Author: Rob Jones

15 May 2013 by Rob Jones

Euphoric house: Eagles walk off as winners

In more than a decade playing baseball, I have been walked off on many times, writes Rob Jones. I can easily think of two occasions within a few weeks of each other, when first Braintree and then the Old Timers snatched a victory from my team in the bottom of the ninth. And yet it took much rummaging in my brain to find an instance when I had enjoyed the euphoria instead of the deflation of a walk-off.

That just shows how rare and special Sunday’s Eagles victory was over the Raptors. A rain-soaked, see-sawing four hour epic of conflicting emotions. Anticipation. Concern. Confidence. Frustration. Jubilation.

I had a lot invested in the game. For one thing, I had used up a day of my annual leave from work to be able to take part! And the weather was threatening to scupper it all. In the end, the heavy rain never really materialised, more a steady drizzle. And us in the British baseball community… well, we laugh in the face of steady drizzle.

Reaching high: Rob Jones at bat on Sunday

The Eagles as a whole had invested a lot too. After two heavy losses, you want to win. I don’t think there was ever any question of a grudge match, but you do want to do well against your most direct rivals — and what could be more direct than the Raptors, the other Herts Single-A team, and the one which is built for greater success?

When we started badly you feared the worst. Rookie errors made by rookies are no surprise, but that didn’t make Duncan any happier about them, and it didn’t make us any happier. The Raptors can hit well, and they didn’t need our help to do it. When we got our own bats out, that led to the confidence and some satisfaction. And we tightened the defense considerably.

I have not hit particularly well so far this season, but managed better contact in this game. There were a couple of ground balls from the tip of the bat, but at least one of them allowed to reach base on either an infield hit or an error (I couldn’t entirely see which). And other hits, including a double, were more solid. I was less than an inch away from a perfect triple down the right field line, too – frustratingly, that was just another strike.

But at that point it didn’t seem to matter. We were well in control. Not much came my way in the field, that I can recall. But when I was removed along with other starters I didn’t mind too much.

That was when this really became a game of two halves though! The Raptors made a remarkable comeback, and I tip my hat to them for that. Not only the 13 runs they scored in one inning, but the way they fought to use that as inspiration to actually go on and win. Watching from the sidelines as the runs came in, and as Eagles rallies were snuffed out, was a nervy experience.

The biggest triumph of the day was for the team spirit of the Eagles. Because everyone really wanted this win, and refused to crumble even when it would have been far easier. Momentum and confidence count for a lot in baseball, and seeing a 17-run lead eroded doesn’t make you feel good!

But the ending was the storybook one — for the Eagles, at least. A pinch hit single, stolen bases, the walk-off hit and the mobbing at home plate. Whilst I did finally manage to conjure up a walk off win from my memory (from 2006 – you can even watch that one on YouTube) there was no home plate party that time. This time, we had our act together more.

So there was the euphoria. The first Eagles win of 2013, a clear upset victory, and a fitting finish to a great game. An experience which defines why we turn up on a rainy Sunday. Why we turned up for so many rainy Sundays before we got to this point. A lot of laughs, some really good plays, and a good competitive ball-game from which both sides should take a lot of heart. I speak as an Eagle this year, and the players on our roster should definitely be proud of that win.

13 May 201315 May 2013 by Rob Jones

Derby day ends with upset win for Eagles

Herts Eagles 31-30 Herts Raptors, Grovehill, Sunday 12th May

How many runs do you need to lead by if you are to feel secure in a baseball game? Yesterday’s Herts derby didn’t give us a definitive answer, but we do know that it’s more than 17. Because that is the cushion which the Eagles had built up over their Single-A rivals by the end of the fifth inning. But it was not enough to prevent a nail-biting finale.

Herts debutant Antony McDowell pitched a complete game

The game started badly for the home side, Duncan Hoyle’s Eagles, as missed chances and poor throws allowed the Raptors to rack up runs. Hoyle had to call in his fielders for a pep talk before a single out had been recorded, an illustration of how crucial this game was.

Raptors scored six in the first frame, but the Eagles quickly answered back with 5 against starting pitcher Jeff Witter. Mike Cresswell led off with a single, and after stealing bases he came home to score the first run. We will hear more of Cresswell later. By the end of the second inning, Eagles led by 15-6.

The Eagles had a Dominican debutante on the pitchers mound, Antony McDowell. He was making his first start for the club, though he clearly was no new boy to baseball. He kept the powerful Raptors bats in check and the defence tightened up behind him, so that for four consecutive innings the Raptors did not score a single run.

Rain had fallen a couple of times by the end of the fifth, when the score had reached 23-6, and heavy downpours had been forecast for late afternoon. It’s possible that minds on the Eagles bench were starting to turn towards a mercy rule victory, or even a convenient rainout now the game was official. Several of the starters had been subbed out to give playing time for the large squad.

Arnie Longboy’s Raptors, though, were far from giving up. As McDowell perhaps showed some signs of tiredness, the hits and the runs started to come. Theo Scheepers was a constant threat, and Longboy himself hit a long drive to the outfield. The highlight was a bases clearing triple by Brodie Caress — and he crowned his hit by coming home to score on an overthrow.

