Category: Raptors

11 December 201915 December 2019 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.

26 October 201927 October 2019 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

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.

8 October 20198 October 2019 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.

15 August 201929 August 2019 by Rob Jones

Honours even as Herts sides clash again

A Herts derby is not like a normal baseball game.

The national anthem was played as the Herts Eagles and Herts Raptors took their places along the baselines for a pre-game formality at Basing Hill Ballpark. The Herts Londoners got an opening ceremony earlier in the season, why shouldn’t the Eagles get one, too, at its tail end?

The usual Basing Hill playlist of Eighties rock classics was augmented by some new tunes. Lil Nas X made an appearance (on the playlist, not on the field). This would be a special day.

When these two teams met at Grovehill, the Eagles swept the double-header. Could they repeat for a season sweep?

Game 1 got under way with Yasu Ichige on the mound for the Eagles. It didn’t start as smoothly as he might have liked, with the Raptors’ leadoff man and pitcher Matt Jackson getting aboard with a single, and Oli Durer then hit by a pitch.

Laurence Currington drove in Jackson, while Callum Barwick — who had reached on a fielder’s choice – was brought home by GB youth player, Harry Quixley.

But the home side dug in defensively, with a catch by shortstop Rob Gibson and a groundout limiting the damage to two runs. When Ichige faced the lineup again in the second inning, he stepped up a gear and struck out the side. He ended with 7 K’s.

In between, the Eagles’ bats had given them the lead. Gibson took Jackson deep for his second home run of the year. This was just the first instalment in a dominant day at the plate for the rookie shortstop – only the time limit on Game 1 kept him from a chance at the cycle.

His team-mates helped build a big lead in the bottom of the second, bringing home the maximum 5 runs. Catcher Rob Jones drove in a pair, while there were hits for Andy Stratford and Louis Verman.

The visitors did not surrender easily, of course. Dan Shaw hit a double, and the team totalled 8 hits, only one behind their hosts.

But the Eagles were mostly able to keep them from scoring. Alex Trautman applied a neat tag to get out a base-runner at third, while Zack Longboy made an improbable leaping catch to end the third inning and save a run.

It ended 10-5 to the home side. Yasu Ichige took the complete game win, his second victory of the year.

The second half of this double header – and the final quarter of the season’s derby drama – would see a measure of revenge for the Raptors.

They came out of the blocks fast, with Harry Quixley and Paul Barton among those scoring in the first inning. Matt Jackson — who didn’t make an out all day long – had started it all off.

On the mound for the Raptors, Barton was calmly dealing. After inducing two pop-ups, he got the key strikeout of Zack Longboy to end the first inning. Only one batter reached in the second.

A double from Laurence Currington helped to add on in the third and the Raptors led 6-0 in the middle of the third.

The pattern of this game saw the Eagles being effective on offense only in bursts. The inning was either scoreless, or was a maximum 5-run affair. So, in the bottom of the third, ground rule doubles from Rob Gibson, Adam Porte and Darren Priest were among the hits. The Eagles were back in it.

The Raptors were more consistent, though, scoring in every inning. Catcher Kai Rajah was the last man to cross the plate, giving them a 14-10 lead and the chance to close it out in the final, unlimited inning.

The Eagles hopes of a dramatic rally were high, especially when Kumail Jaffer got the last of his four hits on the day to lead it off. But Barton and his defense did what they needed to do.

Two force-outs at second base and a liner to Callum Barwick at third ended the contest. 14-10 to the Raptors, their third win of the season.

The day had delivered everything it promised – as did the season’s four derby match-ups. Both sides have one more fixture remaining, and will look forward to building on their foundations next year.

30 July 2019 by Rob Jones

Herts come up empty after last inning dramas

Sometimes, sport can be a thing of beauty and can raise you up. Sometimes, it can be agonising. This one was an agonising weekend for the Herts baseball club.

The Herts Raptors of the Single-A league travelled to the Essex Redbacks, missing some regulars because of injury and summer holidays. But they were also bolstered by a clutch of Great Britain Under-15 stars.

