Author: Matt Bell

by Matt Bell

HEAD WEST, OLD MAN

Head West, Old Man

 

History does have a way of repeating itself.  Fifty years after the Brooklyn Dodgers ventured west to California, native son Joe Torre has done exactly the same thing.  Perhaps the baseball Gods are finally rewarding the Dodgers after losing Leo Durocher to the hated Giants way back when there were three franchises in New York.  

 

It will be very bizarre to see Torre leading the Dodgers.  His reign in New York was outstanding, and will be unsurpassed.  In 12 seasons, he was the all-time winningest Yankee manager.  He had four World Series championships, and 12 straight playoff appearances.  The most impressive fact is that he was able to survive the mercurial Steinbrenner regime for 12 seasons, when there had been 21 managerial changes in the previous 23 seasons.

 

Why would a 67 year old cancer survivor, who has just gone knee replacement surgery, who is financially secure with a legendary track record decide to endure the aggravation?  When one has been at the pinnacle, what else is there to accomplish?

 

The Yankee players certainly did not want him to leave.  He was the perfect buffer between the clubhouse and what is the insanity of the Steinbrenner front office.  He was offered a 1 year incentive laden extension at $5 million, which he rejected.  Why did he thumb his nose at the franchise that made him a legend and decide to start all over again?

 

Perhaps he did have something to prove.  Many sceptics felt that anyone could have succeeded with the Yankees budget and the calibre of players he had.  Prior to joining the Yankees, he had very marginal success at stints with 3 other clubs (Mets, Braves, and the Cardinals).  In 14 seasons, he only reached the post season once and had a .471 winning percentage (894-1003).  There was outrage when he was hired to replace Buck Showalter at the conclusion of the 1995 season and he was derisively called “Clueless Joe” in the press.

 

If he does have something to prove, the Los Angeles Dodgers are the perfect team to go to.  They are very young, have an abundance of talent, and a great mix of veterans and prospects.  They underachived last season, and finished with an 82-80 record.  Many felt that they should have made the playoffs.  They have excellent pitching, anchored by Brad Penny and Derek Lowe.  They have signed Japanese import Hiroki Kirodu, who may be this years Dice-K.  They have an outstanding closer in Takashi Saito, and enough power (Jeff Kent) speed (Juan Pierre) and defense (Russell Martin) to keep them in contention.

 

The big question mark will be Andruw Jones.  Jason Schmidt was the biggest free agent bust in 2007.  Will a change of scenery resurrect Jones’ career, or is he an old 30 and is his .222 batting average a portend of things to come.  Now that the team has two centerfielders, where will be Pierre play and can he get 300 at-bats?  Was there a lot of dissension on the team, and if so, what will Torre bring that Grady Little couldn’t?

 

Finally, there is the issue of Frank McCourt.  He bought the team in 2004, and Torre is his 3rd manager in 4 seasons.  Jim Tracy and Grady Little have been let go.  Torre has brought two trusted lieutenants with him (Larry Bowa and Don Mattingly) but many feel that McCourt has many similar characteristics to George Steinbrenner.  Well, if so, then it’s a match made in heaven.

 

There was truly angst in 1948 in Brooklyn when Durocher left to join the New York Giants.  There was jubilation in the Polo Grounds six years later when the Giants won the World Series.  If Torre can bring a championship to the Dodgers, in a perverse sort of way, history will be repeating itself…..And the Baseball Gods will again be smiling.

by Matt Bell

FIRST “GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE” PRE-GAME JITTERS

Posted on behalf of Newswire correspondent, Kal Dimitrov

 

Sunday morning, 4:24 am. Still tossing around, considering the best leadoff position with a lefty on the mound. In about 6 hours is the first spring training Herts Spring League game. Continue tossing, thinking about the potential for disappointment and embarrassment in the runner at second being caught out by a sharp line-drive to short.  Gradually the fog descends and a vision of a ball speeding towards your nose takes up permanent residence in the brain.

