Category: Events

20 January 202220 January 2022 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Teams starting to enter the 2022 Herts Spring League

The game dates for the 2022 Herts Spring League (HSL) have been confirmed.

Saturday, 19 March 2022
Sunday, 20 March 2022
Saturday, 26 March 2022
Sunday, 27 March 2022
Saturday, 2 April 2022
Sunday, 3 April 2022

They are based on the indication that the BBF league season will start on 3 April 2022 for the National Baseball League and on 10 April for all other senior leagues.

How to enter your team

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 fifteenth year of the HSL. Every year this competition keeps growing. Last year a record 22 teams took part. For more details visit the HSL site.

LEAGUE FORMAT
Teams will be placed in divisions based on their ranking going into the new season. The exact format will depend on the number of teams entering the HSL. 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.

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.

VENUES

All games will be played at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead.

Players are now registering for the 2022 season

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.

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, 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.

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 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?

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 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.

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 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.

26 April 202126 April 2021 by Rob Jones

Herts Spring League kicks off 2021 season in style

Like everything else at the moment, the 2021 Herts Spring League was a bit different. It was quick as a flash. It was more knock-out blow than drawn-out battle.

The usual three weeks of competition were condensed into one weekend on the baseball diamonds of Grovehill. The impact of the pandemic had cut short the time available for pre-season.

One of the other points that made it different this year was the arrival of the first women’s team in the history of the tournament. Belles Baseball made a big noise and splash in the Single-A competition, bringing a lot of energy to the event.

The Herts Spring League provides a great opportunity for teams to finalise their preparations for the upcoming British baseball season. This year, it saw 22 teams play 21 games on 2 diamonds over 2 days. Single-A and Double-A were on Saturday, Triple-A and NBL on the Sunday.

The sun shone gloriously for both days, which we have decided must be a good omen for the season ahead. Yes, it was on the cool side but, hey, it’s the Spring.

Let’s start with the Belles, who opened their HSL account against a Herts side, the Eagles. The visiting team fell behind early on, but fought back with some patient at-bats and aggressive stealing to make it 9-5. The Eagles ran out winners, and the Belles then took on the London Mustangs. Another tight contest ended 9-7 to London.

Top slot in the league was shared by the MK Bucks 2, and the Londoners — who were undefeated. The Eagles, Raptors, Mustangs and Bracknell Inferno each took a split from their weekend. Minotaurs fought hard and scored well but couldn’t secure a W.

If the Belles Baseball were something new, the presence of the Croydon Pirates in the Double-A division was a blast from the past. The team is a revival of what was a stalwart of British baseball a few years back. They won 8-2 over Sidewinders, and then defeated London Musketeers 9-2 to claim the title. London had beaten the Hawks 10-2, and Hawks went down by the same score to Sidewinders in the third place playoff.

Sunday saw the Triple-A action first, with Essex Redbacks finally breaking open a tight contest against the London Mammoths to win 7-2. It was a game with several double plays stifling an offensive threat. All the games were tight in this division. London Marauders took the title with one-run wins over BC Vetra and the MK Bucks.

London Mets dominated the NBL tournament, putting down a marker they intend to defend their title again. They opened their account with a 3-2 win over the Essex Arrows, as the London Capitals saw off the Herts Falcons 10-2. In the second round of rubbers the Mets beat the Caps, while Falcons secured a split on their weekend with a victory over Essex.

The BBF league schedule starts this coming weekend, so the HSL gave a last chance to hone strategies and test players under game conditions. Everyone will have come out of the weekend with a greater sense of what they need to do for success.

Signs are good that the summer of 2021 will see plenty of baseball. Herts thanks all the players who came down and took part, and everyone who made it happen.

It’s game on for 2021.

2 April 202126 April 2021 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Countdown to HSL – first chance to see the teams ahead of the 2021 British baseball season

The Herts Spring League (HSL) will see 22 teams play 21 games on the weekend of 24 and 25 April. Organised by Herts Baseball Club, it is Britain’s version of MLB’s Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues, and it signals that the season is just around the corner.

FORMAT

The 22 teams have been placed into four HSL divisions – NBL, Triple-A, Double-A and Single-A – based on the ranking of the teams going into the 2021 baseball season.

Most of the teams have been placed into pools of four teams. The semi-final pairings have been confirmed and the winners will face each other in the final, while the losing teams in each pool will also play each other in their second game of the day.

The teams finishing at the top of their respective division will be the HSL champions.

THE VENUE

The action will take place at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead, the home of Herts Baseball Club.

SCHEDULE

The HSL is usually played over three weekends, but the national lockdown reduced the time available for Spring Training ahead of Opening Day on 2 May.

21 games will be played on two diamonds. The competition begins on Saturday, 24 April, with the Double-A division followed by afternoon and evening games from the Single-A division. Among the Single-A teams are the Belles who will make history as the first ever all-women’s baseball team to play in the HSL.

On Sunday, 25 April, the NBL and Triple-A divisions will be in action with several interesting matchups including the London Archers and BC Vetra, a team which will play in the BBF Triple-A league for the first time this year.

