Category: Adult Leagues

29 March 202330 March 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts teams announce preliminary 2023 rosters for the HSL

The seven Herts teams have announced their preliminary rosters for the 2023 Herts Spring League.

We understand that these rosters are not fixed and it is likely that there may be movement between teams over the course of the HSL. Some players may play for more than one team as managers look to evaluate them ahead of the announcement of the 2023 Opening Day rosters.

The HSL games commence on April 1st.

New players are registering every week, therefore some new names may be added to the rosters over the course of the HSL and throughout the league season.

Herts Falcons (National Baseball League)

Alex Deacon
Alexander Paterson
Ben Morris
Ben Moruzzi
Benjamin Sporleder
Cole Nakazawa
Daniel Moran
Dylan Lawler
Eli Belizaire
Fraser Duggan
Harry Quixley
Jack Mccarthy
Jack Warrington
Kaden Horwood
Leo Nakazawa
Leon Gutowski
Matthew Moran
Max Manoff
Michael Cresswell
Nathan Simmons
Nicholas Effingham
Rene Torcato
Samuel Sporleder
Tasuku Ishihara
Tetsuro Shinkawa
Will Clayton

Herts Cardinals (Triple-A)

Andy Cornish
Arik Raviv
Brian Dearing
Chun Hung Wong
Erik Gustafson
Giorgio Ferroni
Hiroki Fujimoto
James Cavanagh
James Hicks
Javier Tomas
Joshua Pines
Naohiko Kumagai
Osvaldo Badia Rivero
Robert Laflamme
Roberto Hernandez
Sean Bennett
Tyler Cote
Vytas Macenas
Will Davis

Herts Ducks (Double-A)

Alexander Trautman
Bradley Charalambous
Bryan Mencias
Danilo Machado
David Mas
Evan Robins
Hang Li
Jake Spicer
John Del Riccio
Kumail Jaffer
Max Trautman
Miguel Gibson
Mohamed Abdule
Paras Patravale
Prime Mencias
Sebastian Cheng
Taysir Barakat

Herts Hawks (Double-A)

Antonio Lourenco
Callum Ferrier
Cameron Schultz
Declan Carlean
Gerrod Taylor
Giuseppe Basilea
Harry Ewen
Harry Mcmenamin
Jack Obrien
Kennet Pike
Michael Johnson
Noah Tabor
Peter Hogg
Thomas Hill
Todd Neville

Herts Eagles (Single-A)

Ahmed Hassan
Boran Sahin
Daniel Gipple
Eleni Xintaras
Francesco Meduri
George Llewelyn Thomas
James Tappenden
Jamie Lang-Richards
Joe Gipple
Joseph Flores
Mark Vidler-Connaughton
Michael Green
Neil Chilton
Peter Wilson
Reece Crawley
Reece Williamson-White
Saira Smith

Herts Raptors (Single–A)

Abdul Elhamri
Adam Scales
Billy Perry
Danny Preston
David Howard
Hamza Chowdhree
Jack Burkett
Jamie Berlofsky
Jamie Wise
John Kjorstad
Jordon Fox
Lauren Dutch
Lee Dunn
Lewis Auchterlounie
Martin Kuszewski
Max Farmbrough
Maxymus Kuszewski
Michael Cunningham
Nicholas Hine
Paul Auchterlounie
Rufus Lloyd
Steve Kis
Swar Panchal
Thomas Browne

Herts Ravens (Single-A)

Andrew Slater
Arnold Longboy
Cory English
Dan Taylor
Ed Moore
Eric Ferng
Gilberto Medina
Greg Bochan
Henry Bell
Hunter Devine
Jack Page
Joseph Field
Matthew Bell
Matthew Jackson
Nicolas Goetz
Norman Peng
Rob Jones
Sonam Lama
Wei Chieh Wang
Zak Beller

Players, from beginners to advanced, are continuing to register for the 2023 baseball season. For more details about how to join the Herts baseball teams in Hemel Hempstead and in NW London or for more details about the HSL or if you are interested to give baseball a try in this competition contact Herts Baseball Club.

