Category: Falcons

by Herts Baseball News Editor

19 teams will signal the arrival of Spring in the 2020 HSL

Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that 19 teams have entered this year’s Herts Spring League (HSL). The teams come from all British baseball leagues including the National Baseball League (NBL), Triple-A, Double-A and Single-A Leagues.

The London Archers are also back for their third year in the HSL. They made history last year by becoming the first British team to win the Pony European Championships and qualified for the Pony World Series which was played in Pennsylvania.  They will use the HSL as part of their preparations for this year’s PONY European Tournament later this year.

The HSL teams will be divided into three divisions as follows:

HSL – NBL/Triple-A
TEAM CLASS HSL RANKING
Herts Falcons NBL 2
Herts Hawks AAA 6
London Capitals NBL 1
London Marauders AAA 5
London Mammoths AAA 3
Richmond Knights AAA/AA 4
HSL – Double-A
TEAM CLASS HSL RANKING
Guildford Mavericks AA/A 9
Herts Londoners AA 11
London Archers AA 10
London Musketeers AA 12
Milton Keynes Bucks AA 7
Sidewinders AA 8
HSL – Single-A
TEAM CLASS HSL RANKING
Bracknell Inferno A 13
Herts Eagles A 16
Herts Raptors A 18
London Mustangs A 14
London Minotaurs A 19
Milton Keynes Coyotes A 15
Richmond Dukes A 17

 

SCHEDULE AND FORMAT

The HSL will be played over three weeks commencing on the weekend of 14-15 March and ending on 28-29 March. The HSL format and games schedule are expected to be announced shortly and hertsbaseball.com will bring this and all other HSL news as they happen.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts confirm 2020 league entries. Hawks and Londoners swap leagues.

Around this time of the year Herts baseball fans keep checking their smartphones for the official announcement of the Herts teams which will play in the various leagues of the British Baseball Federation (BBF).

The club has just confirmed that they have submitted five team entries.  Its flagship team, the Herts Falcons, will be looking to improve on last year when it finished in third place in Britain’s top league, 17 games back on the London Mets and 8 on the London Capitals.

The big change this year is that the Herts Hawks have applied to move up from the Double-A to the Triple-A League, while the Herts Londoners are moving down from Triple-A to Double-A. Tetsuro Shinkawa was appointed as the new Triple-A manager at the club’s annual general meeting last month and he will be taking charge of the Hawks in that league. The name of the new Herts Londoners manager has not been revealed yet.

There is no change for the Raptors and Eagles.  They both remain in the Single-A League which means that their rivalry continues and they will meet again in a Herts derby in 2020. As reported last month, Herts Raptors begin a new era under manager, Mantas Poderys.

A tweet from the club two days ago indicated that there has been a 20.8% increase in the number of registered players compared to the same time last year. We understand that the club did consider the possibility of adding a sixth team for the first time in its history, but that they chose not to overstretch the squads.

The teams have once again left room in their rosters so new players, from complete beginners to advanced, can join the club and go straight into the races for the playoffs with a team suitable for their level.

Existing players who have not reactivated their registration for the 2020 season can do so here. New players can register for the new season here or, if you would like to take part in one of the upcoming open sessions to give baseball a try and help you decide whether to join the club, then contact us for more details.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts baseball players start Spring Training next week

 

Herts Baseball Club published details of its Spring Training schedule. The adult baseball teams will be back in training on Sunday, 26 January.

The Club has invested again to secure high quality venues including The Harefield Academy which offers a large indoor 3G artificial grass venue.

Other venues include Middlesex University (pictured below) and JFK School.

The Herts baseball teams will return to the ballpark for the first time on March 1st.

The first pre-season games of 2020 are expected to be played on 14 and 15 March* as part of the Herts Spring League (HSL).

The Show begins in April as the Herts baseball teams get their 2020 league seasons underway.

As always, around the middle of March the managers of the five Herts adult teams will announce their preliminary rosters ahead of the HSL. Of course these preliminary rosters are likely to change as we get closer to Opening Day and managers promote those who impress in Spring Training. The movement of Herts players up and down the Herts league teams is usually an ongoing process. We have witnessed players start the season in the Single-A League and end up making their NBL debut later in the year. We will follow players’ progress over the course of Spring Training and during the league season.

