Category: Club News

by AspiDimitrov

BATTER UP! HERTS SPRING LEAGUE SET TO COMMENCE. RECORD NUMBER OF TEAMS ENTER THE COMPETITION

15 March 2009 – Spring has arrived and that means that the baseball season is just around the corner, but before the 2009 Opening Day, fans of British baseball will have a chance to see the teams in action in the Herts Spring League (HSL), organised by Herts Baseball Club.

 

Last year was the inaugural year of the HSL and this time around it is set to be bigger and better.   In 2008 ten teams took part.  This year the demand has been phenomenal with 13 teams entering the league.  The organisers actually had to turn away several other teams as there simply weren’t enough venues to fit all the teams. 

 

This year, teams will be coming from all corners of Southern England, from Southampton to Alconbury, and they have been divided into two Pools.

 

Pool 1 includes the Essex Arrows, Southampton Mustangs and the Sidewinders, which are three teams with many years of experience at AAA level.   They are joined by the Bracknell Blazers and the newest member of the National League, the Herts Falcons.  The Alconbury Braves complete the Pool 1 line-up.  Like the ASL Eagles who won last year’s HSL1, no one knows what to expect of the Braves as they are joining the BBF Leagues for the first time this year, but will certainly be a team to watch out for as their roster comprises US Army personnel from RAF Alconbury. 

 

For one week only, Richmond’s National League team, the Flames, will play a one-off game against the Falcons.  The Flames’ record in this game will be added to their sister club, the Richmond Dragons who head the line-up in Pool 2.

 

Also in Pool 2 are the Milton Keynes Bucks, Braintree Rays and the Medway Mariners, who from this year will be renamed as the Kent Mariners following their merger with the Tonbridge Bobcats.  The final two teams in Pool 2 are the Eagles and the Hawks from the host club, Herts.

 

The games will be played at three venues: Herts, Richmond and Harlow.  Those who will be attending the games at Grovehill Ballpark in Hertfordshire will have a chance to see the developments which are taking place at Herts Baseball Club with a brand new outfield fence installed just a week ago.  This makes Herts Baseball Club the first British club with permanent outfield fence on both its diamonds.  Harlow is a relatively new club on the British baseball map and is one of the few clubs in the country who have a purpose-built baseball field.  The games taking place in Harlow will be used as part of Harlow’s plans to create its own adult team to support its existing youth programme.

 

The games will take place over three consecutive Sundays commencing on 29 March 2009 and will conclude on 12 April which is the final Sunday before Opening Day ’09.

 

The HSL is a competition organised by Herts Baseball Club.   It is similar to the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues in Florida and Arizona, respectively, and is used in the same way, as a pre-season competition to prepare the players for the season ahead.

 

This is a great opportunity for players of any standard to get in touch with their nearest team and to get involved in time for this year’s edition of the HSL.  Don’t miss it.

 

Contact Herts Baseball Club to get ivolved in the Herts Spring League.  Players of any standard are welcome.

 

For more information visit the official Herts Spring League website.

by AspiDimitrov

GROVEHILL BALLPARK FEATURED ON “MR BASEBALL”

 

The following article first appeared on the website www.mister-baseball.com.  It was written by Joe Gray who also provided the images of Grovehill Ballpark in his article.  Joe Gray writes for www.BaseballGB.co.uk  and also looks after Great British top-tier statistics, Project Cobb, and theGreat Britain National Team archive.

 

The HERTS FALCONS (Herts Baseball Club’s first team) will play in the top tier of the British baseball league for the first time this season, and installation of an outfield fence has just been completed at the team’s home field, Grovehill Park.

 

The fencing was installed not only for the main diamond at Grovehill Park, but also for a second diamond, which will be prepared over the summer to ready it for Opening Day 2010 (see right). The work is part of Herts Baseball Club’s Diamond Development project, which has been funded in part by the UK National Lottery’s Awards for All programme and in part through income raised by members and friends of the club.

 

The HERTS FALCONS will play in the National Baseball League (NBL) South, and of the four teams they will compete against, only one – the CROYDON PIRATES – has a diamond with a permanent outfield fence.

 

Click to view the full article.

by AspiDimitrov

BASEBALL AND ME

Baseball appears to be receiving more and more coverage on British TV and Radio over the last few years.  This Saturday (7 March) at 10:30am Radio 4 will do a special feature on baseball entitled “Baseball and Me”.

Simon Schama, who has lived in the United States for 30 years, explores his love of baseball.