The Raptors' Brodie Caress pitched, hit and fielded like a winner, but ended up on the losing side.

The Raptors scored an improbable 13 runs in the top of the sixth, and were down by just four. And the Eagles run rate had slowed dramatically since the early outburst. Caress had come in to pitch, and looked as if he could be in line for a remarkable win. Catcher Ken Pike helped cut down base-stealer with a laser throw to end an inning, and keep his team in the game.

The momentum was clearly with the Raptors. But now, with the rain falling steadily, the Eagles stood firm when they could have crumbled. Rory Hutchinson, new to the game of baseball, had been introduced at shortstop as part of the sixth-inning changes. He made back-to-back excellent stops to secure outs and save runs. In the wilds of right field, Adam Landau-Smithers made two heart-stopping snow-cone catches on fly balls drifting back towards the fence.

McDowell had got a second wind, and was perhaps determined not to see his remarkable effort go to waste. In all, he threw close to 250 pitches on the day. His efforts helped limit any further big onslaught from the Raptors, although they did take the lead. They were in front, 30-28, as the Eagles went in to bat in the bottom of the ninth. The stage was set.

The first man got on, stole second. And up stepped pinch hitter Adrian Smithers, last year’s home run champion. He’d not played since the first game of the season, but he came through with a drive down the third base line to bring in a run. He scored the tying run himself after Will Belbin continued his excellent form at the plate and got aboard.

And when lead-off man Mike Cresswell stepped in, Belbin was there on third base as the winning run waiting to score. Cresswell was calm, as if nothing was at stake. The crack of the bat was a clean sound and the ball sailed decisively out to the outfield. Arms aloft, Will Belbin crossed the plate. He was mobbed by a team which had its first win of the season in the most dramatic fashion.

7 May 201315 May 2013 by Rob Jones

The best of rivals

The Raptors are expected to deploy their young pitchers against the strong-hitting Eagles lineup

It’s an experience which few British baseball clubs can even contemplate. But this Sunday, for the second year in a row, Herts will see two of its teams go head to head in a competitive league match. And there is little question that it is one of the choice Single-A match-ups on the baseball calendar for 2013.

The Herts Eagles and the Herts Raptors will play twice this year, and the first contest is arriving early in the season with both sides having something to prove. They are both feeling their way into the year, and will want to use their club rivals as a springboard to greater things.

The Raptors have the upper hand, having started the year 2-0. They beat the Leicester 2Sox by a football score, after a game which had started evenly matched, then came from behind to beat the always tough prospect of the Old Timers.

But the Raptors manager Arnie Longboy is looking for further improvements from his players. “Going into this game we’ve done okay”, he says, “but we still need to overcome mental errors if we want to compete in the post season.” He adds that he will tell his players to be ready for a close game and “not to let up.”

Much will depend on the outstanding young pitchers such as Zack Longboy and Will Zucker, as well as on catcher and compulsive base-stealer Ken Pike.

“The Eagles are especially hyped up to do well and it can get very competitive”, says coach Longboy.

His opposite number on the Eagles has an idea why that might be. “There will be a bit of extra spice”, explains Duncan Hoyle, “as several of last years Eagles will be with the Raptors this time around.”

Theo Scheepers and Sonam Lama are just two of the players who switched rosters to the Raptors in the off-season, while veteran Rob Jones went in the other direction to add some depth to an Eagles line-up which includes many novice ballplayers. All of those who have experienced both camps will want to show their old team-mates what they can do.

“It’s an exciting prospect to help the large numbers of new players who are coming on board”, says Jones. “We have guys with great arms, great bats, and they are learning the game very fast.”

Of course, Duncan Hoyle was a Raptor himself once, before stepping into managerial duties. He says: “I’ve seen enough from our batting to know we can score well at Single A, so I’m looking forward to the occasion and I know we can give a good account of ourselves.”

The Eagles have indeed scored 33 runs in two games, despite suffering defeats in both, so there is clear ability there. Mastering the fielding could make the difference — “I want us to focus on our game”, says Hoyle, “we need to start bringing down our error count and look to cut out the mistakes.”

Mike Cresswell and Will Belbin are two of the Eagles who have already done good work with both the bat and the glove, and the team will be looking for big performances.

The first ever Herts derby clash in 2007 was surrounded by hype as the Falcons took on the expansion Hawks for the first time “in anger”. The club has come a long way since then — now fielding five adult teams as well as strong youth sides and a Little League — but there is still something special about a derby.

As Raptors’ coach Arnie Longboy puts it: “I think this is the Herts baseball fixture of the season, because the club knows that Herts will come out on top! Play ball!”

The Eagles are the nominal host team for the fixture at Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead, on Sunday May 12th. First pitch is at 1:30pm.

5 May 2013 by Rob Jones

The first cracks of the bat

It was a bright, cold and sunny Monday morning. I had slept like a log, but another four hours of sleep wouldn’t have gone amiss. That’s what a couple of weeks of baseball can do to you. My arms ached and my pride was wounded but I had certainly had an interesting start to the 2013 season, writes Rob Jones.

