Category: Herts Spring League

by Herts Baseball News Editor

20 teams will signal the arrival of Spring in the 2015 HSL

Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that 20 teams have entered this year’s Herts Spring League (HSL). The teams come from all British baseball leagues including the National Baseball League (NBL), Triple-A, Double-A, Single-A Leagues.

The HSL teams will be divided into three divisions as follows:

 

HSL – MAJORS

TEAM

CLASS

HSL RANKING

Cambridge Royals

AAA

3

Essex Arrows

NBL

1

Herts Eagles

AAA

7

Herts Falcons

NBL

2

London Mammoths

AAA

6

London Metros

AAA

4

Milton Keynes Bucks

AAA

5

HSL – AA

TEAM

CLASS

HSL RANKING

Brighton

AAA/A

2

Cambridge Monarchs

AA

5

Haverhill Blackjacks

A

4

Herts Hawks

A

6

London Marauders

AA

3

Sidewinders

AA

1

HSL – A

TEAM

CLASS

HSL RANKING

Bracknell Inferno

A

6

Guildford Mavericks

A

5

Herts Raptors

A

7

Kent Mariners

A

4

London Musketeers

A

1

Milton Keynes Coyotes

AA

2

Tonbridge

A

3

SCHEDULE AND FORMAT

The HSL will be played over three weeks commencing on the weekend of 21 and 22 March and ending on 4 and 5 April. The HSL format and games schedule are expected to be announced shortly and hertsbaseball.com will bring this and all other HSL news as they happen.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

2015 HSL dates announced

The Herts Spring League (HSL) has confirmed the game dates for the 2015 edition of the competition*.

HSL (Week 1 of 3)
Sat, 21-Mar-15
Sun, 22-Mar-15

HSL (Week 2 of 3)
Sat, 28-Mar-15
Sun, 29-Mar-15

HSL (Week 3 of 3)
Sat, 4-Apr-15
Sun, 5-Apr-15

Spring is the time when managers put together their teams and aim to turn them into winning machines ahead of Opening Day. Similar to the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues in MLB, the HSL provides a competitive edge to spring training. This is the eighth year of the HSL. Every year this competition keeps growing. The geographic spread of participating teams seems to be expanding as well. For more details visit the HSL site.

LEAGUE FORMAT

Teams will be placed in two or more divisions (HSL Majors and HSL Minors) based on the teams’ ranking going into the new season. The exact format will depend on the number of teams entering the HSL and the availability of venues, therefore full details will be published when the league line-up is confirmed.

TEAMS

Over the years the HSL has featured teams from the National Baseball League (NBL), Triple-A, Double-A and Single-A Leagues, as well as international teams such as the GB Under-19 and Under-16 National Teams and the ASL Eagles.

“The number of team entries has been going up every year. Last year we somehow managed to fit all of the entrants, however in 2015 we have to be mindful of the fact that we may once again reach our full capacity and we may have to restrict team entries when we reach that level again.” said HSL Commissioner, Aspi Dimitrov.

The addition of U17 league teams in previous years has worked very well. The high standard of most of the BBF U17 League teams will certainly enable them to comfortably compete at the level of adult teams from the Double-A and Triple-A League teams, or perhaps even NBL.

Teams from around the United Kingdom will be submitting their entries over the next few weeks and the HSL lineup and games schedule is expected to be published in early March.

* – The HSL dates are based on the indication that the BBF season will start on April 12. If these dates change the HSL may make adjustments where necessary.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Arrows, Mammoths and Marauders clinch HSL titles

(photo by Richard Lee richardleephotography.org)

The Essex Arrows’ 100% record from the first two weeks was sufficient to keep them top in the Majors division. The MK Bucks and Cambridge Royals ended their pre-season preparations with good wins against the London Mammoths and Essex Redbacks, respectively to finish half a game back on the Arrows. The Royals’ superior defensive record of conceding only 1 run per game means that they take the second place on the tie-break rule.

Mammoths’ defeat was the first in the career of pitcher, John Peters, who has taken British baseball by storm since he made his league debut with the London Marauders 12 months ago. This was a pre-season competition so Peters’ regular season record is still intact. He will make his official AA debut on Sunday against the Herts Hawks in the season opener.

