Category: Events

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Players have started registering for the 2017 Hunlock Series

The 2017 BBF league season is done and dusted, but the best part of the season for everyone connected with Herts Baseball Club 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 twelfth 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 Sunday, 24 September. The second round of games will take place on Sunday, 1 October, with the final round scheduled for Sunday, 8 October. If weather conditions affect the first three weeks, 15 October is available as a backup date.

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 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 2018. 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

Existing Herts players are currently registering ahead of the Draft by simply updating their availability in the online Clubhouse. New players and players from other clubs can also sign up by contacting Herts Baseball Club.

There has already been interest from non-Herts players located in other regions of the United Kingdom and overseas. They are all welcome to sign up and play in these games. Just like last year, the Hunlock Series could provide a glimpse at new players who could be wearing the Herts jersey next season.

To be eligible for selection during the Draft, players must register and enter their availability details online by 7pm on Monday, 18 September. If you miss this Draft deadline, don’t worry. Players would still be eligible to play but would be added to teams as free agents. To be eligible to play in the Hunlock Series, players must be 14 years of age or above on 31 December 2017.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

British baseball teams have started entering the 2017 HFT

Herts Baseball Club has announced that the 2017 Herts Futures Tournament will take place on Saturday, 23 September 2017.

The Herts Futures Tournament (HFT) has been held every year since 2008 and is now a permanent fixture in the British baseball calendar. Last year was a record year for the HFT with 20 teams entering the competition, which makes it the largest youth baseball event in the United Kingdom. It will be interesting to see how many teams will enter this year. If the number continues to increase the club will have to consider ways of expanding the venue further.

The event brings together youth teams of all age groups from across the country for a day of baseball at one of the best baseball venues in the UK. Grovehill Ballpark is the home of Herts Baseball Club. Over the years the venue has been selected to host some of the biggest events in the British baseball calendar including the National Baseball Championships. During the Herts Futures Tournament additional diamonds are added to cater for all the age groups.

This year’s edition is expected to cover the Under-17, Under-13, Under-11 and Under-8 age groups.

For more information about the event, how to enter your team in the Tournament or how players can join the Herts teams in time for the HFT, visit the Herts Futures Tournament homepage or contact Herts Baseball Club.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Red Kites win inaugural Kal Cup

The Herts Red Kites won the inaugural Kal Cup, a baseball tournament in memory of our friend and team-mate Kal Dimitrov who died suddenly during a league game between the Herts Raptors and Essex Archers in 2015.

The tournament featured mostly Single-A League teams including both the Essex Archers and the Herts Raptors. The lineup also included Kal’s Knights, a team made up of veterans who played alongside Kal during his 14 years at the club.

On day one of the competition, the teams faced each other in a league format. The organisers opted for the single-inning format in these group games, a concept which Herts fans are familiar with from the Hunlock Series. In a change from the usual baseball system of counting wins and losses to determine the group standings, teams were awarded three points for a win, one for a tie and no points for a loss, perhaps influenced by the fact that the Premier League football season kicked off this weekend.

The Herts Red Kites, which is the club’s Under-17 team managed by Andrew Fulford, dominated the group games picking up 5 wins and a draw out of their 8 games. That was enough to put them in first place in the final Group Standings, one point above Kal’s Knights. That earned the Herts Red Kites a considerable advantage on Sunday as they could sit back and wait during the first round of double-elimination games while all the other teams knock each other out.

Before Sunday’s game, on Saturday evening each team had a representative in the Home Run Derby. The lineup of batters included a good number of power-hitters with many home runs to their names over the course of their careers, so it was surprising that the derby produced very few home runs. The MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the NBL in 2012, Jarrod Pretorius, proved too strong for the rest and won it.

Pretorius was a member of the Babalas Barracudas, who struggled on Saturday winning only 1 of their 8 games. Their chances were further hindered when they lost their first game on Sunday 3-0 to Kal’s Knights. There was no room for error as one more loss would mean that they would be eliminated. An outstanding performance by Iain McCrimmon on the mound helped them secure a 2-0 win eliminating the Essex Archers despite an excellent performance from their own pitcher Humberto Goncalves.

It seemed like everyone was wearing Kal’s number 12 this weekend

Herts Raptors had a strong start on Sunday but the resurgent Barracudas knocked them out of the Cup with an 11-2 win.

