Category: Hunlock Series

21 October 202221 October 2022 by Herts Baseball News Editor

2022 Hunlock Series Roundup: Buzzards are the champions

The Blue Buzzards were the favourites to win this year’s Hunlock Series so it was no surprise when they beat the Bears in the Final late on Sunday evening as the sun was going down on the final game day of the 2022 season.

It may have been a stroke of luck that they had the first pick of Free Agents but manager, Danny Preston, certainly hit the jackpot when Conner Brown appeared in the Free Agents’ block when he would usually be a first-round-pick.

They dominated in the league stage during the first two weeks finishing in first place which put them in pole position for the Playoffs.

**Glorious sunshine and clear skies for all three weeks of the Hunlock Series**

At the other end of the standings the Ducks and the Pilgrims finished fourth and fifth, respectively, setting up a dramatic elimination series which the Ducks won 4-2. They had to face the third-placed Black Bears next. Ducks ran out of pitching arms and, despite putting up a good fight, lost the series 4-2.

**Pilgrims manager Mike Cresswell with some unusual headwear, presumably to make himself more aerodynamic**

The second seeded Red Roosters went the distance against the Buzzards ut it was the blue team who won it to clinch a place in the final while the Roosters had to face the Bears in a best-of-3 semi-final series. A walk-off win for the Bears took them to the Final.

The Buzzards had a considerable advantage as the Bears pitchers had gone through two gruelling series earlier in the day and the reds won the Final 2-1.

Hunlock Series Scoreboard

This year’s Hunlock Series saw around 100 players play 64 one-inning games. Many of the players were new to Herts and the club hopes to see them wearing the Herts jersey when the 2023 British baseball season commences.

These were the final games of the 2022 baseball season. The players now take a break over the winter but Spring Training is not too far away and preparations for the 2023 season have already began.

If you are not a member of the club yet, the best way to keep up-to-date is to be added to the club’s mailing list. Contact us for more details about joining the club or to subscribe to the mailing list.

27 September 202220 October 2022 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Hunlock Series starts this Sunday. League and playoff games will adopt the 9th Inning game format.

The 9th Inning game format is back

The game schedule for the 2022 Hunlock Series has been published and it has been confirmed that the “9th Inning” game format is back which means that all games will be decided over a single inning only. This format was first adopted in the 2017 Hunlock Series. It recreates the tension and drama of the ninth inning.

The Green Pilgrims open the competition with a 4-game series against the Black Bears at 10am at Basing Hill Ballpark, followed by four more of these 4-game series with the day ending at around 5:30pm.

The following regulations will apply to the “9th Inning” format.

• The batting order of each team remains unchanged for the duration of the day unless a substitution is made.

• A substituted player cannot re-enter the same game, however that player can re-enter a subsequent game.

• The batter who was next to bat upon completion of the previous game will be the first batter in the next game with the rest of the batting lineup coming up to bat in order.

What is also noticeable from the schedule is that the home team alternates over the course of the 4-game series which implies that the fielding team in the bottom of the inning will remain on the field in the top of the inning of the subsequent game. This scheduling approach was adopted in previous years and it sped-up the games enormously as that halved the number of times teams go in and out of the field. There even was no need for warm-up pitches as the pitchers were ready. The downside is that a pitcher will need to stay on the mound for 6 outs without a break as opposed to the usual 3 outs, which could mean twice as many pitches thrown in an inning. This is where the defence can really help pitchers, by minimising errors and not adding to the pitcher’s pitch count.

League and Playoff Format

The first two weeks of the Series will see a league format where each team will play a total of 16 games, 4 games against each of their opponents.

The difference this year is that there will be a postseason playoff format in week 3 which will also feature the one-inning game format. See playoff tournament tree above.

Other rules

The other rules which differ from what teams are used to in the BBF leagues are:

• Pitching Restrictions. A player can appear as a pitcher in one, two or more games per day, but no player shall accumulate more than 3 innings (9 outs) as a pitcher over the course of the day. It is the responsibility of the opposing team to inform the umpire when a pitcher reaches the limit. Managers must inform opponents of the number of innings pitched by each of their pitchers during the day prior to the start of each game.

• No Mercy Rule will be in force.

