Author: Herts Baseball News Editor

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Hawks’ game at Grovehill Ballpark rained out. Raptors and Eagles away games also cancelled

Despite several ground inspections and anxious monitoring of rain radars and weather forecasts, the AA League crunch game between Guildford Mavericks and Herts Hawks at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead has been postponed due to waterlogged diamonds.

The Raptors and Eagles also received bad news this morning.  The Raptors trip to Guildford Mavericks II was has been postponed. It will now be played on 22 July 2012.

The Herts Eagles visit to Pavilion Field in Brighton for their game against Hove Tuesday was also wiped out by the weather.  The game has been rescheduled for 5 August 2012.

Many other games across the country have been affected after the heavy rainstorm travelled from the south coast northwards and flooded everything in its path.

We are expecting news of the NBL game at Northbrooks Playing Fields in Harlow between the Herts Falcons and the Harlow Nationals and this page will be updated if the game is called off.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Big weekend for Herts teams in race for the national championships

Herts Falcons hope that Phil Clark will be back in time for duel with Harlow (photo by British Baseball Magazine)

Friday night’s red weather warning issued by the weather office seemed to fizzle-out on Saturday and although events like the Formula 1 British Grand Prix qualifying was affected badly, further South, the women’s tennis final at Wimbledon went ahead.

With the fear of a rainout out of the way attention turns to 4 pivotal games for the 4 Herts senior league teams.

FALCONS (12-4) @ NATIONALS (15-4)

After 3 weeks without league action, the Herts Falcons go into battle with the reigning champions. The Harlow Nationals’ last loss came on 10 June when they last met the Falcons. They went on to a 4-game winning streak which took them back into first place. Teams are reluctant to look beyond their next game, but both the Nats and the Falcons can be forgiven for having one eye on the postseason NBCs. There may not be much difference between finishing first or second in the regular season, other than the sense of achievement, however both teams know that losing both games of Sunday’s doubleheader could drag them into the unpredictability of the one-game playoff which awaits the teams which finish fourth and fifth in the regular season. The Lakenheath Diamondbacks’ stunning sweep of the London Mets last weekend was a wake-up call for the four teams ahead of them. That game saw the emergence of Taylor Portman who provided power with the bat but more importantly looked like he can shut down even the most potent of batting lineups. The Taylor Portman-factor will now be on the back of Nats and Falcons minds. This adds an extra edge on a matchup which was already highly-charged after the fireworks on 10 June which almost resulted into a bench-clearing brawl.

MAVERICKS (14-0) @ HAWKS (6-4)

The best team in the BBF AA-League travel to Grovehill Ballpark. The Guildford Mavericks seem unbeatable as they have won all 14 games of the season so far. They have already booked their place in the AA postseason playoffs. The Herts Hawks are also in a comfortable position in terms of postseason qualification, however the stunning form of the Guildford Mavericks and the Poole Piranhas on the other hand is giving the top four teams in Pool B, sleepless nights. The teams which finish third and fourth in Pool B face the daunting prospect of meeting either Guildford or Poole so there is a sense of panic among the top 4 teams in Pool B to finish first or second and avoid the AA favourites.

Herts Baseball's young prospects will need to step up to keep the Raptors alive in the race for the postseason

A win for the Hawks this Sunday could lift them into second place. A loss could put them way down into fourth which could mean that they would have to face the Guildford Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs. The game starts at 12pm at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead. If the Hawks can get the job done quickly enough they may be able to catch the Olympic Torch Relay which passes through Hemel Hempstead this Sunday afternoon from 4:30pm.

RAPTORS (4-3) @ GUILDFORD MAVERICKS II (4-3)

While the Hawks try to end Guildford’s unbeaten run, the Raptors will be looking to keep their playoff hopes alive when they travel to Guildford’s second team. Both teams have 4 wins and 3 losses each and both need a win to stay in the race. Raptors Manager, Arnie Longboy, will be missing a large number of his starting 9 so he will need the Under-17 players who have been called up to hit the ground running when they make their AA league debut this Sunday.

