Category: Adult Leagues

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Black Barracudas win the 2018 Hunlock Series

The final and deciding round of Hunlock Series games on 14 October was postponed due to the heavy rain which made it impossible for the grounds crew to make the diamonds playable. With no more available dates, these games will not be played and the current standings are now final. This confirmed Black Barracudas as the 2018 Hunlock Series Champions.  They dominated from the very first game and are the deserved winners. 4 games back on them are the Red Roosters who finished as the runners-up after their dramatic revival in week three which saw them rise from last to second place.

Despite the rain-out, the Hunlock Series once again provided the best possible end to the British Baseball season. We saw some very high quality baseball – pitchers throwing at over 85mph, power-hitting display by Conner Brown who hit three home runs, spectacular defence including diving plays by Pete Hogg and Jarrod Pretorius, both of which were nominated for Play of the Year.  There was an international flavour with the participation of the Toulouse Astros. We hope to see them again next year.

The Hunlock Series also gave the players an opportunity to say thank you to legendary umpire, Darrin Muller (pictured above), who is retiring after 17 years during which he umpired over 2250 games including World Cup, Senior and Youth National Championships Little League, PONY, European and other games. We hope to convince him to come out of retirement from time to time for special events.

The Series saw around 100 players take part and more than 20 of them were new players who we hope to see wearing the Herts jersey when the 2019 British baseball season commences.

During the off-season Herts Baseball Club will be preparing for a very special 2019 baseball season. When we say “special”, we are not referring only to the long-awaited arrival of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees for the MLB London Series. The Club has ambitious plans for 2019 and beyond. We will keep you updated in the coming weeks and months. Stay tuned!

If you are not a member of the club yet, the best way to keep up-to-date is to be added to the club’s mailing list. Contact us for more details about joining the club or to subscribe to the mailing list.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Hunlock managers given 3 Wild Cards, “9th Inning” format will apply to all games

 

The games schedule for the 2018 Hunlock Series has been published. As in previous years, all games will adopt the “9th Inning” format where games are decided over a single inning only. This format recreates the tension and drama of the ninth inning.

If that wasn’t enough, it has been announced that this year each team manager will have three “Wild Cards”. The newly introduced rule stipulates that:

Each team will be allocated three Wild Cards which they can use over the course of the Series.

Wild Card A: All opponent batters start their at bats with one strike against them.

Wild Card B: Opponent bats with one Out recorded against them at the start of the inning.

Wild Card C: Team starts their offensive half of the inning with runner on second base. If they use this Wild Card, the runner on second base will be whoever was the last out from the previous game of that team.

Wild Cards must be announced to the umpire and opponent manager before the start of the defensive or offensive half of the inning, whichever is applicable to the Wild Card which they wish to use.

The Wild Card-rule which was proposed by Herts Falcons Manager, Cris Hiche, a few months ago, is expected to add a new dimension, but until we see it in action it will be difficult to predict what effect this experiment will have on the games. In which game, against which opponent, on which day and which Wild Card would be best to use? These are just some of the questions which will be going through the manager’s minds. The French team, Toulouse Astros, will also be allocated three Wild Cards for their games on 30 September.

A reminder of the Hunlock Series Rules which apply to the “9th Inning” format.

• The batting order of each team remains unchanged for the duration of the day unless a substitution is made.

• A substituted player cannot re-enter the same game, however that player can re-enter a subsequent game.

• The batter who was next to bat upon completion of the previous game will be the first batter in the next game with the rest of the batting lineup coming up to bat in order.

What is also noticeable from the schedule is that the home team alternates over the course of the 4-game series which implies that the fielding team in the bottom of the inning will remain on the field in the top of the inning of the subsequent game. This scheduling approach was adopted in previous years and it sped-up the games enormously as there was no need for teams to go in and out of the field. There even was no need for warm-up pitches as the pitchers were ready. The downside is that a pitcher will need to stay on the mound for 6 outs without a break as opposed to the usual 3 outs, which could mean twice as many pitches thrown in an inning. This is where the defence can really help pitchers, by minimising errors and not adding to the pitcher’s pitch count.

Over the course of the Series each team will play a total of 30 games, 27 games against each of their opponents ans 3 against the Toulouse Astros. The team finishing top of the league standings will be the 2018 Hunlock Series Champion.

