Category: Featured

2 April 2018 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Arrows, Mets, Hawks and Musketeers win the 2018 HSL titles

In the NBL Division the Essex Arrows and Birmingham Bandits were the favourites going into the final weekend of the 2018 Herts Spring League (HSL). Despite losing to the Herts Falcons, the earlier win over the London Mammoths was enough for the Arrows to clinch first place. The Birmingham Bandits had two shots at overtaking them but first the London Mammoths and then the Southampton Mustangs took the wins in closely fought games.

Their strong performance in the second week was enough for the London Mets U19 to win the HSL Triple-A title. The rain on Saturday scuppered the eagerly awaited encounter between them and the Lakenheath Regulators which was built as the title-decider in the Triple-A bracket.

In the Double-A Division the Herts Hawks’ record of three wins and no losses secured first place for them.

In the Single-A Division calculators were needed to break the tie between the London Musketeers and the London Archers. The Musketeers clinched it thanks to conceding fewer runs per inning, 0.111 compared to the Archers’ 0.556 runs per inning.

The 2018 Herts Spring League proved to be a major struggle in the face of sub-zero temperatures and snow in week one and torrential rain on the final Saturday which flooded both diamonds. These certainly were the worst weather conditions in the 11-year history of the HSL, but, despite this, 21 games were played which is 53% of the original schedule.

View HSL scoreboard

View HSL standings

We saw home runs, spectacular defence, lights-out pitching, many players who will be making their BBF league debuts in 2018 and a whole lot more over the last three weeks of the HSL.

With Spring Training completed, British baseball teams up and down the country will hope that this will be their year. The NBL teams will open the 2018 season next Sunday, 8 April, while the other three leagues start later in April. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for a comprehensive coverage of the 2018 baseball season.

9 March 20189 March 2018 by Herts Baseball News Editor

19 teams will signal the arrival of Spring in the 2018 HSL

Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that 19 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 Regulators and the ASL Eagles. The Regulators are a team made up of American varsity 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. The ASL Eagles are also an American varsity team. The make their first appearance in the HSL since 2008 when they won it.

This year’s HSL will also see the return of the Southampton Mustangs who have been a dominant force in the NBL in recent years. The London Archers are a new team which has just appeared on the British Baseball map and this will be the first chance to see them in action in a year when they hope to go far in the Little League World Series.

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

SCHEDULE AND FORMAT

The HSL will be played over three weeks commencing on the weekend of 17 and 18 March and ending on 31 March and 1 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.

30 January 2018 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Falcons, Hawks and Raptors go into 2018 with new managers. Club adds 5 new board members.

At its 21st Annual General Meeting, Herts Baseball Club announced the appointment of new managers for all three of its teams competing in the BBF senior leagues, as well as a large number of appointments in the youth baseball department.

HERTS FALCONS
Cris Hiche (pictured above) takes over from Lee Manning as the Manager of the club’s first team, the Herts Falcons, who play in the National Baseball League, which is Britain’s top baseball league tier. Hiche has been a key member of the team since 2012. In 2016 he spent a season playing in the Austrian Bundesliga, but came back to rejoin Herts in 2017. He has now set ambitious goals for the team to go back to challenging for the NBL title.

HERTS HAWKS
The club’s second team, the Herts Hawks, will also have a new manager. Michael Cresswell takes over from Andrew Slater and Greg Bochan. The team reached the playoffs in its first year back in Double-A last year so Cresswell will inherit a very capable squad. Cresswell previously managed the Herts Raptors. He took the team to the playoffs in 2016 eliminating the reigning Single-A Champions in the quarter-finals.

HERTS RAPTORS
Matt Jackson has had outstanding performances playing for the Herts Raptors since 2015 which was recognized with him being voted Most Valuable Player in 2016, an award he shared with Michael Cresswell. Jackson will now take the Raptors managerial seat in 2018 from Paul Barton. It is considered to be the most challenging team to manage as the role involves trying to find the balance between competing in an ever-improving Single-A League and at the same time creating the right environment to develop new players, some of whom are completely new to the sport of baseball. But for those who enjoy this type of challenge it can be the most rewarding managerial role at the club.

YOUTH BASEBALL TEAMS
Lee Manning makes the move from managing the Falcons to heading the club’s youth baseball programme. He will be working alongside the team managers of the club’s various youth age groups, who have also joined the board – Duane Badenhorst (Under-15), Dana Myzer (Under-13), Andrew Fulford (Under-11), John Kjorstad and Lee Manning as joint Under-8 Managers.

