Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that its 20th Annual General Meeting will take place on Sunday, 15 January 2017.

In 2016 the club continued its growth and success on and off the field. The AGM will provide a deeper understanding of the club’s present position, and will set out the plans for 2017 and beyond. Members will receive the AGM Information Pack in due course and that will give a better idea of what to expect at the meeting.

In accordance with the Constitution, a number of Board positions will be up for election at the upcoming AGM either as part of the annual retirement of a third of the Board positions or because they are vacant.

The club is now inviting nominations for the following Board positions:

• President
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• Manager Third Team – Herts Raptors
• Youth League Commissioner
• Head of U17 Baseball
• Head of U13 Baseball
• Head of U11 Baseball
• Head of U8 Baseball
• Communications Director

Those who are interested to put their name forward or second a nomination can contact the club for more details.

Although only 2016 club members have the right to vote at the AGM, the meeting is very much open to former members and those who are considering joining the club in 2017 as players, members of staff, volunteers and fans. This is a good opportunity for newcomers to learn more about the club and meet its members. The meeting is also open to observers who are not members of the Club. Non-members who plan to attend would need to advise the club in advance as spaces are limited. If you are not a current member and wish to attend the AGM please contact the club.

The AGM will be held just a few minutes away from Grovehill Ballpark. The venue is the Grovehill Youth Centre.

DATE:    Sunday, 15 January 2017

TIME:    Registration starts at 12:45pm, the AGM will commence at 1:00pm (expected to end at around 4:30pm)

VENUE:                Grovehill Youth Centre, Stevenage Rise, Hemel Hempstead, Herts HP2 6BH (Directions and Map)

Herts Baseball Club received the sad news that Dave Smith passed away last Thursday after battling with medical issues over the last few months.

Over the years Dave umpired in the National Baseball League which is British Baseball’s highest league. He also supported Herts Baseball Club umpiring youth baseball and games at all other league levels as well as some of the largest tournaments in Great Britain such as the Herts Futures Tournament, Herts Spring League and others.

His involvement with Herts Baseball Club extended into other roles including being part of the club’s coaching staff. Before becoming an umpire Dave played for many years mainly as a middle infielder and sometimes at first base.

He was a true baseball fan and, even on days when he wasn’t umpiring or coaching and despite medical difficulties in recent months, he enjoyed coming down to the ballpark to watch whatever games or training sessions were taking place, following the progress of players and teams.

Herts Baseball Club and the wider British Baseball community has lost one of its friends.

We will miss you Dave. Our thoughts are with your family.

A clutch of young Herts baseball stars have been named to the rosters for Great Britain’s development programme.

The national team development programme (NTDP) is divided into three sections — under-15; under-18; and seniors. It’s intended to give a wide pool of players the chance of elite preparation and training, and these rosters will be used for selecting the teams for international competitions.

At U-15, Herts is represented by Jamie Warren, a new arrival at the club. He and his family have already made an impression with both the U-17 programme and the Herts Hawks in the BBF adult leagues.

Coaches see potential in Jamie for a high quality player — a feeling that GB obviously shares — and he has already been part of the national high performance academy.

Great Britain will send an U-15 team to the Confederation of European Baseball (CEB) European Championship Qualifier in Switzerland in July.

Several young stars from the revamped Herts Falcons have been chosen for the U-18 roster. Having risen through the club’s ranks they have also been familiar faces to GB for several years.

Conner Brown and Brodie Caress have been turning out for the Falcons already this season as catcher and pitcher and have performed superbly. Carlos Casal and Zack Longboy — who have long, successful connections to Herts — have also been selected for the NTDP. 

The U18 programme will send a GB national team to the CEB European Championship in Spain in July. This year’s championship will also serve as qualifier for the 2017 World Cup.

Last but not least, Will Zucker has been named to the GB Lions. This team is intended to bridge the gap between the Under-18 and the senior national team.

Will’s pitching helped take the Herts Raptors to national playoffs just a few years ago and, despite heading off to university, his links to Herts remain strong. The Lions will take part in an All-Star game against NBL talent later in May.

Most of the players on these rosters are British-based, and a wide range of clubs across the country are represented. Over time, GB Baseball says it hopes to include players from even more clubs.