The two games could hardly be more different. In the first, I was with the Raptors as they ran up a football score against Leicester 2Sox. In my second game, I was on the receiving end of a similar thumping as the Eagles were undone at Hemel by the Tonbridge Bobcats.

There was a consistent thread in both games — and that was my bat making lousy contact with the ball. I hit infield dribblers, comebackers, pop-ups and all sorts of rubbish. Horrid. It was crowned by a strikeout in each game, which is galling as two strikeouts is usually my total for a season, not a fortnight! Both were on third strikes which I considered high — especially the first of them — but I guess you live and learn.

The bat-on-ball contact did get better as each game went along, so I take solace in that. I hit one decent single at Leicester, and then a single, double and sac-fly in the run-fest against Tonbridge.

My overall performance in the field was of a better standard. OK, yes, I dropped a pop-up on the infield against Tonbridge, and yes I should have been slapped for it. It was a classic lesson in not thinking about the people around you, and not thinking ahead to the impending double play. I failed to close my mind to these things, and paid the price. Duncan, who was pitching, also paid the price, as he had to go through it all over again. A lesson for us all.

Otherwise, I fielded all the ground balls which came my way, and I had put away a couple of outfield catches in my first-week outing. It feels good when you can slip back into baseball smoothly, after a long winter break. Training both indoors and back on the Grovehill diamond really help, but it is satisfying when any good work continues during a competitive game.

I felt that the fielding performance of both Raptors and Eagles was actually pretty good. There was some sloppiness which could be put down to rust, particularly with the Raptors, and to the first “game-time” situations of the year. But there were few howlers. The Eagles are fielding a lot of genuine rookies, who will learn fast, and Raptors eked out a tough win against the Old Timers in week 2, so must have improved!

There is just room for a quick word on my pitching debut for the year. I haven’t taken the mound since 2011, but I felt quite comfortable up there. Apart from walking the first batter, I did stick to my usual mantra of not giving away free passes. At this level, I have often seen walks eat away at a team and while I know I can’t blow away hitters, I also know that I can throw strikes. Unfortunately a hot-hitting Tonbridge team rather teed off on me.

I did get two outs — one thanks to a good stop by Mike Cresswell — and nearly got out of the inning. But we made some fielding errors, and missed fly balls. This isn’t a grumble against my team-mates, as one of the errors was by me when I picked up a bunt cleanly but threw high and wide to first base. But you do really feel the effect of those errors when you are the man on the mound.

I threw one or two curve balls that I was happy with, but probably stayed away from it too much for fear of walks. If the coach lets me get back up there, I must try to work batters more.

So that’s how 2013 opened for me. Barely days after becoming a big money transfer to the Herts Eagles, I found myself all suited up for Opening Day with the Raptors. Life’s full of surprises. And I headed up to a new venue for me, Leicester. Western Park is a nice little diamond. As undulating as most British ballparks, and with its batting circle and bases having the consistency of a slightly pebbly beach. But with a permanent backstop, a decent amount of cover from trees, and an overall good feel.

Milton Keynes and Haverhill will also be new experiences. And I am still looking forward to the year. Although I still need more sleep. It’s hard to tell what the season will be like, or what the story will be when summer fades away. But I like the opening chapters.

19 April 2013 by Rob Jones

Hawks Overcome by Mammoths Stampede

Match report by Ben Marques

The Herts Hawks were absolutely chomping at the bit to begin their season, but with rain pouring down on Friday and again on Saturday, these hopes were looking in doubt. However, the baseball gods were looking down at Grovehill early on Sunday morning, as the sun beat down, drying out the boggy parts of the Old Diamond.

The game started off with the Mammoths scoring two runs on three hits, setting the pace for what was set to be a tight game. The bottom of the first also went the way of London, striking out the side.

The top of the second looked like the momentum was swinging back in favour of the Hawks, the only blip being a throwing error charged to second baseman Ben Marques, after he attacked a slow roller, picking up but throwing wide of Greg Bochan at first base. The error meant nothing, as Marques completed a 4-3 put out on the next play, and starting pitcher Nick Russell rung up the following hitter.

The Hawks’ momentum continued into the bottom of the inning with the Herts side getting one hit and two walks. However, a lapse in concentration cost them two base runners, with the third out being Callum Vangundy going down swinging.

The fourth inning contained eight runs, with a 4-4 split. Herts’ runs came from what looked like a sure fire triple from OF/C Paul Auchterlounie, however, the hole in the fence restricted him to a Ground Rule Double. Jose Morillo Jr. came in for Vangundy and singled, moving the runner over. Both Morillo and Auchterlounie scored on an error, which left Hunter Devine on second.

Bobby Gould earned a walk, which looked like a good rally starting to build for the Hawks. But Ross Asquith was out on an infield fly, and Bochan swiftly grounded out. Ilya Dimitrov (1-4, 1R, 2RBI) came to the plate with two outs, and came through with a two-out, 2-run single.