• If the game is tied after completion of the final inning, each team is awarded half a win and half a loss in the standings.

The 2022 Hunlock Series Draft took place on Thursday night. See more details here.

If you have not signed up to play in the Hunlock Series, it is not too late. Contact Herts Baseball Club for details on how to sign up.

27 September 202227 September 2022 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Carter, McMenamin, Dearing, Wong and Ferroni are the first round picks.

The 2022 Hunlock Series Draft was completed on Thursday night. The managers of the teams had a plethora of talent to choose from with 87 players drafted over 18 rounds.

THE FIRST ROUND PICKS

It was no surprise that four of the five first round picks were pitchers.

On a toss of a coin, the Herts Ducks had the first pick. Manager, Brad Charalambous, determined to keep as many players from his 2021 roster as possible, selected Kent Bucs pitcher, Chris Carter.

Green Pilgrims manager, Mike Cresswell, was next to pick. He selected one of the top performers of the Herts Hawks, pitcher and third baseman, Harry McMenamin.

Red Roosters boss, Jack O’Brien, chose Herts Cardinals player-manager Brian Dearing whose primary positions are starting pitcher and shortstop.

The Black Bears went for pitcher, Stephen Wong, who has settled very well on the mound in his first season with the Herts Cardinals in the Triple-A League.

Finally, the Blue Buzzards picked another Herts Cardinals player Giorgio Ferroni who will bring a lot of speed on the bases and in the outfield. It would be interesting if we could see him in a race with Herts Falcons legend, Robbie Unsell.

FREE AGENTS AND TRADES

The full team rosters determined at last night’s draft are shown here. Shortly after the end of the draft the Blue Buzzards traded infielders Vytas Macenas and Miguel Gibson to Black Bears in exchange for Giorgio Ferroni and catcher Hunter Devine.

As more players sign up to play they will be able to join the teams as free agents.

One of the players who has just appeared on the Free Agents Block is Herts Falcons and Great Britain catcher and pitcher, Conner Brown (pictured above), who would usually be a first round pick. We will keep you updated about free agent signings and trades over the course of the Series.

New players aged 14 or above, regardless of whether they are members of Herts or another club or completely new to baseball, can be added to the teams at any point. To be added to the teams or for more details contact Herts Baseball Club.

OPENING DAY

The Series commence on Sunday, 1 October. The first games start at 10:00am at Basing Hill Ballpark in north west London. Admission is free. For complete Series schedule click here.

19 September 202220 September 2022 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Hunlock Series managers announced. The Live Draft is on Wednesday night.

We are counting down to the 2022 Hunlock Series Live Draft which will take place this Wednesday, 21 September at 8:00pm.

For those who are new to the Hunlock Series, in the days leading up to the Draft, the 100+ Herts players (aged 14 and over) and newly registered players mark their availability for the three weeks of the Hunlock Series. The team managers then take turns picking players one by one over the twenty or so rounds of the Draft. It will be interesting to see which players among the club’s 100+ players will be picked in the first round and who will be the very first pick. In previous years, that honour has gone primarily to Conner Brown.

Players and fans can follow the Draft picks here as they happen. Participants will also be able to interact and chat about the Draft on the Herts Facebook Page, on Herts Twitter and in WhatsApp groups as the managers make their picks.

The team managers

Five teams go into this year’s competition. The managerial appointments have just been announced.

Black Bears – Matt Bell
Blue Buzzards – Danny Preston
Green Pilgrims – Mike Cresswell
Herts Ducks – Brad Charalambous
Red Roosters – Jack O’Brien

Fans will see some new faces in the Hunlock Series this year who have joined the club in the last few weeks, so there will be an element of surprise in Wednesday’s Draft. Some of them may be new to Herts fans but they are not new to the game. The Hunlock Series could be a glimpse at some of the new players who will be wearing the Herts uniform in 2023.

Historically the Herts adult league team managers have used the Hunlock Series games to evaluate current and new players in preparation for the new season, to populate their rosters and positions and to decide which leagues the Herts teams should go into in 2023.

How to regsiter

All Hunlock Series players will be drafted into teams. To be eligible for the Draft players will need to update their availability for all the Hunlock Series dates in the online Clubhouse by 7pm on Wednesday, 21 September. If you miss the deadline or the first one or two weeks of games, don’t worry. New players will still be eligible to play but will have to be assigned as free agents after the Draft.

