Category: Falcons

by Herts Baseball News Editor

The return of the Casals

Carlos Casal Sr greeting Kimiyoshi Saionji after his home run in the thrilling 12-11 win over the Essex Arrows in the 2010 NBL season

After a two-year hiatus, Herts welcomes back a dynamic family duo that had been a permanent feature at any Herts adult or youth league event. The Casal family, who reside in Hemel Hempstead, is coming back home.

After two years on secondment at the Harlow Nationals, Carlos Casal Sr. and Carlos Casal Jr. are coming back to grace Grovehill Ballpark again. Actually, Carlos Jr. has been playing for the Herts U17 team over the last 12 months (and of course he has been part of the Championship-winning Herts U14 team of 2010). They have both honed their skills, having played at the National League Level in the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

Carlos Casal Sr. will bring his inimitable hunger, competitiveness and drive that can fire up a team to come back from even the deepest hole and help a winning team keep its lead. His plate performances have always been characterised by perseverance and willingness to lay it all out, and he has not lost his touch, as evidenced by the respectable batting average he had with the Nationals (.382 in 2011 and .287 in 2012). And once he gets on base, he turns on the wheels with an aggression that gets him safe more often than not. And of course, he also brings in the diplomatic skills that make dealing with contrary umpires so much fun. Carlos is also a good team leader, as he has demonstrated having managed the Herts Hawks in the past. He will put these skills to good use as he has joined the Herts U-17 team coaching staff in 2013.

Carlos Casal Jr. is an undoubted up and coming talent, who has always impressed not only with his abilities, but also his work ethic. That has stood him in good stead, and Carlos Jr. has been selected for the GB U16 National Team. There is no task too big or goal to distant for him, and the extra experience at the Nationals will only serve to make him a better player and leader. Most importantly, he brings a charismatic ability to unify – you cannot help but like Carlos.

Although team selection is up to the managers, it would be great to have both Carlos Sr. and Carlos Jr. play on the same adult team in 2013. After all, Herts has a long tradition of father-son pairings, and that is one tradition worth keeping.

Last, but not least, the return of the Casals would also mean that we will be seeing more of Miriam and Mariana Casal at the ballpark. Mariana is already a member of the U14 team, and who knows, Miriam may get involved in the Herts softball programme.

One way or the other, the Casal machine is back in action at Grovehill.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

AUDIO: BBC Radio talking baseball with Herts Raptors’ Ken Pike and MK Dons Manager Karl Robinson

Herts Baseball TV presenter, Ken Pike, appeared on the BBC 3 Counties Radio Sports Show with hosts Luke Ashmead and Geoff Doyle. They talked about the upcoming British baseball league season as well as the announcement that the Herts Falcons have been ranked among the top 50 baseball teams in Europe.

Also in the BBC studio was MK Dons manager, Karl Robinson, and he told listeners about his own baseball experience. Karl Robinson is currently on the radar of all the big clubs around the football leagues following his successful time with the MK Dons which included knocking out big-spenders Queens Park Rangers in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Spring Training commences for Herts baseball teams

It may be cold outside but, as far as the members of Herts Baseball Club are concerned, the long dark days of winter are over. On Sunday the Herts adult team members reported for the first Spring Training session of 2013. Throughout January and February the Herts teams will be preparing indoors at Berkhamsted SportSpace, which has good facilities including batting nets, however t is becoming obvious that the club has outgrown this venue and must start to look for an alternative in the winter of 2014 as the large number of players found it difficult to fit into the large sports hall. Thankfully the meteorological conditions were very good and the teams were able to use outdoor third-generation artificial pitches.

As usual in these first few weeks of Spring, the coaches put the players through their paces to rebuild physical and arm strength and stamina and work through baseball fundamentals of the defensive and offensive aspects of the game. Gradually the sessions will start to focus on specific positions to fine-tune the club’s pitchers, catchers, infielders and outfielders.

Apart from the returning players, the club had a chance to see some of the new faces which will be wearing the Herts jersey in 2013. The entry of a fifth Herts team in the adult leagues adds a new dimension to the process of assigning players to the five teams and it will be interesting to see which team roster the new recruits will appear in on Opening Day.

Of course the process of recruiting adult and youth team players continues and new players can join at any time throughout the year. With its teams competing in the various major and minor leagues of British baseball, Herts is able to offer baseball playing opportunities to players of any standard from complete beginners to advanced and experienced ballplayers. For more details about joining the Herts teams, contact us.