Josh Jones and Harry Quixley joined regulars Alex Paterson, Dan Moran and Nico Durer. They all recently took part in a successful tournament in Germany.

Herts were able to get a run across in the first frame, before Durer took the mound as starting pitcher. He had trouble throughout the game getting his strike zone to match up with that of the umpire, but battled hard.

He was backed up by some good plays in the field – from Moran at third base, and nice saves from Jones at first. Mantas Poderys at second base also fielded calmly.

John Kjorstad again swung a strong bat for Herts and they were able to take a lead into the final inning. But the Raptors have suffered a series of final inning setbacks this year and this was to be another. The Redbacks hitting and persistent larceny on the bases helped them come back to win 10-9.

Game 2 saw the Herts visitors keep their noses in front from the off. Better base-running and hitting gave them a good lead. Dan Shaw and Nico Durer got hits, and Moran was on the mound this time, pitching solidly.

But Essex chipped back into the Raptors lead, and their reliever Sean Briscomb was again able to shut down the offense, as in Game 1. It was to come down to the final inning again.

Manager Matt Jackson stepped up to take the responsibility of the last outs, and made good pitches. But the Redbacks loaded the bases and a whiff of confusion after the fly ball which led to the second out was enough for them to capitalise. This time it was 11-10.

Raptors again played with good spirit and improved even as the game went on. Redbacks have a great record this year and earned their wins, but Herts can take many good things from their performance.

Also in Single-A, the Herts Eagles hosted the league-leading London Musketeers, with nobody expecting a home win. But Herts veteran Arnie Longboy pitched a gem which saw the Eagles take an early lead. It was 2-0 in the third.

London fought back, as you would expect them to. They had a couple of big innings. But Herts tied it at 10-10 to take the game to extra innings.

Longboy pitched a 3-up, 3-down top of the frame and the game was poised for Herts to secure a famous shock victory.

Then came the real gut-punch.

Adam Porte and Lewis Harrison got on base. They were both hit by pitch, surely a sign that the Musketeers were wobbling. Next came a scorching hit from Jamie Lang, only recently recruited to the Eagles.

But instead of being the walk-off, winning hit, as it first appeared, it went straight to the first baseman. He caught it – one out – stepped on the bag for two, and alertly threw to the shortstop at second base to get the final runner. In a flash, the threat was over.

London managed to score a go-ahead run in the top of the next inning, before retiring the Eagles and taking an 11-10 win. Their relief and delight was clear. This game had been a huge leap forward for the Eagles compared with the last time they faced the Musketeers, in week 2 of the season.

Mike Wakelam got the ball for Game 2 and turned in another excellent pitching performance, but the offense could not back him up this time. It ended 12-4 to London.

Co-manager Aspi Dimitrov was impressed with his players: “Ordinarily, two defeats might be demoralising, but the margin and the close nature of the defeats against such a good side were a huge boost for the Eagles. It really shows the progress everyone has made”.

In Triple-A, the Herts Londoners were away at the Essex Redbacks. Like the Raptors, they had young talent to call on, with Chris Gregory and Aaron Witter among the pitchers in two close games.

Miguel Sarmiento continued to drive in runs, but Herts could not take the wins this time, going down 10-7 and 8-6 on a grey day.

The Herts Hawks made the long trip to the Bournemouth Bears to suffer a 16-2 defeat, while the Herts Falcons of the NBL saw their games rained off. There is a toss-up there as to who suffered the bigger agony.

17 July 2019 by Rob Jones

Herts history: Eagles sweep Raptors on derby day

The first was in 2007. The most recent was in 2016. A Herts derby is a big and a rare moment. And it consistently delivers on the drama.

The club’s expansion into north west London this season meant that two Single-A teams would enter the BBF leagues for the first time since 2016. That was the year the Hawks won it all and moved up to Double-A. On the way, they beat the Raptors in the playoffs at Grovehill.

This year, the match-up was between the Raptors and the Eagles. Both sides are packed with rookies and young players, and had found wins hard to come by despite their improving performances. So there was a lot on the line.

