Category: Club News

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts adds two more board members

Herts Baseball Club’s executive board has expanded with the addition of two more members.

Colin Barrett has been appointed as Head Youth Coach, an area where he has extensive experience as the Head Coach of the South African Under-12 National Team. He also managed the South Africa Men’s Softball National Team at the 2004 World Championships in New Zealand.

The second addition is Erica Barrett who has been appointed as Club Secretary. She also brings a wealth of experience having been involved for many years in baseball and softball in South Africa.

Erica has also expressed interest in getting involved in the club’s softball programme, which is currently placed on hold while it searches to fill the vacant coaching position. Anyone interested in joining the Herts softball programme in a playing, coaching or other capacity can contact the club for more details.

The Barrett family has only just arrived to the UK, but Colin, Erica and their children are already giving a boost to the club as it prepares for the start of the 2020 season.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

New Herts Baseball online shop now open

Herts Baseball Club has appointed the Baseball Outlet to operate the club’s official online shop. It was unveiled earlier today and members and fans of the club can now do their shopping around the clock.

In addition to the range of Herts merchandise, players can also buy gloves, baseball pants, belts and other apparel and baseball equipment.

The range of Herts Baseball merchandise will grow in the coming months.

SHOP NOW

Opened by Joe Black in 2017, Baseball Outlet is a specialist supplier of sports equipment and clothing based in Merseyside where they operate retail premises, in-house garment decoration and a warehouse. Baseball Outlet works with top brands including Wilson, Louisville Slugger, Rawlings, Nike, Evoshield, DeMarini, adidas and Easton. Baseball Outlet is part of the EP Sports brand, also owned by Joe, which counts 12 years’ experience working with top brands and is now the largest American Football store in Europe.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

£8,000 ballpark investment announced at Herts Baseball Club’s AGM supported by a £3,000 Dacorum grant

 

At its Annual General Meeting on Sunday, 5 January 2020, Herts Baseball Club announced that it has been awarded a £3,000 grant by Dacorum Borough Council. The club will add £5,000 of its own funds which it has raised over the years and the total amount of around £8,000 will be invested into repairing and upgrading the perimeter, backstop, outfield and dugout fencing at Grovehill Ballpark which has suffered from vandalism in recent years.

After a year when the club recorded a 54.7% growth in the number of its players coinciding with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees coming to play MLB league games in London, this investment in Grovehill Ballpark is expected to increase participation, wellbeing and enjoyment of the hundreds of baseball players and fans who are using the venue.

Dacorum Borough Council’s Community Grant scheme was set up to support community, voluntary, arts and sporting projects which meet the Council’s vision to create a borough which enables its communities to thrive and prosper. 2020 is Hertfordshire Year of Culture and, in support of this, the Council was particularly interested in receiving applications for projects that have a cultural theme.

Herts Baseball Club has been based at the baseball venue in Grovehill, Hemel Hempstead, since 1996. Up until 2009 the venue had only one baseball diamond. In 2009 the club raised funds and built a second baseball diamond to satisfy demand from the growing number of youth and adult baseball and softball players which were joining the club every year. In 2012 additional funds were raised from BaseballSoftballUK to upgrade the venue by adding home and away team dugouts on each of the two diamonds and perimeter fencing to make the facility fully enclosed in line with baseball requirements.

NBL Postseason Playoff game at Grovehill Ballpark in 2013

In recent years the facility has suffered from serious vandalism. Also some of the fencing dates back to 1996 and needs to be replaced due to wear and tear. This investment will make the venue safe and will deliver several upgrades to reduce the risk of future vandalism.

The project is expected to commence soon with the aim of completing installations in time for the first games of the 2020 British baseball season. Players, from complete beginners to advanced, are now registering for the new season. Click here for details.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Baseball Club 2020 AGM details announced

 

Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that its 23rd Annual General Meeting will take place on Sunday, 5 January 2020.

In 2019 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 2020 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
♦ Secretary
♦ Facilities Manager Grovehill Ballpark
♦ Facilities Manager Basing Hill Ballpark
♦ Manager NBL
♦ Manager Triple-A
♦ Manager Double-A
♦ Manager Single-A
♦ Manager Single-A
♦ Head of U17 Baseball
♦ Head of U15 Baseball
♦ Head of U13 Baseball
♦ Head of U11 Baseball
♦ Head of U8 Baseball
♦ Head of Softball

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

Although only 2019 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 2020 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, at Gadebridge Community Centre.

