The Herts Spring League commences this Sunday and it looks like it is attracting significant interest from the media. The Hemel Gazette is expected to have an extensive coverage of the 2008 HSL over the three Sundays of the League. Below you will find an extract from a preview of the HSL published this week. The article was also published in their online publication HemelToday.co.uk
Spring is here, which means that baseball is back. This year Herts Baseball Club has added a new event to the British baseball calendar with the first ever Herts Spring League (HSL).
One of the most exciting times of the baseball season is Spring Training. After a long and cold winter everyone connected with baseball is eager to get back to the baseball diamond. Teams start to put into action their master plans to win the league. Players are jostling for a position on the roster. Pitchers are competing for a starting spot in the rotation. It is a first chance for managers and players to see new players which have signed up with the clubs. These are just some of the reasons why Spring is a special time for baseball.
The 2008 HSL line-up has just been announced and it will certainly provide exciting baseball action over the next three weeks. The 10 participating teams are split into two divisions, HSL1 and HSL2.
HSL1 includes Hertfordshire’s top team the Falcons, the Burgess Hill Colts, Northampton Baseball Club who impressed at the 2007 London Tournament and the ASL Eagles. The Eagles will add an element of suspense to HSL1. They are very much an unknown quantity as they do not compete in the BBF leagues. The ASL Eagles is a team representing the
Looking at the HSL1 schedule one game stands out as a must-see clash. The Herts Falcons meet the Burgess Hill Colts for the first time since the 2006 Premier League Playoff game which the Colts won in extra innings to sink the Falcons down from the Premier League to Division 1. Revenge will be on the minds of the Falcons after that heart-breaking game.
HSL2 includes the Herts Hawks, Sidewinders, Richmond Dragons, Bracknell Blazers, Milton Keynes Hurricanes, and the newly created third Hertfordshire team, the Herts Raptors. The MK Hurricanes go into the league as the favourites, but, with other teams strengthening their rosters over the winter, it could prove to be a very competitive league with almost all of the teams having a realistic chance of taking the HSL2 title.
Over the next three Sundays 23 games will be played at 4 baseball venues in and around
For more information about the teams, game times and venues you can visit the official HSL website. The HSL website has linked up with the Herts Baseball Newswire to provide extensive coverage of the HSL including game reports, video news, stats and much more so stay tuned.
RELATED LINKS
Official HSL website: www.hertsbaseball.com/HSL
After weeks of training it was time for the Falcons to put on the Falcons jersey for their first Spring Training game in preparation for the 2008 season. The Nottingham Thieves were the visitors and they certainly came out to play. They took an early lead and the Falcons found it hard to catch up all day. It may have been a friendly exhibition game but there was tension in the air from start to finish.
The game certainly revealed weaknesses which the Falcons will no doubt be addressing in the coming weeks ahead of the 2008 Opening Day.
A big concern is the condition of last season’s joint Home Run Champion, Andy Cornish, who appeared to have dislocated his shoulder in a spectacular diving play at short stop. Early reports indicate that there is no fracture which will come as great relief for all connected with the club. No doubt everyone is holding their breath awaiting further news.
Regardless of the fact that the visitors from
Despite the loss there were positives to take out of the game. Pete Kikel had a very good outing on the mound showing good control and velocity, while Kimiyoshi Saionji, Lee Manning and Marty Cullen were swinging the bat well.
See Falcons Photos section for more photos from this game
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Part 2 of 2
Infielder and slugger Marty Cullen was officially named as the Herts Falcons Bench Coach, amid many rumours and much speculation as to who Manager Jason Greenberg would appoint for the important leadership role.
Cullen – also the Herts Baseball Club VP in charge of Little League operations – came out of retirement last season and earned his place on the first team. His stellar performance at the plate in 2007 was much rejoiced by Herts fans, who were skeptical about how Cullen would play after injuring his lower back early in Spring Training. Despite the setback, Cullen hit .457 with 5 doubles and 13 RBI in 35 official at bats. His on base percentage (.583) led the entire Herts Club among regular starting players.
But it's not Cullen's performance on the field that earned him this coveted role. Rather, it's the work he puts in off the diamond, helping rookies to the game develop proper swings and fielding fundamentals. He is a tireless champion of youth baseball and the development of the great game in the United Kingdom. He is also well respected by his teammates and has developed a Clubhouse charm that will only aid him in the role of Bench Coach, where Cullen will need to walk the line between management and 'bat brother'.
Greenberg had only the highest praise for Cullen. “I trust him implicitly. He is the kind of guy that will lift up those around him, and the bottom line is that Marty shares my determination and optimism for what's developing on and off the field this year for the Club. There's a very special sense of activity and growth… and Marty is a big part of that. He's right in the middle of it. I couldn't ask for a better partner.”