BOARD MEMBERS
In total the club has added 5 new board members and this is expected to bring new energy to the club’s front office. Two board positions are still vacant – Club Secretary and Facilities Manager. The club is also looking to fill the Softball Manager position which is a non-board position. Those interested in taking on these roles or to receive more information can contact the club.

2017 AWARDS
At the AGM the Club also announced the winners of the 2017 awards.

MVP, Herts Falcons – Tyler Badenhorst
MVP, Herts Hawks – Louis Hare
MVP, Herts Raptors – Tom Carson
MVP, Herts Red Kites U17 – Tyler Badenhorst
MVP, Herts U13 – Josh Badenhorst
MVP, Herts U11 – Ben Myzer
MVP, Herts U8 – Daniel Heal
Play of the Year – Robert Smith (for his stellar relief appearance in the playoffs)
Nob-Out Award – Aspi Dimitrov (for the walk-off that went wrong)

SPRING TRAINING – OPEN SESSIONS
With the club’s front office ready to go, attention now turns to Spring Training which commences this Sunday, 4 February, for the adult and youth baseball teams while softball Spring Training starts on 18 February. These are open sessions, making them an ideal opportunity for men and women, boys and girls of all ages to come and try baseball and softball.

6 January 2018 by Rob Jones

Bigger and better: the baseball year at Herts

2017 was a year which saw Herts add new elements to its already impressive array of sporting possibilities. There was the arrival of softball, the development of a Rec League, and a new summer tournament which we hope will become a regular fixture. So, as the club prepares for next week’s AGM to start planning 2018, let’s look back over 2017.

The Herts Hawks led the way again for the club in the BBF leagues. After winning it all unbeaten in Single-A in 2016, they stepped up a division and continued on a tear.

Last year’s sluggers Gilberto Medina and Jon Lewys were still on board. The team had also been strengthened by the arrival of Michael Cresswell from the Raptors, and Ernie and EJ Ayala, a father and son combination well known in British baseball circles but new to Herts.

The Hawks kicked off with a 21-9 victory at Farnham Park against the Daws Hill Spitfires, the defending champions of Double-A. They survived a fightback to beat the Richmond Dragons, then extended the winning streak further by beating the London Marauders.

The run of victories was at 23 when they faced off against the East London Latin Boys, who were also undefeated on the season at that point and were leading the league. Herts took the first game of a double header, but then lost 14-8, their first defeat since September 2015.

Latin Boys and Sidewinders were the only sides to get the better of the Hawks in the regular season, and they qualified for the playoffs with a 17-4 record. There they faced their old rivals the Tonbridge Wildcats. They went down 11-7, beaten with both bat and ball by the Tonbridge phenom Christian Sacareanu.

In the top division, the National Baseball League (NBL), the Herts Falcons were bolstered by the return of Cris Hiche from a season playing ball in Austria — and by the late addition of former national champion Jarrod Pretorius.

They started the season with a sweep of the Brighton Jets, powered by home runs from Pretorius and Darren Meintjes. There was an early bump in the road with a controversial incident in the game at the Southampton Mustangs – which remains unresolved — then struggles for form and quality.

There were further wins over the London Capitals and Brighton, but the season high point was a hard-fought 5-2 victory over Southampton in July. Zack Longboy took the win, a complete game four-hitter. The Falcons continued to blood their young talent throughout the year, ending with a record of 7-19.

The Herts Single-A team, the Raptors, narrowly missed the playoffs. They were quick out of the blocks, with 2 wins out of their first 3. One of a raft of talented rookies, Ben Sinclair, made his mark with 2 home runs and a triple in the victory over the Old Timers.

The team came close against quality opponents such as London and Cambridge, but suffered a run of defeats to put them in a hole. Luckily for team spirit, the trip to Norwich to get hammered by the eventual champions was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone!

Veterans such as Ken Pike and John Kjorstad – added to improving newcomers Tom Carson and James Emblow – helped the Raptors fight back in the late summer. A nail-biting win against the Essex Archers was a highlight.

The playoffs were still an option as they faced the 11-2 Guildford Millers at Grovehill in their final game. The occasion got the close, quality contest it deserved, and just one run separated the teams as late as the sixth inning. The Millers went on to win 15-13, holding off a strong Herts rally. Raptors ended the season 7-7, the second consecutive year at .500 or above.

