Due to incoming rain, this Sunday’s (13 October) Hunlock Series games have been postponed. The games will now be played on either 19 or 20 October. The exact date will be confirmed over the next few days. Players should check their emails for more information about next weekend’s scheduling.

We are into the final week of the 2013 baseball season and it is all set to be a spectacular event which will decide the 2013 Hunlock Series Champions.

In 2012 the Hunlock Series introduced the “9th Inning Game” and it proved to be a big success so it is back again for the final week of this year’s Series. All 20 games scheduled for this final day of the Series will be played over 1 inning only. Tension and drama are guaranteed. 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 excitement and the pressure of the ninth inning comes once a day for MLB managers. How will the Hunlock Series managers and players handle and approach 8 ninth innings in one day.

The Black Widows lead in the standings and have a very strong roster, however the other four teams will know that they will need to put their ace pitchers on the mound against the Black Widows in order to give themselves the best chance of catching up with the leaders. That means that the Black Widows are going to have to pick up wins against first-round-draft-pick pitchers which will be a big test.

These 9th-inning-games will be played just like the ninth inning of any MLB game. There are however a few special rules which will apply this Sunday, mainly dealing with the transition from one game to the next and aiming to ensure that managers are not taking unfair advantage. Here are the special rules which will apply to the 9th-inning-games:

• During the 9th-inning-games each game will last one inning only.

• The game ends when 3 outs are recorded in the bottom of the inning or when the home team takes the lead, whichever occurs first.

• If 3 outs are recorded in the bottom of the inning and the game is tied, each team is awarded half a win.

• 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.

The organisers have made minor amendments to the games schedule for the final week so that the first and second placed teams meet in the final game of the day. Of course with 8 games for each team, the standings could look very different by the time we play the final game of the Series.

USEFUL LINKS

Schedule and scoreboard

Standings

The Black Widows are in pole position going into the final weekend of the 2013 Hunlock Series. They received a major boost prior to the second round of games when they picked Falcons shortstop, Xavier Gonzalez, from the Free Agents block.

Gonzalez played a key role as the team won 3 and drew 1 of their 4 games of the day. The Black Widows were already seen as having a superior roster with some outstanding players, and standing in first place it is difficult to see anyone challenging them, but with more free agents joining all the time, there can be no guarantees about who will be on top after the final weekend.

The other big mover in week 2 was the Red team. They won 3 out of their 4 games to move into second place. They displaced the Blue Dogs who move from first to fourth place after four defeats.

No one could have predicted such a turnaround for the Blue Dogs who have Ryan Bird in their squad. He blew away opponents in week 1, but this week he was involved in a dramatic pitchers’ duel with the Red Roosters’ ace pitcher, Liam Green. Both pitchers were in control and didn’t allow any runs until the bottom of the final inning. Lead-off batter for the Blue Dogs was Kimiyoshi Saionji, who is a difficult out regardless of whether he is facing a Single-A pitcher someone as accomplished as Ryan Bird. Left-handed batter Saionji connected well for a line drive to left field which put him on first base. A controversial balk call by the umpire moved him to second base. A passed ball followed and that allowed Saionji to move to third base but by that time there were 2 outs. Up stepped Liam Green and he managed to put the ball in play and beat out an infield ground ball to bring the winning run in.

The Green Gators have very quietly picked up enough wins to stay in touch with the leaders and are in a good position to cause an upset in the final week. They currently stand in third place with a .500 winning percentage, 4 wins and 4 losses.

White Lightning are still bottom of the league but they have given themselves a chance picking up a win against the Blue Dogs and tying with the Black Widows. The White Lightning team includes only players from the club’s U17 team and while playing the Hunlock Series they have one eye on the bigger prize of the 2014 National Baseball Championship. The whole team went through various tests before the start of the day, including a gruelling Beep Test, which was won by Nimrod Wynne.

Play of the Day: Black Widows executing a perfect rundown play to get two outs with runners on first and third base.

Game of the Day: Blue 0 Red 1

Controversy of the Day: Balk call on pitcher Ryan Bird which moved the winning run into scoring position and eventually came in to score.

Players of the Day: Xavier Gonzalez and Nimrod Wynne

Clutch Hit: Kimiyoshi Saionji and Liam Green’s hits versus Ryan Bird.

USEFUL LINKS

Schedule and scoreboard

Standings

Black Widows and Blue Dogs will feel confident after the first round of games in the Hunlock Series. They both won three out of their 4 games and are in joint-first place in the standings.