ADULT BASEBALL (Ages 14 and over) – SPRING TRAINING SCHEDULE

DAY DATE AGE GROUPS EVENT NAME VENUE
Sun 26-Jan-20 Adult Baseball Spring Training JFK Catholic School
Sun 02-Feb-20 Adult Baseball Spring Training JFK Catholic School
Sun 09-Feb-20 Adult Baseball Spring Training JFK Catholic School
Sun 16-Feb-20 Adult Baseball Spring Training Middlesex University
Sun 23-Feb-20 Adult Baseball Spring Training Harefield Academy
Sun 01-Mar-20 Adult Baseball Spring Training Grovehill Ballpark
Sun 08-Mar-20 Adult Baseball Spring Training Grovehill Ballpark
Sat 14-Mar-20 Adult Baseball Herts Spring League* Grovehill Ballpark
Sun 15-Mar-20 Adult Baseball Herts Spring League* Grovehill Ballpark
Sat 21-Mar-20 Adult Baseball Herts Spring League* Grovehill Ballpark
Sun 22-Mar-20 Adult Baseball Herts Spring League* Grovehill Ballpark
Sat 28-Mar-20 Adult Baseball Herts Spring League* Grovehill Ballpark
Sun 29-Mar-20 Adult Baseball Herts Spring League* Grovehill Ballpark

YOUTH BASEBALL

Youth players will be back in training on Saturday, 8 February. They will start with three indoor sessions, as follows:

DAY DATE AGE GROUP EVENT NAME VENUE
Sat 08-Feb-20 Youth Baseball Spring Training JFK Catholic School
Sat 22-Feb-20 Youth Baseball Spring Training JFK Catholic School
Sat 07-Mar-20 Youth Baseball Spring Training JFK Catholic School

HOW TO TAKE PART?

Existing players who have not reactivated their registration for the 2020 season can do so here. New players can register for the new season here or, if you would like to take part in one of these open sessions to give baseball a try and help you decide whether to join the club, then contact us for more details.

* HSL dates are subject to BBF confirmation of the Opening Day details in April

by Herts Baseball News Editor

New managers and other news from Herts Baseball’s 23rd AGM

Mantas Poderys and Tetsuro Shinkawa (pictured above) were elected as the new managers of the club’s Single-A and Triple-A teams, respectively. Both of them joined the club just 12 months ago as part of the tsunami of new players making up the 54.7% growth in the number of Herts adult baseball players in 2019.

IMG_2345
Tetsuro Shinkawa made history driving in the first ever run for Herts in European club competitions

Shinkawa is well known around British baseball. He has a wealth of experience playing in the various league tiers of the British Baseball Federation including two years in the National Baseball League for the Richmond Flames with whom he lifted the NBL National Championship trophy in 2010. He has also played for the Guildford Mavericks, the Brighton Jets and, of course, the Herts Londoners in their debut season in the Triple-A League last year. He was also called up by the Herts Falcons to play in the team’s first ever appearance in the European Federations Cup.

Changing of the guard at Herts Raptors -Mantas Poderys (left) is taking over from Matt Jackson (right)

Mantas Poderys originates from Lithuania which is a country with a history of producing high calibre baseball players and teams. He was with the Herts Raptors in 2019 and takes over the reins from Matthew Jackson. Poderys added energy and enthusiasm to the team as a player and he will now be able to continue doing so as a manager of the Raptors which has an enormous potential with very talented young players who will be moving up the leagues in the next few years.

Cristobal Hiche was re-elected as the manager of the Herts Falcons so 2020 will be his third season in charge of the club’s first team. Arnie Longboy and Aspi Dimitrov co-managed the Herts Eagles who were based at the club’s new ballpark in North West London last year and they were also re-elected at Sunday’s annual general meeting. The exact number of Herts teams and the BBF leagues which they will enter in 2020 is not confirmed yet. Later this month the club will be analysing the list of players who have registered to play for Herts in 2020 to determine its team entries. They will be announced around the league entry deadline of 31 January. The club is still looking to fill the Double-A manager position and, depending on the number of Herts teams, they may need even more managers and coaches.

The AGM announced the £8,000 ballpark investment supported by a £3,000 Dacorum grant which we reported on in our earlier article. The club is expected to implement additional projects to upgrade its ballparks in Hemel Hempstead and in NW London, and it is in a good position to do that after appointing Cristobal Hiche and Aspi Dimitrov as the two Ballpark Operations Managers of those respective venues.

Every year the club sends out its annual report to members providing statistics on the club’s performance on and off the field during the past year.  The 2019 edition was of particular interest to Herts and non-Herts supporters of British baseball as it gave a better idea of the impact of the MLB London Series on baseball clubs.