Despite the defeat, the Mammoths are the HSL Double-A winners on the tie-break rule pushing London’s U17 team into second place due to a better runs-conceded record of 3.75 runs per game compared to the London U17’s 6.5 runs per game.

In the Single-A Division the London Marauders remained unbeaten with a record of 3-0 this Spring and clinched the HSL Single-A Championship. Their incredible come-from-behind win against the Herts Hawks in week two proved to be deciding.

Click to view the full HSL scoreboard and HSL standings.

And so the 2014 Herts Spring League is complete and all the focus turns to the race in the four league tiers of the British Baseball Federation.
WEAR THE HERTS BASEBALL JERSEY IN 2014

Herts Baseball Club welcomes youth players from 6 to 16 and adult players from 14 to 45+ from complete beginners to experienced ballpalyers. New players can join at any time of the year. For more details on how to give baseball a try contact us.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Week two of HSL reveals player trades ahead of Opening Day

We are starting to see team rosters shaping up in the HSL games as the 2014 baseball season is just days away. The Herts Falcons are being reinforced by new signings Abelardo Salas, Andrew Fulford and Jamie Gregory. Another new arrival, Robert Davis, had an emergency and missed the final pre-season games of the Falcons, so we will have to wait and see if he has done enough to be included in the Herts roster on NBL Opening Day this Sunday, or whether he will start in the minor leagues and look to work his way up in the coming weeks. The Falcons picked up a win against MK Bucks. Cris Hiche hit two homeruns in that game. New signings Salas and Gregory also hit homeruns this weekend, which is exciting news for Herts fans.

British baseball fans would have noticed that the NBL’s 2012 Most Valuable Player, Jarrod Pretorius (pictured right), was wearing a MK Bucks uniform this weekend so there is a question as to which team he is likely to play for this season.

Falcons’ second game ended in a tie against the South London Pirates which was awarded as a win for the Pirates on the “count-back” rule. This was the first opportunity to see the Pirates this Spring and they unveiled an interesting starting pitcher (pictured left). The name of the player was not disclosed but he will certainly cause problems for NBL teams this season with a lively arm.

At the same time news was filtering through from Town Mead Ballpark of a potential shift in the balance of power in the NBL. The rumours are that GB National Team player, Maikel Azcuy, Edwin Alcantara and perhaps one or two other members of the 2013 championship-winning Nationals will be wearing the Arrows uniform this season. Home runs are rare at Town Mead Ballpark, but that didn’t seem to worry Azcuy who launched one in the Arrows’ 14-3 win over London.

In a further blow to the reigning champion Nationals it is being reported that their gold glove-winning catcher, Will Lintern, has made the move to Hove Tuesday.

Bracknell and Southampton have announced several big additions. Catcher James Pearson has joined the Blazers, while the Mustangs will look to go one better this year with the addition of Jose Lopez, Marius Urbanavicius and Steve Petzer. We understand that they have lost their base-running king, Victor Aizpura.

GB Team third-baseman Maikel Azcuy is reported to have made a move to the Essex Arrows

Elsewhere during week two of the HSL the London Marauders produced a staggering comeback as they overcame a 10-run deficit going into the final inning of their HSL game against the Herts Hawks. Some would attribute this partially to the Hawks running out of pitchers at the end, but there is no doubt that the Marauders needed a great deal of clutch hitting to make this possible. The U17 league teams all won. London Mets U17 beta Southampton. The Herts Harriers came out on top in a closely fought 1-run game with the London Musketeers. The Ravens (U19/U17) also picked up a win in their game with Cambridge Royals’ second team.

The unbeaten streak continued for London Mammoths pitcher, John Peters, as his team won convincingly against the Essex Redbacks. The Herts Raptors brought the tying run to the plate but Kent Mariners held on for the win on Saturday.

Click to view the full HSL scoreboard and HSL standings.

The action continues next weekend. 8 HSL games are scheduled at Grovehill Ballpark and they will be followed by the main event, London Mets at Herts Falcons, in their NBL season opening series.

WEAR THE HERTS BASEBALL JERSEY IN 2014

Herts Baseball Club welcomes youth players from 6 to 16 and adult players from 14 to 45+ from complete beginners to experienced ballpalyers. New players can join at any time of the year. For more details on how to give baseball a try contact us.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

London teams dominate week one of the HSL


Herts Falcons’ John Blose beats the ball sliding into third base. (photo by Will Baxter)

At the weekend the MLB season got underway with the opening series between the LA Dodgers and Arizona D’Backs at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Australia and so did the Herts Spring League at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead and Town Mead Ballpark in Waltham Abbey.