Youth baseball continued to flourish at Grovehill, the Herts Red Kites (Under-17s) having another strong season under the tutelage of Andrew Fulford. The developing core of players not only won games, but played the game the right way. That was honoured at the National Baseball Championships, where they won the sportsmanship award.

The Red Kites also won the inaugural Kal Cup which was played in August in memory of our friend and team-mate Kal Dimitrov who died suddenly in 2015. Many former Herts players came out of retirement to compete as Kal’s Knights, while the Essex Archers also joined us for the event. Falcons manager Lee Manning, who served as Commissioner, said Herts hoped to make the Cup an annual event.

The Herts youth movement also saw a successful year for the Under-13s, and leaps and bounds of improvements for the Under-11s, where many any of the players were still new to baseball in the Spring. They performed well in games against Brighton, Guildford and Forest Glade, and were able to start winning by the year’s end. U-11 Coach Dana Myzer said they had matured, grasped the game, and became better sportsmen and team-mates.

There was also continued growth for the Under-8 programme – these guys and girls had more fun than anyone when they got to practice sliding into the bases!!

And all of these age groups took part in the Herts Futures Tournament in September. 17 teams, featuring some 200 players and coaches, were involved. There were wins for the Red Kites, for London Sports, Brighton and the London Mets – but most importantly everyone had a good time.

Softball was part of the Herts stable of sport this year for the first time. Tireless efforts by Mark Caress and others saw the first indoor sessions in the Spring, which attracted dozens of people.

The Buzzards played their first tournament in May at Farnham Park and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. There were also games during the summer in a Milton Keynes league.

The final major addition — of what seems like a long list this year! – was the Rec League at Grovehill on summer Saturdays. This gave players the chance to show up when they could, for a time-limited game in a relaxed atmosphere. Cris Hiche helped drive the idea, which was ideal for new players wanting to try the sport of baseball without a big commitment, but also good for existing and past members who could now keep in touch.

2017 ended in traditional fashion with the Hunlock Series, in which every Herts player from every level — as well as newcomers and anyone from across the baseball community — gets drafted into new teams for a tournament.

It’s always a blast, with games just one inning long to recreate the drama of the ninth over and over again. The Blue Rockers came from nowhere to win the closest contest in history.

Fortunately, by the time the memories of a sun-kissed Grovehill fade away, the prospect of new baseball starts to appear. Herts will be running a range of adult and youth teams this year, and members are already registering. See you on the diamond!

29 December 201729 December 2017 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Adult and youth players now registering for the 2018 Herts baseball and softball season

The wait is over. Player registration for the 2018 season has commenced.

SOFTBALL

In 2017 Herts Baseball Club launched its softball programme which has enabled the club to offer playing opportunities to a much wider audience and to women in particular. Slowpitch Softball is the more recreational version of the game, which is equally appealing to male and female players. Softball is a social and enjoyable game that’s easy to learn and play, even for people who are not “athletes” or don’t have much experience of team sports. The fact that men and women play together in the same team and on an equal level gives the sport a social buzz.

The first Spring Training session for the softball players is at 10am on Sunday, 18 February. The first few sessions will be held indoors at the modern sports facilities of John F Kennedy School in Hemel Hempstead. All equipment will be provided so anyone aged 14 and over can come and enjoy the day, meet new friends and try a new sport. For more details about the Herts Softball Programme click here. If you are interested to come and try softball at any of the upcoming open sessions contact us and we will provide you with full details and add you to our mailing list.

ADULT BASEBALL LEAGUES

Last season three Herts teams entered the BBF senior baseball leagues. The next two weeks will be critical to see how many players will register to play for Herts in 2018 and on the basis of this the club will decide how many teams to enter before the 16 January league entry deadline. The club was close to entering four teams last season. How many will they enter this year?

KEY DATES – ADULT TEAMS

4 February – Adult team players report for first Spring Training indoor session

4 March – Adult teams return to Grovehill Ballpark for the first time in 2018

17 March – Start of the 2018 Herts Spring League (subject to confirmation of the BBF League Opening Day)*

8 April* – BBF League Opening Day (subject to confirmation)

May – Start of Midweek Evening Baseball

August-September* – BBF Postseason Playoffs and National Championships

September-October – Hunlock Series

* – these are preliminary dates. The BBF will be making its official announcements in due course.