Quote of the day goes to New Yorker, Greg Bochan. Over the years he has stayed strictly away from discussions linked to football (soccer) in any way. While doing a ground ball drill with Tim Elkins and Rod Naghar, out of nowhere Bochan asked “What did you guys think about Eden Hazard and that ballboy?”

Play of the day goes to new signing John Blose. This was his first appearance in training with the Herts teams. While fielding a fly ball on the run at the indoor venue, he ended up colliding with the wall and taking out the fire exit door in the process. Herts fans should not worry. Blose came out unscathed from the collision.

Spring Training for the adult teams continues next Sunday.

Spring training dates for the Herts youth teams (6 to 16-year-olds) will be announced shortly and new members can sign up for those sessions by contacting the club.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts players report for training this Sunday. 2013 Spring Training dates announced.

The snow has covered the United Kingdom and there is a long way to go before the arrival of the British baseball season, but baseball teams up and down the country are starting their preparations for what they hope will be a winning season.

For the adult team players of Herts Baseball Club Spring Training (pre-season) preparations commence this Sunday, 27 January.

As in previous seasons the teams will start with indoor sessions in the first few weeks of Spring Training at Berkhamsted SportSpace. On 3 March 2013 the players will return to Grovehill Ballpark for the first outdoor training session of 2013.

On March 10 rostered Herts players and all newcomers who are interested to play with Herts in the 2013 league season will take part in the Open Try Outs for adults (players aged 14 or above on 31 December 2013). They will undergo a series of tests and drills which will enable the coaching staff to assess the players before they make their roster picks later in that month ahead of Opening Day.

We are still expecting a final confirmation from the BBF about the 2013 BBF League Opening Day. The latest information is that the NBL season will open on March 30-31 while the minor leagues (AAA, AA, A) will get their season under way a week later on 6-7 April.

The eagerly awaited Herts Spring League dates are still provisional and will be confirmed as soon as the BBF Opening Day is confirmed.

Those adults (aged 14 and above) who are interested in giving baseball a go can come to any of the upcoming Spring Training dates with the Herts adult teams. Regardless of whether you are a complete beginner or experienced player with many years of baseball under your belt, Herts Baseball Club will be eager to welcome you for an exciting season of baseball as the organisation continues its excellent growth. Players aged between 6 and 16 can look forward to joining up with the club’s youth league teams. The Spring Training dates for the youth teams are expected to be announced shortly. For more details of how to get involved with either the adult or the youth teams, please contact us.

Here is listing of the Spring Training dates for the Herts senior league teams (the dates for the youth teams will be announced shortly).

DAY DATE DETAILS VENUE
Sun 27-Jan-13 Spring Training (indoor) Berkhamsted SportSpace
Sun 03-Feb-13 Spring Training (indoor) Berkhamsted SportSpace
Sun 10-Feb-13 Spring Training (indoor) Berkhamsted SportSpace
Sun 24-Feb-13 Spring Training (indoor) Berkhamsted SportSpace
Sun 03-Mar-13 Spring Training Grovehill Ballpark
Sun 10-Mar-13 Open Try Outs Grovehill Ballpark
Sat 16-Mar-13* Herts Spring League Grovehill Ballpark
Sun 17-Mar-13* Herts Spring League Grovehill Ballpark
Sat 23-Mar-13* Herts Spring League Grovehill Ballpark
Sun 24-Mar-13* Herts Spring League Grovehill Ballpark
Sat 30-Mar-13* Herts Spring League Grovehill Ballpark
Sun 31-Mar-13* Herts Spring League Grovehill Ballpark

* – Herts Spring League dates are still provisional and will be confirmed as soon as the BBF Opening Day is confirmed

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Hiche appointed to the Board

Herts Baseball Club has announced that Cristobal Hiche has been appointed as a member of the club’s executive board heading the Under-17 department.

Hiche joined Herts 12 months ago as one of the first big signings for the Falcons ahead of the 2012 season. He had previously played at the high school, college and semi-professional league level in the USA as well as at international level for the Chile national team at Under-12, Under-16 and now at senior level.