 

Alarm buzz. Must be about 8:00 am. Put on the gear, undertake morning ablutions, have a cup of coffee (not necessarily in that order). Stack the gear in the car and get going. M1 roadworks still on – some stability in an uncertain world.

 

Getting into the car park at the field – the usual hassle of finding a spot closer than a mile to the field.  Running slightly late again, grab the gear and stagger to the field. 

 

The traditional shuffle of marking out, putting the bases, removing the broken bottles and beer cans, and any other stray items left on the diamond by the weekend revellers. No need to water – the temperature is getting to about 6o C, so the ground is nicely defrosting under the weakly shining sun. Getting the netting for the fence, internally hoping that there is more than three stakes left, with which to put it up.  After some judicious hammer-wielding (no smashed fingers, good news), the fence is up for the brief time it will take the wind to turn it into something resembling next year’s Tate Gallery “Most Frowned Upon” runner-up.

 

Warm up and BP – this time it is different, as there is electricity and we can turn the pitching machine on. People rotating quickly, mainly making sure we do not lose too many balls in the process. And the little anticipatory lead ball in the stomach starts building up. By the end of BP, it is a full-fledged cannon ball with its own fuse.

 

Manager is giving out the line-up, setting out what we want to get out of this game (under the refrain of “witty” remarks from various smart-arses, usually led by yours truly).  Umpire calls managers over, whilst around our bench the team starts shaking up into the first three in the line-up and the rest.

 

You take your position, and suddenly everything becomes crystal clear, like an ice sculpture cut out with a scalpel. The pre-game jitters are gone, no more flutters in the stomach. 

 

You look at the umpire, calm, cool and collected, and wait for your cue.  He shouts “Batter up”, and at last I am in the game. No time for doubts or hesitation, I start brushing the front of my shirt in a manner that should suggest purpose, and by mistake give the lead-off guy the sign for a bunt.

 

Kal Dimitrov

by Matt Bell

OLDIES BUT GOODIES

 

If you’re over 40 and left handed, it’s a great time to be a baseball fan.  There are several prominent pitchers who serve as role models to my age group.  The list is pretty impressive, and includes Jamie Moyer, Tom Glavine, David Wells, Randy Johnson, and Kenny Rogers.

 

With one exception, none of them can throw over 90MPH.  None of them will ever be accused of using performance enhancing drugs.  All have very impressive career stats.

 

As a youngster, I used to enjoy watching NFL games with my Father, who was a big George Blanda fan.  I never understood why.  Granted, in 1970 at the age of 43 he was voted the league MVP.  To me he just seemed like an old geezer who didn’t belong on the field.  Now, I truly admire his accomplishments.

 

Moyer, who now is the oldest player in MLB, has to be the most fascinating of the group.  Signed in 1986, he was released three times before hooking up with the Baltimore Orioles in 1993.  Since then he has won 196 games and twice has been a 20 game winner.  He was the only member of the 2007 Phillies season-opening rotation not to spend time on the disabled list.  He has more wins that Hall of Famers Jim Bunning and Catfish Hunter.  All with a fastball that wouldn’t break a pane of glass.  Scott Hatteberg was once quoted as saying “Guys I faced in high school threw harder than him”.

 

David Wells has to be the hero of all of the overweight, beer guzzling softball players. He is also a master of ironies. Although quite the iconoclast, he revered tradition, and was very proud of his tenure with the Yankees. As a testament to this, he once pitched with Babe Ruth’s hat, albeit briefly.  Even though he never looked like an athlete, he could dunk a basketball. Even though he never took care of himself physically, he was blessed with a rubber arm, along with great control.  He had a great post season record and always seemed to pitch well in the playoffs, primarily due to his personality.  According to sources, nothing ever bothered him.  He never got uptight, so was able to perform his best when the pressure was greatest.

 

Rogers was the Tigers ace during the 2006 post season run.  His 3 wins far surpassed the performance of the young phenoms like Justin Verlander and Jeremy Bonderman.

