Category: Featured

10 April 2015 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Vallejo joins Herts just hours before Opening Day registration deadline

Herts has added infielder Joel Aybar Vallejo ahead of Sunday’s Opening Day games.

He is 35 years old and last season played in the Spanish League.

This acquisition happened just a few hours ago and we understand that the Herts coaching staff have not had a chance to assess him yet. They have received some information about the player from various sources but it is fair to say that Vallejo will be as much of an unknown quantity for the Falcons as he will for their opponents this Sunday.

He will certainly add a sense of mystery on Opening Day and something for the fans to look forward to.

SCHEDULE AT GROVEHILL BALLPARK

10:30am, Herts Falcons vs South London Pirates (NBL)
1:00pm, South London Pirates vs Southampton Mustangs (NBL)
1:00pm, Herts Eagles vs London Metros (Triple-A League)
3:30pm, Southampton Mustangs vs Herts Falcons (NBL)
3:30pm, Herts Eagles vs London Metros (Triple-A League)

FOOD AND DRINKS

Apart from five cracking baseball games, fans coming to Grovehill Ballpark this Sunday can look forward to the famous Herts hot dogs as well as many other snacks and drinks. The Herts shop will also be offering Herts, MLB and other baseball merchandise. Admission is free. Click here for directions to Grovehill Ballpark.

6 April 2015 by Herts Baseball News Editor

British baseball season commences this Sunday with 5 games at Herts

The waiting is over for British baseball fans. The 2015 league season commences this weekend. The Herts Falcons open their NBL campaign at home with a doubleheader as part of an Opening Day involving three NBL and two Triple-A League teams.

NATIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE

The Falcons will face the South London Pirates in the first game of the day starting at 10:30am. Maikel Azcuy, Robbie Almanzar, Edwin Alcantara and Moises Vasquez are expected to make their Herts debuts. The Pirates media department has been quite during the off season so it is difficult to assess what we can expect from them this season. This may be a ploy to keep their secret weapons up their sleeves. We will have to wait until Opening Day to find out. The Falcons won three of the four meetings between the two teams last year.

At 1pm the Pirates will play the 2014 NBL runners-up Southampton Mustangs and then at 3:30pm the Mustangs and Falcons will meet in what is always a tense clash. During the winter Southampton has strengthened its roster further with the acquisition of Shaun Macey (Australia), Kevin Hightower (USA), Alrey Lorenzo (Cuba) and Piotr Kosiba (Poland). Macey brings over 20 years experience, and was most recently a pitcher for the Auburn Orioles of the NSW Major League. Hightower is a catcher and can also play at first or second base. He spent the last ten years in Florida and Washington DC playing in the MABL. Alrey Lorenzo is a shortstop who previously played for the Southern Nationals. Kosiba is a former member of the Poland National Team. He also has experience playing in Italy, France and Germany.

Falcons centerfielder Cris Hiche hit a home run on Opening Day 12 months ago. Can he do it again this Sunday? (photo by Richard Lee)

Herts Falcons won two and lost two of their games with the Mustangs last year. Manager, Lee Manning, will need his players to make a good start if they are to be in the playoff race this year. He is going into the new season in an upbeat mood not only due to the new arrivals but he can also count on the return of players who missed most of 2014 with injuries. The one big setback for the Falcons is the news that shortstop Ryan Hackel, has had an emergency deployment. The date of his return is not confirmed at this stage.

TRIPLE-A LEAGUE

The Herts Eagles also open their Triple-A league season this Sunday at home. They have the hardest possible start against the London Metros who were runners-up last year. In 2014 the Eagles finished last with a record of 2-16. They will once again go into the season with a team made up predominantly of under-19 and under-17 players who have grown in the club’s youth system. They are now a year older and the newly appointed managerial duo of Arnie Longboy and Jake Caress are going into the season with optimism. In addition, they will be able to count on several more returning experienced players such as pitcher Louis Hare, outfielder Mahendra Prasad, pitcher and infielder Gilberto Median, new signings Gary Ward and Omar Vallenilla among others.

There are seven players in the Eagles roster who are battling to win a place with the GB U19 and U17 National Teams. The biggest challenge for the team would arguably be to survive the weeks when players are called up to the GB national team.

