written by Cristobal Hiche

The weather was perfect for some great baseball if it wasn’t for some strong winds from right to left field which effectively killed the “long ball” from the game. This set the tone for the first game in which solid pitching by Jordan Farkas (Herts) and Ryan (Diamondbacks), kept batters at bay with few hits and no runs scored by either team in the first 4 innings. Added to that was the fact that both teams weren’t efficient and both teams left too many men on base. In fact, Herts had men on 2nd and 3rd with no outs in the first inning but the heart of the order couldn’t bring the runners home. Lakenheath also had the bases loaded with 1 out in the bottom of the 3rd but ended up empty.

Both teams realised this game was going to go down to the wire and a small mistake could prove costly. Also, both teams realised they needed to manufacture runs and switched strategies by playing small ball. Sacrifice and drag bunts were attempted but a great play by third baseman James Brooks prevented Herts left fielder John Blose reaching base on a great surprise bunt down the line.

It wasn’t until the bottom of the 5th when Xavier Gonzales made an error on a very routine ground ball. The ball made an unusual bounce due to poor ground conditions and Xavi couldn’t do anything about it. Tough luck but this sparked the Dbacks to go on and score 3 runs. Herts felt the blow and quickly bounced back to tie the game at 3-3 in the top of the 6th inning. All looked like it was going to extra innings with quick two outs in the bottom of the 7thinning, but Jordan Farkas’ pitch count was rising and he gave up the first and only walk of the game for him, which at the end of the day proved to be costly. Matt Mulvaney, who was already 2-3 in the game, hit a timely line drive for a double in the gap in left-centerfield. The runner was held at 3rd base, but Shawn Benton became the hero with a single up the middle, which neither Robbie Unsell (2B) nor Xavier Gonzalez (SS) could reach. Walk-off single – game over.

This was truly a MLB-type game, with solid pitching, changing strategies by both teams, and with a nail biting finish which unfortunately didn’t go the way the Falcons wanted. “We left too many guys on base and we didn’t give Jordan the run support his pitching deserved” said Falcons manager, Lee Manning, after the game.

Click to view game 1 box scores

Given the disappointment by the Herts players and believing they should have won the first game, they were hungry to respond in the second game. They came out of the dugout with determination and in the top of the first they scored 5 runs. The highlight of this inning was a great 3-run bases-clearing-double by Lee Manning, proving the manager still has the skills to play at the top level. This proved to be enough as Darrin Ward again pitched a solid game, managing the game and his pitching repertoire to keep the Diamondbacks’ bats quiet. It was only in the 3rd inning that the heart of the Dbacks batting order managed to string a few singles together and scored two runs. With 2 outs and a man on first and third, Matt Mulvaney who was 3-4 with that great double in the first game, came up to the plate with the potential tying run. However, Ward won the battle and Matt hit a ground ball to second for a routine 4-3 play. Herts managed to get an insurance run in the 5th and sealed the game with additional 3 runs in the top of the 7th.

Click to view game 2 box scores

Herts Falcons Manager, Lee Manning, felt that the team responded well after the difficult loss in the first game.  He said: “we quickly picked ourselves up and exploded on the ball. Wardy (Darrin Ward) coasted through the game and we never looked back.” Manning added that “It’s always hard to travel to Lakenheath with the extra players they have for their home games. The wind played its part and affected both teams. Losing the way we did in game 1 was hard for the boys to take but we showed spirit to get ahead early in game 2 and stay there.”

Standout Herts players:

Robbie Unsell: 3-5, 1R, 2RBI, 3BB, 3SB, 1K

Darrin Ward: 7IP, 2R, 2ER, 3SO, 3BB

Xavier Gonzales: 3-6, 4R, 2 doubles, 2BB, 1SB

 

Last week the Herts Falcons were approached by pitcher, Barry Wiles, with a view to joining the National Baseball League team this season. He is expected to make his Herts debut this Sunday against the Lakenheath Diamondbacks.

Wiles has previously played for the Mildenhall Bulldogs in 2010 and for the Essex Arrows in 2012. His NBL career winning record on the mound is 4-7 with 57 strikeouts over 71 2/3 innings (7.2 per 9 innings). His NBL career batting average is .364.*

The Falcons also expect to welcome back Cris Hiche who missed the Opening Day encounter against the Pirates with a hamstring injury. Great Britain U16 National Team catcher, Conner Brown has also been added to the squad, in a call up from the club’s AAA League team, the Herts Ravens.