The 43 year has 210 career victories, is a four time All-Star and a five time Gold Glove winner.  Although he was injured most of 2007, the Tigers have resigned him and have high expectations that he can duplicate his previous success.

 

Both Johnson and Glavine are shoo-ins for the Hall of Fame.  Glavine is the only member of the group that has reached 300 wins, and was an accomplished ice hockey player, who was drafted as a goalie by the Los Angeles Kings before deciding upon a baseball career.  He also earned the enmity of the fans after serving as the union player rep during the 1994 strike.  Johnson overcame control problems in his career and now stands at 284 victories, and also is the oldest player in MLB history to throw a perfect game (40 in 2004).

 

 

Fans are now being inundated with coverage of HGH, congressional hearings, the Mitchell Report,  BALCO, etc., so it is refreshing to examine players who achieved success without having to resort to performance enhancing drugs.

 

The group just mentioned has amassed 1,266 wins, 275 complete games, 13,398 strikeouts in 18,323 innings with numerous personal accolades.

 

All without a single injection.

 

by Matt Bell

DL UPDATE – SETBACK FOR ROBERT CROUCH IN BUILD-UP TO 2008 SEASON

Robert Crouch is the first Herts player who finds himself on the dreaded DL in 2008.  For those who are unfamiliar with the abbreviation “DL”, it stands for Disabled List and baseball players are placed on it when they have sustained an injury. 

 

In a freakish incident during the club’s indoor training session a basketball headed in Crouch’s direction glanced off the little finger of his right hand.  Medical examinations revealed that Crouch has a fractured finger and the bone will need to be pinned together.

 

The good news is that the operation has been successful and the stitches will be removed later this week.  Crouch will be out of action for another four weeks after which he is expected to get right back into the swing of things with the rest of the Herts Baseball squad.  The whole club wishes him a speedy recovery in time for the Spring training games.

 

Herts Baseball Newswire will be providing frequent DL updates throughout the season and the hope is that the reports will not be so frequent.

 

Here are some other milestones in the Herts DL archives.

 

2007 – Robert Crouch taking a ball on the nose in pre-game warm-up.

 

2006 – Kimiyoshi Saionji fractured jaw in two places following a heroic play to make the out at first base which resulted in a collision with a Richmond oncoming runner.  For those who are new to the sport, don’t worry.  Such an injury is very very rare and it takes a superhuman like Saionji to sustain it.

 

2006 – Larry Martillo dislocated little finger trying to field a pop-fly.

 

2004 – Short Stop Geoff Hare staying fearlessly behind a fizzing groundball which took a wild hop and headed straight for Hare’s cheek bone.  Thankfully no fracture, just a massive cut under the eye.  If I remember correctly, Geoff got an assist on that play as the ball bounced off his cheekbone straight into the glove of the second baseman for a force-out at second base.

 

2003 – Pitcher Paul Raybould bravely took a line drive in the stomach to knock the ball down and complete the out at first.  Later examination showed a funny bruise on his tummy which had a strange resemblance to Leonid Brezhnev.  To deal with the heavy bruising Raybould utilized a mysterious gel substance which his wife uses on jump-horses who sustain heavy bruising on their legs.  Raybould was very pleased with the results.

 

Note: For readers who are considering giving baseball a try, please note that injuries are much rarer in baseball compared to other sports such as football and it is a very enjoyable sport indeed.

by Matt Bell

SPRING TRAINING BACK IN FULL SWING

The three Hertfordshire adult baseball teams, Falcons, Hawks and Raptors returned to baseball training this weekend with the first outdoor training session of 2008. 

 

Drenched in the sun and temperatures of 14oC it would have been easy to mistake Grovehill ballpark with one of the MLB Spring Training bases in Florida.  The players had not felt the ball nestle into their gloves since September so the excitement and enthusiasm amongst the players was evident. 