If you already have a Clubhouse account you can update availability by logging on with your existing username and password. Click here to go to the Clubhouse.

If you do not have a Clubhouse account but wish to play in the Hunlock Series, please register here and select “Play Hunlock Series” in the membership category list. After registering you can log on and mark your availability.

To be eligible to play in the Hunlock Series, players must be 14 years of age or above on 31 December 2022.

Entry fee

2022 club members, including non-roster club members, do not have to pay an entry fee as the Hunlock Series is part of their membership package. If you don’t have a Hunlock Series team shirt, you can buy one before your first game. The price is £8. Many players already have Hunlock Series team shirts from previous years and, to keep costs down for players, an online group will be set up where they can exchange their shirt if they have been picked by a team wearing a different colour team shirt.

New players or players from other clubs can play by paying the £18 entry fee which includes a free Hunlock Series shirt of the team which has drafted them.

For more details about playing in the Hunlock Series, contact us.

18 August 202217 August 2022 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Players have started registering for the 2022 Hunlock Series

The 2022 BBF regular season will be coming to an end this weekend but, whether your team makes it to the Playoffs or not, arguably the best part of the season is still to come.

Every year, just when the MLB season enters its most exciting stage, players come to the ballpark for a competition in memory of Herts Baseball Club’s number 36, the late Kyle Hunlock.

SERIES FORMAT

This is the sixteenth year of the Hunlock Series. In its inaugural year in 2006 two teams were involved, the Falcons and the Hawks. The format of the competition has evolved since then. The club has over 120 registered adult players this year and a good number of new players are expected to register to play in the Series. As players sign up over the next few weeks we will know how many teams will enter the Series this year.

SCHEDULE

It will be played over three Sundays on 2, 9 and 16 October. This is later than in previous years due to BBF adult and youth postseason playoffs being played over all four weekends of September. If Herts adult teams are eliminated in the early rounds of the Playoffs one of the Hunlock Series game days may be moved to 18 September.

VENUES

Games will be played at both Grovehill Ballpark and Basing Hill Ballpark.

WHO CAN PLAY?
Any players aged 14 and over on 31 December 2022 are eligible to play in the Hunlock Series.

THE DRAFT

As in previous years, the teams will be selected by the team managers during the Hunlock Series Draft. Who will be the first round picks? How will Single-A league players and newcomers perform alongside NBL and Triple-A players?

Over the years we have seen how decisions made during the Draft can shape the outcome of the Series before a pitch has been thrown. The managers will have to make carefully calculated decisions if they are to put together a team which can compete for the Hunlock Series title, otherwise they face miserable few weeks.

NEW PLAYERS

The club has also received enquiries from many potential new members over the last few weeks and this event is the ideal opportunity for them to come and play and help them decide whether to join the club for the 2023 season. .

HOW TO REGISTER

All Hunlock Series players will be drafted into teams. To be eligible for the Draft you will need to update your availability for ALL the Hunlock Series dates in the online Clubhouse by Tuesday, 6 September. If you miss the deadline or the first one or two weeks of games, don’t worry. You will still be eligible to play but will have to be assigned as a free agent after the Draft.

If you already have a Clubhouse account you can update availability by logging on with your existing username and password. Click here to go to the Clubhouse.

If you do not have a Clubhouse account but wish to play in the Hunlock Series, please register here and select “Play Hunlock Series” in the membership category list. After registering you can log on and mark your availability.

To be eligible to play in the Hunlock Series, players must be 14 years of age or above on 31 December 2022.

ENTRY FEE
2022 Herts club members do not have to pay an entry fee as the Hunlock Series is part of their membership package. If you don’t have a Hunlock Series team shirt, you can buy one before your first game. The cost is expected to be around £8. You can also exchange a team shirt if you are drafted in a different colour team.

New players or players from other clubs can play by paying the £18 entry fee which includes a free Hunlock Series shirt of the team which has drafted them.

ENQUIRIES FROM NEW PLAYERS

For more details about playing in the Hunlock Series, contact us.

23 September 202123 September 2021 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Sixth team enters the Hunlock Series. Players will be redrafted at 7pm.