The number one seeded Herts Red Kites came up against Kal’s Knights for a place in the Final and continued their dominant performance from the previous day winning 7-5.

Kal’s Knights were not out of the Cup yet. They had a second chance to book a place in the final if they could beat the Babalas Barracudas. The large number of games played was taking its toll not only on the Knights but also on the Barracudas, as some of the players on both sides were playing baseball for the first time after announcing their retirement from baseball years ago. Both teams submitted a joint request to the tournament’s Commissioner, Lee Manning, to merge the two teams for the Final and face the Herts Red Kites whose young players had hardly broken sweat all weekend. The fact that they were wearing different colour uniforms did not matter that much as the jerseys of both teams had Kal’s number 12 on their back. The request was accepted but even that wasn’t enough to derail the Herts Red Kites who went on to win the Final 11-4 and lift the Kal Cup, a crystal trophy which was made thanks to the kind personal donation of British Baseball Federation President, Gerry Perez.

View full 2017 Kal Cup Scoreboard

One of these three caps is edible – Heather Cooke produced another outstanding array of cakes for the Kal Cup

The first Kal Cup proved to be a very fitting way to remember not only Kal but other members of the British baseball community that we have lost including Phil Chesterton (Essex Arrows), Norman Wells (Liverpool Trojans), umpires Dave Smith and Ted Gerard-Thesingh, among others. The event was another example of the incredible power of baseball to bring people together. Some of the players on show made their return to the diamond for the first time in many years. There were others who were playing their first ever baseball game.

“We aim to make this an annual event” said Commissioner, Lee Manning. He added that “the club hopes to find a free date in the 2018 British baseball calendar in discussions with the BBF”.

Kal’s brother, Aspi Dimitrov, thanked everyone involved for creating this wonderful event in Kal’s name. He said: “I know how much work Lee and everyone at the club put into this and I want to express the gratitude of the whole Dimitrov family for all the support and kindness from everyone at Herts and the wider baseball community not just at the weekend but over the last two years.”

by Rob Jones

A new tribute – The Kal Cup

Herts Baseball Club is very proud to announce a new event on the sporting calendar this summer — The Kal Cup.

This will be a special tournament to remember our friend and team-mate Kal Dimitrov, and to celebrate the values of friendship and fair play he brought to our sport. It will take place at our Grovehill home in Hemel Hempstead over the weekend of August 12th-13th.

Herts will enter three teams — including one of veterans who played alongside Kal — and invites all Single-A level sides to enter for a weekend of fast-moving, knockout baseball.

The format will start out as a series of single-inning games for every team — a format successfully used in Herts’ own intra-club competition in the autumn. It means that every inning is like the ninth, with all the drama and strategy that entails.

But if you lose, there’s another game coming just a few minutes later!

As teams progress to semi-finals and a final, the games will stretch to three and finally six innings. The aim is to have everybody playing as much baseball as possible over the weekend, and competing against friends old and new.

Kal Dimitrov was a key figure at Herts Baseball Club for over a decade and helped build it to the force it is today. He died suddenly during a league game in 2015, a moment which shocked the Herts baseball family but also the whole British baseball community.

He had been a player, coach, umpire, manager and mentor for several teams. In 2015, he was the joint manager of the Herts Raptors in the Single-A division.

That is why the club has chosen to focus this tournament on Single-A teams. And, indeed, on anyone taking part in baseball below the expert level! Kal’s legacy was about love for the game, and for the way it brought people together, and that is what we want to mark.

He had also been instrumental in developing the youth leagues which have now flourished at Herts. The Under-17 Red Kites will therefore enter a team in this tournament.

The Raptors will be there, the current Herts Single-A team. And so will “Kal’s Knights” — made up of former players who played with Kal over the years.

Herts would love to have teams from across the country come and help us celebrate our friend.

The club’s Communications Director, Rob Jones, said: “I have nothing but wonderful memories of Kal. His character, humour and spirit lifted every baseball occasion.”

“We want to pay a tribute to him — and I know many people across the British game want the same. A weekend of baseball will be a great chance to show what Kal was all about.”

The entry fee is £100 per team, with Herts providing balls, umpires and all the necessary facilities. There will be food, drinks and merchandise available from our expert concessions team.