HERTS EAGLES (5-3) @ HOVE TUESDAY (5-0)

The Eagles are still in the race for the playoffs but they will need to give their best performance of the season if they are going to overcome the unbeaten Hove Tuesday. The newest team in the A-League has blown away their opponents winning all of their games with the mercy rule enforced after 7 innings. Can the Eagles shock British Baseball with a win on the South Coast.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Saturday’s youth league games at Herts cancelled due to red weather warning

A few minutes ago the weather office issued a “red weather warning” for Southern England.  With heavy showers in the morning and continuous rain forecast for Hertfordshire and the surrounding regions, Herts Baseball Club has had to cancel Saturday’s (7 July) youth league games.  This includes the Under-17 and Under-14 league games between Herts and the visiting Forest Glade Redbacks.

The Under-11 series between the Herts Giants and the Herts Dodgers have also been affected by this announcement.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Raptors battle with League leading Archers

The closer - Anna Blach pitching in the 9th inning against the Essex Archers

written by Anna Balch

The Raptors (3-3) gave league leading Essex Archers (7-1) an unexpected battle in one of the only games this season that the Archers have played past 7 innings,. With Zachary Longboy (8 IP, 5 SO) starting on the mound for the Raptors the Archers came out to a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the third. The Raptors came back in the bottom of the inning with four runs to take the lead. They were able to hold off the Archers with a strong pitching performance by Longboy in the second and added five more insurance runs to extend the lead to 9-3. Archers outfielder Ash Richardson commented “that’s the first time we’ve ever been down.”

But the Archers soon began their come back adding four runs in the third and the fourth. Zack got out of the two inning eight run attack when he forced a pop out to short and recorded a strike out for the third out. After four innings the score was now 13-11. In the top of the fifth inning the Raptors played tight defense but two singles and a two out error gave the Archers a run to bring the score within one. In the bottom of the inning, with the intent of extending the lead the Raptors couldn’t get runners on going down one, two, three.

It was only in the top of the sixth inning that the Archers scored two to take the lead 14-13. In the bottom of the inning a two out walk put the tying run on base but a ground out to the pitcher ended the inning. Two more runs for the Archers extended their lead in the top of the seventh. In the bottom of the inning Rob Jones (1H, 1RBI, 4R, 1SB, 2BB) reached on a error. Then a one out double, that many thought was out of the park, from Gil Medina (3H, 1 2B, 2RBI, 2R, 1SB) scored Jones. More errors from the Archers scored another Raptor to bring them within one.

Two more runs from the Archers extended their lead but the Raptors posed a threat in the bottom of the inning. Newcomer, Anna Balch who replaced the Raptors DH, singled with one out in the bottom of the eighth. She then stole second base and advanced to third on a passed ball before Brodie Caress (3H, 3R, 1BB, 4SB) walked to put runners at the corners. Caress then advanced to second on a ground out to third. With runners on second and third the Raptors then ended the inning, and the threat, with a long fly ball to center.

Ben Marques takes a pitch from Essex Archers starter Darren Ludlow

Balch replaced Longboy on the mound for the Raptors. The Archers added two more runs in the inning to make the lead 20-15. Eventually Balch recorded her first career strikeout to end the inning. The Raptors were shut down in the bottom of the inning and were unable to score ending the game with a final score of 20-15. Other top players for the Raptors were Glen Downer (2H, 4RBI, 2R, 1SB) and Ben Marques (2H, 1R, 2SB).

While it was a victory for the Archers, the Raptors were satisfied in taking the Archers to the ninth inning. The high scoring nine inning game was something new for the Archers as they rarely play a full nine innings. “It was really a tight match up until the end as both teams put up a great fight,” said Raptors manager Arnie Longboy. “I would love to face them again in the playoffs, but of course we’ll have to win the rest of games for that to happen. I think we can.”

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Squeaky bum time

As the baseball season entered the month of July, the battle for the postseason playoffs is simmering nicely. In the AA League the top two teams in Pool B South met at the ballpark in Enfield for a colossal double header. The Sidewinders were sitting on top of the standings, just one game ahead of the second-placed Herts Hawks.

The Hawks opened the game with a single and a double by Louis Hare and Jon Lewys, respectively. Andy Cornish was walked to load the bases with 2 outs but the Sidewinders pitcher managed to get out of that bases-loaded jam without any damage.