Adult and youth players now registering for the 2023 baseball season

24 March 202328 March 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

2023 BBF league lineups and schedules released. Tough Opening Day opponents for the 7 Herts teams.

The British Baseball Federation has published the 2023 line-ups and schedules for the four league tiers.

National Baseball League

The Herts Falcons are making their return to the NBL which will feature seven teams this season. Arrows, Bruins, Capitals, Falcons, Mets, Vetra and the East London Latin Boys who are the other new team to enter the NBL following their promotion as the Triple-A national champions last year.

Each team will play 24 games in the regular season – 12 doubleheaders – facing each of the other six teams home and away. The postseason format and playoff qualification has not been announced yet but it is expected that the top four teams in the regular season standings will qualify for the playoff semi-finals on August 20^th with the winners meeting in the NBL championship best-of-3 series on 26 and 27 August.

The Falcons will make the long trip to Sheffield on Opening Day to face the Bruins on Sunday, April 16^th. Their home opener is a week later on Saturday, 22 April, when they host the reigning NBL champions, London Mets.

We understand the Falcons and the Latin Boys have submitted a request to the BBF to switch their series from June 18^th to Sunday July 23^rd at Grovehill Ballpark to enable the Latin Boys to take part in the Croydon Tournament. If the BBF approves this request, Herts plans to make this a special event. There are no games in any of the four BBF leagues on that weekend and Herts current and former club members and fans are advised to save the date – Sunday, 23 July.

Falcons schedule

As announced back in December, the 2023 NBL season will feel very different for Herts Falcons players and fans as the club is running the NBL Pilot Project and all their home games will be ticketed. Now that the game schedule has been published, ticket sales will be launched in the coming days.

The Herts Falcons go into the season as the rank outsiders but it is difficult to make any predictions at this stage as the roster has not been announced. We may have more information about their chances after we see the team in action for the first time in the HSL next week.

Go to the 2023 Herts Baseball Fan Survey

Triple-A League

Similar to the Falcons, the Herts Cardinals start the season by making the longest trip of the year away at the Bristol Badgers on Sunday, 16 April. Their first home game of the season is on April 30^th when they welcome their cross-town rivals, the London Metros.

Last year the Triple-A league consisted of two pools. This year it has been merged into one pool of eight teams. The Croydon Pirates are the new addition after they won the Double-A national championship last year.

Each team will face their opponents home and away in a regular season with a total of fourteen doubleheaders which will continue all the way into September.

Cardinals schedule

Double-A League

Herts Baseball Club was not represented in the Double-A league last year. This year they will have two teams in that league. The Herts Hawks have been promoted after reaching the Single-A national semi-final last year. They will be joined by the club’s expansion team – the Herts Ducks – who will play their home games at the club’s Basing Hill branch in north west London.

The offseason saw a surge of teams moving up from Single-A to Double-A and some moved down from Triple-A to Double-A so there will be four Double-A pools this year.

The Herts Hawks are in the “Central & East” pool alongside the Cambridge Lancers, Essex Archers, Milton Keynes Bucks and the Norwich Iceni. The Herts Ducks are in the “South” pool where they will compete against the Latin Boys (AA), Formosa Islanders, London Musketeers, London Meteors and the Sidewinders.

The Hawks open their season away at the Archers on 23 April while the Ducks are at home on 16 April against the Meteors. There will be no inter-pool matchups in Double-A so there will not be a Herts derby between the Ducks and the Hawks but they can hope to meet in the postseason.

Ducks schedule

Hawks schedule

Single-A League

With the Hawks promoted to Double-A, Herts will have three teams in the Single-A league this year. The BBF has chosen to minimize travel for teams and has allocated all three Herts teams in the same pool where they are joined by the Essex Redbacks (A) and the Milton Keynes Bucks (A). Surprisingly, the BBF has also decided to remove the inter-pool games from the regular season schedule which will reduce the variety of opponents in favour of less travel.

The Herts Eagles open their season away at the Bucks on 23 April. Raptors’ first game is on 7 May at home against the Eagles while the Herts Ravens will have to wait until 14 May to get their season underway at the MK Bucks.