Basing Hill Ballpark may have had a very basic configuration with no permanent baseball infrastructure but it gave Herts the platform needed to take advantage of the momentum created by the arrival of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees to London. Significant growth was recorded not only in NW London but also in Hemel Hempstead. The growth in adult league players beat the previous record set in 2009. The club is now bigger than it has ever been.

There was a 23% decline in the number of youth players in Hemel Hempstead, but the club is currently looking to put the organisational structure in place in order to launch youth baseball teams in NW London which should boost that section of the club in 2020.

The Annual Report also stated that “while the club will be looking to achieve further growth with another two MLB teams coming to London, the mission for 2020 will also be to turn this army of new players into teams that can compete in the playoff races of the various British baseball leagues”.

Players, from complete beginners to advanced, are now registering for the 2020 season. Click here for details.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Players now registering for the 2020 baseball season

Player registration for the 2020 season has commenced. Last season Herts Baseball Club unveiled two new teams in NW London giving it a total of five teams playing in the BBF senior baseball leagues. The number of adult team players rose by a staggering 54.7%. In 2020 the club will be on a mission to turn this army of new players into teams that can compete in the playoff races of the various British baseball leagues.

ADULT BASEBALL LEAGUES

How many teams will represent Herts in 2020? The next few weeks will be crucial as the number of players registering will determine how many teams will be entered before the BBF league entry deadline of 31 January; how many will play in Hemel Hempstead and how many will play in London; which BBF leagues the teams will play in.

KEY DATES – ADULT TEAMS

  • 26 January- players report for indoor Spring Training
  • 1 March – teams return to the ballpark for the for the first time in 2020
  • 14-15 March – Start of the 2020 Herts Spring League (subject to confirmation of the BBF League Opening Day)*
  • March – Great Britain National Team Tryouts (senior and youth teams)*
  • 5 April – BBF League Opening Day (subject to confirmation)*
  • May – Midweek Evening Baseball commences
  • 13-14 June – MLB London Series (see details below)
  • August-September* – BBF Postseason Playoffs and National Championships
  • September-October – Hunlock Series

* – these are preliminary dates. The BBF will be making its official announcements in due course.

YOUTH BASEBALL

The Herts youth players are probably suffering the most without baseball this winter, but they will not have to wait much longer. Registration for youth baseball players will be launched next month.

MLB LONDON SERIES – CUBS vs CARDINALS

Following 2019’s incredible sold-out slugfest between the Red Sox and the Yankees, 2020 will see the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs going toe-to-toe. On June 13-14, London Stadium will be transformed into Europe’s largest ballpark as it becomes MLB’s home once again. These are regular season games with everything on the line. Get ready for a day to remember both on and off the field. Various events and activities will take place as part of the MLB London Series and details will be announced in due course.

WHICH BALLPARK WILL YOU PLAY YOUR HOME LEAGUE GAMES AT?

The two Herts baseball teams based in North West London made their BBF League debut in 2019 and the club is implementing the gradual process of adding the baseball infrastructure at Basing Hill Ballpark. 2020 player registration has just commenced (see details below). Now that the club has two ballparks, the online registration form will ask players to indicate whether they prefer to play their home league games in Hemel Hempstead or in NW London, or whether they would be happy with either. This will provide vital information to club management when they configure the team rosters for the new season.

HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE 2020 HERTS BASEBALL SEASON

For those who already have a Herts Online Clubhouse account they will be prompted to register when they log on next time (click here to go to the Herts Online Club House and log on with your existing username and password). Those who are new to Herts Baseball Club and do not have an online account can register as members by completing this form. For more details about joining our teams in 2020 click here or contact us.

by Rob Jones

Falcons’ Ryan Bird elected to Hall of Fame

A former Herts Falcons star, who helped the team to its first ever National Baseball League pennant, has been given a deserved place in the British Baseball Hall of Fame.

Ryan Bird was a force both as a pitcher and a slugger in his years with Herts. He is one of four players, coaches and officials from across the game who have been inducted in the Class of 2019.

He is the first Herts figure to be given a place in the Hall, which is another milestone for a club which is now one of the strongest pillars of British baseball.

Bird (far right) in his final Herts game (pic: Richard Lee)

The South African native received immediate recognition in his first year in the British leagues, in 2008. He was voted the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the NBL for his performances with the Richmond Flames. The achievement was all the more remarkable given that this was a time of total domination by the London Mets.

In the following year, Bird was once again voted league MVP, making him the first player to receive two such awards since the London Warriors were the big force in the game. He hit five home runs for Richmond, leading the NBL in that category.