Game 1 saw Paul Barton take to the pitching mound for the nominal home side, the Raptors. He was one of the few holdovers from that 2016 contest. And, as on that occasion, he started out well.

His first inning was scoreless. In centre-field, Dan Shaw confidently made two catches deep in the outfield in the first two at-bats – a baptism of fire in his first time playing the position. Two runners did get on, but a groundout ended the threat.

In the bottom half of the inning, Eagles’ starter Arnie Longboy matched up well. He struck out two after the lead-off man Antonio Laurenco got on. But back-to-back big hits from Laurence Currington and John Kjorstad brought in runs to give the Raptors an early lead.

They tacked on one more in the second, while holding the visitors scoreless. But the Eagles strung together some offense in the third to tie it up. Darren Priest got a hit and scored, while shortstop Rob Gibson got the second of his 4 hits on the day.

Raptors moved back ahead with Rene Aschmann joining Currington and Kjorstad in doing the damage. Lee Manning then came in to pitch in relief and helped shut things down.

The visitors’ defense helped keep things close. At second base, Andy Stratford made a good play on a ball to his right to secure the out at first. Catcher Adam Collins did a great job blocking balls, so that the foul territory (so much larger at Grovehill than at the Eagles’ home of Basing Hill) did not become a factor.

Entering the fifth and final inning, the Raptors led 7-6 and the Eagles needed to score to extend the game. Manning claimed his fourth and fifth strikeouts to start the frame and, with two outs, things looked bad for the Eagles.

But then they shuffled their deck.

Co-manager Longboy came in to pinch hit and was intentionally walked. The next sub was veteran Mike Wakelam, who returned to baseball only last week after a few years out.

He cracked a ground ball sharply through the left side, then Aspi Dimitrov kept it moving before Gibson drove in his fifth RBI of the day. In all, the Eagles brought home 5 and now led 11-6.

Wakelam took the ball as the closer. One run did make it in, on a pass ball, but a strikeout, and groundout and a tag-out – on an attempt to score on another pass ball — ended the game. An 11-8 Eagles victory, their second of the season and one which was hard-earned.

The second Herts derby of the year followed after a short lunchbreak, and pitted Mike Wakelam against the Raptors manager Matt Jackson as starting pitchers. Jackson struggled to find the zone at first, surrendering two walks, and Darren Priest and Louis Verman drove in runs to capitalise.

But the Raptors defense helped out. Jack O’Brien showed quick thinking to secure an unassisted double play, tagging the runner after catching a liner from Arnie Longboy.

When the home side came to bat, Laurence Currington hit a triple to add to his impressive tally for the day. He scored on a pass ball, but catcher Rob Jones was able to make some amends for that by throwing out a runner at third to end the inning and keep the damage at one run.

Eagles then stretched out their lead, with Stratford, Lewis Harrison and Gibson all scoring to help them to an 8-3 advantage after two innings. Wakelam had struck out five already.

But Nico Durer then took the mound for the Raptors and settled things down. Over his three innings of work he struck out 7 and gave up only one run. It was an excellent final warm-up for his trip to Germany with the Great Britain Under-15s.

The complexion of the game had changed, but that meant the score changed little. Just 4 runs were shared out over the final four innings – Alex Paterson scoring two for the Raptors and Mohamed Abdule driving one in for the Eagles.

Fittingly, a strikeout was the final action and the Herts Eagles secured a 9-6 win and a sweep.

It had been a competitive and enjoyable day of baseball, with both sides enjoying the chance to banter with each other — while also trying hard to win!

The last time the Raptors and Eagles played league games against one another was in 2013 and they took one each of the two games. The Raptors will be aiming to take revenge when the reverse fixture is played next month at Basing Hill.

2 April 2019 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Teams ready for Opening Day of a huge season for baseball in the UK

Millions of MLB fans are enjoying the Opening Week of the 2019 baseball season and British Baseball fans will do the same this Sunday, 7 April, as the NBL and Triple-A League seasons get underway, followed by the Double-A and Single-A Leagues on 14 April.