* – statistics courtesy of Project COBB

 

The Herts Falcons opened the 2013 season with two wins in the home doubleheader against the South London Pirates.

GAME 1: FALCONS 11 PIRATES 0 (click to view box scores)

Darrin Ward started on the mound in game one and had a smooth ride allowing only 2 hits and 2 walks over 4 innings. Robbie Unsell came in to close the final inning with 2 strikeouts.

The Falcons had the best offence last season and despite missing several big hitters through injury they still managed to score 11 runs in 4 innings. Robbie Unsell and Xavier Gonzalez contributed with 2 hits and 1 RBI each. Ryan Bird delivered the deadly blows which drained the energy out of the Pirates. He went 3-for-3 with a double and 3 RBIs. Carlos Velazco-Carus made his debut as a substitute for Bird in the final inning and he picked up where Ryan Bird had left with the walk-off 2-run double.

GAME 2: FALCONS 14 PIRATES 4 (click to view box scores)

The Pirates took the lead early in game 2. Jim Farley 2-4 2B(2) and manager Alex von Rosenbach 2-3 RBI (2) led the Pirates rally, but Herts responded quickly. Robbie Unsell continued to wreck opposition defences doing what top lead-off batters do. He went 2-3 with a double 3 RBI and 4 runs adding 5 stolen bases to the 2 he picked up in the first game of the day. Jordan Farkas (3-4 2B 2 RBI) Mike Osborn (2-3 2 RBI), Phil Clark (2-3 RBI) added to the Pirates woes.

Jordan Farkas and Mike Osborn were the pitchers for Herts and although they may feel that they should have allowed less runs, those that were allowed were largely due to uncharacteristic fielding errors (5).

Herts Falcons Manager, Lee Manning, was pleased with the team’s good start of the season. “Our fielding in the first game was very good and Wardy threw a great game. In the second game we put runs on the board in most innings and played solid baseball from start to finish” said Manning. He added “The Pirates have improved massively since last year and they definitely got stronger as the day went on. Hopefully their hard work will pay off soon. British Baseball needs a strong Pirates ballclub.”

The ceremonial first pitch of the 2013 season was thrown by Dave Ward. This was a very fitting tribute to one of the Pirates’ longest serving members who has been the backbone of that organisation over the years.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE

After the end of the game news came in that the reigning champions, Harlow Nationals, shared the spoils in their doubleheader at the Southampton Mustangs. On one hand this gives the Falcons an early 1-game lead over the Nationals who everyone sees as the favourites, but on the other this could be a signal that Southampton may be mounting an even bigger challenge than they have in the last 3 seasons when they reached the postseason but couldn’t quite overcome the eventual winners. Since the end of the game the Mustangs also announced the addition of Czech national team pitcher Tomas Zondra from Hrosi Brno in the Czech top league.

London and Bracknell swept against the Lakenheath Dbacks and the Essex Redbacks, respectively. The Bracknell Blazers are currently leading an online poll asking who will finish top of the NBL and these Opening Day scores seem to justify the confidence of their fans.

 

As we build up to the Opening Week of the 2013 British baseball season across the six BBF leagues, we will be speaking with the managers of each of the Herts teams.

With the Herts Falcons starting their NBL campaign this Sunday, we spoke with Manager, Lee Manning.

We are just days away from Opening Day. Do you feel ready or has the bad weather in March affected preparations?

Lee Manning: I don’t think any British team can be ready after the poor weather we’ve had. The only good thing is that all teams are in the same boat. The Falcons have shown amazing commitment this season with guys hitting the batting cages and even taking time off work to train mid-week to get to the level they want to be at.

What are your main goals for this season?

Lee Manning: We all want to go one better than last season. Winning the championship is a must for all of us.

What win-loss percentage would be seen as a successful season for the team?

Lee Manning: We will look to finish the season with a record of .750 but the main goal is to get everyone in enough games to play in the post season.

Will the entry of the Herts Ravens in the AAA League affect your team’s chances this season by diluting the strength of the Herts rosters across a larger number of teams?

Lee Manning: No. We are probably the one team in the club this expansion will help. Every year we rely on players stepping up to the NBL level from the lower leagues and choosing from a AAA roster rather than a AA roster will only make the Falcons stronger.