He first walked into a ballpark in the early 1980s. From the moment he saw the floodlit green of the Fenway Park turf and the theatrical attire of the Boston Red Sox he was smitten. Before then, cricket had been his sport, but all too quickly wickets became bases and bowlers became pitchers.

Simon fell in love with baseball – its statistics, language, characters and history. Now he seeks to explain why he, and the United States, are so infatuated with a game that the British so often dismiss.

Simon gains behind-the-scenes access to his adopted team, the Boston Red Sox. The lockeroom, the scoreboard operator and, most importantly, the man who sells the famous Fenway Frank hotdog are all players in a pageant that holds a nation in its thrall.

Catch the show live at 10:30am on Radio 4 or later on the BBC Radio Player

by AspiDimitrov

KEEPING AN EYE ON THE FENCE INSTALLATION

Earlier today, work started at Grovehill Ballpark with the installation of the outfield fence.  This stage of the project is expected to be completed within a week, subject to suitable weather conditions.  By the end of today all 90 or so holes around the two diamonds will be made and the posts will be placed in them.  The concrete is scheduled to go in on Wednesday.  Finally, the green chainlink fence will be rolled out and installed on the posts. 

If the weather conditions over the next few days are not suitable, this final part of the installation may have to be completed next week. 

Over the course of the installation we will keep you updated with images from the ballpark.  If you are passing by Grovehill Ballpark during this time and you happen to take a photo of the work please send it to us secertary@hertsbaseball.com

Any new images will be uploaded on the Herts Baseball Flickr pages, so click on it to see the images which have been uploaded so far.

For photos of yesterday's Herts Baseball Open Trials event click here.

by AspiDimitrov

BUILDING WORK COMMENCES AT GROVEHILL BALLPARK

20 months after the start of the Grovehill Ballpark project, work on the baseball diamonds in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire will commence this Monday, 2 March 2009, immediately after Sunday’s Herts Baseball Club Open Trials and exhibition game between the GB Juniors and the Herts Falcons. 

 

This first stage of the project will involve the installation of the outfield fence for the existing baseball diamond and the second diamond which Herts Baseball Club is creating this year.

 

This would make Grovehill Ballpark the first baseball facility in Great Britain with two diamonds which have permanent outfield fence.

 

The outfield fence will be Chainlink coated in green PVC material (example image shown).  It will include a double top-rail system to support the weight of outfielders making a leaping catch at the fence. 

 

Herts players who returned to the field a few weeks ago for the start of outdoor Spring Training noticed the fact that the football pitch beyond left field has been moved by 21 feet to make space for what will be one of the deepest baseball outfields in Great Britain.  For Diamond 1 the distance to Left Field will be 312 feet, 363 to Center Field and 265 to Right Field.

 

When the Herts Little League players start Spring Training in March the Ballpark will be able to accommodate three Little League-size diamonds which will have permanent fence and three without permanent fence, but with permanent backstops. 

 

So, no more temporary orange outfield net for all Herts Teams.

 

Work will begin at 1pm on Monday with the installation of the posts.  This will be followed by the installation of the actual Chainlink fence on Wednesday.  This stage of the project is expected to be completed by the end of the week, which means that when Herts players report for split-squad training on Sunday, 8 March, they will have a brand new permanent fence installed.

 

This project is partly-funded by the National Lottery’s Awards for All programme, with the remaining funds raised by members and friends of Herts Baseball Club.

 

Due to the timing of the next step of the project, which is the levelling of the playing surface of the second diamond, the installation of the backstop for the second diamond will have to be delayed to coincide with that next stage.  The reason is that the backstop will be located on a slope which will be levelled in the summer and installing the backstop before that levelling process is going to be difficult, so the Club has chosen the less risky option of waiting until the summer.  As a result when there is a clash of adult home games at Grovehill during the 2009 league season, Herts Baseball Club will be making arrangements to stage such games at other baseball venues located nearby.  The second field is expected to become fully operational for the start of the 2010 season.

 

by AspiDimitrov

HERTS FALCONS, GB JUNIORS PLAY FIRST GAME OF 2009

Herts seeks National League hopefuls and rookies alike to ‘join the family’.

 

The Herts Falcons Spring Training Camp will face off against the Great Britain Junior National team on Sunday, in what marks the first baseball game of the English pre-season.   GB Coach Paul Vernon will field a team of home-grown talent, while Herts will form a mixed squad: some returning veterans from their 2008 AAA Championship Team, some call-ups from within their organization, and hopefully some National League contenders who turn up that morning for the Club’s Open Trials.