YOUTH BASEBALL LEAGUES

The British Baseball Federation launched the Super League in 2017. It enhanced the youth baseball regular season and it is expected to be even more exciting in 2018. Many of our youth players will be moving up to the next age group to face a different challenge in 2018. They will be joined by the new players who are joining the club every week. The Herts youth teams welcome boys and girls aged between 4 and 16 from complete beginners to experienced players.

KEY DATES – YOUTH TEAMS

4 February – U17, U15, U13 and U11 players report for first Spring Training indoor session

March – First session at Grovehill Ballpark for the youth teams

April – U8 players report for their first session

April – U17, U15, U13, U12, U8 Season Opening Day

June – Little League UK Qualifiers (U17, U15, U13, U11)

July-August – Little League Europe Qualifier (Poland or Italy) and World Series (USA) (subject to qualification)

September – National Youth Baseball Championships (U17, U15, U13, U11)

September – Herts Futures Tournament (U17, U15, U13, U11, U8)

HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE 2018 HERTS BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL SEASON

Herts Baseball Club has commenced the 2018 registration process for adult and youth members. For those who already have a Herts Online Club House account they will be prompted to register when they log on next time (click here to go to the Herts Online Club House and log on with your existing username and password). Those who are new to Herts and do not have an online account will be able to register as members by completing this form.

13 November 2017 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Baseball Club 2018 AGM details announced

Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that its 21st Annual General Meeting will take place on Saturday, 13 January 2018.

In 2017 the club continued its growth and success on and off the field. The AGM will provide a deeper understanding of the club’s present position, and will set out the plans for 2018 and beyond. Members will receive the AGM Information Pack in due course and that will give a better idea of what to expect at the meeting.

In accordance with the Constitution, a number of Board positions will be up for election at the upcoming AGM either as part of the annual retirement of a third of the Board positions or because they are vacant.

The club is now inviting nominations for the following Board positions:

• Secretary
• Manager First Team – Herts Falcons
• Manager Second Team – Herts Hawks
• Manager Third Team – Herts Raptors
• Youth League Commissioner
• Head of U13 Baseball
• Head of U11 Baseball
• Head of U8 Baseball
• Head of Softball
• Communications Director
• IT Director
• Facilities Manager

Those who are interested to put their name forward or second a nomination can contact the club for more details.

Although only 2017 club members have the right to vote at the AGM, the meeting is very much open to former members and those who are considering joining the club in 2017 as players, members of staff, volunteers and fans. This is a good opportunity for newcomers to learn more about the club and meet its members. The meeting is also open to observers who are not members of the Club. Non-members who plan to attend would need to advise the club in advance as spaces are limited. If you are not a current member and wish to attend the AGM please contact the club.

The AGM will be held just a few minutes away from Grovehill Ballpark, at Gadebridge Community Centre.

DATE: Saturday, 13 January 2018
TIME: Registration starts at 11:00am, the AGM will commence at 11:10am (expected to end at around 2:45pm)
VENUE: Galley Hall, Gadebridge Community Centre, The Nokes, Rossgate, Gadebridge, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 3LF (Directions and Map)

10 November 201710 November 2017 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Falcons, Hawks and U13 teams begin search for new managers

With its annual general meeting approaching, Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that the managers of the Herts Falcons, Herts Hawks and Herts Under-13 teams will be stepping down. This will mark the end of an era for those teams and the start of the search for managers to lead these teams in 2018 and beyond.

Lee Manning has served as manager of the Herts Falcons since 2011. During that period he led the team to a NBL runner-up place in 2012 and 2013 just missing out on winning the NBL Championship against the Harlow Nationals in the Final on both occasions. This in fact was his second spell as manager of the club’s first team. His first spell was between 2004 and 2006 when he won promotion from the third tier of British Baseball to the second tier which at the time was referred to as the BBF Premier League, later renamed the BBF Triple-A League. Manning is hoping to continue his involvement in the club with focus on the youth baseball programme which he has been involved in since he founded it in 2007 together with Marty Cullen.

Andrew Slater and Greg Bochan have been the co-managers of the Herts Hawks, the club’s second team, since 2015. Bochan was first appointed as Hawks manager in 2009. In 2011 he was joined by Andy Cornish to share the role as co-managers until 2014. In the nine years since Bochan was first appointed, he and his co-managers Cornish and Slater managed to build fantastic camaraderie within the team, and it has given its members many moments which they will remember fondly. Regardless of whether the team had a winning average of .250 as was the case in 2011, or the 1.000 Single-A championship-winning season of 2016, the most important measure of success for the team has been the enjoyable, friendly atmosphere and sportsmanship on and off the field. At the recent end of year dinner (pictured above) the team expressed its gratitude to the three co-managers who built this team over the previous 9 seasons. The Hawks co-managers said that they would not be surprised if they return to managing the team in the future. They of course look forward to continuing to play for the club in 2018.