The Hawks couldn’t build on this momentum as Russell grounded out ending the inning, with the Hawks two runs behind, 7-5. The Mammoths then put six runs on three hits with four errors, one LOB in the fifth, shutting the Hawks out in reply.

After five innings, Nick Russell was finished pitching for the day. Hertsbaseball.com asked Nick how he felt after a long off-season:

“I felt a bit rusty and started aching after only a few innings.”

“Were you confident with AA rookies supporting you on the mound?”

“I wasn’t sure about the new Hawks, as I hadn’t seen them play before. The jump from A to AA will be tough on some players but with a bit more training and game time I’m sure they will be picking up their game. The new guys showed a lot of enthusiasm which helped us rally back and score a few runs.”

Greg Bochan came in to relieve for Russell, who had pitched better than his line score suggested: 5IP; 12H; 13R; 5ER; 2BB; 3K, and immediately made a statement, earning four outs in seven pitches. His AA rookies Marques and Devine both made great plays in support of their manager, Marques a 4-3 put out and Devine making a great backhanded snare L6.

Russell and John Kjorstad made the other two outs in centre-field and right field. After that though, London kept putting bat on ball and finding gaps, going 8-8, 1K and an F8.

The bottom of the 7^th inning meant the Hawks needed seven runs to avoid a mercy rule defeat. Nick Russell (1-4, 1R) led off, and set the rally going, with Marques then reaching on an error after laying down a bunt down the third base line. Russell advanced to third.

Auchterlounie stepped up to the plate, and reached on an error, plating Russell (he ended his day 2-3 with 2R). Marques had stolen second, and advanced to third on the error, but as he rounded third, the ball was still a fair way out. He went for it, and a huge collision at home plate followed from a great throw. Marques was called out, and time was taken for the catcher to recover, who to his credit still had the ball in his mitt. This summed up Marques’ day at the plate, who struggled going 0-4, 1SB, 2Ks.

With one out, Jose Morillo Jr. popped up for the second out, leaving a huge task for the team, particularly Devine who reached on an error and later scored along with Auchterlounie from a 2-run single by Bobby Gould (1-2, 1R, 2RBI). This brought Ross Asquith (1-4) to the plate who, although still showing speed, was unable to beat out the throw, and grounded out, ending Herts’ hopes of an
Opening Day win.

After a 21-8 loss, it might be fair to say that the Hawks have yet to hit their stride offensively. On a warm but windy afternoon, the Hawks ended up scoring eight runs on seven hits, striking out six times. The Hawks also struggled with runners in scoring position, going 4-11).

“I think everybody is trying to get to where we want to be,” Ben Marques said. “Everybody is battling, we’ve had bad weather and limited training sessions, both inside and outside. A new group of players stepping up to AA: myself, John, Hunter and Jose Jr. As well as losing some great players like Nic Goetz and Rod Naghar…It has been a combination of things, but I don’t think anybody is concerned about our offense just yet, not after Game 1. I’m not. It’s a long grind.”

However, the Herts fielding was better than the line score suggested with Gold Glove performances from rookies Marques, Devine and Kjorstad, as well as Russell and Auchterlounie. All five had outstanding days in the field letting nothing past, with Marques the busiest at second base with a left-handed heavy lineup (1 tag, 6 put-outs).

After the game, we asked Hawks manager, Greg Bochan, for his assessment of the performance:

Next time around we need better organization. There were a lot of missed cuts from the outfield and a general sense of players not knowing where to be.

“Although the Hawks lost, what positives can the team take from the game?”

Stand out moments would be our middle infield. Ben made a bunch of great plays and Hunter made that
awesome grab at short.

“Finally, what are you looking for from your team next time around?”

Next time around I am looking forward to a little more attention to detail. A little more baseball smarts. I think that will have to start with pre-game infield/outfield.

16 April 201316 April 2013 by Rob Jones

The Art of Training

The Spring, having finally arrived in the wake of the snow, is now almost over. The National Leaguers and the Double-A Hawks have kicked off their baseball season, and Triple-A will follow shortly after a weather-induced postponement, writes Rob Jones. The Herts Raptors and Eagles will start on Sunday, and as the league action draws closer, I felt it was time to reflect on the pre-season training period.

I made it to three or four indoor sessions this year. It was great to have the help of a conditioning coach, working us out and teaching us new exercises. I’m not sure I have fully grasped the idea of plyometrics, but I learned something. And in a slightly perverse way I enjoyed making my body ache. In the last session, I started off a bit badly and actually felt quite ill. But a break and some water helped overcome the effects of intense exercise early on Sunday morning.

Indoor Training — This was how it all started, indoors in January in Berkhamsted

Many of my erudite followers will also have read the excellent baseball novel which was a minor phenomenon last year, The Art of Fielding. In many ways, it’s not really about baseball — like any novel it is, in fact, about love, frailty, friendship and frustration — but the baseball setting speaks to us players more than it does to the average British Joe.

However, one of the biggest things to strike me was the way the shortstop phenom Henry Skrimshander would physically push himself — “working til you puke” — running up and down the football stadium steps, and doing endless reps with weights. It might be going too far to say that it inspired me, but it did make me want to do more and work harder.