 

The spring training exhibition match will take place at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead as a postscript to the Herts Baseball Club’s official tryouts.  Herts is rapidly expanding into the UK’s largest baseball franchise, introducing a fourth adult squad in 2009 and sending their flagship Falcons to the invite-only National Baseball League.  To pad out their rosters with as much talent as possible, Herts will run an Open Trials & Rookies Clinic starting at 9am on Sunday 1 March.

 

But Herts is not just seeking newcomers to the game.  “We’re looking for skill and enthusiasm at every level of play,” confesses Falcons Manager Jason Greenberg.  “In an ideal world, on Sunday we’ll see talented veterans, complete rookies, and everything in between.  We’re hoping to swell our ranks by 10 to 20 players, and we think the enticement of joining a multi-tier franchise with a team in the National League will encourage a lot of guys to turn out.  We want to give an opportunity to any British slugger to join a quality organization that provides them a chance to advance to the National League… rather than top-out at AA or AAA.”

 

The GB Juniors last came to Grovehill Ballpark in summer 2008…

 

The Trials will consist of timed base-running, infield, outfield and batting drills, and a radar-gunned bullpen session for pitchers and catchers.  Then, as the tryouts end the exhibition game against the GB Juniors gets underway at 2.30pm.  Greenberg plans to suit-up an expanded spring training roster of around 15-20 players, including some of the standouts from earlier in the day.


“Winning is not the first priority in the game against the Juniors,” says Greenberg.  “We’ll give them a good game, I’m sure, and I like our chances for a win… but our managerial staff is looking to evaluate our own players, move them around to different positions, really take stock of what we’ve got to work with this season.”  Greenberg and his co-managers have introduced the Herts organisation to a system of player movement like the one in Major League Baseball, where excelling stars are promoted within the organisation.  “We plan to shift players quite a bit through the year – as much as the BBF regulations will allow.  Hopefully it will motivate our members to develop and improve, and it lets our competitors know we’re using every tool in the box to go out there and win ballgames.”


REGISTER FOR THE OPEN TRIALS HERE: www.hertsbaseball.com/trials/

For more information about the March 1 event: join@hertsbaseball.com

Or visit the Herts Baseball Club website: www.hertsbaseball.com

 

by AspiDimitrov

HERTS SLUGGER TIM ELKINS CALLED-UP TO BOSTON RED SOX


[written by Newswire contributor and Red Sox 'National' TIM ELKINS, Herts #45]

Well, the day had finally arrived.

The 6.30am bus from the hotel pulled up outside the Boston Red Sox Player Development Centre in Fort Myers for the start of another Fantasy Camp. 120 like-minded, rabid Red Sox fans turned up to live out their dream and don the fabled Red Sox uniform.  We would get to play, drink and chew the fat with legends of the hallowed game from the past and the present.

It was like my first day at school all over again: I didn't know where I was going, what the clubhouse etiquette would be, whether Youk would bite off my head if I asked him for an autograph as he went (again) past the workout area (he didn't – he was very nice), nor what the fabled “Kangaroo Court” would hold for me each morning.

The first thing that hit me was the sheer size of the Spring Training clubhouse – home to the Red Sox players (both minor and major league) during the months of February and March. Row after row of open locker with uniforms hanging neatly in them in this huge, hangar of a building. Yours truly spent 15 minutes looking for locker #128 – my locker for the next week.  After that, who knows whose uniform will hang there? Tek? Papelbon?  Big Papi?



Finally I found it, and the sight of the uniform and locker with my name on them, well, it took my breath away.  I realised this was not a dream.  I pinched myself, and I was actually here.  I would play 8 games against fellow campers and 1 game against the pros and legends in the next 5 days.  (Gulp.)

Luckily, the fitness room was stocked with ice, wraps and spare limbs, and they somehow managed to get most people through the week, much to the surprise and delight of their regular visitors.  My locker was directly outside the fitness room, and yes, the line got longer and longer as the week went on.  On one side, my locker buddy was a catcher from Portugal, and on the other side, fabled Red Sox 3rd baseman from the 1960's, Frank Malzone.  Despite being in his 80's, he still managed to give me a good ribbing as a clubhouse rookie.  Behind me was Butch Hobson, 3rd baseman and my team coach. His classic quote as he walked in after a particular hard night at the hotel was “my hair hurts”. I think we all sympathised with him.