Mike Wakelam will be stepping down as Herts U13 Manager and Head of Youth Baseball. In 2009 he happened to be at the Northwick Park baseball centre when Herts were running an exhibition event there and he decided to join the club. He went on to play for the Herts Eagles in the Triple-A League and also for the Falcons in the NBL. In 2010 he became the manager of the Herts Under-11 team and later became the Under-13 manager. In 2017 Wakelam’s workload increased further as he joined the Board as the club’s Head of Youth Baseball. Over the last two years he was instrumental in restructuring the youth baseball regular season in an effort to increase the number of games played by the club’s youth teams which had been starved of games after the British Baseball Federation stopped running youth baseball leagues a few years ago. This has now been turned around and the BBF Super League was launched in 2017. Mike Wakelam is expected to remain involved in a playing capacity and he is likely to receive many calls from coaches after impressive displays in this year’s Hunlock Series.

Herts Baseball Club will shortly be announcing details of its Annual General Meeting which will include information for candidates which may be interested to put their names forward for these and other managerial and board positions which are being vacated.

10 October 201711 October 2017 by Rob Jones

Why cleats beat other treats

This blog is rarely preoccupied with shoes, or hats. Normally you would have to look at Vogue if you wanted that. But 2017 was not like other baseball years for your correspondent, writes Rob Jones.

Shoes were central to this year’s experience. Or, more specifically, cleats. Red cleats.

Way back when I started playing baseball, I stumbled across a pair of red Converse cleats going cheap from a guy who ran a baseball shop out of an industrial lot in north London. I bought them because I had credit with him, and just because they were there. But they became an emotional part of my game.

When my young children first came to see me play, they could identify Daddy from all these guys on the field by the fact he had red shoes on. One of our team-mates with a talent for photography immortalised the red cleats one year with a close-up picture.

They became me, and I became them.

In early 2017, they finally gave up the ghost. I don’t actually play that often, and would sometimes use different shoes on hard ground (the pair in question have metal cleats). So they had lasted years. But, in the end, they had too many holes and cracks to make them viable.

And so they were retired. And when I travelled to the United States this Spring, for the first time in about 8 years, my mission was to find new red, metal cleats. That was my request to each of the sports stores we visited.

And shiny Nike “Mike Trout” shoes were the result. I joke to my children that Mike Trout wears “Rob Jones” shoes, but I don’t think they are convinced.

Now, I accept this is all frippery. I mean, really, shoes?? But in the sporting world, good luck and superstitions can come in all shapes and sizes (a size 8, in this case). And a bit of bling never hurts.

Those old cleats had won the famous 2016 playoff game in Tonbridge. They helped me to a couple of batting titles (no, I didn’t hit the ball with my feet, but you know what I mean). I could read into all of this a message about breaking down, and wearing out. But I am choosing to find a message of longevity, and of renewal.

The cleats won their last game, in the Herts Spring League.

And the new guys won theirs too, at home to the Bracknell Inferno.

This was the start of the serious business of baseball. It was a season with lots of promise for the Herts Raptors, after winning their first ever playoff game in 2016. Lots of the guys who contributed that that run were still on board — though we lost some to higher divisions — and fresh new talent arrived, too.

My season started with an early 1.000 batting average. The last time that happened there were comparisons to the great Ty Cobb, and I became Rob Cobb. But fortunately that name didn’t last. The batting was a bit up and down this year, but it evened out just over .500 which was acceptable.

In the Kent Mariners game, I debunked my own theory that my bat gets slower and weaker as the game goes on with my biggest hit in a last-inning attempt at a rally. Not actually a hit, in scoring terms, as it was caught in the outfield. But enough to give me late-game optimism!

The cleats and I played almost all of the season at shortstop, barring a few moments as catcher. Again, it started pretty well, building to the home game against the London Musketeers as the defensive pinnacle of my year. At that point, I thought the magic shoes might finally take me to an infield gold glove.

But as the year wore on, maybe I slowed down a smidgen (see previous batting theories). But I did get to turn a double play at Guildford, and hopefully my work helped to keep the team in games on other occasions.