 

The three team managers Jason Greenberg (Falcons), Carlos Casal (Hawks) and Jake Kikel (Raptors) together with a strong team of assistant coaches have adopted a new professional approach in the preparations for the new season.  More will be expected from players and the competition for places has already begun.  As Jason Greenberg said: “Today, we all start as members of the Herts Raptors and everyone has the opportunity to earn their place and position in the organisation”.

 

Apart from the on-field developments the club’s webmaster has added an additional online tool for players to prepare for practice, improve themselves, learn more about baseball theory and other useful aspects of the game.

 

 

by Matt Bell

NEW LOOK FOR HERTS IN 2008

 

New ballpark, new team, new website, new team managers, new club logo, and now Herts Baseball Club will unveil a new uniform for the Falcons, the Hawks and the Raptors in time for 2008 Opening Day. 

 

Over the last 11 years the club’s teams have been wearing the classic pin-stripe jersey with the Falcons name across the chest and distinctive black pants.  After months of deliberation and several rounds of voting by club members, it was decided that the club will be wearing an all-white jersey.  The name on the front of the jersey will be Herts which will have scarlet colour and a jet black outline.  The squad number on the back will have the same colour scheme. The new jersey will also include neck and sleeve trim, which will also be black.

 

Since 2004 Vice President, Lee Manning, has led a campaign to change the colour of the club’s pants from black to white.   With Gandhi-like persistence and determination, Manning has finally prevailed against all odds and the new uniform will comprise white pants with black side trim.

 

Both the jersey and the pants will be custom made using the same American-made fabrics used at the professional level  by MLB teams. 

 

Apart from the classic baseball pants model which has evolved over the years, players will also be able to choose the fashionable “Clemson Cut” model which is becoming very popular with MLB superstars such as Manny Ramirez, Barry Bonds, Johan Santana, David Wright and many others.

 

Herts Baseball Club has already placed the order with its American suppliers and the freshly sewn uniforms are expected to reach the British Isles in time for the first game of the Herts Spring League which is expected to be scheduled on 30 March 2008.  Until then Herts players will only be able to see digital impressions of the new uniform.

 

 

by Matt Bell

BIG HIT – HAPPY BODY

 

 

Herts Baseball Club returned early for training this year.  The official baseball spring training sessions begin on 10 February but the team managers decided that it was important to get players ready and fit for the 2008 season by organizing several conditioning sessions ahead of the baseball-specific preparations. 

 

From these sessions it has become clear that there are some pretty decent basketball and dodgeball players among the club’s baseball players.  This applies not only to the adult players but to the Little Leaguers who were very keen to get involved alongside the big boys and girls. 

 

Playing other work-intensive sports such as basketball is proving to be a lot of fun.  Players are also benefiting from some more specific drills set by the club’s fitness guru, Dan Kerry.  The first one or two weeks after the long winter break are always demanding on the body, but players will definitely feel the difference when they start to notice that everything seems physically easier this year then in previous years and that the number of injuries has reduced significantly.

 

One thing is for sure, having seen the kind of effort that the players are putting in, the players mean business and the rest of the league better be prepared for the Herts teams.

 

by Matt Bell

GREAT BRITAIN TO HAVE ITS OWN GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE

 

Herts Baseball Club has taken the initiative to introduce a new event to the British baseball calendar – the Herts Spring League (HSL).  The club hopes that this would become an annual competition similar to the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues in America.  HSL would provide a competitive edge to spring training as clubs count down to Opening Day and hopefully will enhance the enjoyment of all participants.

 

12 teams will be placed in two divisions of six teams (HSL1 and HSL2) based on the teams’ ranking going into the new season.  HSL1 is expected to include BBF teams from the National and Premier Leagues, while HSL2 will have teams from Division 1 and Division 2.

 

The 12 invited teams will be from the BBF Southern Conference with emphasis on London and the surrounding areas. 

 

The league will be played over three Sundays: 30 March, 6 April and 13 April (based on the assumption that 2008 BBF League Opening Day will be Sunday, 20 or 27 April 2008).