The 28-year old played a key role in the Herts Falcons’ amazing run to the final and was awarded an NBL Best Outfielder award. After the end of the NBL season, Hiche received a call-up from the Chile National Baseball Team to take part in the South American Championships. His team reached the semi-finals losing to Argentina and Hiche was voted as the Best Outfielder in this international tournament involving some of the best baseball nations in South America.

In many ways Cris Hiche’s contribution off the field has had an even greater effect for Herts Baseball Club. Within a few weeks of arriving to the UK, and despite living and working a long distance away from Hemel Hempstead, he got involved in a coaching capacity with the club’s youth programme. He was appointed as the Manager of the Under-17 team and his hard work and that of the rest of his U17 coaching staff is already starting to bring tangible results.

The club confirmed that Head of U17 is one of several new Board positions which club management is looking to add. It is part of the club’s objective to increase the Board’s capacity, effectiveness and to be a more proportionate representation of the club’s different member categories. In 2012 the club had four adult and four youth teams, however the Board featured four adult team Board positions and only one Board position linked to the youth teams. The Board is now considering candidates to head the other age groups in the youth programme and co-opt them to the Board.

Cris Hiche receiving the Best Outfielder award at the 2012 South American Championships

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts AGM appoints 2013 Board Members

With no baseball on TV it is easy to assume that baseball clubs around the world simply lock up their ballparks and fly off to warm destinations for the five months of the winter close season between October and March. In fact the close season is a very busy and important period for the MLB clubs.

This is also the case at Herts Baseball Club. The club held its Annual General Meeting a few weeks ago appointing the Executive Board for the upcoming season.

The club goes into the new season with a strong team in all departments, the number of which seems to be increasing every year. There are some new faces joining the club’s Board who will bring fresh ideas and new energy, and at the same time the club has retained a large number of the 2012 Board members which will provide continuity as the club aims to continue its growth.

The following is the full list of the 2013 Herts Baseball Executive Board. There are several vacant positions which the club is aiming to fill in the coming weeks as it prepares for another season of Herts baseball. New appointments will be announced in due course.

• President, Aspi Dimitrov

• Co-Treasurer, Chris Jones

• Co-Treasurer, Aspi Dimitrov

• Manager (1st team), Lee Manning

• Co-Manager (2nd Team), Andy Cornish

• Co-Manager (2nd Team), Greg Bochan

• Manager (3rd Team), Arnie Longboy

• Manager (4th Team), Duncan Hoyle

• Club Shop Manager, Mark Caress

• Youth League Commissioner, Aspi Dimitrov

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Falcons ranked among top 50 clubs in Europe

The annual ranking of European teams has just been published and, for the first time in its history, the Herts Falcons have been ranked among the top 50 clubs in Europe.

They have taken 38th place in the ranking. The Harlow Nationals, who beat the Falcons in the National Final, are the other British team to make the top 50. They are ahead of the Falcons in 28th place.

Today’s announcement of the rankings is a deserved recognition of the tremendous strides made by the club from Hertfordshire, which in 2004 had only one team playing in the third tier of the British leagues and today has 8 teams in the senior and youth leagues of Great Britain.

12 months ago the club managed to secure some of the best players in the country and this turned the Falcons into a serious contender for the NBL tile. At the end they just missed out on winning the championship, losing to the Nationals in game 6 of the National Final.

For a second consecutive year the top team in Europe is the Italian league champion, T&A San Marino. In second place is Unipol Bologna from Italy. In third place is the Dutch league champion, Corendon Kinheim.

The ranking is compiled by baseball broadcaster, Josh Chetwynd. Click to view full announcement.