Nick Russell was the starting pitcher for the Hawks and he responded by retiring the Sidewinders on 3 fly outs. Both pitchers kept putting zeros up on the scoreboard through the first 4 innings. Russell was very effective allowing only 2 hits over that period. This was turning into a classic pitching duel and both teams were showing why they are top of the AA standings.

Herts drew first blood in the fifth inning. Paul Auchterlounie hit a single up the middle and stole second. He was followed by Jon Lewys who drove him in to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.

The Sidewinders responded swiftly putting together their first real offensive rally of the day with 3 doubles and 2 singles to take a 3-1 lead. Herts sprung into action. A sacfly by Ralph Bartholomew brought home Andy Cornish and Kal Dimitrov somehow managed to beat out a ground ball to bring his brother Aspi Dimitrov home to tie the game and go into the final inning with a score of 3-3.

In that final inning Louis Hare got on base on an error. The next two Herts batters managed to move Hare to third base, but there were now two outs with big-hitting Andy Cornish coming up next. The Sidewinders called a mound conference and their first baseman, Bruce Dullea, provided some valuable inside information having played for and managed the Herts Falcons in 2005, 2006 and 2007. He alerted his team mates that Cornish is a dangerous batter and they decided to pitch around him to walk him and face Aspi Dimitrov instead who was playing in his first game after being on the DL for the last 10 months with shoulder and hamstring injuries. Dimitrov hit a 2-out single to left-centerfield driving two runs in to make the score 5-3.

Could the Sidewinders come back from this in the bottom of the last inning? Two singles and two stolen bases brought one run in. It was now 5-4 with the tying run at third and 1 out. Nick Russell was still on the mound and he needed to use every ounce of energy he had left to keep the runner on third from scoring. The only way to guarantee this was to make sure that batters did not make contact with the ball and that’s exactly what he did. He took the next 2 batters to full count and struck out both of them leaving the tying run on third base and securing a priceless win for Herts.

Nick Russell will get the praise, and rightly so, but it is also worth noting that he had tremendous support from the whole team who played errorless defence.

Click to view game 2 box scores and play-by-play

In game two the Sidewinders put their ace pitcher, Tadaaki, on the mound looking for revenge. He had a no-hitter earlier in the year and he showed why. Consistent control and change of speed make him a very awkward pitcher to face. The Hawks were having real problems making solid contact. Tadaaki was pitching a perfect game (no hits, no walks) in the first 5 innings of the second game. On top of that the Hawks had a very sloppy start of the game. They committed 3 errors and allowed 5 runs to score in the top of the first inning. 4 of the 5 runs were unearned (i.e. resulting from the fielding errors). The Hawks defence recovered after that and managed to give starting pitcher, Greg Bochan, the support he needed. The team was working efficiently again and Bochan was pitching a gem. They allowed only 1 run in the next 6 innings, but the big challenge was to find a way to score runs against pitcher Tadaaki.

Into the top of the 6th and a light appeared at the end of the tunnel. Seth Lipstock, who had a great game at third base, ended Tadaaki’s perfect game with a lead-off single. Kal Dimitrov followed with a single of his own. With 2 outs, Lipstock came around to score as Andy Cornish and Louis Hare got on base on fielding errors. Both Cornish and Hare scored after an infield hit by Aspi Dimitrov and an error throw. That reduced the deficit to 6-3.

Into the final inning Tadaaki was still going strong. Despite a single from Greg Bochan, Tadaaki completed the game in style with a groundout and two strikeouts.

Click to view game 2 box scores and play-by-play

After the games Hawks co-manager, Andy Cornish, said: “Today, was a great game of baseball and very enjoyable to be in such a contest. We played against very good opposition, and shown that we can play with the top teams in this league, even with a depleted side. We have some more tough opposition to come, but with the way that we played today I am encouraged about our chances in pushing forward to the playoffs. Today, we played great baseball for 13 out of the 14 innings, and next time we will do so in every inning, there is no doubt in my mind.”