The NTDP will see the players benefit from a strength and conditioning coach, as well as a sports science expert and — of course – top baseball coaches.

There have been tryouts in March, and more will take place later in the year. On top of that, coaches will be scouting British baseball games for the best talent available.

Herts Baseball Club has unveiled its new baseball cap model, the 59FIFTY Diamond Era Technology by New Era.

The club chose New Era as its official baseball cap supplier before the start of the 2014 season and has not regretted that decision. New Era is an international brand with sports heritage that dates back over 90 years. Best known for being the official on-field cap for Major League Baseball and the National Football League, New Era is the brand of choice not only for its headwear collection, but also for its accessories and apparel lines for men, women and youth.

The brand is worn as a symbol of self-expression by athletes, artists and celebrities around the world. The Company is headquartered in Buffalo, USA and operates facilities in Canada, Europe, Brazil, Japan and Hong Kong.

The new Diamond Era model will be available to buy from club shop this weekend.

Of course the Diamond Era model is not the only one that fans can choose from. There are three other New Era baseball cap models. The original 59FIFTY cap is New Era’s signature fitted cap. It is a structured cap with a flat visor, that has the ability to curve. The 59FIFTY cap has a full crown and six panels. The cap has eight rows of visor stitching and a button on top. The 39THIRTY is a casual cap with a stretch fit. It is a structured cap with a pre-curved visor. The 39THIRTY has a contoured crown and six panels. The 9FORTY has more of a classic, collegiate feel. It is a structured cap with a pre-curved visor. All the models carry the club’s traditional letter “H” on the front which is done with raised embroidery. The New Era logo is on the left side of all the models. The 59FIFTY and 39THIRTY models also have Herts embroidered on the back of the cap similar to the designs adopted by many of the MLB teams.

New Era beanies are also available at the Herts Baseball shop and have proven to be a very popular product, especially at this time of year.

For more information about the new Herts Baseball caps and details how to buy, contact us.

Two of the young stars of Herts baseball club and the Great Britain youth team — Conner Brown and Carlos Casal Jr — have been invited to a prestigious Major League Baseball tournament in Spain next month.

The pair have been selected to the European All Star roster for the MLB Spring Academies Tournament which takes place in Barcelona in March. Only three British players have been chosen — the third being Rory Chandler of the Leicester Blue Sox.

He will join Conner (in catching action, above) and Carlos (pictured below) as part of a team to compete against Academy teams from Holland, Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, Spain and France. They will also have the chance to receive quality instruction from top European coaches and play with other players from across Europe.

Announcing the invites, the Great Britain Juniors head coach Will Lintern said: “You have earned this opportunity because of the hard work and determination you have put into yourselves and the HPA programme over the last 6-8 months. You, your parents, clubs and your schools should be exceptionally proud of what you have achieved. Well done!”

That praise was echoed by Herts club President, Aspi Dimitrov. “It is exciting news”, he said, “and it gives everyone at the club great pleasure to see Carlos and Conner developing as players and as people.”

“We know they will  enjoy the experience in Barcelona”, he added, “and we hope that this will be one of many upcoming opportunities for them”.

Both players have been pulling on the Herts uniform for several years now. Carlos Jr took up the sport when he was 7 years old “after seeing Herts being advertised on ESPN– and I’ve been hooked ever since”, he said.  In 2012 he had his first opportunity to play for Great Britain when he was part of the team which went to Florida in the USSSA Gold Medal Games.

Carlos said: “I’m looking forward to this opportunity, and I feel privileged to have been invited to go.”

Conner has also been playing as catcher for the under-17 GB team, and made his debut with the Herts Falcons in the National Baseball League in 2013. He attended the MLB Academy in Toulouse, France, last Spring — only the second Herts player to get such an invite.

The MLB European Baseball Academy was created to provide training for European, New Zealand and African baseball prospects by former major leaguers.  It also provides a central scouting location during the weeks it is open and over two dozen Academy alumni have signed contracts with MLB teams.

Herts youth and adult players are currently in Spring Training, with pre-season games due to start in March. New players are still joining the club at all levels, and we hope that more young talent can follow in the footsteps of Conner and Carlos.