The other rules which differ from what teams are used to in the BBF leagues are:

• Pitching Restrictions. A player can appear as a pitcher in one, two or more games per day, but no player shall accumulate more than 3 innings (9 outs) as a pitcher over the course of the day. It is the responsibility of the opposing team to inform the umpire when a pitcher reaches the limit. Managers must inform opponents of the number of innings pitched by each of their pitchers during the day prior to the start of each game.

• No Mercy Rule will be in force.

• If the game is tied after completion of the final inning, each team is awarded half a win and half a loss in the standings.

The 2018 Hunlock Series Draft took place on Monday night. See more details here.

If you have not signed up to play in the Hunlock Series, it is not too late. Whether you are an experienced player or completely new to baseball Contact Herts Baseball Club for details on how to sign up.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Pretorius, Brown, Lynch and Deacon are the first round picks

 

The 2018 Hunlock Series Draft was completed on Monday night. The managers of the teams had a plethora of talent to choose from with 68 players drafted over 17 rounds.

THE FIRST ROUND PICKS

On a toss of a coin Black Barracudas had the first pick. Manager, Duane Badenhorst, selected two-time NBL Champion and 2012 NBL MVP, Jarrod Pretorius (pictured above). The South African last played for the Herts Falcons in 2017 and has missed most of the 2018 season, but he is back for The Series. Hopefully, this is an indication that we will see him return to the Herts Falcons for the 2019 season.

 

Next up was the turn of the Blue Rockers. With their first pick they selected Great Britain and Herts Falcons catcher, Conner Brown. Brown was also picked in the first round in the previous two years. After completing his 2017 season in the Bundesliga he was back in a Falcons jersey this year and helped the team finish as NBL Runner-up.

 

Next it was the turn of expansion team, White Lightning. Manager, Colin Whitton, selected the starting pitcher for the Herts Falcons in Game Two of the NBL Final, Wade Lynch. Apart from the wide variety of pitches which he will bring to the mound, Lynch may also come in handy when White Lightning face the Toulouse Astros as he speaks French.

The Red Roosters manager, Giuseppe Basilea, is the youngest Hunlock Series manager and he went for youth with his first round pick, by selecting Herts Falcons infielder, Alex Deacon.

FREE AGENTS AND TRADES

The full team rosters determined at last night’s draft are shown here. As more players sign up to play they will be able to join the teams as free agents. We will keep you updated about free agent signings and trades over the course of the Series.

New players aged 14 or above, regardless of whether they are members of Herts or another club or completely new to basball, can be added to the teams at any point. To be added to the teams or for more details contact Herts Baseball Club.

OPENING DAY

The Series commence on Sunday, 23 September. The first games start at 12:30pm at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead. Admission is free. For complete Series schedule click here.

 

by Rob Jones

Falcons fall at the last; Mets take NBL title

There had been a sprinkling of fairy dust on the Herts Falcons’ postseason run. But there wasn’t quite enough magic to overcome the London Mets in the final at Farnham Park.

This was to be a best-of-three series, with the defending champion Mets looking to lock up a repeat title.

Herts started their manager Cris Hiche on the mound on Saturday’s Game 1. He was credited with the win in both of the Falcons playoff victories the previous weekend, beating the Southampton Mustangs and the London Capitals.

This was to be a tough game right from the off. The London Mets’ bats were hot early, driving in 4 runs in the first and 6 runs in the second.

Rich Minford, the starter for London, was in dominant form and Herts just couldn’t solve him. The defending champions were able to pile on, and prevent the Falcons from scoring.

Late in the game, Cris Hiche blooded some of the young talent the club is developing. One of them, Alex Deacon, provided the defensive highlight of the day with a running catch at second base, and a sharp turn of a double play.

Herts were able to load the bases late on, with relief pitcher Aaron Witter among those getting on. Young Giuseppe Basilea hit a hard ground ball. But the Mets were equal to it, and got out of the inning.

It ended 16-1.

Wade Lynch pitches in Game 2

In Game 2 on Sunday, Herts hoped to use the Mets aggressive batting against them. Veteran Wade Lynch started on the mound, using an array of off-speed pitches.