Most games were played at the Players Development Complex, the Spring Training practice ground, but everyone got the chance to play several matches at the fabled City of Palms Park, where the Red Sox play their home Spring Training games. Walking out on to that field, with the 7,500-seater stadium stands behind me… and my name being announced by fabled Red Sox announcer, Joe Castiglione, as I came up to bat… and sitting in the same dug out as some of the greatest players in the game… that was an experience that will stay with me forever.



The whole week was beyond description, and I cannot hope to do it justice with the written word.  The fact that our team of 14 guys who had never met before, including the two coaches, Butch Hobson and Dick Drago, came together in an unfamiliar environment, pulled together as a team (even when not winning) and arrived at the other end of the tunnel was to the very great credit of all those involved.  I've made firm friends with whom I hope to stay in contact for a long, long time.



The overall organisation was exceptional, and my heartfelt thanks go out to the guys at Fenway Sports Group, the staff at the Players Development Clubhouse, and all the pros and legends who made this such an unforgettable experience.  For this British baseball player, it was a dream come true.

by AspiDimitrov

HERTS BASEBALL TO FEATURE ON BBC RADIO: SATURDAY 21 FEB, 2.15pm



BBC Three Counties Radio will host Falcons Manager Jason Greenberg on Saturday afternoon's sports round-up, as he works the wires to promote the upcoming Herts Open Trials and Rookies Clinic on Sunday 1 March.

On that day, the Herts Baseball Club will undertake their largest adult recruitment event ever.  The gates at Grovehill Ballpark will be opened to the entire UK baseball community – experienced sluggers eager to make the National League Falcons squad, and newcomers to the game alike are expected to strap on their spikes and head to the field to test their mettle.



BBC 3CR has taken a keen interest in Herts Baseball over the last couple years, and star sports commentator Luke Ashmead was keen to get Greenberg back on the air for some discussion of 'the greatest game on dirt.'

Herts is expecting their greatest season yet in 2009.  With four adult teams and a thriving Little League programme they are set to become the largest, most successful baseball franchise in the United Kingdom.  Their flagship squad, the Herts Falcons, were recently inducted into the British National Baseball League, the top level of play in Britain.

On March 1st, following the open try-outs, Greenberg will lead his spring training camp in an exhibition game versus the Great Britain Junior National Team.  While the Falcons camp will comprise mostly of returning Herts players, standouts from the intense day of skills testing will be invited to join the bench and get into the game.  It should prove a terrific showcase of both newfound and veteran Herts talent.

Greenberg was unavailable for comment on the Falcons' chances for a winning summer, but you can catch his optimism and enthusiasm for the growing Herts programme this Saturday at 2.15pm on 95.5, 103.8, or 104.5 FM.

by AspiDimitrov

A CHANCE FOR HERTS BASEBALL FANS TO SUPPORT THE GB TEAM ON THEIR WAY TO THE WORLD CUP

 

Herts Baseball Club is committed to helping the Great Britain National Team to raise the funding necessary to send a fully prepared squad to the World Cup in September. The Great Britain team is involved in various fundraising projects.  One of them is the sale of GB baseball merchandise. 

 

Readers of the Herts Baseball Newswire can help the GB National Team by ordering merchandise.  The following are the items on offer:

GB Caps: £10 each – One size fits all
GB T-shirts: £10 each – Large and XLarge
GB Pins: £1 each
BBF baseballs: £5 each

Some sample images can be seen by clicking HERE.

Please send in your orders to secretary@hertsbaseball.comby Thursday, February 26th at the latest.

 

In your order email please indicate the quantity (and size for T-shirts) of the items which you want to order.

by AspiDimitrov

HERTS BASEBALL TO HOLD OPEN TRY-OUT, ROOKIES CLINIC ON SUNDAY 1 MARCH, CLUB TO RECREATE MLB EXPERIENCE IN HERTFORDSHIRE AND NORTH WEST LONDON

 

A look back at the newspapers over the last few weeks may lead us to the conclusion that the people of Britain are concerned with nothing other than snow and how the newly-elected American President is going to save us all from the worst economic crisis in 100 years, while at the same time football clubs have been breaking transfer records with hundreds of millions of pounds spent on players.

 

But in Hertfordshire and North West London a whole community has been thinking of nothing but baseball with the launch of a campaign for the promotion of the game in the region.