The Raptors ended with a 7-7 record, an excellent recovery from a hole we got into in the middle of the season. We just missed the playoffs but everyone is keen to come back for more next year and get into post-season action again. The shoes are definitely keen for more.

The other sartorial element of 2017 to be mentioned is hats. I also acquired a new Herts cap this year, because I had lost mine on a ride at Disney World in Florida. There are worse — or more boring – places to lose a hat. It ruined my plans to represent the club when we went to a Minor League baseball game on the same holiday, but it does mean that somewhere deep in Disney World, a mysterious black cap with a red H is repping Herts for an American audience.

Luckily, my son was able to represent Herts at the ball game with his hat. He had only lost his Red Sox cap!

Even while visiting one of the world’s leading entertainment attractions, I couldn’t help but take note of all the baseball caps I saw. And I ended up, essentially, counting them.

Most common were Cubs and Red Sox. But right up there with them were the Detroit Tigers. Which felt strange, as you don’t see a whole lot of Detroit hats in the UK. I don’t know what that tells us — are the Tigers way bigger in the US? Or do people from Detroit go on vacation in Florida?

San Francisco Giants fans seemed to prefer Animal Kingdom, as I saw more there than anywhere else. I was slightly surprised by the number of Blue Jays hats.

And according to my deeply unscientific poll, the Seattle Mariners are the least popular club in America, as I didn’t see a single one of their hats. Sorry, M’s. Following close behind, with maybe one or two hats spotted during the fortnight, were the Colorado Rockies, the Oakland A’s, the San Diego Padres and the Houston Astros.

Clearly, the fact that lots of these teams are on the west coast might simply mean that their fans go to Disneyland in California, instead of travelling thousands of miles to Florida! And if the Houston Astros win the World Series, they probably won’t care that I have just suggested they’re among the least popular teams in the US. If they do win, they might even celebrate by buying some new shoes….

9 October 201710 October 2017 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Premature celebrations cost Rockers a win versus Hunlock Series leaders

Ahead of the third week of the Hunlock Series the Red Kites and Blue Rockers had a mountain to climb to catch up with the Black Barracudas who had a commanding lead in the standings. By Sunday evening both teams managed to close that gap to set up an exciting finale next Sunday, 15 October.

To start the day the reigning Hunlock Series champions, Red Kites, edged the Blue Rockers with two wins, one loss and a tie in the four games between the two teams.

All the players seem to up their game when Conner Brown is in town (photo by Rob Jones)

The Blue Rockers then bounced back with much better performances in the next four games against the Black Barracudas picking up one win, two ties and a loss, thanks to dominant performances by Conner Brown and Cris Hiche. They worked together well as pitcher and catcher, swapping their positions halfway through those games.

IN BASEBALL YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHEN AND HOW TO CELEBRATE

The Blue Rockers’ would have had an even better record at the end of the day if it wasn’t for a strange case of premature celebration of a walk-off win which ended up costing them dearly. In the bottom of the last inning with the score tied and the bases loaded, Dany Bueno had a good at bat against ace pitcher Mike Wakelam and was rewarded by getting on base on a hit-by-pitch. This gave his team a walk-off win as that hit-by-pitch meant that all the runners advanced one base and the runner on third base came in to score the winning run. The runner on first base was Aspi Dimitrov and as he started running towards the dugout and high-fiving Dany Bueno to congratulate him on earning his team a win everything seemed normal, until the loud voice of plate umpire, Darrin Muller, was suddenly heard saying “Batter is out. Run does not score”. There could be no argument that the hit-by-pitch was a game-winning and game-ending play, but under the rules the game is not over until the batter physically steps on first base. Bueno was on his way to step on first base but the runner ahead of him on first base ended up behind the batter violating the rule that a runner cannot overtake the runner ahead of them.

Whether it was the fact that the Hunlock Series has the fast-paced format and Dimitrov was going towards the dugout to quickly get set for the next inning, or perhaps the fact that time was called by the umpire as soon as the batter was hit by the pitch, this may have contributed to what occurred, but the rules of the game have to be observed. It must be said that many umpires may have missed this fine technical detail, but on this occasion the game was umpired by the most experienced and best umpire in the UK. Blue Rockers pitcher Cris Hiche spent a long time hoping to find something in the rulebook which would bring the win back for the Rockers. For example, does the fact that time was called when the batter was hit by the pitch have an effect on the ruling? Unfortunately for the Blue Rockers not even OJ Simpson’s legal team could get them out of this one.