It worked well in the early exchanges, London getting two runners on but failing to score. For Herts, Conner Brown got aboard with a single but couldn’t advance.

It was scoreless after one. The Mets weren’t held for long, though. They made good contact and found holes to score 6 in the second inning. They would keep adding throughout the ballgame.

Mets starter Michael Hoyes was able to hold the Falcons to just the one hit through three innings. But Herts were finally able to break through in the fourth.

Walter Bates led off with a single, and stole second. He was moved to third with a single by Conner Brown – who had come in to pitch in relief — and then brought home on a ground-out by Hiche. But a caught stealing and another ground-out meant the threat was blunted, and the Mets still led 10-1.

Rich Minford throws out Moise Vasquez

Again, the young talent shone. Tyler Badenhorst got the best Herts hit of the day, a booming double into left field which bounced over the fence off the warning track in the fifth.

Shortstop Carlos Casal Jr had made a smart and brilliantly executed play in the top of the fifth to save a run. Fielding a sharply hit ground ball with a runner trying to score from third, he threw home for Phil Clark to apply the tag.

But despite these highlight moments, the Falcons couldn’t put enough together to keep the game alive. A strikeout with two runners on ended the fifth, and gave the Mets an 11-1 victory by the mercy rule.

The Falcons offered their congratulations to London. Manager Cris Hiche said: “it was a tough weekend but all the credit goes to a very good Mets squad.”

He added: “They outplayed us in all aspects of the game and we didn’t come out sharp enough. This is a start of a process for the Falcons and we’ll be back stronger next year!”.

With such great  improvement through 2018, and a crop of young talent which can only get better, that certainly seems a real prospect.

 

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Hunlock Series to feature an overseas team for the first time

It has been announced that the 2018 Hunlock Series will have an international dimension. This will be the first time that an overseas team will play in the Series. The Toulouse Astros will be making the trip from France to Grovehill Ballpark on 30 September. On that day they will face each of the Hunlock Series teams. They will not feature in the Hunlock Series league standings but the outcome of their games will count towards the record of the Hunlock Series teams, therefore their involvement could have a major impact on the league standings and the eventual winner.

The Astros have played at various levels in France and internationally, but we have very little information about the challenge which they are likely to pose for their opponents. Over the years French clubs have ranked higher than British teams in the annual European club rankings, but we cannot use this as the basis for assessing the strength of the Toulouse Astros. There are numerous factors which could have an effect on this, such as whether their full squad will be travelling to Hertfordshire.

Their trip to the UK is part of their 10-year anniversary celebrations.

This will add a different dimension to the Hunlock Series, which could be compared to the introduction of Interleague games in the MLB schedule a few years ago. Does this mean that the managers of the Hunlock Series teams will opt not to use their aces in these international encounters knowing that games against direct opponents in the league standings carry greater value as a win against them is not only added to their win column, but adds a loss to the record of their rivals.

We will have to wait and see how exactly this will unfold on 30 September.

HOW TO REGISTER

Existing Herts players are currently registering ahead of the Draft by simply updating their availability in the online Clubhouse. Just like last year, the Hunlock Series could provide a glimpse at new players who could be wearing the Herts jersey next season. New players and players from other clubs can also sign up by contacting Herts Baseball Club.

There has already been interest from players from other clubs located in other regions of the United Kingdom and overseas. They are all welcome to sign up and play in these games.

To be eligible for selection during the Draft, players must register and enter their availability details online by Friday, 14 September. If you miss this Draft deadline or the first one or two weeks of games, don’t worry. Players will still be eligible to play but would be added to teams as free agents. To be eligible to play in the Hunlock Series, players must be 14 years of age or above on 31 December 2018.

Herts Falcons qualify for Europe
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Falcons qualify for Europe

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By virtue of reaching the NBL Final, and regardless of the outcome of the Final, the Herts Falcons have qualified for European club competitions in 2019.  Players were not told by Manager, Cris Hiche, until after the two Playoff wins on Sunday that reaching the NBL Final would secure a place in Europe. In their post-game interviews we put a few questions about playing in Europe next year to Cris Hiche and Conner Brown both of whom have played under professional contracts with European clubs in the last two seasons – Hiche in Austria with the Dornbirn Indians and Brown in Germany with the Cologne Cardinals.