Today’s games emphasised just how hotly contested the title race is in the AA league. With the Daws Hill Spitfires and the London Mammoths picking up wins today it looks like the playoff race will go down to the wire. In the words of Manchester United Manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, it is “squeaky bum time”. The Hawks remain one game behind the Sidewinders, but they are now third after the Mammoths jumped above them. The focus is now on the next Hawks game on Sunday, 8 July, against the Pool A leaders Guildford Mavericks who are still unbeaten with a 14-0 record so far this season. The game will be played at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead. First pitch 12:00pm.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Box Scores: Herts Hawks 3 Sidewinders 6 (BBF AA League)

Herts Hawks at Sidewinders
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Herts Hawks 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 4 4
Sidewinders 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 6 9 6

 

Sidewinders 6, Herts Hawks 3
Sidewinders Herts Hawks
ab r h bi ab r h bi
H Player 1 p 4 0 1 0 AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul cf 3 0 0 0
H Player 2 c 3 1 1 0 (b6) BARTHOLOMEW Ralph 2b-cf 1 0 0 0
H Player 3 1b 4 1 1 0 DIMITROV Kal rf 3 0 1 0
H Player 4 2b 3 1 1 1 (b6) LEWYS Jonathon rf 0 0 0 0
H Player 5 3b 3 1 2 1 CORNISH Andy c 3 1 0 0
H Player 6 ss 3 2 2 0 HARE Louis ss 3 1 0 0
H Player 7 lf 3 0 1 2 DIMITROV Aspi lf 3 0 1 0
H Player 8 cf 3 0 0 0 SLATER Andrew 1b 3 0 0 0
H Player 9 rf 3 0 0 0 RUSSELL Nick 2b-cf 3 0 0 0
BOCHAN Greg p 3 0 1 0
LIPSTOCK Seth 3b 3 1 1 0
TEAM TOTALS 29 6 9 4 TEAM TOTALS 28 3 4 0

 

E: H Player 5(3), H Player 4, H Player 8, H Player 9, CORNISH Andy, LIPSTOCK Seth,
HARE Louis, RUSSELL Nick. LOB: Herts Hawks 4, Sidewinders 6. 2B: H Player 5, H Player
7. SB: H Player 6(3), H Player 4(2), H Player 3(2), H Player 1, H Player 8, H Player
2, LIPSTOCK Seth, BOCHAN Greg.

 

Sidewinders IP H R ER BB SO
H Player 1 W 7.00 4 3 0 0 7
Herts Hawks
BOCHAN Greg L 6.00 9 6 1 1 2

 

T: 1:50. A: 32.
Herts Hawks – Top of the 1st:
AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul flied out.
DIMITROV Kal struck out swinging.
CORNISH Andy popped out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Sidewinders – Bottom of the 1st:
H Player 1 grounded out.
H Player 2 singled, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on error, batted forward to home.
H Player 3 reached on error, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd, stole home.
H Player 4 singled, stole 2nd, stole 3rd, batted forward to home, 1 RBI.
H Player 5 doubled, advanced to 3rd on error, batted forward to home, 1 RBI.
H Player 6 reached on error, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
H Player 7 doubled, batted forward to 3rd, 2 RBI.
H Player 8 grounded out.
H Player 9 grounded out.
5 runs, 4 hits, 3 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Top of the 2nd:
HARE Louis grounded out.
DIMITROV Aspi popped out.
SLATER Andrew grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Sidewinders – Bottom of the 2nd:
H Player 1 grounded out.
H Player 2 flied out.
H Player 3 struck out swinging.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Top of the 3rd:
RUSSELL Nick grounded out.
BOCHAN Greg reached on error, advanced to 2nd on error.
LIPSTOCK Seth reached on error.
AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul struck out looking.
DIMITROV Kal grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 2 errors, 2 LOB.
Sidewinders – Bottom of the 3rd:
H Player 4 grounded out.
H Player 5 popped out.
H Player 6 singled, stole 2nd.
H Player 7 grounded out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Top of the 4th:
CORNISH Andy struck out swinging.
HARE Louis flied out.
DIMITROV Aspi struck out swinging.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Sidewinders – Bottom of the 4th:
H Player 8 grounded out.
H Player 9 flied out.
H Player 1 singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd.
H Player 2 walked, batted forward to 2nd.
H Player 3 singled.
H Player 4 popped out.
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Top of the 5th:
SLATER Andrew grounded out.
RUSSELL Nick grounded out.
BOCHAN Greg grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Sidewinders – Bottom of the 5th:
H Player 5 singled, tagged out going to 2nd.
H Player 6 singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd, advanced to home on error.
H Player 7 grounded out.
H Player 8 reached on error, stole 2nd.
H Player 9 struck out swinging.
1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Top of the 6th:
LIPSTOCK Seth singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd, advanced to home on error.
AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul struck out swinging.
DIMITROV Kal singled, forced out at 2nd.
CORNISH Andy reached on error, advanced to 2nd on error, batted forward to 3rd,
advanced to home on error.
HARE Louis reached on error, batted forward to 2nd, advanced to home on error.
DIMITROV Aspi singled, advanced to 2nd on error.
SLATER Andrew popped out.
3 runs, 3 hits, 4 errors, 1 LOB.
Sidewinders – Bottom of the 6th:
H Player 1 flied out.
H Player 2 popped out.
H Player 3 flied out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Top of the 7th:
RUSSELL Nick struck out looking.
BOCHAN Greg singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd.
LIPSTOCK Seth grounded out.
BARTHOLOMEW Ralph struck out swinging.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Box Scores: Herts Hawks 5 Sidewinders 4 (BBF AA League)