Pos. Club Country Points
1 T&A San Marino San Marino 33.25
2 Unipol Bologna Italy 32.50
3 Corendon Kinheim Netherlands 31.58
4 Danesi Caffe’ Nettuno Italy 31.00
5 DOOR Neptunus Netherlands 30.33
5 L&D Amsterdam Netherlands 30.33
7 Rouen Baseball 76 France 29.67
8 Buchbinder Legionäre Germany 29.33
9 Telemarket Rimini Italy 28.00
10 Paderborn Untouchables Germany 26.33
11 Vaessen Pioniers Netherlands 24.33
12 CB Barcelona Spain 24.00
13 Draci Brno Czech Republic 22.50
14 Solingen Alligators Germany 22.33
15 Astros Spain 22.00
16 Heidenheim Heideköpfe Germany 21.33
16 UVV Netherlands 21.33
18 Cariparma Parma Italy 21.00
19 Les Templiers de Senart France 20.17
20 Eagles Praha Czech Republic 18.00
21 Karlskoga Bats BBK Sweden 17.08
22 Tenerife Marlins P.C. Spain 17.00
23 Hoboken Pioneers Belgium 16.17
23 Paris Université Club France 16.17
25 C.B. Viladecans Spain 16.00
26 Savigny sur Orge Lions France 15.67
27 Technika Brno Czech Republic 15.50
28 KNTU-OSVSM Kirovograd Ukraine 15.00
28 Southern Nationals United Kingdom 15.00
30 Kotlářka Praha Czech Republic 14.50
31 Bern Cardinals Switzerland 13.75
31 TJ STU Angels Trnava Slovakia 13.75
33 Baseball Klub Nada SSM Split Croatia 13.58
33 Tornado Balashikha Russia 13.58
35 K. Borgerhout Squirrels Belgium 13.57
36 MGPU S.Y.O.S. Moscow Russia 13.08
37 Stockholms BSK Sweden 12.08
38 Herts Falcons United Kingdom 12.00
39 Olimpija Karlovac Croatia 10.83
40 Vienna Wanderers Austria 9.92
41 Brest Zubrs Belarus 9.50
42 Atletico Alexandria Romania 8.75
42 Espoo Expos Finland 8.75
42 Lituanica Kaunas Lithuania 8.75
42 Scythians Ukraine 8.75
46 Gepardy Zory Poland 8.25
47 Beograd 96 Serbia 6.75
47 Dublin Spartans Ireland 6.75
47 Zajčki Rabbits Slovenia 6.75
50 Riga Lions Latvia 6.50
by Herts Baseball News Editor

2013 has arrived

2013 has arrived and over the coming days and weeks we will be publishing details of the upcoming season for Herts Baseball Club, following all the news from the club and from around the British leagues, the latest player transfer rumours, interviews with the people in the news and more.

If you require more details about joining the club as a player, manager, coach, umpire, scorer, member of front office staff or in any other capacity please contact us.

 

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Review of 2012: Progress on and off the field

2012 was the most successful year in Herts Baseball Club’s history in every department on and off the field. It continues to be one of the largest baseball clubs in Great Britain in terms of size, infrastructure, financial performance and is now beginning to mount a serious challenge on the field at every league level with 4 out of the club’s 8 teams reaching the postseason in 2012.

To review 2012, we are publishing excerpts from the End of Year Report at the club’s Annual General Meeting.

GROVEHILL BALLPARK

The Club received a tremendous boost at the beginning of the year with the announcement that its grant application has been successful and it has been awarded £10,000 by BaseballSoftballUK (BSUK), the development agency for baseball and softball in the UK. The club added further £7,000 of funds raised by its members over the years to invest around £17,000 to install the perimeter fence around the two diamonds enclosing the venue completely and installing four dugouts, two for each diamond.

Grovehill Ballpark is currently the best baseball venue in the country attracting the biggest events in the British Baseball calendar, including this year’s National Championships which is the showpiece event of the year.

RETAIL OPERATIONS

The club’s incredible concession stand team set a new record this year. Sales for the year were £3,770. The catering activities help raise funds which go not only towards ballpark development, but also help subsidize youth membership fees making Herts Baseball one of the most affordable sports clubs around for kids.

Astrid Centeno, Kirsten Caress, Susie Longboy and the rest of the concession stand team have worked tirelessly all year long and their efforts help not only with fundraising but very importantly they make the day at the ballpark even more enjoyable.

This year Mark Caress was appointed as the Club’s Shop Manager. In addition to the club’s online shop, Mark set up a relationship with suppliers to supply customised jackets and batting practice jerseys. These proved to be very popular. Mark also imported discounted high quality baseball products which are difficult to find in the UK. This generated sales of £1,621 for the year.

EVENTS

This year the club continued to stage the biggest and best events in British Baseball.

The Herts Spring League and the Herts Futures Tournament once again had record number of teams entering and both have proven to be very successful in raising funds which can be invested in the ballpark or other projects.

Other events included the BBF National Baseball Championships (event was staffed by the GB Team programme), the U17 and U14 Southern Playoffs and the U17 BBF Final, the NBL Special Event in July, and the Hunlock Series which saw a new format and received good reviews.