With the exception of the biting wind and a ten-minute game delay due to hale, this was the ideal way for British teams to make their pre-season preparations. The weekend had everything from home runs and spectacular fielding plays to walk-off wins and shutouts.


The 4 London teams overpowered their opponents winning all five of their games. On Saturday in the HSL Single-A division, the Marauders and Musketeers won against the Kent Mariners and Herts Raptors respectively. This was the first game for the Musketeers as they prepare for their debut season in the BBF Single-A league. They seemed like a fun group of players with some outstanding heavy-metal hairstyles and facial hair.

On Sunday, the London Mammoths and London Metros continued the winning streak with wins over Southampton Mustangs (AA), Herts Hawks and the Herts Falcons. John Peters continued his incredible streak of remaining unbeaten so far in his pitching career. The streak goes back to last season when he appeared on the British baseball scene like Jimmy Morris of the Tampa Bay Rays as depicted in the movie “The Rookie” starring Dennis Quaid. Last season he was a member of the London Marauders but his performances have pushed him up into the Double-A roster of the London Mammoths. He allowed a home run by GB Team player, Gary Davison, but that didn’t prevent him from picking up the win with a final score 11-7.

The London Metros versus Herts Falcons game was much anticipated as it was an opportunity to see a few of the new arrivals for the two teams. Both teams fielded a mix of NBL and AAA players. The Falcons gave debut to Abelardo Salas (pictured right). The leftie had a good outing on the mound working well with catcher Ryan Bird. Errors in the field proved to be very costly for the Falcons as the Metros went on to win the game convincingly. Herts fans were also able to see Robert Davis for the first time. He impressed driving the ball deep into left field in his first at bat. The ball fell just a few inched short of the home run fence and that was with the wind blowing in the opposite direction. The highlight of the game was 2014 NBL MVP, Ryan Bird, at bat against Pietro Sollecito who had the lowest ERA in the NBL last season. It was a 10-pitch battle which started with Bird driving the ball deep over the right field wall only for the wind to take it to the wrong side of the foul pole. Sollecito came back strong forcing Bird to foul-off a large number of pitches. The at bat ended with a not so dramatic walk but everyone knew that this was a battle of titans. It will be interesting to see them clash again on Sunday, 6 April, as the Mets and Falcons open the 2014 NBL season at Grovehill Ballpark.

Over in Waltham Abbey, Essex Arrows won convincingly in the Essex derby with the Essex Redbacks. The Arrows are expected to be in the thick of the NBL title race this year. Milton Keynes Coyotes picked up a good win against last year’s Single-A national runners-up Haverhill Blackjacks.

Click to view the full HSL scoreboard and HSL standings.

The action continues next weekend with the addition of 6 more teams making an appearance.

WEAR THE HERTS BASEBALL JERSEY IN 2014

Herts Baseball Club welcomes youth players from 6 to 16 and adult players from 14 to 45+ from complete beginners to experienced ballpalyers. New players can join at any time of the year. For more details on how to give baseball a try contact us.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Pirates make a late HSL entry

Earlier this week we announced the lineup for the 2014 Herts Spring League (HSL). At the time the number of team entries was 19. It has now increased to 20.

The South London Pirates, who are members of the National Baseball League (NBL), have made a late entry. This means that four of the seven NBL teams will be on show during the HSL. This will be the first opportunity to gauge the strength of these NBL teams before they begin their league campaigns.

The full HSL schedule has been adjusted accordingly and can be viewed here.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Countdown to HSL – first chance to see the teams ahead of the 2014 British baseball season

The biggest pre-season baseball competition in Britain is back. Commencing on March 22, the Herts Spring League (HSL) will see 19 teams compete over the 3 weeks of the HSL. Organised by Herts Baseball Club, it is Britain’s very own version of MLB’s Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues currently under way in the US, and it signals that the season is just around the corner.

FORMAT

The 19 teams will be entered into three HSL tiers. The top teams in the country from the National Baseball League and Triple-A Leagues will play in the HSL Majors. The HSL-AA is the second tier of the Herts Spring League. It will feature predominantly British Double-A League teams as well as U19 and U17 teams. The third tier is the HSL-A consisting predominantly of Single-A teams.