Herts Hawks at Sidewinders
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Herts Hawks 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 5 8 0
Sidewinders 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 4 9 2

 

Herts Hawks 5, Sidewinders 4
Herts Hawks Sidewinders
ab r h bi ab r h bi
AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul c 4 1 1 0 H Player 1 p 3 0 1 1
HARE Louis 1b 4 1 2 0 H Player 2 c 4 1 1 0
LEWYS Jonathon rf 4 0 2 1 H Player 3 1b 4 0 2 0
LIPSTOCK Seth 3b 4 0 0 0 H Player 4 2b 3 0 0 0
CORNISH Andy cf 1 2 0 0 H Player 5 3b 2 0 0 0
DIMITROV Aspi lf 2 1 1 2 H Player 6 ss 3 0 0 0
RUSSELL Nick p 3 0 0 0 H Player 7 lf 3 1 1 0
BARTHOLOMEW Ralph ss 2 0 1 1 H Player 8 cf 3 1 1 0
DIMITROV Kal 2b 3 0 1 0 H Player 9 rf 3 1 3 0
TEAM TOTALS 27 5 8 4 TEAM TOTALS 28 4 9 1

 

E: H Player 3, H Player 6. LOB: Sidewinders 5, Herts Hawks 7. 2B: LEWYS Jonathon, H
Player 3, H Player 7, H Player 9. SB: HARE Louis, AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul, CORNISH Andy,
DIMITROV Aspi, DIMITROV Kal, H Player 9(2), H Player 5, H Player 2, H Player 8, H
Player 1. SF: BARTHOLOMEW Ralph.

 

Herts Hawks IP H R ER BB SO
RUSSELL Nick W 7.00 9 4 4 2 3
Sidewinders
H Player 1 L 7.00 8 5 2 5 4

 