With three Herts teams in the same pool, there will be nine Herts derbies to look forward to. We have to wait until the postseason format is announced to see whether having three Herts teams in the same pool will reduce the probability of seeing Herts teams in the playoffs.

Eagles schedule

Raptors schedule

Ravens schedule

HSL

But before the BBF league season commences, we will have the opportunity to see 17 of the teams play their first games of the year in the 2023 Herts Spring League which is played over two weeks starting on 1 and 2 April (see HSL preview article).

New players

New players are still able to join six of the seven Herts teams. A waiting list system is in effect for the Herts Raptors, but players can be assigned to the other Herts teams while they are on the Raptors waiting list. For more details, contact us.

21 March 202321 March 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Reece Crawley appointed as Herts Eagles manager

The Herts Eagles have confirmed that Reece Crawley is the team’s new manager.

The 41-year-old Londoner joined Herts last month having played at the London Mets organisation over the last few years. Like most British players, his interest in baseball came about after watching MLB games on TV. This prompted him and his friend to go and watch a British baseball game in Enfield and that was enough to convince him to start playing.

That first British baseball game which he saw was a Triple-A league game which apparently featured many of the players on the Herts Cardinals roster so Reece had the opportunity to reconnect with those players when he reported for Spring Training at Basing Hill Ballpark a few weeks ago.

His primary position is catcher. He also plays other infield positions. He now has to combine playing with managing and he is looking forward to that challenge.

These may be new surroundings for Reece but he will be able to count on the support of highly experienced players like Matt Jackson and Jamie Lang-Richards, who have previously managed the Herts Raptors and the Herts Eagles, respectively.

Upcoming HSL games for the Eagles

Date	Home	Time/Results	Away	League	Field
2023-04-01 11:40:001 April 2023	Eagles	11:40:00Postponed	Dukes	HSL (Single-A)	Grovehill D2
2023-04-01 13:20:001 April 2023	Islanders	13:20:00Postponed	Eagles	HSL (Single-A)	Grovehill D2
2023-04-09 10:00:009 April 2023	Bucks 2	19 - 6	Eagles	HSL (Single-A)	Grovehill D2

The team has five weeks of Spring Training remaining including three games in the Herts Spring League against the Richmond Dukes, Formosa Islanders and the MK Bucks.

Last year the Eagles finished the season with a 7-18 record (.280 winning percentage). Can the team move up in the league standings this year?

13 March 202313 March 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Countdown to HSL – first chance to see the teams ahead of the 2023 British baseball season

The biggest pre-season baseball competition in Britain is back. Commencing on April 1, the Herts Spring League (HSL) will see 17 teams compete over the two weeks of the HSL. Organised by Herts Baseball Club, it is Britain’s version of MLB’s Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues currently under way in the US, and it signals that the season is just around the corner.

Format

The 17 teams will be entered into three HSL tiers – NBL, Double-A and Single-A.

The organisers considered the possibility of a tournament format, but ultimately adopted a league format in the same way as the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues in MLB. “The objective of the HSL is to enable the teams to prepare for the new season and we have noticed that teams are increasingly starting to approach the HSL in the same way as MLB teams approach the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues” said HSL Commissioner, Aspi Dimitrov. He added “we have taken this into account when formulating the schedule putting greater emphasis on the preferences and preparatory requirements of the teams over the format of the competition”.

The teams finishing at the top of their respective division will be the HSL champions.

The Venue

The action will take place at both Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead, and Basing Hill Ballpark in north west London.

Schedule

Over the two weekends 27 games are scheduled to be played on the three diamonds. The competition begins on April 1 with a morning clash between the Herts Hawks and the Single-A national champions, Bracknell Inferno. Both teams have been promoted to Single-A this year. At the same time on Diamond 2, there is a HSL Single-A match-up between the Herts Ravens and the Formosa Islanders.

The HSL NBL division teams play their frst games on Sunday, 2 April. This will be the first opportunity to see the Herts Falcons as they prepare to make their return to the NBL. There will be many new faces for Herts fans to meet for the first time as well as some fan favorites from previous NBL seasons. The preliminary Herts Falcons roster for the HSL will be announced later this month.