WEBSITE

The merging of all online activities at the end of last year has proven to be a big success. This combined with the intensive activity on facebook and twitter has generated record traffic for the Herts Baseball website. Number of visits increased by 48%, unique visitors by 33%, and pageviews by 32%, while average visit duration has gone up by 7%.

Fig.1 – 2012 vs 2011 website visits

The top most read articles of 2012 were “NBL’s best pitcher joins Herts” and “Herts acquire catcher from Florida”. We cannot remember a player transaction in recent British baseball history which has attracted as much attention as the acquisition of Robbie Unsell. In third place was “2012 national champions to be decided this weekend in Herts”.

SOFTBALL PROGRAMME

The club combined forces with BSUK to run 8 taster sessions in St Albans throughout the summer months. Dave Tretheway, Ryan Bird and Theo Scheepers were instrumental acting as coaches at these sessions. The club has now built a significant mailing list of people interested in playing softball and the task for the club now is to put a strong team to drive the project forward and take advantage of some real growth opportunities in the region.

 

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Review of 2012: Herts teams in the senior leagues

2012 was the most successful year in Herts Baseball Club’s history in every department on and off the field. It continues to be one of the largest baseball clubs in Great Britain in terms of size, infrastructure, financial performance and is now beginning to mount a serious challenge on the field at every league level with 4 out of the club’s 8 teams reaching the postseason in 2012.

To review 2012, we are publishing excerpts from the End of Year Report at the club’s Annual General Meeting.

HERTS TEAMS IN THE SENIOR LEAGUES

The arrival of some of the country’s best players before the start of the 2012 season has turned not only the Herts Falcons but the remaining Herts adult league teams into title-contenders. Last year the club had 3 teams and they all ended the season below the .500 win-loss percentage. This year the club had four teams and each ended the year at or above .500.

REGULAR SEASON RECORD

NBL
Team W L T Pct GB GP RF RA
Nationals 20 6 0 0.769 – 26 169 123
Herts Falcons 17 6 0 0.739 1.5 23 224 142
Mustangs 17 9 0 0.654 3 26 189 142
Mets 13 10 1 0.563 5.5 24 204 130
Diamondbacks 14 13 1 0.518 6.5 28 192 184
Arrows 9 17 0 0.346 11 26 170 204
Blazers 6 16 0 0.273 12 22 75 144
Pirates 2 21 0 0.087 16.5 23 82 236
AA League
Team W L T Pct GB GP RF RA
Sidewinders 11 4 0 0.733 – 15 152 74
Herts Hawks 11 4 0 0.733 – 15 135 69
Mammoths 11 5 0 0.688 0.5 16 160 108
Spitfires 9 6 0 0.600 2 15 135 98
Redbacks II 5 12 0 0.294 7 17 150 196
Mariners 4 14 0 0.222 8.5 18 128 230
Stags 0 15 0 0.000 11 15 64 250
Single-A League
Team W L T Pct GB GP RF RA
Old Timers 7 2 0 0.778 – 9 164 98
Archers 7 3 0 0.700 0.5 10 181 79
Herts Raptors 6 4 0 0.600 1.5 10 152 118
Herts Eagles 5 5 0 0.500 2.5 10 113 133
Redbacks III 2 7 0 0.222 5 9 87 140
Rays 0 10 0 0.000 7.5 10 12 136

Despite this being the best ever season for a Herts team in the top league of British Baseball, the Falcons felt disappointed to lose in game 6 of the National Championship Final and this is another indication of the amazing turnaround for the club this year.

The club’s second team, the Herts Hawks, also reached the postseason going out in the semi-finals. The success has been a well-deserved reward for co-managers Andy Cornish and Greg Bochan who never gave up despite several very difficult losing seasons.

The club’s success of attracting players who have never played baseball has historically resulted in lack of competitiveness at the Single-A League level, however, even there the club’s two teams turned the corner and despite missing out on the postseason they were both in with a chance of the playoffs right down to the final day of the regular season. Arnie Longboy and Duncan Hoyle should be very proud of what they have achieved in their first seasons as Herts managers. Duncan had the toughest job out of all team managers as he had the last pick from the club’s pool of players. He decided not to accept this predicament and went out to recruit more players through various channels.

Overall there was a 46% increase in adult players this year – which is unprecedented, especially for a club which already had one of the largest pools of players in the country.