That combination of early morning runs, protein shakes, and constant practise is part of the overall vision of being a professional athlete, which most of us reach for with our involvement in baseball. It’s not the glamour part, but it’s an element in the whole.

Perhaps, as I share Henry’s slight build, I saw it as an example of what work could achieve. And honestly, I have tried to put in some extra hours. That meant running round Regents Park in the snow in my dinner breaks whenever I could, and remembering to do my Powerball exercises at home of an evening. There has been no Skrimshander-like transformation, but I did feel better and brighter. And even more keen for the baseball season to start.

But this masochistic passion for personal pain was never going to last. “Running til you puke” is not really my style. Don’t get me wrong — especially if you are a likely opponent this season — I will give a game my all. But I am not one to drive myself over the edge in pursuit of physical perfection. I’m just too rational, too common-sense. And I often did my Powerball exercises with a glass of red wine on the go. Which may have defeated the object slightly.

And so, in the first weeks of March, we were back at the diamond. A couple of cold and grey sessions were the best we could manage here. But even if you don’t arrive at the field to see its glowing emerald green stretch out before you, like a Major League ballpark, it still lifts the heart a little to be at Grovehill.

And I felt pretty happy with these workouts. Just getting to throw the ball freely was good, and playing the rough hops of the diamond instead of the smooth predictability of a gymnasium floor! I felt I was throwing well, and the masterful Darrin Ward gave a large squad of would-be pitchers excellent tips.

In one session, the equally excellent Geoff Hare taught me a base-running technique I had never heard before. Which impressed me, I can tell you. It’s not that I thought I knew everything about baseball, but that after ten years or so you do assume that further things you learn will be on the next level of the game — wheel plays, hit and runs, delayed steals. But this was something you can use in every situation. Obviously, I can’t reveal it here, it’s top secret, but suffice it to say it was fine advice.

The training part of the year ended on Sunday, with a few final drills and a scrimmage game between the Single-A rivals, the Eagles and the Raptors. I’m not sure I made a dramatic case for getting a second baseman’s job ahead of Raptors’ manager Arnie Longboy (who also likes to play there!), as I distinctly remember bobbling a ground ball which should have been the final out of an inning. But fortunately I became the first of three players involved in getting the last out at home plate instead!

I have hardly swung the bat this year so perhaps should not be surprised that my two at-bats led only to a groundout to short, and a pop-up to third which, luckily, was dropped. At least the first AB went to a full count, which is normal service for my batting! I did manage to hurt my back swinging for a low pitch, but I am trusting that is just the rigours of old age.

The most important thing was to take part, and to feel the ball in the glove after weeks snowed off, rained off, and dominated by weekends of work. Hopefully I — and the other Single-A players — will now be set up for Opening day. The Raptors are away in Leicester. Yes, Leicester. This game can take you places. Some places you never dreamed, some that you always dreamed of…. See you there.

9 March 20139 March 2013 by Rob Jones

The Summer Search for Silver

Herts baseball fans, you can now plan your summer. The hotly anticipated BBF league schedules are out, and the club’s five adult teams now have the roadmap they must follow if they want to bring a championship trophy back to Hemel Hempstead. Hopes are high that after another winter of strong recruitment — and an experience of “oh-so-nearly” last year — Herts can claim silverware in 2013.

From April 7 through to August 25, a total of more than 600 regular-season games will be played across the country at all levels. They range from the top tier, the National Baseball League, to what the BBF refers to as the “feisty” teams of the Single-A divisions. Herts will be there at all levels. And the finals are set for Farnham Park in September. Keep your diary clear.

Falcons at the NBC in 2012 — Herts Falcons in action at the 2012 playoff finals (photo: Will Baxter)

The top level of British baseball, the National Baseball League (NBL) is the first to get going. On the 7th of April, Herts Falcons will open their account at home to the newly renamed South London Pirates. The Croydon club is a veteran presence on the British scene and is hoping to bounce back from some disappointing seasons. However, Lee Manning and his side will be aiming for a winning start.

Fans don’t have to wait long for the juiciest clash. Just two weeks later, on April 21st, the Falcons travel to the defending champions the Harlow Nationals, who beat Herts in last season’s deciding series. The Nationals come to Grovehill for the return fixture on the last weekend of June, by which point the hierarchy for this year will be well established. What will be at stake at that match-up? Could it be decisive?

Of course, there are plenty of other strong sides challenging for the NBL title. At either end of the season, the Falcons will take on the Lakenheath Diamondbacks, who featured in last year’s playoffs. And the final regular season fixture is at home to the newcomers to the NBL, the Essex Redbacks, who last year challenged all the way to the AAA final. Who knows what they will bring to The Show?

The Herts Ravens are the club’s new team, giving a presence in AAA for the first time since the Eagles lost controversially in the 2010 playoffs. They start off at home on April 14th against the Richmond Knights. The first road trip is two weeks later to Finsbury Park to take on the London Metros, while the London club will also be providing the final opponents on 25th August, when the Mets II come to Grovehill.