WP: H Player 1(2). PB: H Player 2. T: 2:09. A: 32.
Herts Hawks – Top of the 1st:
AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul popped out.
HARE Louis singled, batted forward to 3rd.
LEWYS Jonathon doubled.
LIPSTOCK Seth struck out swinging.
CORNISH Andy walked.
DIMITROV Aspi grounded out.
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Sidewinders – Bottom of the 1st:
H Player 1 walked, stole 2nd.
H Player 2 flied out.
H Player 3 popped out.
H Player 4 flied out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Top of the 2nd:
RUSSELL Nick grounded out.
BARTHOLOMEW Ralph grounded out.
DIMITROV Kal singled.
AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul struck out looking.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Sidewinders – Bottom of the 2nd:
H Player 5 popped out.
H Player 6 grounded out.
H Player 7 grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Top of the 3rd:
HARE Louis singled, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, batted forward to 3rd.
LEWYS Jonathon grounded out.
LIPSTOCK Seth popped out.
CORNISH Andy popped out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Sidewinders – Bottom of the 3rd:
H Player 8 grounded out.
H Player 9 singled, stole 2nd.
H Player 1 struck out swinging.
H Player 2 grounded out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Top of the 4th:
DIMITROV Aspi walked, forced out at 2nd.
RUSSELL Nick reached on fielder’s choice, tagged out going to 2nd.
BARTHOLOMEW Ralph singled.
DIMITROV Kal flied out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Sidewinders – Bottom of the 4th:
H Player 3 singled, did not tag, called out.
H Player 4 lined out.
H Player 5 walked, stole 2nd.
H Player 6 flied out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Top of the 5th:
AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul singled, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on wild pitch, batted forward
to home.
HARE Louis struck out swinging.
LEWYS Jonathon singled, tagged out going to 2nd, 1 RBI.
LIPSTOCK Seth grounded out.
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Sidewinders – Bottom of the 5th:
H Player 7 doubled, batted forward to home.
H Player 8 popped out.
H Player 9 doubled, awarded 3rd, batted forward to home.
H Player 1 singled, forced out at 2nd.
H Player 2 singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
H Player 3 doubled.
H Player 4 grounded out.
3 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Top of the 6th:
CORNISH Andy walked, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on passed ball, batted forward to
home.
DIMITROV Aspi walked, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd, advanced to home on error.
RUSSELL Nick grounded out.
BARTHOLOMEW Ralph sacrifice flied, 1 RBI.
DIMITROV Kal reached on error, stole 2nd.
AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul lined out.
2 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Sidewinders – Bottom of the 6th:
H Player 5 flied out.
H Player 6 grounded out.
H Player 7 grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Top of the 7th:
HARE Louis reached on error, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
LEWYS Jonathon grounded out.
LIPSTOCK Seth struck out looking.
CORNISH Andy walked, batted forward to home.
DIMITROV Aspi singled, tagged out going to 2nd, 2 RBI.
2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 0 LOB.
Sidewinders – Bottom of the 7th:
H Player 8 singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
H Player 9 singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd.
H Player 1 lined out, 1 RBI.
H Player 2 struck out swinging.
H Player 3 struck out looking.
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Eagles win interleague exhibition game in Milton Keynes

written by Duncan Hoyle

Herts Eagles had a confidence boosting 1h45 min timed friendly win at neighbours MK Bucks Development Team on Sunday.

The first problem for the Eagles was the closure of the M1, which meant a detour through grid locked Dunstable to get onto the A5. However it was worth the effort to get there as MK’s lovely Woughton on the Green ground has arguably the smoothest fielding surface in British Baseball.

Herts batted first and got 3 runs on the board in the first innings to give new signing GB U15 international Tom Everex-Armstrong a good platfrom to defend from the mound, and he got off to a great start by closing out the first without conceding a run. Everex-Armstrong is looking for some game time before he jets off to Canada for the U15 World Championship and he will be a big boost to the lineup for the Eagles next league fixture, a trip to unbeaten Hove Tuesday.

In the second, MK Bucks fought back hard, limiting the Eagles to just an extra run added, and then scoring 8 of their own. The Eagles didnt help themselves in this half inning when a number of opportunites to get outs were wasted.

A quick team talk did the job for the Eagles as they got back on it in the 3rd. It was good to see rookie players Simon Roberts and Mike Cresswell looking confident at the plate and getting hits to their name in the top half. Everex-Armstrong conceded just a couple of runs in the bottom to keep the game finely balanced.

With the AA MK Bucks and their opponents the Stourbridge Titans eagley awating the finale of the game so they could take the field for their league game, the Eagles were positive in the top half of the fourth with Theo Scheepers, Reagan Wood and Tak Ashida coming in to score, batted in with a tremendous triple from the impressive Everex-Armstrong. It was then left to another U15 Will Zucker to close and save the game for the Eagles. Zucker was excellent, pitching fast and straight to concede just one run and close the game out within 20 pitches. The challenge next season for Zucker is to follow in the footsteps of Everex-Armstrong and push for GB recognision as he clearly has the potential for this.

