters the BBF leagues shall enter the lowest league tier. If such new team or club feels that they are better suited to play at a higher league tier, they have the option to approach team(s) in a higher league(s) with a view to acquiring their licence or right to play in such higher league. For example, if a new team wishes to enter Triple-A, they must reach an agreement with a team from the Triple-A and a team from the Double-A league tiers to each move one league down, to Double-A and Single-A, respectively. In all cases, such transfers of the right to play at a certain league tier shall be subject to approval by the BBF and will be valid only if all teams involved in such transaction comply with any minimum requirements applicable to the league tier which they intend to move to;

10. If, for any reason and during or after any season, any team ceases to participate in or to be a member of the BBF, the BBF may take such steps and make such determinations as to league position and/or promotion and/or relegation and participation and/or results in and outcome of any competitions or games and any and all such further or other steps or measures as the BBF shall consider appropriate in the circumstances.

11. If the system of promotion and relegation is deemed to be unsuitable for one or more of the league tiers or conferences e.g. North or Central, the BBF may decide not to adopt that system in those conferences and/or tiers.

 

RELATED MATERIALS

• Pages 27 to 30 of this document contain some additional information which may be relevant.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Falcons ace Abel Salas is National Baseball League MVP

Abel Salas launches another home run (photo by Paul Holdrick)

Project COBB has published the 2014 National Baseball League award winners in the various categories and Herts Falcons’ ace Abel Salas has scooped up all three of the Most Valuable Player awards. These are the most prestigious prizes awarded to individual players and are the equivalent of MLB’s MVP and Cy Young Awards.

MOST VALUABLE BATTER

Abel Salas’ outstanding offensive numbers secured the Most Valuable Batter Award after he led or was among the top players in all of the main batting categories. He had the highest slugging average (.848), tied with Maikel Azcuy of the Essex Arrows for most home runs (3), third in batting average (.435) behind Martin Tucker of the London Mets (.525) and Fraser Duggan of the Bracknell Blazers (.522), fourth in on-base average (.567), third in runs batted in (20). We understand that the formula used to determine the winner indicated that the race for the Most Valuable Batter title was very close and Abel Salas’ grand slam home run against the South London Pirates in the final game of the season may have clinched it.

MOST VALUABLE PITCHER

NBL batters struggled to make contact with Abel Salas’ pitches all season long (photo by Paul Holdrick)

In the pitching category Abel Salas was just as impressive. He led in wins (5) a 4-way tie, strike-outs (56), was second in earned run average (3.73) behind Pietro Sollecito (2.95) of the London Mets. It was the strike outs per 9 innings where Salas stood apart from the rest with 12.3. We have to go back to 2009 when Cody Cain had 12.8 and 2008 when Ryan Bird led this category with a mind-boggling 16.9.

BEST TWO-WAY PLAYER

If the top batting and pitching awards were very closely fought, the Most Valuable Two-Way Player Award must have been easier to determine given Abel Salas’ offensive and defensive numbers. It is very rare for a player to dominate both the batting and the pitching categories. Baseball has become a game where players specialise in one or the other so Salas’ feat is significant. We have to go back to 2005 and 2002 when Simon Pole won both the Most Valuable Batter and Most Valuable Pitcher Awards playing for the London Warriors.

FIELDING AWARDS

Ryan Hackel filled the hole in the Falcons infield left after the departure of Robbie Unsell and Xavi Gonzalez (photo by Paul Holdrick)

The Herts Falcons’ biggest weakness in 2104 was fielding. It was the main reason for the team missing out on the postseason for the first time in 3 years. However, it is not a surprise to see Ryan Hackel named as the best shortstop in the NBL this season. Hack’s arrival at the end of May played a key role in bringing the team back into the playoff race after a string of injuries to key players resulted in the team’s poor start of the season.

FALCONS AMONGST THE LEADERS

John Blose played hard all season long (photo by Will Baxter)

John Blose led in the Runs Scored category (27) to round of a season in which his numbers have exploded compared to 2013, making him one of the most productive players for the Herts Falcons. Jamie Gregory’ batting average was .429 which puts him fourth overall in that category. There were two Herts Falcons players whose season was cut short due to injury to Cris Hiche and transfer to the USA in the case of Ryan Bird. If their season was not cut short, they would have been right up with the leaders. Cris Hiche had a batting average of .778 with 1 home run from 14 plate appearances. Ryan Bird batted 1.000 with 1 home run from his 5 plate appearances. 17-year-old Will Zucker also impressed with a batting average of .571 from 7 at bats in his NBL debut season, while another Herts youngster Carlos Casal Jr had an average of .400 from his 25 at bats – a very promising sign for the future of the club.