DATE: Sunday, 5 January 2020

TIME: 12:00pm (registration starts at 11:45am, AGM expected to end at around 4:00pm)

VENUE: Annex Main Hall, Gadebridge Community Centre, The Nokes, Rossgate, Gadebridge, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 3LF (Directions and Map)

FOOD & DRINK: Refreshments and snacks will be served during the AGM.

by Rob Jones

Falcons’ Ryan Bird elected to Hall of Fame

A former Herts Falcons star, who helped the team to its first ever National Baseball League pennant, has been given a deserved place in the British Baseball Hall of Fame.

Ryan Bird was a force both as a pitcher and a slugger in his years with Herts. He is one of four players, coaches and officials from across the game who have been inducted in the Class of 2019.

He is the first Herts figure to be given a place in the Hall, which is another milestone for a club which is now one of the strongest pillars of British baseball.

Bird (far right) in his final Herts game (pic: Richard Lee)

The South African native received immediate recognition in his first year in the British leagues, in 2008. He was voted the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the NBL for his performances with the Richmond Flames. The achievement was all the more remarkable given that this was a time of total domination by the London Mets.

In the following year, Bird was once again voted league MVP, making him the first player to receive two such awards since the London Warriors were the big force in the game. He hit five home runs for Richmond, leading the NBL in that category.

In 2012, Ryan Bird made the high profile move to the Herts Falcons and had an immediate impact. He won a Defensive Award, as the best First Baseman of the Year, and helped Herts to the NBL final series against the Nationals, which they lost in six games.

He would win NBL MVP for a third time in 2013, but that bald fact — impressive as it is — didn’t really do justice to his performance. For one thing, he helped take the Falcons to a 24-4 record and their first ever pennant in the National Baseball League.

Bird drove in a career best 31 runs. And in August he chalked up the extraordinary feat of pitching two back-to-back no-hitters. His first victims were the South London Pirates. He struck out 15 batters and walked only 2 in that victory.

As the Herts report put it at the time: “Maybe it was the very unusual all-lefty battery (Ryan pitching and Cris Hiche catching), or the Bingo Bango written in a player’s forearm, that confused and maybe intimidated the Pirates’ lineup. But I think most likely it was the great command of Ryan’s fastball and his ability to constantly and accurately hit the corners of the plate.”

A week later, Bird did it again. This time the Essex Redbacks were on the wrong end of the no-hitter, with 9 strikeouts recorded. As far as we could tell, the feat was unprecedented in the elite level of British baseball.

The opening game of the 2014 season against the London Mets was Ryan Bird’s last for the Falcons before his move to the USA. He said goodbye to the Herts fans with another outstanding performance going 4-4 with a home run which, according to the game report, “probably is still hovering somewhere over St Albans”.

At the time of his retirement, Bird had the highest career batting average (.508), on base percentage (.578) and slugging percentage (.822) in modern British baseball history.  All told, he tallied 15 HRs and 119 RBI over the course of 385 plate appearances for the Richmond Flames and Herts Falcons (stats from Project Cobb).

Ryan Bird was elected alongside Jason Holowaty and Darrin Muller from the modern ballot, with Alan Asquith being elected by the historical vetting panel that was introduced in 2016.

At the London Series games in 2019 between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, an event honoured the previous round of inductees. The hope is that something similar can be done in June 2020 for this year’s class.

The guardian of the Hall, Matt Smith, said: “I’m delighted to see four such worthy candidates joining our Hall of Fame, all with different stories to tell but sharing a true commitment to the game in Britain and excelling at what they did.”

Thanks to Matt for sections of this article, which appeared first on the baseballgb website. You can read more about the Hall of Fame and its members at bbhof.org

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.

A bright Futures at Herts
by Rob Jones

A bright Futures at Herts

The British weather doesn’t always allow for those visions of long summer days at the ballpark to become a reality.

You know the vision – the sun beats down, the wind is still, the sky is blue. As far as the eye can see, there are baseball games being played. The smell of hot dogs wafts across the field.

This Sunday, the Herts Futures Tournament was able to deliver all of that. The final event of the year for youth players in England was blessed with a beautiful sunny day at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead.