 

On each of these dates three teams will meet at the same venue and will play two games (one game against each of the other two teams).  The games will be either 7 innings or 2 hours and 30 minutes, whichever occurs first.

 

Stay tuned to the Herts Newswire for confirmation of the HSL team line-up, game schedule and other details.

by Matt Bell

(VIDEO) IF YOU BUILD IT, PEOPLE WILL COME

 

Today, Hertfordshire Baseball Club unveiled exciting plans for the development and expansion of its baseball field.

 

Grovehill Ballpark, which is located in Hemel Hempstead on the outskirts of London, has been the home of the Falcons since 1996. 

 

Over the last twelve months Herts Baseball Club has seen a dramatic increase in new members joining the club and is on track to introduce a third adult team to the British Baseball League in 2008.  This, combined with the start of the Herts Little League, has meant that Grovehill Ballpark is too small to accommodate the club’s rapid expansion.

 

 

 

Plans are already in place to build one of the best baseball complexes in the country.  The project is to be implemented in several stages which include the creation of the second diamond, building of permanent outfield fence for both baseball diamonds, and finally, steps will be undertaken for the long-term improvement of the turf quality of both fields.

 

On Little League Game Days the ballpark will be turned into a baseball paradise for the kids with a capacity of as many as 6 Little League fields all of which would have permanent backstops.

 

 

If Herts Baseball Club is selected to host the BBF Youth or Adult National Finals then there is the additional option of creating a temporary third field, which would also have a permanent wall covering around 60% of the outfield boundary.

 

by Matt Bell

HERTS BASEBALL GETS A FACE-LIFT

In advance of our busiest season with our greatest-ever level of membership, a more expansive and fluid website was in order. After some deliberation by the Executive Committee, and the input of many club members, we are pleased to unveil the new look of Herts Baseball.

New features include:

– new logos and team pages
The Herts Baseball Club has adopted a new Club logo, and new logos for each of its three teams, the Falcons, Hawks and Raptors. Now each of these squads has its own homepage, as does the newly formed Herts Little League programme. Visit these individual pages for team rosters, player stats and the season schedule and results.

– the introduction of the Herts Baseball Newswire
The Newswire will allow our volunteer correspondents to post game reports, Club news, and even photo albums for the entire organisation to access. Like the now well-established Forum, the Newswire has several categories of information and the latest news is instantly highlighted on our Club and Team homepages. For the tech savvier of you, note the RSS feed capabilities so you can customize how and when you are notified of new content on the 'Wire'.

Archive news reports from past Herts Baseball seasons have already been posted on the Newswire. Take a walk down memory lane as you read up on the 2004, 2005 and 2006 seasons.

NOTE:  Club members can REGISTER with the Newswire, and thereby set themselves up to post comments on articles and join in discussion about controversial and interesting topics.

– enhanced use of YouTube's video galleries
As videography becomes a more consistent feature of the Herts Baseball Club we're finding better and more efficient ways of delivering the content to your desktop. The Club now has a dedicated YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/HertsBaseball) to which we'll post every new segment.

But you needn't navigate away from the HBC site to watch this content – we will increasingly use custom video galleries embedded right in our own Gallery, like this one from the 2007 Awards Night.

– player profile pages on the team rosters
The most requested feature previously missing from our website…? A little more ego stroking (as if the stats, game reports and photo galleries weren't enough)!

With the help of Hunter Devine, individual player profile pages have been added to the team roster pages. These, you will see, are merely copies of the stat highlights from the Awards Night roll call. In the coming months Hunter and the webmasters will continue to develop a system by which current and past season stats can be displayed on individual player pages, together with a photo and some more personalized content. For example, did you know that Aspi's favourite meal is macaroni and cheese with a cup of Pepsi?

Throughout the season and in the years to come we will continue to develop our website, the Newswire and the Forum. These three tools offer very different, but important means for Club communication. If you have any suggestions at all, discover any 'dead' links, or have some great content to add, don't hesitate to contact our webmasters, Jason and Kimi.