Who are the players we should look out for this year?

Lee Manning: We have a strong roster and with all team sports it takes more than one player to win a game. Last year we added 15 new players to the Falcons and it took us a few months to get to know each other. This year we have added again but the core of the roster from last year team is returning. I’m really looking forward to watching all of these great players in Herts uniforms pulling together for one clear goal – winning it all.

Which of your opponents in the league are likely to be the biggest challengers for the national title?

Lee Manning: Hard to say at the moment but it’s got to be Harlow Nationals, Southampton Mustangs, Lakenheath Dbacks and maybe the London Mets.

Which league game are you looking forward to most?

Lee Manning: The old rivalry between Essex and Herts is great and is one I personally like to play in but the Falcons vs. Nationals is the best baseball game on the British isle right now. Both teams always seem evenly matched and we hope our new players will give us the extra edge this year.

The postseason playoffs will be played at the brand new Farnham Park. Will this act as an even greater incentive for players to reach the postseason?

Lee Manning: I was heartbroken we couldn’t win the championship at our ground last year in front of our fans but we don’t really mind where the playoffs/NBC will be played. Winning is winning and we want to win every game we play. I’ve been to the new park and it looks great. I can’t wait to see how it plays after all the hard work that has been put in by everyone connected to the project.

What is your message to Herts Baseball fans ahead of Opening day?

Lee Manning: Get your thermal on and bring your chair. It’s going to be an exciting season which begins this Sunday.

 

Herts Baseball Club has announced the signing of Carlos Velazco-Carus from the Poole Piranhas. He was born in Cuba making him the first player from that baseball-mad country ever to wear the Herts jersey. During his time with the Piranhas he played mainly at third base and shortstop, but was also a member of the pitching staff.

Velazco-Carus has indicated that he may be moving closer to London which would fit in with his transfer to Herts, but for the time being he will have to make the long trip from Bournemouth.

We had a chance to speak with Velazco-Carus about his move to Herts, Cuban baseball, among other topics.

You are going to be travelling a very long distance from Bournemouth to play for Herts this season. What convinced you to make this big commitment?

Carlos Velazco-Carus: Your club is very well established and from discussions with Xavier Gonzalez it seems that a move to Herts would work well for all.

You have played for the Bournemouth Sharks and the Poole Piranhas over the last few seasons and have played against some tough opponents in the British leagues, but which has been the team which has been most difficult to play against?

Carlos Velazco-Carus: I will have to say that every game is a tough one no matter what your opponent’s game is like. Having said this, there are teams like Herts, Sidewinders, Latin Boys among others who are always difficult to play against. In general, it has been a pleasure to play in the British league.

You started your baseball career in Cuba. Which sports are the most popular in Cuba and where does baseball rank in terms of popularity in Cuba?

Carlos Velazco-Carus: Baseball is Cuba’s national sport, so it is the most popular sport in the country, although its quality has declined in the last decade or so, due to lack of motivation among many other aspects. Cuba is situated only 90 miles from the USA, which makes our choice of sports is similar to theirs.

There have been some fantastic Cuban players playing for the Cuba National Team. Herts Falcons’s centerfielder, Cris Hiche, actually played in Brazil alongside the legendary Cuban player and two-time Olympic gold medal winner, Lazaro Vargas. Who is seen as the most famous player in Cuban baseball history?

Carlos Velazco-Carus: Lazaro Vargas – third baseman – what a player? One of the greatest in Cuban baseball, alongside many other big names like Omar Linares, Orestes Kindelan, Victor Mesa and many more, the list would be infinite if they were all to be mentioned.

Carlos Velazco-Carus: That, I would not know for certain, it’s difficult to follow the Cuban league from this side of the Atlantic, but I am positive that there will always be good natural talent coming from there.

You played for Havana U19 back in Cuba. You have had some experience playing in the UK now. Would you say that the Havana U19 team is at the same level as the British AAA or the NBL or higher?

Carlos Velazco-Carus: Havana U19s can be compared with the NBL, but with higher level of preparation because we train all year round rather than the occasional weekly training.

You are the first Cuban player to wear the Herts jersey. What can Herts do to attract more players from the Cuban community and other Latin American communities in the UK and get them involved in British baseball? Where should clubs look for these communities and how can we attract them to the British baseball leagues?