Please contact us at hertsbaseball.com for more information and to enter the tournament. We can be found on Facebook and as @hertsbaseball on Twitter and Instagram.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Falcons, Hawks and Wildcats win the HSL titles after 23 games in the sun and the longest coin toss in history

After 23 games over 3 weekends in perfect Florida-weather the teams are ready for the 2017 British baseball season. In the HSL Majors Division, Herts Falcons came out on top with a 100% record. In second place were the Taunton Tigers, who will feel a little hard done as they also had a 100% record but missed out on first place due to having played fewer games and thus ending up half a game back on the Falcons. When they entered the HSL we advertised them as the team from Taunton playing in the South West Independent Baseball League, but since then we have learned that this is a brand new team based in Taunton which will be playing in the BBF Triple-A League. They have an array of international talent including several GB Under-23 National Team players. It will be interesting to see how they will do in their debut season going straight into the third league tier of British baseball.

The biggest shock in the HSL came just hours before the first games when rumours started circling around that the South London Pirates are about to withdraw from the National Baseball League. In fact there will be no Croydon-based teams at all as their second team will not be playing in the BBF leagues either. The hope of everyone in British baseball is that this famous baseball club will manage to somehow get back on its feet, especially as it has such a rich history and a high standard baseball venue. It would be a big loss if Roundshaw Playing Fields disappears.

Dennis Grogan on the mound for the impressive Birmingham Bandits

In the HSL Double-A Division the Birmingham Bandits and Herts Hawks ended up at the top of the standings with identical record of 3 wins and no losses. The HSL rulebook came into action as one tie-break rule after another could not separate the teams. They even had the same 0.815 runs per inning conceded over the course of the competition which meant that the winner had to be decided by a toss of a coin. It proved to be the longest coin-toss in history, 3 hours and 21 minutes to be precise. With the final HSL game day coinciding with MLB Opening Day, the HSL organisers announced that the New York Yankees opening day game at the Tampa Bay Rays would be used instead of a coin toss. A 7-2 win for the Rays meant that the Herts Hawks were awarded first place. In fairness, Birmingham Bandits looked impressive throughout the HSL and they wouldn’t have been out of place in the HSL Majors Division.

Herts fans who think they have seen this pitching delivery before, are not wrong.

The HSL also revealed that former Herts Falcons pitcher, Pete Kikel, will be making his come-back in the British leagues but this time with the Essex Redbacks as he has relocated and is no longer close enough to Hertfordshire. He looked impressive making a major contribution in the Redbacks 6-7 loss to the Birmingham Bandits which was arguably the best game of the 2017 HSL.

In the HSL Single-A Division Tonbridge and Herts Raptors finished at the top of the standings with identical records of 2 wins and 1 loss. First place was awarded to Tonbridge on the tie-break rule as they had beaten the Raptors in the head-to-head matchup. This was an exciting division as the top 4 teams in the table were divided only by half a game at the end.

On the final weekend umpire Dr. David Jones set a HSL record umpiring 42 innings at the plate over a 48-hour period. We must tip our caps to him and all the umpires without whom the Herts Spring League would not be possible.

View HSL scoreboard

View HSL standings

With Spring Training completed, British baseball teams up and down the country will hope that this will be their year. The NBL teams already opened their 2017 season, while the other three leagues commence this Sunday, 9 April. Follow us on twitter and facebook for a comprehensive coverage of the 2017 baseball season.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

HSL to use New York Yankees vs Tampa Bay Rays game instead of coin toss to break tie for first place

The Herts Spring League issued an announcement that it will use today’s MLB Opening Day game between New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays instead of a “coin toss” to break the tie for first place in the HSL Double-A Standings between Birmingham Bandits and Herts Hawks. See the full statement below.

STATEMENT

The final games of the 2017 Herts Spring League took place this weekend. Birmingham Bandits and Herts Hawks both finished with a 3-0 record and are tied for first place in the HSL Double-A standings. The first, second and third tie-break rules did not break the tie as both teams conceded 0.815 runs per inning over all of their HSL games. The fourth and final tie-break rule stipulates that the tie will be broken by a toss of a coin.

As today is Opening Day in MLB, it has been decided not to toss a coin and instead the New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays game will be used to break the tie. It has randomly been determined that a win for the New York Yankees would imply that the Birmingham Bandits have won the coin toss, while a win for Tampa Bay Ray would mean that the Herts Hawks have won.