14 teams from 10 baseball clubs from across the country descended on the home of Herts for the twelfth HFT.  They came from as far apart as Cartmel Valley in the Lake District, and Brighton on the south coast.

The competition this year would feature two age groups, Under-11 and Under-13, with teams playing a round of games in pools before each pool winner faced off in the finals.

The first feature of the day was the introduction of the teams to each other and to our four umpires for the day. Blake Taylor and David Jones were joined this year by two Herts volunteers, Mantas Poderys and Jack O’Brien, to oversee the games. The club is, as always, grateful to them for giving up their time to keep events running smoothly.

The teams are all introduced so they can high five the umpires and each other. They all then observed the national anthem, and gathered for a family photograph.

As a little something extra for 2019, all the youth players got to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. All of them. Simultaneously.

Blake Taylor had volunteered to act as the catcher (or maybe just as the “target”?). Once he was in place, the players lined up in front of the mound. They jostled for prime position, like race horses at the start of the Grand National.

There was a dramatic countdown over the public address system, and then their air was filled with a torrent of baseballs. You could see on the faces of the pitchers that they had relished the experience!

Video of this wave of baseballs can be seen on our Facebook and Flickr pages.

It’s raining baseballs….

The first game of the day saw first-timers the Cartmel Valley Lions draw with the London Mets in the Under-13 category. Another debutant team, the Yankees from RAF Lakenheath, got their first win of the day against the Forest Glade Redbacks.

When they started their campaign for the day, it became clear that the Leicester Little Sox in the U-13 section were a force to be reckoned with. Their combination of pitching, speed and hitting beat Herts – who had joined forces with Guildford for the purposes of the day.

In the Under-11 grouping, London Sports powered off to a great start to beat Northants Centurions, before adding the scalp of the London Mets. The Brighton Fireballs showed their intent with a win over Cartmel Valley Tigers.

Cartmel Valley at bat

There were great plays across the four baseball diamonds. Leicester turned a double play to end one of their games; Cartmel Valley’s pitcher made an impressive diving catch. There were plenty of booming hits, and young kids learning the art of pitching performed admirably under pressure.

Back near the pavilion, the Herts concession team was working hard providing refreshments to the masses.

Coffee was the most popular demand during the morning but. once lunchtime came around, it was the traditional hot dog that came to the fore. In fact, a chili dog and an “Outfield Dog” were also on offer. In the afternoon, home-made cake and Krispy Kreme donuts were the thing to have.

Roll up, get your hot dogs here!

In the U-11 final, London Sports took on a mix of the Brighton Fireballs and LYBL. Many clubs joined up for these end of season tournaments, to ensure that players could get a game, and it was good to see them working together. London won this one 5-4 with a walk-off double, ending an excellent day for these teams.

The U-13 final saw the RAF Lakenheath Yankees take on the Leicester Little Sox. Both were undefeated. In the climax, it was the Sox who took the win 6-2 in a closely fought game.

A week earlier, Leicester players had also finished part of the East of England team which was runner-up in the U-10s at the YNBC, so this completed a successful tournament season for them.

Leicester v Guild-Herts

Since its creation in 2008, the Herts Futures Tournament has been a great day for the youth baseball community to get together at the end of the year. The club was delighted to see so many players, parents and coaches come along to enjoy it once again.

It has been a big year for British baseball, with the arrival of MLB games in London. The events at Grovehill on Saturday suggest that the future is bright and the game can continue to grow.

Our full photo album from the day can be seen on our Flickr page – please feel free to find yourself!

by Herts Baseball News Editor

MLB London Series – we still can’t believe this is happening

We are about to experience a historic week for baseball in Great Britain and Europe. We have been waiting for this for many years. We are just days away but still can’t quite believe that this is going to happen in our home city.

Below you will find details of this week’s events and links to more information to make the most of the MLB London Series.

