Category: Hawks
SPRING TRAINING BACK IN FULL SWING
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 LOOK FOR HERTS IN 2008
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
BIG HIT – HAPPY BODY
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.
GREAT BRITAIN TO HAVE ITS OWN GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE
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.
(VIDEO) IF YOU BUILD IT, PEOPLE WILL COME
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.
THE THREE AMIGOS: A BRAND NEW MANAGERIAL LINEUP FOR ALL HERTS BASEBALL TEAMS
Herts Baseball will face the upcoming 2008 season with a brand new managerial team. This was one among the number of pivotal decisions reached at the Annual General Meeting of Herts Baseball Club that took place on Sunday, 11 November 2007.
The new managers elected by the Club are: Jason Greenberg (Herts Falcons), Carlos Casal (Herts Hawks) and Jake Kikel (Herts Raptors).
Jason and Carlos were elected to replace the outgoing managers Bruce Dullea and Paul Auchterlounie, while Jake was selected to handle the Herts’ new expansion team, the Raptors. Everybody at the Club was fully appreciative of the hard work and experience that Bruce and Paul
had brought to the Club as managers in 2007. The feeling was well summarized by Club Secretary Aspi Dimitrov: “The Club owes Bruce and Paul a debt of gratitude for leading the two teams in 2007 – one of the most successful seasons in the Club’s history. As a board member, I was in a privileged position to have witnessed first hand how they dealt with various issues during the season, including some really classy moves and decisions, details of which unfortunately will have to be kept confidential at Board level. I am sure that the new managers will be able to consult with Bruce and Paul on a regular basis and use the knowledge that they have gained in their time as managers”.
The choice of new management reflected the new sense of purpose and determination that the Club members had shown throughout last season, and was predicated on the targets for new development and achievement that the Club is looking for in the new season. According to sources close to the Club management, the “task of the new management team” would be to “make playing for the Club an enjoyable, but at the same time, competitive experience”.
The membership’s enthusiasm for the new season was also reflected in the fact that all three managers will be provided with able and keen assistance from a number of volunteer deputies, so that the workload will be spread throughout the ranks in the Club.
Pundits have been reluctant to go out on a limb about the new appointments, but as one expert pointed out: “It will come, and when it comes, it’s going to be good”.
this article was posted on behalf of the author, Kal Dimitrov
2007 AWARDS NIGHT RECIPIENTS
2007 AWARDS NIGHT RESULTS
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FALCONS
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MVP
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Jason Greenberg
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Batting Champion
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Andy Cornish (Avg .506)
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Infield Gold Glove
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Kimiyoshi Saionji (F% .985)
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Outfield Gold Glove
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Andy Cornish (F% .920)
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Best Pitcher
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Nic Goetz (ERA 3.71)
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Home Run Champion
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Jason Greenberg (4)
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Home Run Champion
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Andy Cornish (4)
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Most Stolen Bases
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Yuji Endo (25)
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Most RBIs
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Jason Greenberg (30)
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Most RBIs
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Andy Cornish (30)
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Coach's Award
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John Oliver
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HAWKS
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MVP
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Rodney Naghar
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Batting Champion
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Peter Kikel (Avg .455)
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Infield Gold Glove
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Ross Davies (F% .976)
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Outfield Gold Glove
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Dave Hamilton (F% .800)
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Best Pitcher
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Larry Martillo (ERA 6.48)
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Most Stolen Bases
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Ross Davies (19)
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Most RBIs
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Kal Dimitrov (11)
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Rookie of the Year
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Chantal Gerrard
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Most Improved Player
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Jonathon Lewys
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OTHER AWARDS
Nob-Out – Lee locking his car keys and home keys in his car and deciding to solve the problem by taking a (-5) aluminium bat to smash the car window and ending up bending the metal frame of the car door with his “Major League” follow-through.
Play of the Year – Short Stop Yuji Endo making a full-length dive towards third base, stopping the ball, springing up and making a great throw to get the out at first.
Umpire of the Year – Geoff, good calls, bad calls, ugly calls…
HAWKS BACK IN THE SERIES
The Herts Hawks put on a solid performance to take a surprise 17-7 win against the Herts Falcons in game 3 of the Kyle Hunlock Series. Play of the day, and of the Series so far, was Pete Kikel’s Grand Slam in the third inning which put the game beyond the Falcons. Their lead in the Series has now been reduced to 2-1.
In the Little League game, the Blue Jays won a dramatic 15-13 game.
Sunday’s festivities also included the 2007 Hertfordshire Home Run Derby. 38 participants entered the competition including mums and dads of the Little League kids. Hall of Famer, Stuart Boast, won the 2007
BOAST’S TOWERING BLAST NOT ENOUGH AS HAWKS LOSE TO DRAGONS
[ HAWKS/DRAGONS: GAME 1 BOX SCORE ]
[ HAWKS/DRAGONS: GAME 2 BOX SCORE ]
The Herts Hawks find themselves in a battle to avoid finishing bottom of Division 1 South ‘B’ after losing both games of a double header against the Richmond Dragons.
The Hawks were missing a large part of their regular starting lineup which made their trip to Richmond even more daunting. In the first game the Hawks found it difficult to put together any kind of offensive effort and lost 10-3.
In the second game the Hawks found their rhythm and took the game to the Dragons. Despite falling behind they managed to catch up making it 8-7 in the 5th inning when the Hawks exploded with a 3-run home run by Hertfordshire Baseball Hall of Famer, Stuart Boast.
This wasn’t enough though and the Dragons took the win with a score of 14-10.
With one final weekend of regular season action remaining in Division 1, the Hawks now have a ‘must-win’ game at home against the Bracknell Blazers.
The 2007 baseball season has been wrecked by the bizarre weather conditions and similarly to the cricket season, the British Baseball Federation will now have to somehow deal with a backlog of rained-out games in time for the postseason.
FALCONS HARPOON SHARKS, FINISH REGULAR SEASON WITH IMMODEST 18-2 RECORD