Herts Baseball Club has confirmed the acquisition of three more players for the coming season. Kevin Niedringhaus, Matt Spaulding and Seth Lipstock all played for the Richmond Flames last year winning the pennant with the best record in the NBL regular season (19-5). They will be wearing the Herts jersey in 2012.

KEVIN NIEDRINGHAUS

25-year-old right-handed pitcher and utility player, Kevin Niedringhaus, spent the last two seasons in the NBL with the Flames. He was one of the most versatile players for Richmond over that period playing every position in the field apart from first base. Impressively, he has committed only two errors in the NBL. But it is his performance at the plate which stands out. With an NBL career batting average of .397 and a .512 on-base average he is expected to bring much needed boost to the Falcons offensive lineup.

Prior to 2010 Niedringhaus played in America. He captained his high school team, the Northwestern Trojans. He then progressed on to the American Legion Baseball in (Post 34) Rock Hill, South Carolina where he played between 2000 and 2005. British baseball fans may not be familiar with the American Legion Baseball, but its alumni base includes some of the sport’s most recognizable names. Yogi Berra, Ted Williams, Frank Robinson, current Yankees slugger Mark Texeira, played in the league’s 1997 World Series. Babe Ruth was too old to join when Legion Baseball started, but he spent the final years of his life promoting the program as its director of operations. Other prominent players include Ryne Sandberg, Roy Campanella, Dusty Baker, Albert Pujols, Greg Maddux, Chipper Jones and many others.

MATT SPAULDING

Herts baseball fans remember Matt Spaulding best from a deciding AA-League clash between the Herts Falcons and the Richmond Knights 9 years ago. 10 August 2003 was the hottest day in Great Britain since records began, but more importantly it was the day of the game to decide who will remain in the race for the AA postseason. Spaulding pitched a complete game leading Richmond to a 9-5 victory breaking Falcons’ hearts on the way.

In the following season Spaulding was promoted to the Richmond NBL team and has been a regular for the last four seasons including the national championship-winning Richmond team of 2010. Left-handed pitcher Spaulding has been predominantly used as a reliever. He has a NBL win-loss career record of 7-7 on the mound. He has also been used by Richmond in left and right field.

SETH LIPSTOCK

33-year-old Seth Lipstock made his NBL debut with the Richmond Flames in 2011. He joined the team arriving from America in the latter part of the season so he remains an unknown quantity for British baseball teams. Herts will hope that Lipstock will bring an element of surprise in 2012 catching opponents unprepared without scouting reports on him.

Herts Baseball Club has indicated that a further roster announcement will be made imminently. We are following developments closely and will bring the news to you as they happen.

WILL YOU BE WEARING THE HERTS JERSEY IN 2012?

Herts’ recruitment efforts ahead of the new season continue and in fact new players can join at any point during the year. The club welcomes players from complete beginners to accomplished players. 6 to 16-year-olds play for the Herts youth teams while adults (over the age of 14) play for the club’s major and minor league teams. For more details contact Herts Baseball Club.

Herts Baseball Club officially confirmed that there will be four Herts teams entering the senior leagues of the British Baseball Federation. This means that the Herts Eagles will return to the league after missing the 2011 season. The big question for the executive board of the club was which BBF leagues should these four teams be entered in.

The club’s first team, the Herts Falcons, will be hoping for big improvement in the National Baseball League (NBL) after two difficult seasons. In 2010 the team ended the season with 9 wins 19 losses, and the win-loss record went down further in 2011 to 4-20. Judging by recently announced player acquisitions, the Falcons appear to be determined to turn their fortunes around in 2012.

The Herts Hawks will once again be entering the AA League, which is Britain’s third league tier. The Hawks roster is also expected to be in much better shape compared to last year.

The Herts Raptors will remain in the Single-A League. Last year they ended the season on a high with three wins in the last four games and they will be looking to continue that run. If they do that, theoretically they should secure a place in the postseason.

The club has experienced a substantial increase in new players joining the organisation during the close season. The size of the club’s rosters mushroomed further thanks to a large number of the club’s Under-17 players showing interest in being considered for the Herts adult teams. This meant that the club was ready to enter an additional team, signalling the return of the Herts Eagles. The Eagles first entered the league in 2009 playing in the AAA-League. The following season the team reached the AAA National Championship losing to the Oxford Kings in the Semi-Final. The Eagles did not enter the League last year reflecting the lower number of players in the Herts rosters.

But which league should the Herts Eagles go into in 2012? To decide this, the Board needed to carry out a careful analysis of the team rosters. The club has always been very successful at attracting players who have never played the game before and this trend has continued this winter. The majority of the Board agreed that two of the club’s four teams are not equipped to play higher than the Single-A League. Some of the Board members were of the opinion that the Eagles should enter the AAA League and move the Hawks down to the Single-A League, but ultimately, taking all factors into account, it was decided that the Eagles should enter the Single-A League. This means that in 2012 Herts will have a team in the NBL (first league tier), no teams in the AAA (second league tier), one in the AA (third league tier) and two teams in the Single-A (fourth league tier).