Carlos Velazco-Carus: There is a vast Latin community in the UK, I think clubs should look for players at colleges, they should also distribute leaflets and related advertisement at Latin festivals and parties which are celebrated in London and its outskirts.

The first chance to see Carlos Velazco-Carus and all the other new Herts signings will come during the upcoming Herts Spring League which starts on 23 March at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead.

British baseball clubs do not have the financial capacity to compete for talent with the multi-million dollar budgets of Major League Baseball clubs in America and the NPB league teams in Japan, but sometimes circumstances work in favour of British baseball teams enabling them to gradually close the gap. This evening Herts Baseball Club unveiled its newest signing, Xavier Gonzalez. The 24-year-old played under professional contract with the Minnesota Twins. This was as part of the Twins’ farm system in the Venezuelan Summer League in 2007 and the Dominican Summer League in 2008.

This was almost 5 years ago, but Xavier Gonzalez is still keeping in touch with his former Minesotta Twins teammates. He said “I have been following their progress. Jairo Rodriguez and Oswaldo Arcia played with me in the Dominican Republic and in Venezuela and they have since been invited to Spring Training camp with the MLB teams but have not made it to the big leagues yet”. He added: “One teammate who made it through to MLB is Eduardo Escobar, who played for the Chicago White Sox in 2011 and was traded to the Minnesota Twins in 2012”

Gonzalez’ primary positions during his time with the Twins were second base and third base, but Herts Falcons Manager, Lee Manning, is also expected to add him to the team’s pitching staff.

BATTING STATS WITH MINNESOTA TWINS
Year	Team	G	PA	AB	R	H	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG
2007	Cubs/Twins	37	116	98	13	18	8	0.184	0.281	0.204
2008	Twins	23	78	65	4	10	1	0.154	0.295	0.169
2 Seasons		60	194	163	17	28	9	0.172	0.286	0.19

FIELDING STATS WITH MINNESOTA TWINS
Year	POS	G	Ch	PO	A	E	DP	Fld%
2B (2 seasons)	2B	22	111	47	62	2	12	0.9820
RF (2 seasons)	RF	2	4	4	0	0	0	1.000
LF (2 seasons)	LF	4	4	4	0	0	0	1.000
SS (2 seasons)	SS	2	5	2	3	0	0	1.000
3B (2 seasons)	3B	21	58	11	42	5	4	0.914
1B (1 season)	1B	1	12	12	0	0	0	1.000
2 Seasons		52	194	80	107	7	16	0.964

 

He will be travelling from Bournemouth every week to play for Herts, which is a 4-hour round trip. When asked what convinced him to make this major commitment he said “The love of this beautiful game, the baseball environment and how well organized Herts Baseball Club is”.

He played for the Poole Piranhas last season and had a very successful run reaching the national semi-finals where the Piranhas lost dramatically in extra innings. Xavier Gonzalez pitched 4 innings striking out 6 batters in that game.

In the last 20 years there has been only one player who has played in the British leagues and then has gone on to play professionally for an MLB team. This was John Foster who played for Brighton Buccaneers and went on to play for the Milwaukee Brewers and the Atlanta Braves. Xavier Gonzalez has now had a first-hand look at British baseball and he is positive that this is not going to be the last player to make it to the big leagues. “When I first came to England I didn’t have any idea that I was going to be able to play baseball as I had always thought that football is the only sport here, but then I found the British Baseball Federation and saw how well organised baseball is in this country. I think British baseball is growing and doing its best to take the game to the next level”. He added that “if we start to introduce the game of baseball in primary schools then this is going to make a big difference in the coming years”.

The Herts Falcons attracted international scouts in last year’s NBL games. Xavier Gonzalez turned 24 last week so if he performs well for the Falcons perhaps this could reopen the opportunity to give MLB another try, but for now “my goal in Herts is to help as much as I can to win the national championship” said Gonzalez.

This signing makes it a total of six Venezuelan players across the nine Herts adult and youth league teams, and it would be a big boost for British Baseball clubs if more members of the large Latin American communities in this country could get involved in British baseball. Xavier Gonzalez pointed out that there are many more communities out there for British Baseball to engage with and get them involved in the game. “Promoting the game through language schools can attract not only Latin Americans like me. This is also a way of attracting players from Asia and other parts of the world.”