WHAT WILL 2015 BRING?

In 2013 Robbie Unsell won the Most Valuable Pitcher and Most Valuable Two-Way Player Awards. This was his final season in the NBL as he moved to America. Ryan Bird won the Most Valuable Batter Award and also moved across the Atlantic shortly after the 2013 season. 2013 team MVP Xavi Gonzalez signed with Stuttgart Reds. 2014 was Abel Salas’ final season in the NBL as he too will be moving to the USA so there is a trend for the Herts Falcons to attract the league’s star players and lose them shortly after that, however the noise coming out of the club’s front office is that there are positive signs that the Falcons will be able to make the player acquisitions needed to get back in the playoff race in 2015. We will keep you updated as soon as the club makes any announcements in the coming months as we build up to the 2015 season.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Red Roosters win Hunlock Series after late-inning drama

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A heavyweight battle between pitcher Jamie Gregory and batter Cris Hiche in the final of the 2014 Hunlock Series

The Red Roosters came back from behind in both the semi-final and the final to win the 2014 Hunlock Series.

The day began with the Blue Dogs’ shock win over White Lightning in the Quarter-Final elimination game. They had a win-loss percentage of just .146 finishing bottom in the league stage of the competition miles behind the other three teams. Everyone had written them off ahead of the elimination stage of the Series and they took full advantage of the low expectations. Their opponent was third-placed White Lightning. They were missing several key players and struggled to respond to the Blue Dogs’ onslaught who won convincingly 15-7.

Next up for the team in blue was a semi-final elimination game against the Red Roosters who didn’t want to take any chances and put their ace pitcher, Zack Longboy, on the mound. Despite the Blue Dogs taking an early 3-0 lead, this proved to be just a hiccup for the Roosters. They moved up a gear and eased to a 15-5 win, but the Dogs should feel satisfied that they reached the semi-final against all the odds.

The stage was set. It was down to two teams – Black Widows and Red Roosters. The managers went with Lee Manning and Jamie Gregory as their starting pitchers, respectively. The expectations of a pitchers’ duel didn’t materialise. It was all about offense as both teams put together big rallies. After three innings the Black Widows took a 7-6 lead thanks to a 3-run home run by second-baseman Fraser Duggan hit over the right-centerfield wall.

Both teams brought in their relief pitchers who did very well to quieten the bats, but not before the Roosters drove in 3 runs to take a 9-7 lead. A George Blaskett single in the penultimate inning reduced the deficit to 8-9. Fraser Duggan came within a few feet of his second home run of the game which would have scored 2 runs, however left-fielder Takaya Miki showed great range with a leaping catch at the wall for the third out with Red Roosters holding onto their slender 9-8 lead.

Black Widows brought in leftie closer Cris Hiche. He was faultless recording three quick outs to take the game into the bottom of the final inning. Mike Cattermole led off with a single. Dan Whitton was hit by pitch and very quickly the Black Widows had the tying run on third and winning run on second base. The infield moved in and so did the outfield. Jimmy McCormick made solid contact but grounded straight to shortstop Carlos Casal who managed to make the play and get the out at home. Relief pitcher Simon Langton was doing very well and he managed to strikeout the next batter for the second out of the inning. With two outs and the tying and winning runs on third and second base, respectively, this was the type of situation in which Black Widows would bring on their walk-off hero Colin Whitton who has had a 1.000 batting average (2-for-2) in these do-or-die situations in the previous two weeks of the Series, but he wasn’t available on this occasion. It came down to Aspi Dimitrov to try to do a “Colin Whitton”. He swung at the first pitch taking the ball to left-centerfield where Takaya Miki was on hand again to make another running catch to end the game and secure the Hunlock Series Championship for the Reds.

These were the final baseball games of 2014. Hopefully these enjoyable Hunlock Series will help players survive the dark and cold months of winter which will be upon us soon. 2015 Spring Training seems far away. There may not be any baseball action until then, but the members of Herts Baseball Club know that the club will shortly be entering a period of frantic off-field activity which could shape the 2015 season and could prove to be the difference between success and failure both on and off the field next year. For more information about getting involved as a member of staff or as a board member, contact Herts Baseball Club.