MEMORIES OF 1999 NLCS

Over 2,430 games of baseball, plus the postseason, are played in MLB every year, but we don’t see this occur very often. The MLB incident which comes closest is the so called “Grand Slam Single” by Robin Ventura for the New York Mets in the 1999 National League Championship Series. The Atlanta Braves had a 3–2 lead going into the bottom of the 15th inning. The Mets loaded the bases against Braves relief pitcher Kevin McGlinchy. Mets catcher Todd Pratt drew a bases loaded walk, tying the score 3–3. The next batter was Mets third baseman Robin Ventura with the bases still loaded. Ventura crushed the 2–1 pitch over the wall in right-center for a grand slam, winning the game for the Mets and driving the Mets players and fans into a frenzied celebration. Ventura, however, never reached second base as Todd Pratt, the runner who was on first, picked up Ventura in celebration.

Subsequently, Ventura was mobbed by his teammates, never finishing his trot around the bases. Because he failed to touch all four bases, the hit was officially scored a single. Roger Cedeño, the runner on third at the time, was ruled the only runner to have crossed home plate before the on-field celebration began and the Mets were awarded a 4–3 victory. Thus, Ventura was only credited with a single and one RBI.

After this incident, we can say with certainty that Herts teams will be celebrating walk-off wins very carefully when the 2018 British baseball league season begins.

SERIES NICELY POISED FOR FINAL WEEK

Anyway, to wrap-up week 3 of the Hunlock Series, Red Kites ended the day with 2 wins and two ties against the Black Barracudas and as a result they stand just one game back in the standings ahead of the final round of games on Sunday, 15 October. Blue Rockers are also in contention just 3.5 games back with 8 games to play.

It is not too late to play in these games. Free agents players, experienced or complete beginners, can contact us for details how to take part.

26 September 2017 by Rob Jones

The (Herts) Future is now

Seventeen baseball teams, comprising around 200 players and coaches, descended upon Grovehill ball park on Saturday for another fantastic day of baseball at the Herts Futures Tournament.

This is the biggest annual youth event in the sport in the UK, which has been staged every year since 2008. Competing teams came from as far afield as Leicester and Brighton this year — with a good helping of Herts in there, too.

There were wins shared around in the four age categories, with Herts, Brighton, London Sports and the London Mets all getting a share of the spoils. Full results can be found on the Herts Futures pages of our website.

The day began in a warm but cloudy fashion, with Herts Under-13 and Under-17 teams playing the first games at 9:30 in the morning.

The Opening Ceremony then saw all of the players and coaches lining up to be introduced. London Sports sent their Thunder and Lightning and Storm; the London Mets were there; the Forest Glade Redbacks; the Leicester Blue Sox; and a combined Under-8 force of the London Capitals and Mets with Brighton, and even a sprinkling of Northants Centurions!

A queue of baseball talent stretched along the first base line, and there were high fives and fist bumps for everyone — including our excellent umpires Darrin Muller, Blake Taylor, Mike Wakelam and Rich Brown.

The Herts Red Kites had the best of it in the Under-17 category, capping an excellent year for them under their coach Andrew Fulford. The Under-13 league was a tight contest with the Brighton Fireballs and London Mets coming out tied on top of the table — after tying their own game. Tie-breaking rules on runs conceded gave the title to the Mets, but both sides put on an excellent show.

In the younger age groups, London Sports showed their prowess, winning both pools of the Under-11 competition. The Thunder and Lightning then faced off in the final, won by the Thunder. This year’s Under-8 competition saw Herts and Leicester taking on a mix of the Mets, Capitals and Brighton. The teams — and the watching parents — had a great time and the three-way mash-up team won both their games to secure a win.

The sun shone by the afternoon, and Herts volunteers did great work serving cheesesteaks, chili-dogs and donuts to the hungry masses. Many people also took this last chance of the year to snap up baseball merchandise and equipment.

The Herts Futures Tournament has rounded off the 2017 British youth baseball season in style. Teams up and down the country will now have to somehow survive the winter months without baseball.

Thankfully Major League Baseball is about to enter its most exciting phase and we can follow the drama of the postseason on TV and online.

Players of all ages can contact Herts Baseball Club with a view to signing up for the 2018 season or giving baseball a try when the teams return to the ballpark in the new year.