 

Herts Baseball Club is preparing for one of its most important seasons in its history.  After the Herts Falcons won the AAA National Championship last year, the British Baseball Federation invited them to join the top tier of British Baseball – the National Baseball League.  Jason Greenberg, the Manager who led the Falcons to the title said: “This is the first time that a team from Hertfordshire will play at the highest level of British baseball.  The Club has also announced plans to create a fourth adult team, the Herts Eagles, which is expected to join the League at the AAA level.  This would mean that Herts Baseball Club would be the only baseball organisation in Great Britain to have a team at every level of British Baseball.”

 

Greenberg added: “Whatever your baseball abilities, anyone from absolute beginners to elite players, would be able to find a Herts baseball team to fit with their level.  Those who work hard to improve will be able to progress up the Herts pyramid all the way to National League level.”

 

The Herts players have just returned to the baseball diamond after intense indoor sessions in the last few weeks.  This coincides with the launch of the Club’s 2009 recruitment campaign.  The campaign aims to make men and women, boys and girls, of any age, aware of one of the most popular sports in the world.  Not many Brits know that baseball is played by millions across the globe and that the game of baseball is alive and well right here in the British Isles, and is growing fast. 

 

Over the years, Hollywood movies have given the British public a sense of the significance of baseball and why it generates so much passion.  Club President, Aspi Dimitrov said:  “For one reason or another, the opportunity to play baseball in this country has never been marketed well.  We are hoping to change this in our region with our campaign.  Our club is looking to recreate the Major League Baseball (MLB) experience for all its members – the competition for places in pre-season Spring Training; hitting a home run like Barry Bonds; looking to have a better batting average than Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees; striking out a batter with a nasty curveball, turning a double-play, coming up to bat with two outs in the bottom of the ninth – these are just some of the aspects which our players get to experience in the course of the British baseball season.  We want more people to experience this.  In the first of a series of promotional videos which can be seen on our website, we have tried to put exactly this point across”

 

 

As part of the Campaign, on Sunday 1 March 2009, the Club is staging Open Trials for anyone who wants to get a taste of baseball.  The Try Outs are aimed at both newcomers and players who are hoping to make the Herts Falcons roster in their first season in the British National Baseball League.  They will all go through a series of skills trials which will test their batting, fielding, pitching and running abilities.  Since any adult can join the Herts Baseball Club, and all members get playing time on the diamond each weekend, the day is not about 'making the cut'… but, rather, welcoming new members to the Herts family and helping the four team managers fashion their squads (or 'Camps') for the rest of the Spring Training.

 

Dimitrov is certain that among the newcomers there will be players who unknowingly possess phenomenal baseball talent.  He said:  “We are hoping that we will discover a Roy Hobbs (from the Oscar-nominated movie, The Natural, starring Robert Redford), someone who can hit a home run or maybe a flame-throwing pitcher.  The Managers will have a radar gun ready and hopefully someone will be able to get into 80mph or, who knows, maybe even 90mph.  We may just find that player who helps one of our four teams bring home the Championship trophy.”  

 

In the afternoon, Falcons Manager, Jason Greenberg, will send his Spring Training Camp out for an exhibition game against the Great Britain Juniors National Team.  Apart from existing Herts players the Falcons NBL Camp will include a selection of invitees who impress during the morning tests.

 

Those who are interested to attend should register online at: http://www.hertsbaseball.com/trials/

Any questions about the day's events can be directed to join@hertsbaseball.com. 

 

If you can’t wait until 1 March, you can join the Herts players in their upcoming Spring Training sessions.  All of these sessions and the Open Day on 1 March are open for anyone to attend and there are no costs involved.  Newcomers who don’t have a baseball glove will be provided with one.

 

·         BULLPEN SESSION, Sat – 14 Feb 2009 – 11:45 , Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead

·         HEADSTART CLINIC, Sun – 15 Feb 2009 – 11:15 , Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead

·         SPRING TRAINING, Sun – 15 Feb 2009 – 12:45 , Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead

·         BULLPEN SESSION, Sat – 21 Feb 2009 – 12:45 , Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead

·         SPRING TRAINING, Sun – 22 Feb 2009 – 10:45 , Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead

·         OPEN HERTS TRIALS, Sun – 01 Mar 2009 – 09:45 , Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead

·         TEAM TRAINING (SPLIT-SQUAD), Sun – 08 Mar 2009 – 09:45 , Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead

·         TEAM TRAINING (SPLIT-SQUAD), Sun – 15 Mar 2009 – 09:45, Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead

 

Note: These events are for adults (14 years old and above).  For boys and girls under 14 the Club will soon be publishing details of the 2009 Herts Little League season.  If you are under 14 years of age please contact the club for more details about the Herts Little League.