The organisers considered the possibility of a tournament format, but ultimately adopted a league format in the same way as the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues in MLB. “The objective of the HSL is to enable the teams to prepare for the new season and we have noticed that teams are increasingly starting to approach the HSL in the same way as MLB teams approach the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues” said HSL Commissioner, Aspi Dimitrov. He added “we have taken this into account when formulating the schedule putting greater emphasis on the preferences and requirements of the teams over the format of the competition”.

The teams finishing at the top of their respective division will win the HSL. The “games-back” column in the standings will be critical, but undoubtedly some teams will end up with the same record and so it may go down to the number of runs conceded per game to break the tie.

THE VENUES

The action will take place at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead and Town Mead Ballpark in Waltham Abbey, the home of the Essex Arrows and Essex Archers.

SCHEDULE

23 games are scheduled to be played on the three diamonds. The competition begins on March 22 with a clash between the London Marauders and the Kent Mariners in the HSL-A bracket followed by the game between the London Musketeers and the Herts Raptors. The HSL-AA and HSL Majors divisions commences 24 hours later.

Several youth league games have also been added to the HSL schedule.

The final day of the HSL coincides with the Opening Day in the National Baseball League as rivals Herts Falcons and London Mets meet.  We are expecting a packed venue for a game which has always been a fiery affair.

Click to view full 2014 HSL schedule

EXCITEMENT BUILDING UP

The Herts Spring League adds a competitive edge to Spring training. It’s the time for managers to work out their winning formula going into the BBF league season. It is an opportunity to evaluate existing and newly recruited players – which players will earn a spot in the pitching rotation and who will be batting where in the batting order? Who will make the first team and who will have to work their way up with the minor league teams? Not forgetting, it’s a chance to size up your rivals for the year ahead. It’s the first big challenge and the first big excitement of the baseball year. Don’t miss it.

GET IN THE GAME

For more details about the event or if you are interested to give baseball a try in this competition contact Herts Baseball Club.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

19 teams will signal the arrival of Spring in the 2014 HSL

Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that 19 teams have entered this year’s Herts Spring League (HSL). The teams come from all British baseball leagues including the National Baseball League (NBL), Triple-A, Double-A, Single-A, Under-19 and Under-17 Leagues.

The HSL teams will be divided into three divisions as follows:

HSL – MAJORS
TEAM CLASS HSL RANKING
Cambridge Royals AAA 4
Essex Arrows NBL 2
Herts Falcons NBL 1
London Metros AAA 3
Milton Keynes Bucks AAA 5
HSL – AA
TEAM CLASS HSL RANKING
Essex Redbacks AAA 1
Herts Hawks AA 3
Herts Ravens U19/U17 4
London Mammoths AA 2
London Mets U17 U17 5
Southampton Mustangs II AA 6
HSL – A
TEAM CLASS HSL RANKING
Cambridge Royals II A 7
Haverhill Blackjacks A 1
Herts Raptors A 4
Herts Harriers U17 8
Kent Mariners A 2
London Marauders A 3
London Musketeers A 6
Milton Keynes Coyotes A 5

SCHEDULE AND FORMAT

The HSL will be played over three weeks commencing on the weekend of 22 and 23 March and ending on 5 and 6 April. The HSL format and games schedule are expected to be announced shortly and hertsbaseball.com will bring this and all other HSL news as they happen.

WEAR THE HERTS BASEBALL JERSEY IN 2014

Herts Baseball Club welcomes youth players from 6 to 16 and adult players from 14 to 45+ from complete beginners to experienced ballpalyers. New players can join at any time of the year. For more details on how to give baseball a try contact us.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

2014 HSL dates announced

The first baseball games of 2014 at Grovehill Ballpark will be played in 22  March 2014

The Herts Spring League (HSL) has confirmed the game dates for the 2014 edition of the competition*.

HSL MAJORS

The HSL Majors involving the NBL teams will be played over two weekends.

HSL Majors (Week 1 of 2)

• Sat, 22-Mar-13

• Sun, 23-Mar-13

HSL Majors (Week 2 of 2)

• Sat, 29-Mar-13

• Sun, 30-Mar-13

HSL MINORS

The other HSL Division(s) involving AAA, AA, A-League and Under-17 League teams will be played over three weekends.