With so many players registering to play in the 2021 Hunlock Series, the organisers have had to add a sixth team who will be wearing the yellow jerseys. The team will be managed by co-managers Eddie Wang and Norman Peng who played for the Herts Londoners in the BBF regular season.

The red team has also made a late managerial change. They will now be managed by Herts Falcons player and Co-Director of Herts Youth Baseball, Will Zucker.

The addition of the sixth team means that the managers will have to redraft all of the teams. The Live Draft will start just after 7pm this evening, Thursday, 23 September, and you can tune in to follow the Draft picks live here.

The players listed here have marked their availability and will be picked this evening. If you don’t see your name in the list, you can still register. See details how to register here.

The addition of the sixth team will also affect the game schedule. The updated schedule will be published shortly and Hunlock Series players will receive an email with full details about Sunday’s first round of games.

21 September 202121 September 2021 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Manning, Cresswell, Zucker and Coughlan are the first round picks. Series starts on 26 September.

The 2021 Hunlock Series Draft was completed on Tuesday night. The managers of the teams had a plethora of talent to choose from with 72 players drafted over 18 rounds.

THE FIRST ROUND PICKS

On a toss of a coin, the Black team had the first pick. Manager, Matt Bell, selected Herts Falcons catcher, Lee Manning (pictured above).

Next up was the turn of Blues manager, Mike Wakelam. With his first pick he selected Herts Falcons outfielder and first baseman, Michael Cresswell.

The third team to make their pick were the Greys managed by Brad Charalambous. He went for Herts falcons pitcher and infielder, Will Zucker.

Reds manager, Aspi Dimitrov, picked catcher Bryn Coughlan (pictured above right) who will be making his long-awaited return to baseball after injury.

FREE AGENTS AND TRADES

The full team rosters determined at last night’s draft are shown here. As more players sign up to play they will be able to join the teams as free agents. We will keep you updated about free agent signings and trades over the course of the Series.

OPENING DAY

The Series commence on Sunday, 26 September. The first games start at 12:30pm at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead. Admission is free. For complete Series schedule click here.

14 September 202114 September 2021 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Hunlock Series managers announced. The Live Draft is this Tuesday night.

We are counting down to the 2021 Hunlock Series Draft which will take place this Tuesday, 14 September at 8:00pm. Players and fans can follow the Draft picks here as they happen. Participants will also be able to interact and chat about the Draft on the Herts Facebook Page and Herts Twitter as the managers make their picks. We understand the Draft may also be streamed live and viewers will be able to listen in on the discussions between the managers. If so, we will post an update with the live stream link.

Five teams go into this year’s competition. The mystery team, Formosa Islanders, were announced a few days ago and there will be four other teams. The managerial appointments have just been announced.

Mike Wakelam – Blue team
Brad Charalambous – Grey team
Matt Bell – Black team
Aspi Dimitrov – Red team
Formosa Islanders – (manager to be confirmed)

Fans will see some new faces in the Hunlock Series this year who have joined the club in the last few weeks, so there will be an element of surprise in Tuesday’s Draft. Some of them may be new to Herts fans but they are not new to the game. The Hunlock Series could be a glimpse at some of the new players who will be wearing the Herts uniform for the first time in 2022.

HOW TO REGISTER

All Hunlock Series players will be drafted into teams. To be eligible for the Draft players will need to update their availability for all the Hunlock Series dates in the online Clubhouse by 6pm on Tuesday, 14 September. If you miss the deadline or the first one or two weeks of games, don’t worry. New players will still be eligible to play but will have to be assigned as free agents after the Draft.

If you already have a Clubhouse account you can update availability by logging on with your existing username and password. Click here to go to the Clubhouse.

To be eligible to play in the Hunlock Series, players must be 14 years of age or above on 31 December 2021.

ENTRY FEE
2021 club members do not have to pay an entry fee as the Hunlock Series is part of their membership package. If you don’t have a Hunlock Series team shirt, you can buy one before your first game. The cost is £6.

New players or players from other clubs can play by paying the £12 entry fee which includes a free Hunlock Series shirt of the team which has drafted them.