Click to view full 2021 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 through the minor leagues? 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

Players, from beginners to advanced, are now registering for the 2021 baseball season. For more details about how to join the Herts baseball teams in Hemel Hempstead and in NW London or for more details about the HSL or if you are interested to give baseball a try to help you decide whether to join the team contact Herts Baseball Club.

Players now registering for the 2021 season

2 April 202111 April 2021 by Herts Baseball News Editor

22 teams enter the 2021 HSL

Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that 22 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 and Single-A Leagues.

The London Archers are also back for their third year in the HSL. They made history in 2019 year by becoming the first British team to win the Pony European Championships and qualified for the Pony World Series which was played in Pennsylvania.

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

HSL – NBL
TEAM	CLASS	HSL RANKING
Essex Arrows		3
Herts Falcons		4
London Capitals		2
London Mets		1

HSL – Triple-A
TEAM	CLASS	HSL RANKING
BC Vetra		8
Essex Redbacks		6
London Archers		7
London Marauders		9
London Mammoths		5
Milton Keynes Bucks		10

HSL – Double-A
TEAM	CLASS	HSL RANKING
Croydon Pirates		13
Herts Hawks		14
London Musketeers		12
Sidewinders		11

HSL – Single-A
TEAM	CLASS	HSL RANKING
Bracknell Inferno		15
Herts Eagles		22
Herts Raptors		18
Herts Londoners		21
London Mustangs		16
London Minotaurs		20
Milton Keynes Bucks 2		17
Southern Belles		19

30 March 202130 March 2021 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Spring Training groups announced

As announced by Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, yesterday, organised outdoor sport can now restart.

The five Herts adult league teams will report for Spring Training this week. The teams will initially be divided into three groups. Those trying out to play in the National Baseball League and in the Double-A League will be in one group. There will be two further groups – Single-A League for players based in Hemel Hempstead and a separate Single-A group for the teams based at the club’s ballpark in North West London.

NBL / Double-A	Single-A Hemel Hempstead	Single-A NW London
Amane Sobue	Adam Scales	Adam Collins
Andy Cornish	Bradley Charalambous	Alex Plehn
Antonio Lourenco	Cameron Schultz	Alexander Trautman
Antony Lavender	Charlie Beach	Andrew Slater
Charlie Obrien	Connor Lunn	Andy Stratford
Charlie Plausin	Dale Hardwick	Arnold Longboy
Cristobal Hiche	Daniel Shaw	Aspi Dimitrov
Daniel Bartram	Danny Preston	Benjamin Markscheffel
Daniel Gipple	Declan Carlean	Cory English
George Morgan	Dowan Bellerose	Dan Taylor
Gilberto Medina	Efthymios Rizoglou	Ellie Page
Jack Obrien	George Greenstreet	Greg Bochan
Joe Gipple	Gregory Clark	James Hawes
Kai Rajah	Harry Mcmenamin	Jamie Lang-Richards
Laurence Currington	John Kjorstad	Kevin Abioye
Lee Manning	Kennet Pike	Kumail Jaffer
Matthew Jackson	Lauren Dutch	Max Trautman
Michael Cresswell	Lee Odell	Michael Wakelam
Michael Johnson	Luis Martins	Mohamed Abdule
Noah Tabor	Michael Cunningham	Nicolas Goetz
Paul Barton	Michael Long	Norman Peng
Rene Torcato	Michelle Green	Rob Jones
Robert Smith	Nick Clohessy	Ryan Bartlett
Tetsuro Shinkawa	Paul Le Guillou	Saira Smith
Theo Clark	Pavneet Purewal	Sam Kumar
Will Davis	Pedro Martins	Zack Case
Will Zucker	Taysir Barakat
Yasu Ichige	Tom Lock
	Troy Mayer

All three groups will report at 10am at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead this Sunday, 4 April. In the following two weeks the groups will continue preparations at their respective ballparks on 11 and 18 April. To comply with Covid procedures, registered players are required to mark their availability for these events in the online Clubhouse.

All of these sessions are open to anyone aged 14 and over to come and try baseball and to help them decide whether they would like to join the teams for the 2021 baseball season.

Contact us if you are not a club member yet but want to book a place to try baseball at an open session

Later in April, the managers will announce the preliminary rosters for the 2021 Herts Spring League which will have a condensed format with games being played over the weekend of the 24 and 25 April at Grovehill Ballpark.

The Opening Day of the 2021 BBF league season is Sunday, 2 May. The schedule for the various leagues is expected to be published later this week.

Midweek evening baseball will return to both Grovehill Ballpark and Basing Hill Ballpark in the first week of May. The teams may have midweek evening sessions even earlier and the managers will communicate this with their players.

The youth league players will report for Spring Training at their resepctive ballparks a week later than the adult teams on 10 and 11 April. See more details here.

Training sessions and games will follow the Covid-secure protocol for baseball which was approved by the government.

Adult and youth payers now registering for the 2021 league season