After practice on Sunday the Falcons held a private strategy session, at which Cullen was reintroduced to the team in his new post. In his first words as Bench Coach, Cullen emphasized a 2008 gameplan which included revamped coaching signals, greater use of the designated hitter, and a commitment to 'small ball'. Timely bunting, stealing,
the hit-and-run, and effective 1st-and-3rd offense will factor greatly in the Falcons' tactical playbook this season, and Cullen will be at the helm, no doubt, helping to push runners around the bases.
The three Hertfordshire adult baseball teams, Falcons, Hawks and Raptors returned to baseball training this weekend with the first outdoor training session of 2008.
Drenched in the sun and temperatures of 14oC it would have been easy to mistake Grovehill ballpark with one of the MLB Spring Training bases in
The three team managers
Apart from the on-field developments the club’s webmaster has added an additional online tool for players to prepare for practice, improve themselves, learn more about baseball theory and other useful aspects of the game.
New ballpark, new team, new website, new team managers, new club logo, and now Herts Baseball Club will unveil a new uniform for the Falcons, the Hawks and the Raptors in time for 2008 Opening Day.
Over the last 11 years the club’s teams have been wearing the classic pin-stripe jersey with the Falcons name across the chest and distinctive black pants. After months of deliberation and several rounds of voting by club members, it was decided that the club will be wearing an all-white jersey. The name on the front of the jersey will be Herts which will have scarlet colour and a jet black outline. The squad number on the back will have the same colour scheme. The
Since 2004 Vice President, Lee Manning, has led a campaign to change the colour of the club’s pants from black to white. With Gandhi-like persistence and determination, Manning has finally prevailed against all odds and the new uniform will comprise white pants with black side trim.
Both the jersey and the pants will be custom made using the same American-made fabrics used at the professional level by MLB teams.
Apart from the classic baseball pants model which has evolved over the years, players will also be able to choose the fashionable “Clemson Cut” model which is becoming very popular with MLB superstars such as Manny Ramirez, Barry Bonds, Johan Santana, David Wright and many others.
Herts Baseball Club has already placed the order with its American suppliers and the freshly sewn uniforms are expected to reach the
Herts Baseball Club returned early for training this year. The official baseball spring training sessions begin on 10 February but the team managers decided that it was important to get players ready and fit for the 2008 season by organizing several conditioning sessions ahead of the baseball-specific preparations.
From these sessions it has become clear that there are some pretty decent basketball and dodgeball players among the club’s baseball players. This applies not only to the adult players but to the Little Leaguers who were very keen to get involved alongside the big boys and girls.
Playing other work-intensive sports such as basketball is proving to be a lot of fun. Players are also benefiting from some more specific drills set by the club’s fitness guru, Dan Kerry. The first one or two weeks after the long winter break are always demanding on the body, but players will definitely feel the difference when they start to notice that everything seems physically easier this year then in previous years and that the number of injuries has reduced significantly.
One thing is for sure, having seen the kind of effort that the players are putting in, the players mean business and the rest of the league better be prepared for the Herts teams.
Herts Baseball Club has taken the initiative to introduce a new event to the British baseball calendar – the Herts Spring League (HSL). The club hopes that this would become an annual competition similar to the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues in
12 teams will be placed in two divisions of six teams (HSL1 and HSL2) based on the teams’ ranking going into the new season. HSL1 is expected to include BBF teams from the National and Premier Leagues, while HSL2 will have teams from Division 1 and Division 2.
The 12 invited teams will be from the BBF Southern Conference with emphasis on
The league will be played over three Sundays: 30 March, 6 April and 13 April (based on the assumption that 2008 BBF League Opening Day will be Sunday, 20 or
On each of these dates three teams will meet at the same venue and will play two games (one game against each of the other two teams). The games will be either 7 innings or 2 hours and 30 minutes, whichever occurs first.
Stay tuned to the Herts Newswire for confirmation of the HSL team line-up, game schedule and other details.
Today, Hertfordshire Baseball Club unveiled exciting plans for the development and expansion of its baseball field.
Grovehill Ballpark, which is located in
Over the last twelve months Herts Baseball Club has seen a dramatic increase in new members joining the club and is on track to introduce a third adult team to the British Baseball League in 2008. This, combined with the start of the Herts Little League, has meant that Grovehill Ballpark is too small to accommodate the club’s rapid expansion.
Plans are already in place to build one of the best baseball complexes in the country. The project is to be implemented in several stages which include the creation of the second diamond, building of permanent outfield fence for both baseball diamonds, and finally, steps will be undertaken for the long-term improvement of the turf quality of both fields.
On Little League Game Days the ballpark will be turned into a baseball paradise for the kids with a capacity of as many as 6 Little League fields all of which would have permanent backstops.
If Herts Baseball Club is selected to host the BBF Youth or Adult National Finals then there is the additional option of creating a temporary third field, which would also have a permanent wall covering around 60% of the outfield boundary.