Some of the HSL NBL and Double-A games will be played at Basing Hill Ballpark, starting with the Herts Cardinals encounter with the Essex Redbacks who merged with the Essex Arrows earlier this year to create a much larger club with three diamonds in three different Essex towns which is expected to make them a major force in British baseball.

Click to view full 2023 HSL schedule

Excitement building up

The Herts Spring League adds a competitive edge to Spring training. It’s the time for managers to work out their winning formula going into the BBF league season. It is an opportunity to evaluate existing and newly recruited players. Which players will earn a spot in the pitching rotation and who will be batting where in the batting order? Who will make the first team and who will have to work their way up through the minor league system? Not forgetting, it’s a chance to size up your rivals for the year ahead. It’s the first big challenge and the first big excitement of the baseball year. Don’t miss it.

Get in the Game

Adult and youth players, from beginners to advanced, are now registering for the 2023 baseball season. For more details about how to join the Herts baseball teams in Hemel Hempstead and in NW London or for more details about the HSL or if you are interested to give baseball a try in this competition contact Herts Baseball Club.

Adult and youth players now registering for the 2023 baseball season

13 March 202313 March 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

17 teams will signal the arrival of Spring in the 2023 HSL

Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that 17 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 HSL teams will be divided into three divisions as follows:

HSL (NBL) Teams

HSL (Double-A) Teams

HSL (Single-A) Teams

Schedule and Format

The HSL will be played over two weeks commencing on the weekend of 1-2 April and ending on 8-9 April. 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.

5 March 20235 March 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

2023 Herts Baseball Fan Survey – chance to win tickets

During the 2023 NBL season Herts Baseball Club will be running a pilot project to grow its fan base and bring supporters to the ballpark. Spectators will be able to enjoy a special game day experience supporting the Herts Falcons in the NBL – Britain’s top baseball league.

To help the club plan and deliver the best possible game day product, we are inviting those who may be considering coming to a Herts Falcons home NBL game to complete the 2023 Herts Baseball Fan Survey.

Everyone completing the survey will automatically be entered into a prize draw with a chance to win tickets to a Herts Falcons home game. Ten winners will each receive two tickets to a Herts Falcons NBL regular season home game.

Click here to go to the survey

7 February 20237 February 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Grovehill Ballpark to introduce ticketing for 2023 NBL home games

Herts Baseball Club has released initial details of the reconfiguration of Grovehill Ballpark for Herts Falcons National Baseball League (NBL) home games this season.

In December Herts launched its NBL Pilot Project which aims to take the club and the sport to the next level. The new business model is designed to grow the fan base, attract spectators to its National Baseball League (NBL) games, generate revenue and build a highly competitive team by offering financial rewards to coaches and players.

As part of that project, Grovehill Ballpark will look very different as it prepares to welcome ticket-buying spectators for the first time in the club’s 27-year history.

View an enlarged image of the ballpark layout and seat map

Capacity

The image above shows the ballpark layout and seat map with a capacity for 196 spectators which can be increased to 499 for high profile games such as the postseason playoffs.

Ticket types

40 of the tickets will come with seats. The other 156 will be lower-priced tickets for fans who would like to bring their own seats or who would prefer to stand. If demand for tickets with seats is high, there is flexibility to add more. There is a limited number of premium seats which are located behind home plate and they will give those fans an up-close view of the pitcher-versus-batter duel. If demand for premium tickets is high, the club can look to add more in future seasons.

Example of a ballpark offering bring-your-own-seat tickets.

Home and away fans – game day atmosphere

Unlike MLB ballparks, Herts will adopt the British tradition of providing a separate sector for away fans. This is expected to enhance the atmosphere, especially when facing direct rivals, as both sets of fans would not want their rivals to have stronger support.

Home fans will occupy the blocks on the third base side of the ballpark while away fans will be on the first base side. The reason for this is that the third base side can accommodate more fans. Some home blocks have a partially restricted view of the left field foul pole area due to trees, but this is not likely to have a major negative effect for those spectators.