The Hawks reached the final weekend of the 2012 playoffs, losing to the ultimate victors, the Nottingham Rebels. The co-managers Andy Cornish and Greg Bochan are looking to take the players all the way this year. There are 13 teams in the AA South division, and the Hawks will kick off at home to the London Mammoths on April 14th.

Herts Hawks at Daws Hill, 2012 — Herts Hawks at Daws Hill Spitfires, 2012

They have a long home-stand to begin the year — facing opponents incuding the freshly promoted Hove Tuesday and last year’s regular season elite the Guildford Mavericks — and they don’t have to leave Hemel Hempstead until June when they travel to Enfield to take on the Sidewinders. The last scheduled game is on August 4th, against the Poole Piranhas.

And so on to Single-A, which this year features 12 teams split into three pools of four, and also features the mouthwatering prospect of two Herts derbies. The club once again fields two teams in this division, with the Raptors and Eagles both building on good years in 2012.

Then, Arnold Longboy’s Raptors narrowly missed out on the postseason while the Eagles secured an excellent .500 record in their first season in the division. Bragging rights went to the Raptors when the teams met up, with Duncan Hoyle’s Eagles going down 14-5. This year the first face-off is on 12 May, with the return a month later on 16 June. Both promise to be classic matches.

Of course, there are some other teams in the division to be faced, too. Raptors open up on April 21st at the Leicester 2Sox, the first time for years that the southern clubs have taken on the Midlands clubs in league play. The Raptors head off to Milton Keynes to play their new Single-A side the Coyotes on May 19th, while they face last year’s top league side the Essex Archers on June 30th.

The Eagles make their trips north on Opening Day, April 21st, when they play Milton Keynes, and on June 30th, when they head to Leicester. The 2Sox will also be the final visitors to Grovehill for the Eagles, when they play on August 11th. By then, the height of summer, everyone will be thinking seriously of the playoffs. At this point, we can only speculate and dream.

As Herts knows perhaps better than anyone, British baseball is not just about the adult game. Grovehill Ballpark has become the home of one of the most powerful youth movements in the country, with a national championship being claimed in 2010. Players from the Little League are feeding through into the adult sides with great success, and this season the youth leagues will be watched as closely as ever.

The Herts Harriers — the newly named Under 17 Pony team — are scheduled to play 7 double-headers. They start on Saturday April 27th, against the London Mets at Grovehill. Their regular reason finishes with a trip to the Forest Glade Redbacks on July 6th. The Herts Bronco team, now known as the Cardinals, travel to the defending champions the London Mets for their opener. They host the Redbacks as their closer.

17 February 201317 February 2013 by Rob Jones

2013: A New Hope

The Herts club’s occasional blogger, equally occasional player, and former Chief Correspondent Rob Jones has returned for another year of baseball. Here he offers his random views, glimpses and hopes for the coming year.

The sound echoed around the hall. It was of a loud slap, a loud snap, not unlike the report of a gun. It was a baseball hitting a leather mitt. Baseball season had begun.

Fifty or so players were there on the first week of indoor Spring Training, and the fact that a cavernous sports hall seemed crowded showed how far Herts has come in the past couple of years in expanding its reach. By the time I was there — barely even a few minutes late, which is excellent by my standards — there seemed hardly room to throw. On the second week there were slightly fewer of us, but still dozens of players, all turning out on a cold Sunday morning. The first excellent result of the season.

Never fear, though, about the apparent lack of space. Once the session had got rolling and the coaches had stepped in to organise, every inch of the hall was well used. At the second session, the club’s new strength and conditioning coach made his first appearance and worked the players into submission. Crouching like crabs, jumping like grasshoppers, lunging like refugees from Python’s silly walks sketch. The Herts media department kindly used a photo of the event which showed me as the only player bent double trying to recover from the exertion!

I am by no means a hardcore devotee of exercise. But I do love to play, and the last thing I want to do at a session is stand around waiting for stuff to be sorted. And that doesn’t happen here at Herts. It hasn’t for years now, and we have reaped two benefits from that. Number one — passionate, hard-working club staff. Number two — better players.

Those players include some of the top names in British baseball — Robbie Unsell, Ryan Bird — who now turn out in a Herts uniform and helped take the club to the NBL final in 2012. It also includes some excellent youth players who have begun to pull on the jersey for our adult teams, and who could take us even higher in the future. Guys who already had great talent going for them — Kyle Lloyd-Jones; the Caress brothers — seemed to have grown a foot taller over the winter and to have filled out. They will be an imposing presence on whichever diamond hosts them this season.