The BBF schedules have been published and the five Herts teams have difficult opponents on Opening Day.

NATIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE

The Herts Falcons start with games against London Capitals and the Essex Arrows in a 3-team day at Finsbury Park. In the second week they travel to the reigning NBL champions, London Mets. This will be the first opportunity to see if the Falcons have been able to close the gap between them and the Mets since the end of the 2018 season which was dominated by the NBL champions.

The Falcons will have to wait until 28 April for their home-opener, and it is set to be a special occasion as all NBL teams will be in action at Grovehill Ballpark with four games on the two diamonds.

The NBL regular season will be played over 13 weeks, ending on 18 August. The Playoff Semi-Final and National Final will be played at Farnham Park on 24 and 25 August. The postseason is usually played in September, but it has been brought forward to August due to a clash with the European Championships where many NBL players will receive an international call-up from the GB Team and other European national teams.

Herts Falcons Schedule

TRIPLE-A LEAGUE

The Herts Londoners go into their inaugural season as one of three expansion teams in the Triple-A League. The other two are the East London Latin Boys and the Kent Bucs, both promoted from the Double-A League which the Latin Boys won last year.

Similar to Tottenham Hotspurs and their newly-built stadium this year, the Herts Londoners will have to wait a few weeks for their first home game at their new Basing Hill Ballpark in North West London which is being built at the moment. Until then, they will play their first two home games at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead starting with a doubleheader versus Kent Bucs on Opening Day, 7 April. Their first game at Basing Hill Ballpark will be on 19 May.

The Triple-A League Playoffs will be played on 24-25 August alongside the NBL postseason.

Herts Londoners Schedule

DOUBLE-A LEAGUE

After reaching the Playoff Semi-Final last year, the Hawks will be hoping to go one better this time around. They open the new season on Sunday, 14 April, at home against the Richmond Dragons.

They have been placed in a division which looks very different this year as the geographic boundaries had to be redrawn after the addition of the Bristol Badgers who were the 2018 runners-up having previously played in the Central Division.

The Double-A Postseason will be played over three weekends starting with the Quarter-Finals on 25 August, Semi-Finals on 1 September and ending on 8 September with the National Final.

Herts Hawks Schedule

SINGLE-A LEAGUE

Herts will be represented by two teams in the Single-A League. The Herts Raptors will play their home games at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead and the Herts Eagles will be based at the club’s new Basing Hill Ballpark in North West London.

Both teams open their campaigns at home on 14 April – Raptors versus London Musketeers and Eagles versus London Mustangs which will be the first ever baseball game to be played at Basing Hill Ballpark.

Both Herts teams are in the same division which brings the mouth-watering prospect of the Herts derby, which is always a special occasion for Herts baseball fans. Mark 14 July and 11 August in your diaries when the two teams will play at Grovehill Ballpark and Basing Hill Ballpark, respectively. The last Herts derby took place in 2016 when the Raptors were drawn to play against the Herts Hawks in the Single-A Playoff Quarter-Final.

The Single-A Playoffs will be played over three weekends – Wild Card games on 25 August, Quarter-Finals on 1 September, Semi-Finals on 7 September and the Final on 8 September.

Herts Raptors Schedule

Herts Eagles Schedule

MLB LONDON SERIES

There will be no games in any of the four BBF leagues on the weekend of 29-30 June to make way for the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees who will play two regular season games at the London Stadium as part of the MLB London Series.

PLAYERS STILL REGISTERING

It is not too late to register and play for the Herts adult and youth league teams based in Hemel Hempstead and North West London. In fact, the club has intentionally left extra capacity in the team rosters to accommodate the anticipated increased interest from new players on the back of the excitement surrounding the MLB London Series. Contact us for more details how to join or to come and try baseball at an upcoming open session.