10 September 202114 September 2021 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Mystery team enters the 2021 Hunlock Series

The opening day of the 2021 Hunlock Series is approaching and it has just been announced that a mystery team named the Formosa Islanders has entered the Series.

What do we know about them? We have very little information but a quick search on the internet indicates that The Republic of Formosa was a republic that existed on the island of Taiwan in 1895 between the formal cession of Taiwan by the Qing dynasty of China to the Empire of Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki and its being taken over by Japanese troops. That’s as much as we have at the moment but our investigative journalists are on the case and we will keep you updated as we find out more but we may have to wait until the Hunlock Series games to get a first look at the Islanders.

The LIve Draft is next week
For those who are new to the Hunlock Series, in the days leading up to the Draft, the 100+ Herts players (aged 14 and over) and newly registered players are listed as available to pick in the Hunlock Series Draft. The team managers then take turns picking players one by one over 20 or so rounds of the Draft. It will be interesting to see which players among the club’s 100+ players will be picked in the first round and who will be the very first pick. In previous years, that honour has gone primarily to Conner Brown. Who will it be this year? The Draft will be done live on Tuesday evening, 14 September. We will provide more details in due course.

Make sure you are in it
Historically the Herts adult league team managers have used the Hunlock Series games to evaluate current and new players in preparation for the new season, to populate their rosters and positions and to decide which leagues the Herts teams should go into in 2022.

HOW TO REGISTER

All Hunlock Series players will be drafted into teams. To be eligible for the Draft players will need to update their availability for all the Hunlock Series dates in the online Clubhouse by 6pm on Tuesday , 14 September. If you miss the deadline or the first one or two weeks of games, don’t worry. New players will still be eligible to play but will have to be assigned as free agents after the Draft.

If you already have a Clubhouse account you can update availability by logging on with your existing username and password. Click here to go to the Clubhouse.

To be eligible to play in the Hunlock Series, players must be 14 years of age or above on 31 December 2021.

New players or players from other clubs can play by paying the £12 entry fee which includes a free Hunlock Series shirt of the team which has drafted them.

25 August 202126 August 2021 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Players have started registering for the 2021 Hunlock Series

The 2021 BBF league season will soon be coming to a close, but arguably the best part of the season is still to come.

Every year, just when the MLB season enters its most exciting stage, players come to Grovehill Ballpark for a competition in memory of Herts Baseball Club’s number 36, the late Kyle Hunlock.

This is the fifteenth year of the Hunlock Series. In its inaugural year in 2006 two teams were involved, the Falcons and the Hawks. Herts Baseball Club has been growing rapidly since then and the format of the competition has evolved. As players sign up over the next few weeks we will know how many teams will enter the Series this year.

SERIES FORMAT

This year’s competition will be played over three Sundays. The opening games will be played on 26 September. The second round of games will take place on 3 October, with the final round scheduled for 10 October.

In 2014 we introduced “The 9th Inning Games” where games are played over a single inning. We will be doing this again this year. This format recreates the tension and drama of the ninth inning. Can the teams manufacture the all important go-ahead run? Can they deliver the walk-off hits? Can the pitchers and defence execute with the game on the line?

THE DRAFT

As in previous years, the teams will be selected by the team managers during the Hunlock Series Draft. Who will be the first round picks? How will minor league players and newcomers perform alongside NBL players?

With all of the club’s managers and coaching staff observing these games, players who have been pushing for promotion to a higher league team will have the perfect opportunity during the Hunlock Series to make a claim to play on the bigger stage in 2022. The club has also received enquiries from many potential new members over the last few weeks and this event is the ideal opportunity for them to come and play.

HOW TO REGISTER

All Hunlock Series players will be drafted into teams. To be eligible for the Draft you will need to update your availability for ALL the Hunlock Series dates in the online Clubhouse by Tuesday, 14 September. If you miss the deadline or the first one or two weeks of games, don’t worry. You will still be eligible to play but will have to be assigned as a free agent after the Draft.

If you already have a Clubhouse account you can update availability by logging on with your existing username and password. Click here to go to the Clubhouse.

To be eligible to play in the Hunlock Series, players must be 14 years of age or above on 31 December 2021.

New players or players from other clubs can play by paying the £12 entry fee which includes a free Hunlock Series shirt of the team which has drafted them.