Caros Casal argues his case during the Hunlock Series in 2009 There are plenty of new faces, as well as some which have returned from the past. The Casal family, who always play with fire and passion, will be a shot in the arm for the club on the field after a successful sojourn at the Harlow Nationals. A return is also on the cards for Ross Asquith, the King of the Bunt, the Fastest Thing in the South from the early days of the Herts Hawks, I think it was. Because we now have a fifth adult team, we will need a deep bench, but that seems to be a luxury we are developing. Last weekend was the first of many sessions which I will miss this year. Work often keeps me away from Herts baseball, but like so many others I keep coming back. Last season was a bit of a low ebb for me, in terms of playing time. I only made it to five games, I think, and one of them was incomplete. I never really got my swing together and batted only about .440, disappointing after previous seasons. But my OBP remained high, and I felt I was contributing to the team and to a few victories. Who knows what 2013 will hold for me, and for Herts. But that is one of the great things about Spring Training. Anything seems possible. Everything is out there to be worked for, and aimed at. The grainy photos of Herts part-timers in a cavernous sports hall are the equivalent of those sun-dappled pictures from the MLB’s Spring leagues. But although the visual image is rather different, the spirit is the same. It is about hope, and about what it can bring.

5 October 20126 October 2012 by Rob Jones

Heading for the Hunlock

My regular readers — of which I know, there are literally several — will know that I like to write a paean to the Hunlock series every year. One of those articles referred to it as an encore, an extra flourish once the season is over, and something of an added bonus. This year’s event is slightly different for me, as I didn’t have much of a season at all. So it’s not an encore — it’s almost the main event.

Rob Jones in action — Your correspondent, Rob Jones, legs out an infield hit against the Blue Dogs

The Hunlock Series brings together players from all the club’s teams, both youth and adult, and spreads them around in a way which creates four new evenly-matched teams. That makes for great competitions, and you should have no doubt that a friendly series can be genuinely competitive! There is a great atmosphere to the event, but if you think Greg Bochan wants you to get a hit off him, or if you think Glen Downer is after anything less than a home run, you’re mistaken.

One of the best things about the Hunlock is that you get to meet up with players you might not have seen all year. There are guys turning out who were already part of the club when I joined up a decade ago, and in that sense it’s a bit like a class reunion. Rod Naghar has been doing his thing successfully for the Hawks this year — after doing it with various teams over the years — and it is fun to play alongside him for the first time in a long time.

Old faces return, too, including Carlos Casal Jr and Snr who both did so much to make the Herts club a force in British baseball. And for lower league guys like me it is good to play alongside the best that Herts can offer. I’ve never really seen Kevin Niedringhaus play baseball before, but it was a revelation to watch somebody work like that on the mound, and to turn their hand to so many skills so well.

Another fine thing is to meet new talent, and to see guys who could do great things for Herts next year. You can read elsewhere on the site about Guv Bhangal’s exploits, and I think he got one of those hits at the expense of my Red Roosters. Matt Cox — whose surname I admit I only knew after I read the match reports — made a great impact for us, and I know I would want him for any future team. Great speed, good hitting, and great exuberance. All of those contributed to the inside the park home run he notched up against the Black Widows. Straight out of the box, he was clearly going to stretch it as far as possibly could, and it was a perfect example of putting pressure on a defense. A well deserved feat.

My own performances were rather less dramatic. On the couple of occasions I have turned out this autumn I have played like a 40 year old who has barely played any baseball this year. So, no great surprises, but I’d rather be able to make a more flattering comparison! I did actually get a couple of RBIs, but I think there was only one proper hit in there. The rest were luck and nonsense. As for fielding, I missed both of the balls which came my way in the course of the day. On a routine ground ball, I singularly failed to “get my ass down”, and it went right by. I have a clear mental image of myself as that stiff 40 year old, tightened up further by lack of game time. No excuses, really — I always marvel at those guys who just show up and just do it, whether they be young or old — but instead a fresh determination to try to get the most playing time I can.

Maybe this coming week will find that I have worked some of the old man stiffness out of my system. That’s assuming the coach even dares put me on the field this week! This year has been disrupted by weather, work, and family issues, and the plan to get lots of playing time before moving my old legs into management needs a bit of rewriting. Whatever turns out, I shall hope for another good day at the diamond this Sunday, definitely my last of 2012. For the real beauty of the Hunlock is that the good parts of it far outweigh any grumbles about results or booted ground balls. It’s about playing for the fun of the game and whatever else happens, it’s always fun.

22 July 201222 July 2012 by Rob Jones

The true value of the cliche

It’s been a rich and varied baseball season for me so far — but only when I have had the chance to play baseball, writes Rob Jones. And because those opportunities have been rather sparse, I have had far too much time to simply mull over the beautiful game, instead. Games that I have played in have had highs and lows, swings and roundabouts, and plenty of talking points. To that end, I have been considering the validity of various truisms — some might call them cliches — about baseball, and about life.

Pitching and defense win ball games

I can’t claim any great insight in this one – any coach will tell you it’s true. Perhaps it’s the greatest cliche of all for anyone who plays the game. But it is worth highlighting, and here’s why. You often think about the differences between baseball at the Major League level and where we play it, at the nether reaches of the British game. Stealing a base is a very different proposition, for example. And the positioning of fielders is far more sophisticated – think about how often you have seen an MLB outfielder stand patiently to receive a room service catch, having already assessed the matchup and the situation.