It is a major surprise to see White Lightning languishing in last place after they lost all four of their games. They were tipped as the team to watch after they picked all of the club’s Herts Harriers players and turned up at the ballpark with a squad of 20 very talented players, giving them enviable pitching depth. However, they should not feel too down. All of their games were lost by one run only. This is a very unusual statistic. In a league with a large number of games such as the Hunlock Series the number of wins and losses by one run are expected to be more evenly distributed. For example, in MLB the worst 1-run win-loss ratio is that of the Houston Astros (18-36) and the best is that of the New York Yankees (30-16). It is very unlikely for the ratio to deviate beyond 2:1 or 1:2. The law of averages would suggest that White Lightning will return to a more normal ratio over the course of the competition with 12 more games still to be played by each team.

Apart from the Herts U17 team players, fans also had a chance to see two of the club’s U14 players, Ben Jones and James Roberts, who were squeezed into the competition despite the age limit set at 14. They didn’t look out of place and managed to get a hit against an NBL pitcher.

The Green Gators came through with flying colours (2 wins – 2 losses) in this first week of games when they are missing their star-players. They will be in the mix now that their manager, Cris Hiche, and several others return to the line up in weeks 2 and 3.

The Red Roosters had picked up Andrew Fulford who is one of the best players in the Draft. He is not available in week 2 or 3 and despite his team losing the one game he was available for, he still managed to show why he is a very sought-after player. He is a catcher and in just two innings of play he threw out three runners trying to steal bases. The runners somehow managed to stay safe simply because the fielders were not able to catch the ball thrown by Fulford as it was travelling with such ferocious velocity. The Red Roosters will not have Fulford in the remaining 12 games, but there is good news for Herts Baseball club as we understand that Fulford will be flying into the UK for parts of the 2014 season and the club can count on having one of the bets catchers in any of the British League tiers.

Players of the 7 senior and youth league teams were cheering on Ryan Bird this year in the NBL as he dominated on the pitching mound recording back-to-back NBL no-hitters. Today they had the opportunity to face a Ryan Bird-fastball. For many of the batters this was as close as they will get to facing an MLB-type fastball. The majority tried their best to swing and make contact without success. Many chose to bunt and got a buzz out of how far a ball can travel over the backstop fence by simply laying the bat down for a bunt. Sony Lama got a piece of one of those fastballs to foul it off. Only one batter, Carlos Casal Sr, managed to get on base against Bird and it came at a great cost as the Mizuno bat which had served Casal so well for 4 seasons shattered into pieces in the process. If that success gave batters of the other 4 teams some hope that perhaps the two-time NBL MVP is not unhittable, those hopes were quickly dashed when Bird showed his curveball to the next batter. The pitch broke so hard that catcher Carlos Velazco needed to stay fully alerted just to keep a hold of the ball when strike 3 was called.

USEFUL LINKS:

Scoreboard and games schedule

Standings

Every year during the Hunlock Series, Herts fans get a glimpse at the new talent which will be wearing the Herts jersey next season. There were many players who made an impression, but it was the muscular structure of 22-year-old Mike Green that caught the eye. He made Greg Bochan look like Sheldon in the sitcom series, “The Big Bang Theory”, (or Frank Spencer for our older audience). Mike Green had never played baseball before today’s Hunlock Series games, but it was obvious that he will add incredible power to the Herts batting line-up in 2014. Sometimes muscles do not necessarily come with hand-eye co-ordination, but it was clear for all to see that Green is very capable of combining his explosive power with consistent contact with the bat. He even had batting stance which reminded baseball fans of former Boston Red Sox slugger, Mo Vaughn, but without the extra weight.

The games continue next Sunday, 6 October. First pitch 11:00am.

The 2013 Hunlock Series Draft was completed a few hours ago. The managers of the five teams had a plethora of talent to choose from with 82 players drafted over 17 rounds.

THE FIRST ROUND PICKS

On a toss of a coin White Lightning were given the first pick. Without hesitation manager, Carlos Casal Jr., announced that the first pick of the 2013 Hunlock Series Draft is Herts Ravens and Great Britain Under-16 national team pitcher, Tom Everex-Armstrong.  With all other teams having the advantage of two co-managers and an extra player as a result, their turn was skipped. The table turned full circle and White Lightning made their second pick. It was Herts Ravens and GB U16 team catcher, Conner Brown.

Next it was the turn of the Red Roosters to make their first pick. Co-Manager Ken Pike went for Liam Green, who is used to being quite high up in the picking order.  he played for the Herts Ravens in AAA and Herts Falcons in  NBL this year.