Since the opening of the diamond in 2010, home teams have usually been in the dugout on the first base side which means the Herts Falcons will have to get used to being in the third base dugout.

View of the infield from the home fans sector

One advantage which Grovehill Ballpark has over MLB stadiums is that it is not expected to sell 40,000 tickets so there will be ample space in the spectator areas. With this in mind there will be more leg room and around 30cm of space between each seat for greater comfort but not much more than that as keeping fans closer together is likely to create a more vibrant atmosphere, more social interaction and the feeling of being part of a community of fans supporting the team. The same approach will be adopted for the away sector.

Food and Beverage

Food and beverage will play an important part in the game day experience. If the project produces good results in 2023, the club is aiming to put the required facilities in place to be able to offer a unique menu and not just the food we have become accustomed to at sports and entertainment venues.

The club is also looking into adding a gathering area with tables for greater social interaction while having a drink and a snack during the game.

Game Day Entertainment

The game will always be the main event of the day, but there will be so much more to look forward to before, during and after the game. The club will publish more details of this closer to Opening Day.

Activities for Kids

Boys and girls coming to the ballpark will want to get involved in playing baseball. Over the course of the season some of the game days will be themed specifically for children and they can look forward to activities such as batting, pitching, fielding, base running practice and contests. A special PlayBall diamond will be set up for those events. Full details will be published prior to those game days.

The club hopes that this element of the NBL Pilot Project will introduce more children to the game of baseball and will see them join the Herts Youth Baseball League teams and, in a few years time, we hope to see those young Herts baseball fans put on the Herts Falcons jersey and play in the NBL.

Other ballpark facilities

On game days, fans can also look forward to Herts merchandise such as baseball caps, t-shirts and hoodies.

The club is currently in discussions with Dacorum Borough Council working towards improving and increasing the capacity of toilet and washing facilities at the ballpark. Providing clean and tidy amenities is a top priority for the club.

The NBL Pilot Project is a year-long experiment therefore many of the installations will be pop-up and temporary in nature. This includes the barrier fence along the boundary of the spectator areas. There is a slight risk of members of the public jumping over the fence but this will be monitored by event staff and ticket-holders will be given a wrist band – different colour from one game to the next – to ensure that those without tickets can be identified easily and escorted out of the spectator area.

Stay tuned

We have only two months until the launch of the 2023 NBL season. Season ticket sales are coming up shortly and there will be a lot more information in the coming weeks. Follow the club on social media and on hertsbaseball.com for all the latest news.

6 February 20236 February 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Teams starting to enter the 2023 Herts Spring League

The game dates for the 2023 Herts Spring League (HSL) have been confirmed.

Saturday, 1 April 2023
Sunday, 2 April 2023
Saturday, 8 April 2023
Sunday, 9 April 2023
Saturday, 15 April 2023
Sunday, 16 April 2023

They are based on the indication from the BBF that the Opening Weekend of the NBL season is expected to be 15-16 April 2023. For the other leagues the Opening Weekend is expected to be 22-23 April 2023, although some lower league teams may play their opening games on 15-16 April 2023. More will be known when the BBF league schedules are published.

How to enter your team

Spring is the time when managers put together their teams and aim to turn them into winning machines ahead of Opening Day. Similar to the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues in MLB, the HSL provides a competitive edge to Spring training. This is the sixteenth year of the HSL. Last year 19 teams took part. For more details visit the HSL site.

LEAGUE FORMAT
Teams will be placed in divisions based on their ranking going into the new season. The exact format will depend on the number of teams entering the HSL. Full details will be published when the league line-up is confirmed.

TEAMS
Over the years the HSL has featured teams from the National Baseball League (NBL), Triple-A, Double-A and Single-A Leagues, as well as international teams such as the GB Under-19 and Under-16 National Teams and the ASL Eagles.

Teams from around the United Kingdom will be submitting their entries over the next few weeks and the HSL lineup and games schedule is expected to be published in early March.