1 April 20191 April 2019 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Falcons, Sidewinders and Bobcats are the HSL champs

NBL/TRIPLE-A

The Herts Falcons won the NBL/Triple-A Division of the HSL convincingly with a 100% record (4-0). The London Mammoths were tied with the Herts Londoners both with a .500 record, but the Mammoths took second place based on their two wins over the Londoners in the head-to-head games. The Falcons and Londoners rosters were mixed for the HSL games as the managers of the two teams were assessing their squads for the 2019 season. We expect the Opening Day rosters of the two teams to be announced shortly. The London Archers impressed everyone and they now head to the Czech Republic where they will represent Great Britain in the PONY Tournament in Prague.

There were some flame-throwers on show and coaches came prepared (photos by Rob Jones)

DOUBLE-A

In the Double-A Division the Sidewinders overcame all challengers to clinch the HSL title. MK Bucks and the London Marauders were not not far away which suggests that we will see a very competitive race in the BBF Double-A League this season. The Hawks finished in last place, but don’t write them off. Over the last few years they have been one of the front runners in Double-A.

SINGLE-A

There was a very close three-horse race in the Single-A Division and the tie-break rule had to be applied to determine the HSL winner. Tonbridge’s superior head-to-head record against the London Musketeers nudged them into first place. We saw a large number of new players in the Eagles and Raptors rosters during the HSL and the managers of both teams experimented with various lineups, trying players in different positions. This would have given them valuable information and, as the league games commence, players will get a clearer idea of the positions and roles which they will be playing this season.

View HSL scoreboard

View HSL standings

GB NATIONAL YOUTH TEAM TRIALS

The HSL schedule also featured the Great Britain National Youth Team Trials which Herts has now hosted for a second consecutive year. We saw around 100 young players take part and they impressed. The GB coaches will now have the difficult task of whittling the list down before announcing the National Team squads for the upcoming international competitions. Many of the candidates were members of the Herts youth and adult teams and we hope to see them in action around the world this year.

2019 OPENING DAY JUST DAYS AWAY

We saw home runs, spectacular defence, lights-out pitching, many players who will be making their BBF league debuts in 2019 and a whole lot more over the last three weeks of the HSL.

With Spring Training completed, British baseball teams up and down the country will hope that this will be their year. Stay tuned as we build up to the 2019 Opening Day in the coming days. Also follow us on Twitter and Facebook for a comprehensive coverage of the 2019 baseball season.

10 March 201925 March 2019 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts teams announce preliminary 2019 rosters for the HSL

The five Herts teams have announced their preliminary rosters for the 2019 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 2019 Opening Day rosters. The Falcons and Londoners rosters are combined for this reason and it is expected that there will be a large amount of crossover between the two teams throughout the HSL.

The HSL games commence on 16 March 2019.

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 / HERTS LONDONERS

Aaron Witter
Alex Deacon
Andrew Roberts
Carlos Casal Jr
Christopher Gregory
Colin Whitton
Cristobal Hiche
Daniel Whitton
Darrin Ward
Dennis Grogan
Dominic Hill
Duane Badenhorst
Gary Davison
Hector Miguel Sarmiento de la Cruz
Jamie Warren
Jarrod Pretorius
John Blose
Kimiyoshi Saionji
Lucas Lebrato
Marco Pestana
Matthew Moran
Miguel Rodriguez
Moise Vasquez
Nicolas Goetz
Petar Kikel
Phil Clark
Robert Gibson
Sebastian Molina
Tetsuro Shinkawa
Tom Carson
Tyler Badenhorst
Wade Lynch
Walter Bates
Yosdany Bueno

HERTS HAWKS

Andrew Slater
Andy Cornish
Antony Lavender
Brian Morgan
Charlie Mayhew
Dan Bartram
Edoardo Lisi
Gilberto Medina
Giuseppe Basilea
Greg Bochan
Hunter Devine
Jamie Lang
Jonathon Lewys
Josh Morgan
Louis Hare
Michael Cresswell
Rod Naghar
Sonam Lama

HERTS RAPTORS

Alex Coakley
Bobby Gould
Callum Barwick
Daniel Gipple
Daniel Moran
Daniel Shaw
David Grindstaff
Francois Earp
Jay Curtis
Jack O’Brien
James Emblow
John Kjorstad
Jordon Fox
Kai Rajah
Laurence Currington
Lee Manning
Mantas Poderys
Matthew Jackson
Michael Johnson
Nicholas Durer
Oliver Durer
Paul Barton
Rob Jones
Stephen Patmore