Black Widows Co-Manager, Andrew Slater, decided to select Herts Falcons pitcher and first baseman, Darrin Ward.

The Blue Dogs Co-Managers, Joseph Osborne-Brade and ben Marques were next and their first pick was two-time NBL MVP, Ryan Bird.

The last pick of the first round was made by the Green team, managed by Cris Hiche and Duncan Hoyle. They went for Herts Falcons versatile player, John Blose, who offers so much value offensively, defensively and he will also be able to help his team on the pitching  mound.

FREE AGENTS AND TRADES

The full team rosters determined at last night’s draft are shown here. Several more players have become available as free agents after the draft and they will be drafted in due course. We will keep you updated about free agent signings and trades over the three weeks of the Series.

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

OPENING DAY

The Series commence this Saturday, 28 September, with all 5 teams in action. The first games start at 10:30am at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead. Admission is free and fans can enjoy food and drinks at the concessions stand. For complete Series schedule click here.

We are counting down to the 2013 Hunlock Series Draft which will take place this Thursday, 26 September at 8:30pm.

Following the news that the Series has been expanded into 5 teams, the managers of the teams have also been announced.

The Red Roosters won it 12 months ago. They will look to defend their Hunlock Series with co-managers, Adrian Smithers and Ken Pike. The Blue Dogs and Black Widows finished tied in second place in 2012. They will be managed by managerial duos of Ben Marques and Joseph Osborne-Brade for the Blue Dogs, while the Black Widows will be led by Andrew Slater and Nick Russell.

White Lightning had a South African influence throughout in last year’s contest. Will that group of players be reunited under the management of Carlos Casal Jr? The expansion team, Green Eggs and Ham, will be managed by Duncan Hoyle and Cris Hiche, fresh from his exploits in the South American Championships with Chile.

The Hunlock Series Draft is scheduled for 8:30pm this Thursday, 26 September. You can follow it live on Herts TV. In previous years the Draft was presented as a show with player and manager interviews. This year the show will have a different format. Viewers will be able to listen to live audio from the Hunlock Series Draft Centre as the team managers make their picks and try to outsmart each other before the first pitch has even been thrown. Viewers will also be able to follow the picks on the Hunlock Series Draft control panel.

The 2013 British baseball league champions have been determined, but the best part of the season for everyone connected with Herts Baseball Club is yet 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.

EXPANSION

This is the eight year of the Hunlock Series. In its inaugural year in 2006 only two teams were involved, the Falcons and the Hawks. Herts Baseball Club has been growing rapidly since then and the number of teams in the Series increased to 3 in 2008, and 4 in 2011.  As players sign up over the next few days we will know how many teams will enter the Series this year.

NEW FORMAT

This year’s competition will be played over 3 weeks starting with Opening Weekend, 28-29 September. After its successful introduction last year the Series will also feature “The 9th Inning Weekend” where games will be decided over one inning only. 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?

Aspi Dimitrov, Hunlock Series Commissioner, said: “The 9th Inning Weekend” was very exciting last year. The pressure of the ninth inning comes once a day for MLB managers. Let’s see how the team managers and players will handle several ninth innings in one day.”

THE DRAFT

Like every year, the 2013 Hunlock Series managers will draft the teams from all available current and former Herts players as well as free agents from around the UK and other parts of the world.   Who will be the first round picks? How will minor league players perform alongside NBL 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.

With all of the club’s managers and coaching staff monitoring these games, players who have been pushing for promotion to a higher league team will have the perfect opportunity to make a claim on the big stage in the coming weeks of the Hunlock Series.

PLAYERS LOOKING TO REGISTER AHEAD OF THE DRAFT

Players are currently signing up ahead of the draft. The Series is open to everyone, not just to current or former members of Herts Baseball Club. Players from other clubs can also take part. Players can register free. There are no registration fees.

There has already been interest from non-Herts players located in other regions of the United Kingdom and overseas. Just like last year, the Hunlock Series could provide a glimpse at players who could be wearing the Herts jersey in 2014.

To be eligible for selection during the live draft players must register and enter their availability details online before 7pm on Monday, 23 September. After that deadline and throughout the duration of the Series newly registered players would still be eligible to take part but would be added to teams as free agents. Players who wish to register for the 2013 Hunlock Series should contact Herts Baseball Club. To be eligible to play adult league baseball, players must be 14 years of age or above on 31 December 2013.