The Yankees @ Rays game commences at 6:10pm UK time and can be watched on BT Sport or on MLB.TV.

Commissioner
Herts Spring League

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts teams announce preliminary 2017 HSL rosters

The managers of the Herts teams which will be playing in the 2017 Herts Spring League over the next 3 weeks have announced their preliminary rosters. We understand that these rosters are not fixed and it is very likely that there may be movement between teams over the course of the HSL. Some players may be asked to play for more than one team as managers look to evaluate players ahead of the announcement of the 2017 Opening Day rosters.

New players are registering every week, therefore some new names may be added over the course of the HSL and into the league season.

HERTS FALCONS

Aaron Witter

Andrew Fulford

Andy Cornish

Cristobal Hiche

Darren Meintjes

Jake Caress

Jamie Warren

Jeremy Lengyel

John Blose

Jonathon Lewys

Lee Manning

Louis Hare

Mario Escobedo

Robert Smith

Tyler Badenhorst

HERTS HAWKS

Andrew Slater

Andy Cornish

Aspi Dimitrov

Dan Bartram

Duane Badenhorst

Ernest jr Ayala

Ernie Ayala

Gilberto Medina

Greg Bochan

Hunter Devine

Iain Mccrimmon

Jamie Lang

John Kjorstad

Jonathon Lewys

Louis Hare

Matthew Gentry

Michael Cresswell

Rod Naghar

Simon Langton

Sonam Lama

Tim Elkins

HERTS RAPTORS

Adam White

Andrico Patsalides

Arnold Longboy

Ben Sinclair

Clive Johnson

Darren Butterworth

Darren Priest

James Emblow

Jim Arnott

Joseph Osborne-brade

Martin Rooney

Matthew Jackson

Michael Johnson

Mitchell Taylor

Nick White

Paul Auchterlounie

Paul Barton

Rahie Rahman

Rich Brown

Rob Jones

Tim Lawrence

Tom Carson

William Belbin
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Countdown to HSL – first chance to see the teams ahead of the 2017 British baseball season

The biggest pre-season baseball competition in Britain is back. Commencing on March 18, the Herts Spring League (HSL) will see 16 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 16 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. The third tier is the HSL-A consisting mainly 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 preparatory 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, the home of Herts Baseball Club.

SCHEDULE

23 games are scheduled to be played on the two diamonds. The competition begins on March 18 with a clash between the Bracknell Inferno and the Kent Mariners in the HSL Single-A bracket. The HSL Majors commences on the same day when the London Mammoths will face the Lakenheath Lancers while the HSL Double-A division will open with an encounter between the Essex Redbacks and the London Marauders.

In the final weekend of the HSL the schedule will include the National Baseball League season opener between the Herts Falcons and the Brighton Jets. It will be interesting to see if the attendance at Grovehill Ballpark will be higher than that at Farnham Park on the same day for the other NBL clash between the London Mets and the Southampton Mustangs.

Click to view full 2017 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

16 teams will signal the arrival of Spring in the 2017 HSL

Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that 16 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. This year the lineup has an added international flavour with the entry of the Lakenheath Lancers which is a team made up of American high school players based around RAF Lakenheath. The last team coming out of RAF Lakenheath to play in the HSL was the Lakenheath Diamondbacks who won the Majors division in 2012.

This year’s HSL will also feature the Taunton Tigers which is a team from the South West Baseball League which is an independent league.  Another team making their HSL debut is the Birmingham Bandits who have impressed in the BBF Midlands conference over the last few years.

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

HSL – MAJORS

TEAM

CLASS

HSL RANKING

South London Pirates

NBL

1

Herts Falcons

NBL

2

London Mammoths

AAA

2

Lakenheath Lancers

International

4

Taunton Tigers

Ind.

5

HSL – AA

TEAM

CLASS

HSL RANKING

Essex Redbacks

AAA

6

Birmingham Bandits

AA

7

Milton Keynes Bucks

AA

8

London Marauders

AA

9

Herts Hawks

AA

10

Cambridge Monarchs

A

11

HSL – A

TEAM

CLASS

HSL RANKING

Tonbridge

A

12

London Musketeers

A

13

Herts Raptors

A

14

Kent Mariners

A

15

Bracknell Inferno

A

16

SCHEDULE AND FORMAT

The HSL will be played over three weeks commencing on the weekend of 18 and 19 March and ending on 1 and 2 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.