HERTS EAGLES

Adam Collins
Adam Scales
Alessandro Antonini
Alexander Trautman
Andy Stratford
Antonio Lourenco
Arnold Longboy
Aspi Dimitrov
Clive Johnson
Darren Priest
Kumail Jaffer
Max Trautman
Mohamed Abdule
Robert Gibson
Tom Lock
Trevor Clissold

Adult and youth players, from beginners to advanced players, are now registering for the 2019 baseball season. For more details about how to join any of the Herts adult and youth 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.

1 February 20191 February 2019 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Deadline Day bombshell – not 3, not 4, but 5

With just a few minutes remaining before midnight on Deadline Day for registration of teams for the 2019 league season of the British Baseball Federation, Herts Baseball Club submitted five team entries, adding two new Herts teams to the three which played in the BBF leagues last season.

The Herts Londoners were unveiled three weeks ago, so their league entry was expected. The question which everyone was asking was which league the Londoners would play in. The club has now confirmed that they will play in the Triple-A League – the second league tier of British baseball.

A Triple-A team has been the missing piece in the Herts team lineup. There hasn’t been a Herts Triple-A team since 2015 and the last time they won the Triple-A National title was in 2008 (pictured right). The club now has a team in all four league tiers which gives them the opportunity to offer baseball to players of all levels from beginners to players of the highest calibre.

The Triple-A League is seen as the stepping stone for players aspiring to play in the National Baseball League (NBL). Triple-A teams are monitored closely by the Great Britain National Team coaching staff as they feature many players who are bidding for a place in the various GB National Teams.

It is a very competitive league so the Londoners will probably be seen as the underdogs in 2019, but with two months remaining until Opening Day and new players registering to play for Herts every week, they may surprise their opponents.

We thought that this would be the only news today but, without any advance notice, Herts also confirmed that they will be entering a fifth team, reviving the Herts Eagles who played in the Triple-A and Single-A Leagues in the past. Like the Londoners, the Eagles will also be based at the club’s new Basing Hill Ballpark in North West London.

This season they will play in the Single-A League which is the fourth tier of the British baseball league system. “Since player registration commenced for the 2019 season we have seen players of all levels registering to play at our new ballpark in NW London and having two teams there in Triple-A and Single-A enables us to offer the right baseball experience to players of all levels” said a club spokesperson.

Herts Baseball Club has had five senior league teams only once in its history. That was back in 2013. The difference this time around is that three of the teams will play their home games in Hemel Hempstead and two in NW London.

TEAM	LEAGUE	HOME BALLPARK
Herts Falcons	NBL	Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead
Herts Londoners	Triple-A	Basing Hill Ballpark, NW London
Herts Hawks	Double-A	Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead
Herts Raptors	Single-A	Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead
Herts Eagles	Single-A	Basing Hill Ballpark, NW London

We understand these decisions were made by the club late into the night at a conference call which was originally scheduled to last only 45 minutes, but ended up being a tense discussion which took nearly three hours to come to a conclusion. They had to consider a vast number of factors such as roster size and competitiveness at the two ballparks, how many more players are likely to join the club between now and Opening Day, and how many more will do so throughout the six months of the baseball season.

Then there is the MLB London Series factor. The club is already seeing the positive effects of this, and it is likely to be felt even more as we approach the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees games at the London Stadium on 29 and 30 June. Deadline Day for team entries has now passed, but Herts has left sufficient room in its five team rosters to be able to welcome new players throughout the year.

We now wait to see what surprises the BBF will have for us, what the four league lineups will look like in 2019, and what opponents will stand in the way of the five Herts teams.

Adult and youth players, from beginners to advanced players, are now registering for the 2019 baseball season. For more details about how to join any of the Herts adult and youth baseball and softball teams in Hemel Hempstead and in NW London or to try baseball at an upcoming open session, contact Herts Baseball Club.