In 2012, Ryan Bird made the high profile move to the Herts Falcons and had an immediate impact. He won a Defensive Award, as the best First Baseman of the Year, and helped Herts to the NBL final series against the Nationals, which they lost in six games.

He would win NBL MVP for a third time in 2013, but that bald fact — impressive as it is — didn’t really do justice to his performance. For one thing, he helped take the Falcons to a 24-4 record and their first ever pennant in the National Baseball League.

Bird drove in a career best 31 runs. And in August he chalked up the extraordinary feat of pitching two back-to-back no-hitters. His first victims were the South London Pirates. He struck out 15 batters and walked only 2 in that victory.

As the Herts report put it at the time: “Maybe it was the very unusual all-lefty battery (Ryan pitching and Cris Hiche catching), or the Bingo Bango written in a player’s forearm, that confused and maybe intimidated the Pirates’ lineup. But I think most likely it was the great command of Ryan’s fastball and his ability to constantly and accurately hit the corners of the plate.”

A week later, Bird did it again. This time the Essex Redbacks were on the wrong end of the no-hitter, with 9 strikeouts recorded. As far as we could tell, the feat was unprecedented in the elite level of British baseball.

The opening game of the 2014 season against the London Mets was Ryan Bird’s last for the Falcons before his move to the USA. He said goodbye to the Herts fans with another outstanding performance going 4-4 with a home run which, according to the game report, “probably is still hovering somewhere over St Albans”.

At the time of his retirement, Bird had the highest career batting average (.508), on base percentage (.578) and slugging percentage (.822) in modern British baseball history.  All told, he tallied 15 HRs and 119 RBI over the course of 385 plate appearances for the Richmond Flames and Herts Falcons (stats from Project Cobb).

Ryan Bird was elected alongside Jason Holowaty and Darrin Muller from the modern ballot, with Alan Asquith being elected by the historical vetting panel that was introduced in 2016.

At the London Series games in 2019 between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, an event honoured the previous round of inductees. The hope is that something similar can be done in June 2020 for this year’s class.

The guardian of the Hall, Matt Smith, said: “I’m delighted to see four such worthy candidates joining our Hall of Fame, all with different stories to tell but sharing a true commitment to the game in Britain and excelling at what they did.”

Thanks to Matt for sections of this article, which appeared first on the baseballgb website. You can read more about the Hall of Fame and its members at bbhof.org

by Herts Baseball News Editor

MVP vote results are in

The Most Valuable Players (MVP) of the ten Herts adult and youth teams have been announced.  This year the club opened the voting up to include not only Herts club members but the wider public, similar to MLB’s All Star voting.

The Herts Falcons made history this year playing in the European Federations Cup for the first time and despite a disappointing season in the National Baseball League, there wasn’t a shortage of candidates. In a very close race fans decided that this year’s Falcons MVP is Jarrod Pretorius (17% of the votes) who was among the team leaders in a number of categories including home runs and slugging average.

There was less doubt about the Herts Londoners’ MVP. Pitcher Chris Gregory won it convincingly with 29% of the votes after a phenomenal debut season at the club during which he had the most wins, best ERA and was also at or near the top of many offence and defence categories. He was also the starting pitcher who recorded the only Falcons’ win in the five European Federations Cup games.

Mike Cresswell was the driving force for the Herts Hawks this season as the team’s player-manager and he was voted MVP (31% of the votes). He has made huge strides since joining Herts in 2012 starting at Single-A and moving rapidly up the leagues. This year he even earned a call-up to play for the Herts Falcons in the European Federations Cup.

Similar to the Hawks, fans decided that the Raptors MVP is its player-manager, Matt Jackson, with 22% of the votes. He led the team in most of the batting categories. With so many young players making their debuts for the Raptors this season and performing better with each passing week, it is expected that Jackson will have a lot more competition in the MVP voting in the years to come.

There were many credible candidates for Herts Eagles MVP but Rob Gibson was the one who stood out in every aspect of the game and this was reflected in the MVP poll which he won convincingly with 28% of the votes. It is rare to see a 5-tool player in the Single-A League and Gibson is not far from being certified as one.

The MVP poll for the Herts youth teams attracted the largest number of votes and it looks like friends, family members and school mates took part in vast numbers which the club was very pleased to see. Involving the wider community was one of the reasons for opening the voting up to the public.