The Eagles now face a busy July in which they still have a chance of making the post season playoffs. Two league games sandwich the London Tournament in which due to the other Herts teams having to reschedule fixtures becasue of rained off matches it looks like it will be the Eagles representing the club on the 14th and 15th July.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

In search of perfection

written by hertsbaseball.com correspondent Ken Pike

“You can’t be afraid to make errors! You can’t be afraid to be naked before the crowd, because no one can ever master the game of baseball, or conquer it. You can only challenge it.”

– Lou Brock, Left Fielder, St Louis Cardinals, 1977

 

I find baseball a truly unique and in many ways perplexing sport because of something that you will never actually find in baseball…perfection. Ok, don’t worry I haven’t been on mind altering substances, and I will explain.

Let’s start with a contrast: football (yet again). If you consider a football player and what would constitute a ‘perfect’ season, perhaps winning the Champions league, domestic league and cup, and maybe, every other year, a major international competition. Maybe throw in being PFA player of the year as well as the league’s top scorer.

The list of teams that have had unbeaten seasons is longer than you would think and includes Arsenal (ghhhhwah pfft – I spit their name), Juventus, AC Milan, Galataseray (who still finished second! Should have tried scoring goals as well as keeping clean sheets) , Benfica, Porto, SC Internacional, Rosenborg and bizarrely Preston North End (a very long time ago). Individually, and within living memory (for most of us) Gilberto Silva was on the World Cup winning Brazil ‘02 squad before going off to join Arsenal and have an unbeaten domestic season. The Champions League went to Real Madrid that year though, and Arsenal crashed out at the second group stage so maybe he had a way to go, but still a good shot at it.

Where am I going with this analogy? Well, I know you might be able to get the perfect one off event like a hit or pitch, and even extend that over several innings or a game or two, but what would constitute a perfect season in baseball? There’s no way in god’s green earth that you could have an undefeated season like Arsenal, ghhhhwah pfft. The Mariners and Cubs who jointly own the record with 116 games still lost 46 games in the season, nearly 30% of their games. Pretty pathetic really when trying to reach perfection (har-di-har). As for winning every competition, if baseball comes to the Olympics, I don’t think MLB players would realistically give a hoot.

On the individual level, it gets even harder. 20 pitchers have now managed perfect games (well done Matt Cain for the most recent entry) and that would certainly be the pinnacle of a career and a direct express first class ticket to a Cy Young award and the hall of fame, but perfect season? There is always more to strive for. Cy Young’s own perfect game was part of a hitless streak of 24 or 25⅓ straight innings—depending on whether or not partial innings at either end of the streak are included. It was also part of a streak of 45 straight innings in which Young did not give up a run, which was then a record. No matter how remarkable that is, he still lost 16 games that year and remained as far from perfection as anyone.

A pitcher throwing a perfect game, EVERY game of a 162 game regular season and potentially 11 wins needed in post season games, would frankly be the result of either impressive advances in doping technology or extraterrestrial/divine intervention (delete according to own theistic beliefs). As for batters, Ted Williams managed 16 base reaching plate appearances in a row while Di Maggio managed a 56 game long hitting streak. Records, yes, but also a million miles from a perfect season. Hitting a homer with every at bat while never making a single fielding mistake all year and scooping up every single play that is within his area? Maybe one day a muscular Jedi will pick up a Louisville and a glove and sign for the Alderaan Athletics, but I doubt it will be in my life time.

The problem being one of baseball’s most specific and unique principles: statistics. The sport is utterly ruled and filled by them. I am not talking English Southern Division Single A here, as those records are of dubious statistical value at best, and hardly indicative of anything over a 12 game season. Combine this wealth of metrics by which to measure success with the sheer length of the season, and you have a situation where attaining true perfection is impossible.

So how does that translate to the English leagues? They are infinitely shorter seasons so it should be much easier to go the whole way never giving up a hit. However, we also play alongside amateur team mates with huge variations in the quality of your backup from game to game, and none of us train on a daily basis (no you don’t, don’t even start fibbing about it.) so personal consistency is quite unlikely in itself at the level needed to get multiple perfect games or 1.000 batting averages.