VENUES

Games will be played at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead. If the two diamonds in Hemel Hempstead are filled to capacity with HSL games, some games may be scheduled at Basing Hill Ballpark in NW London for teams which find that venue more convenient.

Players are now registering for the 2023 season

2 February 20232 February 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

The number of Herts baseball teams increases from 5 to 7

Late last night Herts Baseball Club submitted its team entries in the various BBF leagues. In the previous year the club had five teams in the adult leagues. That number has increased to seven for the upcoming season.

The BBF gave Herts a 24-hour extension to submit their entries. The main question which required more time to consider was whether to enter one or two teams in the National Baseball League (NBL).

“The club did consider the option to enter two NBL teams, as originally planned but, after assessing all of the aspects, we decided not to overstretch ourselves and instead create competition for roster spots and build a Herts Falcons team that can compete and attract fans as part of the NBL Pilot Project. We are also looking to put a structure in place to create a pathway for young players to join Herts, develop, win a spot on the NBL roster and reach their full potential internationally” said Herts Falcons manager, Cris Hiche.

The Herts Falcons are back in the NBL this year and it will be interesting to see what the roster will look like when the players report for Spring Training on 19 February. Cris Hiche did not go into specific details but said, “our NBL roster will combine some experienced players with a large number of young players with enormous potential and we must give credit to Jonathan Rodriguez for that. It will be exciting to see what we can achieve with this group of players and we hope Herts baseball fans will enjoy supporting the team this season.”

The Herts Cardinals had a 10-16 record last year in the Triple-A league and there is no doubt that they will be pushing hard to climb up in the league standings this year.

In 2022 the club was not represented at the Double-A league level. This year there will be two Herts teams in that league tier. Herts Hawks have been promoted after reaching the Single-A league semi-finals last year. They are joined by the Herts Ducks – a new addition to the Herts baseball family. The Hawks will play their home games at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead while the Ducks will be based at Basing Hill Ballpark in north west London.

At the Single-A league level, there will be three Herts teams. In addition to the Herts Eagles and Herts Raptors we will see the return of the Herts Ravens whose last appearance was in 2013 in Triple-A.

Last season Herts had teams only in Triple-A and Single-A. The club is now fully equipped to make a big push in all four league tiers which also puts the club in an excellent position to provide the path for players to work their way up the leagues from the youth programme covering players aged 6 to 14 all the way to the NBL – Britain’s top league.

The managers have left room in the team rosters and new players are continuing to register.

Players now registering for the 2023 season

28 January 202329 January 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Former GB coach steps back from Herts role

Last month Herts Baseball Club announced the creation of a partnership with Legends Baseball Club with a view to entering two teams in the National Baseball League (NBL) – Herts Falcons and Herts Legends – to coincide with the NBL Pilot Project which Herts will be implementing in 2023.

The president of Legends Baseball Club and GB U18 national team manager, Jonathan Rodriguez, was appointed as the manager of the Herts Legends. One of the objectives of the partnership was to provide an opportunity for players from the GB U18 team and other GB age groups to play together in Britain’s top league.

In the last few days it has been confirmed that the Great Britain national team programme has decided to make changes in its coaching staff and a new GB U18 head coach will be appointed in Jonathan Rodriguez’s place.

After careful consideration of how this would affect his role and one of his key objectives of the partnership, Jonathan Rodriguez has had to make the difficult decision to step down as manager of the Herts Legends NBL team.

Herts Baseball Club president, Aspi Dimitrov, said, “On behalf of the entire club, I want to express our gratitude to Jonathan for all his contribution and support over the last twelve months, from the clinics he ran with the Herts youth teams last year to the launch of the NBL Pilot Project. Since we unveiled it last month, the Project has generated the momentum we were aiming for and Jonathan has played a key role in this. His contribution has put the club in a strong position going into the pilot project which has the potential to create a path to making the leap from amateur to semi-professional status.”

With over 40 players expressing interest in the NBL tryouts with Herts, our club is keen to assess whether it would be possible to keep to the original plan of entering two Herts teams in the NBL and is currently considering candidates for manager of the second NBL team. The decision on this is expected to be announced shortly after the 31 January deadline for BBF league entries.