MLB LONDON SERIES – EVENTS SCHEDULE

  • Sunday, 23 June, – MLB Cup London (U13 Baseball) – The London Stadium
  • Tuesday, 25 June, MLB Elite Development Tournament – Farnham Park, Slough
  • Wednesday, 26 June, MLB Elite Development Tournament – Farnham Park, Slough
  • Thursday, 27 June, MLB Elite Development Tournament – Farnham Park, Slough
  • Friday, 28 June, MLB Workout Day – The London Stadium
  • Friday, 28 June, MLB London Yards – The Truman Brewery
  • Saturday, 29 June, MLB Play Ball Park – The London Stadium
  • Saturday, 29 June, MLB London Yards – The Truman Brewery
  • Saturday, 29 June, New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox – The London Stadium
  • Sunday, 30 June, MLB Play Ball Park – The London Stadium
  • Sunday, 30 June, MLB London Yards – The Truman Brewery
  • Sunday, 30 June, New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox – The London Stadium

MLB LONDON SERIES – USEFUL LINKS

PLAY BASEBALL

You don’t have to be just a spectator this week. We have Midweek Evening Baseball at our ballparks in Hemel Hempstead and NW London. Contact us for details how to take part.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Falcons about to descend on Europe

The Herts Falcons are on the eve of their first ever appearance in continental club competitions. They booked their European Federations Cup place after finishing runners-up in the National Baseball League (NBL) last year.

The Falcons were one of six teams from around Europe drawn in Pool 2. Games will be played in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, which is a city 60 miles from Sofia, the cultural centre of its region. There are two universities, so plenty of cafes and restaurants, and it hosts several music festivals. The Blagoevgrad Buffaloes baseball team have won a string of national titles.

Herts Falcons at Stansted Airport on Saturday about to board their plane to Bulgaria

Herts Falcons will play five pool games commencing Monday, June 10, at 1:30pm local time (11:30am London time) against Polish side UKS Deby Osielsko, who are currently second in the Polish Ekstraliga with 11 wins and 5 losses.

They have four further games to play, one game per day which will give the players a taste of the gruelling lifestyle of MLB players who play 162 regular season games every season.

DATE GAME LOCAL TIME (UK time shown in brackets)
Mon, 10 June 2019 Herts Falcons (GBR) vs UKS Deby Osielsko (POL) 1:30pm (11:30am)
Tue, 11 June 2019 Herts Falcons (GBR) vs Athletic Sofia (BUL) 5:00pm (3:00pm)
Wed, 12 June 2019 Herts Falcons (GBR) vs CS Atletico Alexandria (ROM) 1:30pm (11:30am)
Thu, 13 June 2019 Herts Falcons (GBR) vs Solvesborg Firehawks (SWE) 1:30pm (11:30am)
Fri, 14 June 2019 Utenos Titanai (LTU) vs Herts Falcons (GBR) 1:30pm (11:30am)

Falcons practice session at the excellent ballpark in Blagoevgrad

Four of their five group games will be as the home team, but at some point the Falcons will unveil their new red away jersey (pictured right).

The top two teams after the pool games will play in the final on Saturday, 15 June, 12:00pm UK time, to determine the winner. If British baseball clubs make progress in these Qualifiers, they can look forward to competing in the Champions Cup and the CEB Cup alongside the highest ranked European clubs.

There is a heavy financial burden on the players due to the high costs of traveling to Europe and the team has had fantastic support from sponsors Regin Products and other partners and supporters.

As part of the club’s fundraising efforts, the net proceeds from every monthly draw of the Herts Baseball Lottery between June and December 2019 will be used to help fund the Herts Falcons’ European campaign. You don’t have to be a club member to play. Anyone over the age of 16 can buy a ticket and play for a chance to win the Jackpot.

Fans can follow Live Play-by-Play updates from every game on the CEB website. We are also expecting confirmation whether some of the games will be streamed live on the internet. For full coverage of the Falcons’ European exploits, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts looking for more youth baseball coaches with MLB London Series around the corner

The highest number of Herts Baseball Club members was 150, recorded in 2015. That number has already been beaten this season and this is even before the anticipated impact of the MLB London Series games between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees which will be played on 29 and 30 June.

The club is now looking to add more coaches to its youth baseball programmes in Hemel Hempstead and North West London in preparation for this game-changing event for British baseball.

The roles are ideal for someone who would like to pass on their knowledge and experience to a new generation of Herts players and create an enjoyable family atmosphere during games, practice and other events.

Below are links with more details about the roles. For more information or to apply for one or several of these roles, please contact us.

• Team Manager, Youth Baseball Leagues (Hemel Hempstead) (click for details)

• Head Coach, Midweek Evening Youth Baseball (Hemel Hempstead) (click for details)

• Team Manager, Youth Baseball Leagues (NW London) (click for details)