Throwing or batting a dozen perfect games, is certainly more doable than the 162 MLB games required, but in the real world, just as unlikely, unless some superstar takes early retirement and decide that a spell in Hertfordshire is just the ticket. Over 12 games with the ensuing 348 outs required (admittedly less if mercy rules come into effect), even an NBL pitcher from the Falcons, Nationals, or Mets dropping down to single A is going to get someone along the way who gets a hit, even if it is through pure dumb luck or poor fielding from the defence. Even I have hit off NBL pitchers in the Hunlock series and while being ok on the batting front, I ain’t all that. I imagine that hitting 1.000 is more likely over 12 games but it would still need someone to be playing at very much the wrong level of the game. Getting home runs for each of those hits is flat impossible. Even roid-freaks in home run derby’s with pitchers throwing perfect balls for them don’t hit over the fence every time let alone 60 or so times in a row.

So where is this going? Well, one of my Raptors team mates was dissecting his own performance after our (glorious) win against the Eagles. For once it wasn’t me, and the advice I gave that person was simple: “You may not have been perfect in every part of your game, but you did your own job perfectly.”

The pitcher did his job, the catcher did his, the fielders did theirs, the contact hitters got on base and the power hitters got the big slams, and that’s how you win games. Dropping one or two balls here or there or getting struck out a couple times is utterly irrelevant in the grand scheme of a game if you do what you are needed to do. In various positions you face a varying number of throws, hits or catches to field or dish out getting all of them is an issue of percentages. Percentages none of us doing this sport for free are ever going to be able to keep at 100 (or 0 depending on the target end of the metric). So what do we count as perfect here in blighty-baseball?

Being someone who kicks themselves more than I should for much of the time, and in light of my recent article about starting to enjoy myself again, it is quite clear I can’t be perfect at every part of the game. Well, duh, no great revelation there Ken, thanks, but the fact is I am dreaming if I want to be perfect in even one part of the game. You could be the best the team has at one particular thing, even a league leader, and finding a fault or shortcoming somewhere will still be very easy.

One could say that winning a game means you did what you needed to do, and that is perfection. Let’s face it, if you have that kind of easy going attitude then there is a very good chance that you lack the competitiveness to become good enough to achieve it. Sweeping generalisation alert, but if you are good and claim that you are THAT relaxed about it, I don’t believe you. Sorry. Every competitive person I ever met constantly wanted to improve their own performance in whatever they were aiming themselves at irrespective of win or loss. I bet Cy Young, Ty Cob, Babe Ruth and all the others were never truly 100% happy with their performances. Even after their careers were over, and despite ego’s the size of small countries (large countries in some cases) I bet each and every one of them wished they had done at least one thing better or at least differently. Cy Young even said he should have become a doctor instead of playing baseball, though without having heard the tone it was spoken in, I safely assume it was a joke.

You could say that enjoying yourself and doing the best you can is perfection, but frankly, you’d be the kind of tree hugging fairy that enjoys sports like synchronised swimming and campaigns for school sports not to be scored so kids don’t get downbeat by losing, and I would really rather go and stand on the other side of the room from you now.

Conclusion? I think that deep down, that’s what people actually love about baseball, whether playing or watching. I have not met a person in Herts yet who didn’t want to win, and who didn’t want to be better than they are, irrespective of how good they actually are, and even watching stars at work I hear people talking about so-and-so-won-but-you-see-that-drop-by-whotsitsface? I have seen our best NLB pitchers cursing themselves beneath their breaths for a bad throw and monster hitters dump their helmets and bats in anger after strikeouts. It’s the striving for constant improvement that is one of the biggest draws of the sport. Its always trying to find that marginal edge. You can go home really happy after a game in which you won and did well, but you will always be thinking, hmm, I hope I can do that again next week and just maybe even a little better.

If Tim Keefe (WHO?!?!?!…he played in 1880) has the single season ERA record of 0.857 while Ed Walsh has a career ERA of 1.82 and while Tip O’Neil (1887 this time) has a single season batting average record of .485 and Ty Cob’s career record is 0.366, we got a way to go before someone gets 0.00 or 1.000 respectively.

Doesn’t mean we will ever stop trying.