Xavier Gonzalez is expected to make his Herts Falcons debut in the Herts Spring League which commences on 23 March.

 

Herts Baseball Club has announced that Joe Gray has joined the club after spending 2011 and 2012 with the double NBL champions, Harlow Nationals. Before that, he was with the Croydon Pirates going back to their own double championship years of 2004 and 2005. On the experience he brings, Joe Gray commented: “I have learned many things from being immersed in the superb coaching environment at the Nationals, and it was great to see the young players blossoming there. I’ll also never forget the many enjoyable seasons I had with the Pirates. Dave Ward has been a great diplomat there, for more years than he’d probably care to remember, and it’s heartening to see the re-growth of the club being driven by Conor Riffle and Alex von Rosenbach. But I’m now ready for a new challenge.”

Herts Baseball Club President, Aspi Dimitrov, said: “Only people with inside knowledge of baseball in this country will be able to realize the huge significance of this.” He added: “While the fight for the national championship grabs the headlines, there is a more important battle to grow and promote the sport of baseball and win market share in the leisure industry. With Joe Gray aboard, our club is in a very strong position to succeed in Hertfordshire and the North West quadrant of London.”

Joe Gray is a resident of St Albans and the home ground of Herts Baseball Club is located just a short drive away (or a slighlty longer cycle, on a pleasant day). “The combination of geographical proximity and peerless infrastructure that the club has draws me strongly to Herts and I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in,” said Gray. “Of course, I can’t deny that the Club President’s penchant for Jethro Tull and Dire Straits on the PA system also factored in the decision,” he added.

Joe Gray is one of the most respected members of the British Baseball community. He is probably best known for Project COBB, which he founded. It is an online collaboration co-ordinated by him to support research and publish historical details of British baseball, help make digitized copies of British baseball artefacts available online and promote the preservation of history today, through scoring and photography. He recently unveiled the revamped Project COBB website.

It is largely thanks to Joe Gray’s efforts, via Project COBB, to pool his own work on National Baseball League statistics with that of other key contributors, including, most notably, Alan Smith and also Brian Holland and Josh Chetwynd, that numbers exist, in varying levels of completeness from 1976 to this day. Preserving these has created an invaluable resource for fans, clubs and the media to utilise.

Gray has also authored and edited popular baseball books. “What about the Villa?”, on which he was the sole author, was his first effort, while on “Nine Aces and a Joker” he was editor of the project, which brought together some of his own writing with that of other leading British Baseball writers. He is now in the process of writing his third book, which moves away from the world of non-fiction into the creative format. A novel with a working title of “The Bushleaguers” is currently undergoing revision at the draft stage. Gray is also a writer for BaseballGB, which was founded by Matt Smith and provides the best independent coverage of baseball from a British perspective. He makes regular appearances on TV, radio and documentaries as one of the leading experts on British Baseball.

In 2011 the British Baseball Federation (BBF) and community as a whole recognised Joe Gray’s outstanding contribution by inducting him as a BBF Life Member.

Joe Gray will join the Herts Baseball Statistics Department, working alongside Greg Bochan, but he will also have involvement in other areas such as media and club history. His addition to the media department will strengthen Herts’ activities in this area even further.

Apart from his involvement with Herts and the various other baseball projects, in 2013 Gray will also be continuing his written reflections on the NBL as a whole, on BaseballGB, to complement the growing journalistic coverage of the NBL and other divisions being driven by BSUK. As part of that he is expecting to do quite a lot of travelling around the different NBL grounds.

As the season progresses and statistical data builds up, Joe Gray could play a key role for the Herts Falcons providing game strategy analysis in key clashes in the latter stages of the regular season and in the postseason, if they qualify. The statistical analysis work behind the scenes in baseball was not widely known until the Oscar-nominated movie “Moneyball” came to the big screen. The Herts Falcons are going into the new season in a very strong position knowing that Joe Gray is now part of the team. “The samples size we’ll be working with are far smaller than what the guys in Moneyball had at their disposal,” Gray commented, “but there’s certainly enough there to begin to cut through the noise and baseball is a sport where even the smallest margins can make a difference.”

And who knows? Might we also see Gray as a pinch-hitter for the Falcons? He is, after all, the only player on record to have a perfect 1.000 batting average across a multi-season career. “This is an excellent example of just how deceiving small sample sizes can be,” he reflected.