The entry of a fourth Herts team also means that the club will now be inviting candidates for the role of Manager of the fourth team.

Report by Will Baxter, hertsbaseball.com

This weekend the Herts teams returned to Grovehill Ballpark for the first time in 2012. The last baseball game played at Grovehill Ballpark was on 9 October 2011 in the Hunlock Series. That seems a long time ago now. Although there are still 42 days left before the start of the new league season, Spring Training is well underway with a series of indoor sessions in the last few weeks.

However, there is no better feeling than going back to the ballpark.  The ground conditions may not be ideal after months in the harsh winter conditions and without cutting the grass as the heavy maintenance vehicles cannot enter the field, but the sun was out and it is starting to feel like the new baseball season is just around the corner.  

Herts baseball fans will be very pleased to learn that catcher, Dave Westfallen, returned to training after a long period on the DL with a shoulder problem.  It will take some time before he returns to full fitness but the progress is very positive.

The Herts coaches put the players through the riggers of a hard training session and finished with a scrimmage game giving the players the opportunity to go through some game situations.

This evening Herts Baseball Club confirmed the acquisition of pitcher and infielder, Robbie Unsell, from the Richmond Flames. This is arguably the biggest player transaction so far this winter in the National Baseball League (NBL).

The 25-year-old American who is now based in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, confirmed his decision late last night. He said: “Herts’ home ballpark has been one of my favourite places to play at since joining the League three years ago. The Club has some of the best facilities in Great Britain and fantastic organisation, which makes it a very attractive club to play for.” He added: “I am also really impressed with the club’s marketing efforts and the promotion of baseball in the UK. That’s why the prospect of playing for Herts is exciting for me.”

Herts Falcons Manager, Lee Manning, is also excited to have Unsell in his team: “Robbie would be one of the first players in the starting lineup in any of the NBL teams, so for us this is a major boost. I am looking forward to working with him.’

Unsell makes the move to Hertfordshire as a free agent after spending the last three seasons with the Flames. During that period he has become one of the most valuable players in the NBL picking up a large collection of awards. He is considered one of the best short stops in the country and was given the NBL Short Stop Fielding Award in 2011. Last year he was also added to the Richmond pitching rotation and his performances on the mound were phenomenal. He had the lowest ERA (earned run average) of 0.90 and WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) 0.98. We have to go back to Troy Kantor of the 2008 London Mets (ERA 0.51) and Simon Pole in 2002 with the London Warriors (ERA 0.62) to see the kind of pitching stats which Robbie Unsell had last year. He deservedly received the 2011 NBL Most Valuable Pitcher Award*.

Unsell will also bring a lot to the Herts Falcons offensively. His speed around the bases has caused havoc for opponents over the years winning the Most Stolen Bases title in 2009 (21) and 2010 (23). Last year he led the league in On-Base Average (.589) and in Runs Scored (42) confirming him as one of the most dangerous lead-off men in the country. The arrival of Robbie Unsell in Hertfordshire will open up the opportunity to compare his speed with that of the 2011 MVP for the Herts Falcons, the lightning-fast Sri Lanka National team player, Mahendra Prasad.

Unsell’s time with the Flames proved to be one of the most successful periods in Richmond’s history. They won the NBL title in 2010, runner-up in 2009 and reached the postseason playoffs in 2011. Herts is one of the biggest sleeping giants in British baseball. Will Robbie Unsell’s arrival bring the same kind of success for Herts?

The Falcons have struggled in the last two years in the NBL, however Unsell sees this as an exciting challenge and an opportunity to turn the team around. ‘I honestly think that with a few additions, we can have a real positive impact on the Herts team this year’ he said.

Aspi Dimitrov, President of Herts Baseball Club, explained how significant Robbie Unsell’s arrival is for the club as a whole. He said: ‘Whether it is fans of MLB baseball clubs or Premier League football clubs, new players can bring a lot of excitement in the hope of success on the field of play. However, acquiring players like Robbie means a lot more to our club. It will add value in every department. It enables us to market our club and the game of baseball much better. Members and fans of the club can look forward to seeing the highest quality of baseball at Grovehill Ballpark. Adding such talented players will also inspire the players of the Herts youth teams to emulate them.’

Herts expect to make several other recruitment announcements shortly. Dimitrov added: ‘We are in advanced discussions with more players and we hope that Robbie will be the first of many more players to join Herts this year and for many years to come.’

WILL YOU BE WEARING THE HERTS JERSEY IN 2012?

The exciting news of adding one of the best players in the country to the Herts squad does not mean that the club will be changing its key objective of attracting new players to the game of baseball regardless of their baseball abilities. The club welcomes players from complete beginners to accomplished players. 6 to 16-year-olds play for the Herts youth teams while adults (over the age of 14) play for the club’s major and minor league teams. New players can join at any time of the year. For more details contact Herts Baseball Club.

*NBL statistical data courtesy of  Project COBB