HSL Minors (Week 1 of 3)

• Sat, 22-Mar-13

• Sun, 23-Mar-13

HSL Minors (Week 2 of 3)

• Sat, 29-Mar-13

• Sun, 30-Mar-13

HSL Minors (Week 3 of 3)

• Sat, 5-Apr-13

• Sun, 6-Apr-13

Spring is the time when managers put together their teams and aim to turn them into winning machines ahead of Opening Day. Similar to the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues in MLB, the HSL provides a competitive edge to spring training. This is the seventh year of the HSL. Every year this competition keeps growing. The geographic spread of participating teams seems to be expanding as well. For more details visit the HSL site.

LEAGUE FORMAT

Teams will be placed in two or more divisions (HSL Majors and HSL Minors) based on the teams’ ranking going into the new season. The exact format will depend on the number of teams entering the HSL and the availability of venues, therefore full details will be published when the league line-up is confirmed.

TEAMS

Over the years the HSL has featured teams from the National Baseball League (NBL), AAA, AA and A-Leagues, as well as international teams such as the GB Under-19 and Under-16 National Teams and the ASL Eagles.

“The number of team entries has been going up every year. Last year we somehow managed to fit all of the entrants, however in 2014 we have to be mindful of the fact that we may once again reach our full capacity and we may have to restrict team entries when we reach that level again.” said HSL Commissioner, Aspi Dimitrov.

The addition of U17 league teams in previous years has worked very well. The high standard of most of the BBF U17 League teams will certainly enable them to comfortably compete at the level of adult teams from the AA and AAA League teams, or perhaps even NBL.

Teams from around the United Kingdom will be submitting their entries over the next few weeks and the HSL lineup and games schedule is expected to be published in early March.

WEAR THE HERTS BASEBALL JERSEY IN 2014 

Herts Baseball Club welcomes youth players from 6 to 16 and adult players from 14 to 50+ from complete beginners to experienced ballpalyers. New players can join at any time of the year. For more details on how to give baseball a try contact us.

* – The HSL dates are based on the indication that the NBL season will start on April 6 and the AAA, AA and A Leagues on April 13. If these dates change the HSL may make adjustments where necessary.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

MK Bucks and London Marauders win HSL titles

The third and final week of Herts Spring League action was completed this weekend. With the NBL teams turning their attention to the opening day of the 2013 league season the games involved the AAA and AA League teams.

AAA

The MK Bucks finished the HSL in style with two more wins to complete a perfect 4-0 record clinching this year’s HSL AAA championship. They first needed to do battle with the London U16 team which will be heading to the Pony tournament in Prague, Czech Republic. The youngsters form London put up a good fight but at the end the 2012 AA national runners-up from Milton Keynes came out on top in an exciting 9-8 win.

In the afternoon the Cambridge Royals had a chance to leapfrog over the Bucks in their direct clash, however the Bucks won again by 1 run (7-6).

With Ravens Manager, Carlos Casal, out of the country Louis Hare and Pete Kikel were the stand-in managers and they secured a win against the London Mammoths which put the Herts team in third place. Unconfirmed reports indicate that Carlos Casal is on a scouting mission in France, so we will have to wait and see if Herts will add more French players after adding Frenchman, Elie Colin, earlier this Spring.

AA

The London Marauders came into the final HSL weekend in pole position with a 2-0 record. They lost their first game of the day against the Kent Mariners. They quickly recovered beating the Herts Eagles convincingly to win the HSL AA title. The Herts Harriers, which plays in the BBF U17 league had a chance to share top spot with the Marauders. To do this they needed to beat the London Mets U16 team, which proved to be beyond them on this occasion.

Click to view full 2013 HSL schedule

Click to view the final HSL standings

Despite the cancellation of the first week of HSL games due to the snow, the competition proved to be very productive for the teams involved giving them the best possible preparation for the new season playing at one of the best baseball venues in the country. We understand that the participating teams have been sending messages of thanks to the umpires who officiated this year’s HSL games. Many of the HSL teams will be playing in the lower leagues this season where there is a critical shortage of umpires, so playing with the country’s top umpires is appreciated by these teams in particular.

Attention now turns to this weekend’s Opening Day in Britain’s Minor Leagues (AAA, AA and A) as well as week 2 of the National Baseball League.