Herts U18 MVP – Oliver Durer

Herts U15 MVP – Nicholas Durer

Herts U13 MVP – Leon Gutowski

Herts U11 MVP – Daniel Heal

Herts U8 MVP – Jake Walder-Davis
IMG_2358

There was a tight race in the vote for Play of the Year. Eight of the nine nominees were Eagles or Raptors, but it was the Herts Falcons’ semi-nude antics in Bulgaria that won it.  Originally, this was nominated for the Nob-Out Award and it was added to the Play of the Year category in the last minute, but the fans have spoken and it looks like they felt that, despite lacking in baseball skill, it had an abundance of flair. Over 30,000 viewed the video on social networks which reaffirmed its credentials.

It was an even bigger surprise that it didn’t win the Nob-Out Award.  That accolade went to Herts Raptors’ Mantas Poderys who nominated himself for falling face-first a few feet short of first base in the Herts Derby away at the Eagles. Herts Hawks’ Gilberto Medina just missed out in second place. He was nominated for reporting for duty at the ballpark on the wrong day of the week.

The 2019 season may have ended but the start of Spring Training is not far away and the Herts adult and youth league teams in Hemel Hempstead and North West London will be starting their preparations for the 2020 season. New players interested to find out more about playing baseball and joining Herts in 2020 can contact the club.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

It’s time to cast your votes

It has been a record year for Herts Baseball Club with 116 players appearing for the five Herts adult league teams and 49 players for the Herts youth teams.

We have seen some outstanding individual and team performances and plays this year and now it’s time to cast your vote for the 2019 Most Valuable Players (MVPs) of the Herts adult and youth baseball teams as well as the Play of the Year and Nob-Out Awards. We even have the unusual case of a play being nominated for both Play of the Year and Nob-Out Award at the same time.

This year we are opening up the vote to everyone. You can vote regardless of whether or not you are a club member. Also, unlike previous years, you can vote for the MVP of all of the Herts adult and youth teams, not just of your team.

Cast your vote now here.  Voting closes at 23:59 on Sunday, 20 October 2019.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

2 current and 1 former Herts players are in the GB European Championship roster. They face Netherlands tomorrow.

Two current and one former member of the Herts Falcons will represent Great Britain this week in the European Championships. Catcher Conner Brown and infielder Gary Davison are included in the 24-man roster announced a few minutes ago.

Herts fans will also notice that former Falcons and all-time home run leader in the National Baseball League, Maikel Azcuy, will be playing alongside them.

Conner Brown has inspired many Herts youth players. He has a chance to do it again with GB over the next 10 days.

GB Team staff have kept the roster a secret for as long as they could but with less than 24 hours before their opening game they have announced a strong squad which will be looking to secure a place in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The European Championships will be played from 7 to 15 September in Germany. It will feature the twelve top teams in Europe and the games will be played at the ballparks in Bonn and Solingen.

Gary Davison (centre) with Carlos Peña (left) and Cliff Floyd (right) at the 2017 MLB Battlegrounds in Hyde Park. Photo credit Extra Innings UK.

There is even more at stake as, apart from the European Championship crown, teams are also battling for a place in the 2020 Olympic Games qualifier. Immediately after the European Championships the best five teams will play in the European-African Olympic qualifier. The winner of this tournament would book their ticket to Tokyo. The runner-up will have a second chance to gain an Olympic spot through another world qualification tournament.

In 2015 Maikel Azcuy became the all-time NBL home run leader

Great Britain’s first game is in Solingen against the Netherlands who are ranked 8th in the world going into the tournament. The game is at 3pm BST (4pm local time) on Saturday, 7 September,

Games will be streamed live on the WBSC TV channel.

Click to WATCH Great Britain vs Netherlands 3pm BST, 7 Sep 2019

WATCH: Robert Smith becomes the first ever Herts player to appear in the U18 World Cup
by Herts Baseball News Editor

WATCH: Robert Smith becomes the first ever Herts player to appear in the U18 World Cup

Earlier today, over 5,600 miles away, Robert Smith became the first ever Herts player to appear in the U18 World Cup.

He took the mound in relief in the third inning for South Africa against Panama, who already had an unassailable lead. Below is the video link to the game.

Smith allowed only 3 earned runs for the remainder of the game which gives him the third best ERA out of the eight South African pitchers who have pitched so far.

South Africa is ranked 23rd in the world and has been drawn in a particularly difficult group with the number one and two seeds, Japan and USA, respectively. They will play Spain next tomorrow Monday, 2 September, at 15:30 local time. The games are played at the impressive newly-unveiled Gijang-Hyundai Dream Ballpark in Busan, South Korea.