The first round of the 2008 Kyle Hunlock Series was a validation of the free-market draft system, and an affirmation of the depth and unity of the Herts Baseball Club.

In an intense, fiercely contested day of baseball in which no runaway victors emerged, it quickly became apparent that the three Hunlock squads are well-balanced and full of surprises.  By the end of play each team had secured one win and suffered one loss, and the standings remained dead-even heading into next Sunday's final-round qualifying matches.

Many of the players remarked how evenly matched were the Red Roosters, Blue Dogs and Black Widows.  These three teams – selected in Thursday's Live Hunlock Draft – are comprised of pitchers, catchers and fielders, sluggers and liners, and 2008 season Raptors, Hawks and Falcons.  Speculation abounds as to which team sports the more dominant pitching staff, stronger offensive lineup or tighter defense.  But everyone agrees that the Herts Baseball Club is surprisingly 'deep' in every facet, and this intra-club competition bodes well for Herts' 2009 regular season prospects.

Some of the most impressive plays of the day came from 2008 Raptors.  Rookie Jamie Munn connected for his first Herts hit (a convincing 3 RBI stroke) and former Raptors shortstop Rod Ariss went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI.  Speedster Rob Jones was 2-for-4 scoring 4 runs.  Andrew Slater, Ilya Dimitrov, Mark Hoffman and rookie James Roberts all connected for solid hits up the middle against Falcons Championship pitcher Darrin Ward.  Roosters manager Hunter Devine crushed the ball all day long, and turned the series web gem from deep in the hole at second base.

WP: Aspi Dimitrov(3). PB: Kal Dimitrov(5). T: 2:00. A: 68.

HBP: by Darrin Ward (James Roberts). . WP: Mark Hoffman, Darrin Ward. PB: Andy
Cornish, Paul Auchterlounie(3). T: 2:00. A: 68.

(Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire)  In a surprise move, Black Widows Manager Marty Cullen spent both his remaining trade waivers on free agents Arnold Longboy and Mr. Ariga.  Following Thursday night's exciting live draft, the Widows and the Blue Dogs were shorted two critical final round picks and acquired two draft waivers.  Waivers are used to sign free agents, or to initiate an unbalanced trade (e.g., one player for two prospects).  Saturday's surprise move leaves the Widows with no trade flexibility before Sunday's first round, while patient Dogs manager Tim Elkins stands alone with unspent waivers, and could surprise the league with an eleventh-hour trade.

Arnold Longboy and Mr. Ariga – the enigmatic Japanese superstar who goes only by one name, like Hall of Famer Ichiro – are both highly-prized Herts Little League parents.  As fathers to Zach Longboy and Mikito and Yuki Ariga, respectively, talent obviously runs in the family.  Nevertheless, their positional and athletic abilities are yet to be determined, and Hunlock Series insiders are curious whether Cullen's move will prove impressively prescient or highly risky.  Only Sunday's first round qualifier results can say.

In a related development, Black Widows Carlos Casal and Louis Hare will arrive late to Sunday's Hunlock games, and are likely to miss the early action at Grovehill.  Casal and Hare hope to be on-hand to push the Widows through the later stages of Sunday's showdown with the threatening Red Roosters.

At last night’s Live Draft the spotlight was firmly on the players, but when the Series begin this Sunday a key role will be played by one person – the Umpire.  In any sport, the officials usually remain unnoticed, but the umpire’s influence on the game is undoubted.  A good umpire can turn an average game into a crisp, pure and enjoyable game of baseball.  Consistency is key when it comes to baseball umpiring and only a good official can achieve it and set a game environment which pitchers, batters, runners and fielders can excel in.

The upcoming Kyle Hunlock Series is very fortunate to have one of the best umpires in Great Britain – Geoff Hare. 

Geoff is a true legend of Herts Baseball Club. He wore the Falcons number 10 jersey for over a decade, and before that played with the Hemel Red Sox.  Everybody connected with Herts Baseball Club knows Geoff.  He has become one of the most respected members of the club.  A magnificent short stop and a leadoff batter, a player who can hit for power and for average, Geoff has always been the first name in any Herts manager’s line-up. 

Three years ago, at the age of 52, Geoff decided to hang up his glove (way too early in the author’s opinion) and joined the British Umpires’ Association.   Like everything else which he does, Geoff would not accept anything less than 100% effort and dedication and this is exactly how Geoff took on the new challenge of being an umpire.  Over the years he has become one of the very best umpires in this country, umpiring the top games in the British National League and the GB National team, recognized and respected by every player who has ever been on the same field as him.

Yes, the players of the three teams in the Series will have the opportunity to work alongside a real pro, who manages to stay unbiased no matter what…having said this players would still be advised not to start analysing the secret to a well toasted bread or how amazing the band Queen is.

This Thursday, Herts Baseball Club is set to make British baseball history with its first internet radio broadcast.

As the live leadup to its annual postseason Kyle Hunlock Series, the Herts media team will be juggling music, commentary, on-air interviews and live draft results via its streaming internet broadcast. To listen-in is free of charge, and Herts hopes hundreds of UK, US, European and Asian baseball enthusiasts will make time for this historic event. No doubt…the drafted players – members of the HBC franchise – will expect their family and friends to tune in to hear the latest on the Hunlock Series rosters.

The Kyle Hunlock Series is held in honour of a fallen friend of the Herts community – Kyle Hunlock. This young man was taken from us far too soon in a work-related accident in the States. Kyle was a much loved member of Herts Baseball, and will be greatly missed by his fellow teammates and the Herts community. This annual event is a way of offering remembrance to Kyle's strength of heart and character, while celebrating our fellow teammates… the Herts family.

Part of the fun of the 2008 Hunlock Series is our live, online draft. Moreover, rostered players can be traded and free agents can be picked up on waivers. Much can happen during and after the draft – stay involved with the live feed to catch all the action.

HBC/Secure Members can follow the draft picks online at http://www.hertsbaseball.com/secure/draft.php.

Donʼt miss a pick – set your browser to auto-refresh.

Friends of Herts Baseball can listen in to Thursday's live broadcast by tuning any stream-friendly audio player to the HBC Radio feed. Just select OPEN STREAM or OPEN URL from your audio app's File Menu… and paste this hyperlink: http://hbcradio.internetradio.org.uk:11934/

The broadcast will begin at 8pm, Thursday 18 September 2008. The draft will likely commence at 9pm, with post-draft analysis concluding at 11pm.

Callers can connect with radio host Jason Greenberg via Skype. Just chat to Jason via Skype name hbc-radio. You can get online, send text messages and even be pulled into the live online broadcast via your desktop or laptop computer. (Hook up headphones first and test your microphone so youʼre all ready to go for audio-chat.)

Setting up Skype on your computer takes just a few minutes.  Simply go to Skype and follow the instructions to download it and set up your account.

Use these media links to connect to the live broadcast:

Windows Media Player

WinAmp

iTunes

Real Player

Official Kyle Hunlock Series website