Falcons v Mustangs — The Falcons defense comes up trumps against Southampton - but only by an inch

But this one is a truism which is equally true at all levels of the game. The fewer mistakes you make, and the more strikes you throw, the better your chance of getting a win. Even in a high-scoring league like ours, it is the defense which will make all the difference. In this year’s game against the London Marauders this was particularly true. Our first three hitters got bat on ball, but their fielders made every play. None was spectacular, perhaps, but they could all have gone wrong, and they didn’t. On the other side of the coin, we failed to make a succession of close plays.

We were undone by walks too — in a previous year I remember us opening a game with six consecutive walks. You just can’t do that and get away with it. When the average viewer watches Major League pitching, you don’t appreciate how hard it is. Watching guys like us makes it abundantly clear! I should point out that I am not just criticising from the sidelines here — in my only pitching start last year I walked two of my first three guys, and I have always made it my special purpose on the mound NOT to give free passes. Once you are up there, it’s a different scenario.

Young pitcher Zack Longboy has been a boon for us this season with his tremendous consistency. More of him later, but let me give this final thought about pitching and defense. No matter how good the man on the mound is, he will need help. When the San Francisco Giants’ Matt Cain threw his first perfect game last month, it was made possible by Gregor Blanco making a phenomenal diving catch in right field, and by Joaquin Arias making a series of excellent plays from third. Pitching and defense go hand in hand if they are to succeed.

It’s a game of inches

It’s been said that the set-up and measurements of the baseball diamond are perfect, and that this can be seen in the way a close play fifty years ago is still a close play today — even as fitness and strength and equipment improve, the margins of success and failure remain consistently small. Once again, this truism can be neatly transposed onto the rough and ready amateur game. We may be consistently less fit and powerful than Major Leaguers, but that means we end up just as close!

Stealing bases against the Essex Archers, I was often an inch from being out. My second time on base, the pitcher knew I was going to steal. He threw over four times, and the third time I was only just able to dive back, safe by an inch. An inch away from embarrassment. (I would have been more comfortable, except that I caught the peak of my helmet in the dirt — there are lots of reasons that the inches count!) Later, as a runner at third base, I was pushing my luck as far off the bag as I could, and when a grounder went back to the pitcher, he looked at me, and I looked at him. He waited, just a few heartbeats, then went for the out at first. As soon as he did, I was off, going for home. I slid in, clattering into the catcher and scraping skin off my arm. But, by an inch, I was safe. As it was, a vital run scored. Had I failed, it would have been a foolish wasted out.

The cliche isn’t just true of base-running, either. A pitch which paints the corner can be given either way, depending on how the umpire sees it. How many times have you seen a pitch which just needed to be an inch higher, an inch lower? And it’s true when batting. Against Essex, Glen Downer just missed out on a couple of big hits, because a potential homer becomes a pop-fly because the contact is just an inch further up the bat. In the same game, Gilberto Medina hit a beautiful drive out to left field. I was running from second, and stopped half way down the line to watch what happened to the ball. It carried past the fielder, onwards towards the fence, onwards, and then — by just inches — it fell short of being a homer. I think it was only a single. I am delighted to say that, since then, Gilberto has deservedly hit one all the way out.

Young stars — Longboy and Caress - two rising young stars for the Raptors

Age ain’t nothing but a number

Herts has some tremendous veteran players, and the Falcons have picked up some with golden track records this year. But the club is perhaps best known for its youth set-up, and the youngest stars have been some of the biggest for the Raptors this year. Zack Longboy has been a revelation on the mound. The league-leading Essex Archers marveled at his poise and accuracy, after he had pushed them close to defeat for the first time this year. He has secured key strikeouts, thrown a variety of pitches for strikers, and fielded his position calmly. His perfromance belies his years, and he has put a lifetime of preparation to good use.

And Zack is not the only young star in the ranks. Brodie and Jake Caress have made the step up to adult baseball, with Jake closing out the win against the Old Timers with the game on the line (the Raptors had never beaten the Old Timers, and the come from behind victory was vital to playoff hopes). Both have performed well with the bat, while Jose Morillo has matured enormously as an offensive weapon, and the team also had a little pitching help from GB’s Tom Everex-Armstrong in the win over Tonbridge. These players have shown a fearlessness and a technique which we can all look to emulate.

Winning isn’t everything

This was an issue I began to chew over as I considered the contrasting experience of winning at a stroll against the Tonbridge Bobcats, and then losing by a narrow squeak against Essex. Winning is a wonderful thing, don’t get me wrong — I am not here to extol the virtue of the gallant defeat! When we thumped Tonbridge last season I thoroughly enjoyed it, as my first victory for two years. But whether you win easily or lose disastrously, you can come away with a similarly empty feeling.

It’s the competition which gives life and meaning to a win. It’s one of the reasons we always want to see a World Series go to seven games, or a Wimbledon final go to five sets. Winning a tough game is the best feeling of all. In that sense, I suspect the Raptors’ defeat of the Old Timers was an absolute corker. Sooooo sorry to have missed that one. The Eagles victory over the Essex Redbacks was the best game I have had this year, coming from behind to take a late lead, then clinging on for an 18-16 win. Those are the most exhilarating games. Just winning isn’t enough — we want to win with style, and after a battle.