SINGLE-A LEAGUE

The Hawks find themselves in new surroundings as they will make their first appearance in the BBF Single-A League. They are on the road on Opening Day making the trip to the Haverhill Blackjacks who reached the Single-A final in 2013 and 2014 but just missed out on winning the championship on both occasions. This will be a major test for the Hawks and it will give Herts fans a good idea about the team’s chances of reaching the playoffs. The Hawks have lost the services of ace pitchers Nick Russell who transferred to Northampton and Zack Longboy who is now with the Herts Eagles in the Triple-A league. Despite this, the team will not be lacking in the pitching department with Andrew Slater, Greg Bochan, Jim Arnott and Nic Goetz who are all experienced pitchers.

The Herts Raptors will have to wait an extra week for their season opener. They start at home on 19 April against Tonbridge who impressed in the Herts Spring League over the last three weeks.

SCHEDULE AT GROVEHILL BALLPARK

FOOD AND DRINKS

27 March 2015 by Herts Baseball News Editor

2011 NBL MVP joins Herts Falcons

Edwin Alcantara with the NBL trophy in 2013

Edwin Alcantara has moved across the county border to join the Herts Falcons from the Essex Arrows with whom he became NBL National Champion last season.

Over the last four seasons Alcantara has been one of the most feared batters in the National Baseball League accumulating 9 home runs and 94 RBI in 290 at bats over that period. He spent his first three seasons in the NBL with the amazing Harlow Nationals winning three consecutive NBL titles between 2011 and 2013. In 2014 he moved to the Essex Arrows and made it four title wins in a row. Can he make it five consecutive NBL national championships in 2015, but this time with the Herts Falcons?

Photocall for Edwin Alcantara (right) and his Arrows teammates alongside Jerry Springer in 2009

2011 stands out as a phenomenal season for him. In that year he became the league’s MVP and won the triple crown, leading in home runs (6), hits (40) and runs batted in (33), as well as batting average (.482) and slugging average (1.086). This is a very rare achievement. We have to go back to 2005 when Simon Pole managed it playing for the London Warriors.

TEAM	SEASON	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BA	OBA	SLA
Harlow Nationals	2011	89	83	28	40	9	0	6	33	16	0.482	0.506	0.807
Harlow Nationals	2012	84	74	29	25	5	0	2	20	6	0.338	0.405	0.486
Harlow Nationals	2013	72	65	17	24	4	0	0	18	15	0.369	0.431	0.431
Essex Arrows	2014	78	68	20	24	4	1	1	23	5	0.353	0.41	0.485

TOTALS	4	323	290	94	113	22	1	9	94	42	0.390	0.440	0.566

Source: Project COBB

He has maintained his devastating offensive displays in the NBL consistently batting over .330 and slugging over .430 throughout his NBL career.

Edwin Alcantara’s defensive performances have also been recognised with the BBF’s equivalent of an outfield gold glove in 2011 and 2013.

Herts fans will have a chance to see him in the Herts Spring League before the NBL season opener on 12 April at Grovehill Ballpark.

23 March 201523 March 2015 by Herts Baseball News Editor

New signings make debuts on first weekend of the HSL

Mike Osborn was the starting pitcher for the Falcons against the London Metros

The first weekend of Herts Spring League games gave a glimpse of what we can expect from the 2015 British baseball season which commences on 12 April. However, after a hectic winter of players being transferred from one team to another and new players signing up, it is going to be difficult to make an accurate prediction of where teams will end up in the standings of the various league tiers.

The Herts Falcons faced the 2014 Triple-A Runners-up, the London Metros, in their opening HSL game. This was a first opportunity to see new signings Maikel Azcuy, Robbie Almanzar and Moises Vasquez play for Herts, who also fielded several players whose identities they chose not to disclose. The game also saw the return from injury of centerfielder Cris Hiche and pitcher Louis Hare. The Falcons took an early lead and held on to it despite a brave fight back by the Metros to bring the score to 14-11. It was Maikel Azcuy who took the game beyond the Londoners with a 3-run home run in the eighth inning.

In another highly anticipated game, the 2014 NBL Champions, Essex Arrows, faced the Triple-A Champions, Cambridge Royals. In a closely fought game the Arrows won 4-1, but it is becoming evident that the gap between the top tier and the Triple-A is narrowing. The hope is that the BBF will promote more Triple-A teams as part of an overdue expansion of the NBL. In this game Jorge Machado made his debut for the NBL Champions after his move from the Southern Nationals in the offseason.

In their other game the Royals faced the London Mammoths who will be the newest member of the Triple-A League after being awarded promotion by the BBF. The Mammoths will be very pleased with their performance. They held a 3-0 lead after 3 innings. The Royals fought back to win the game 5-4. Later in the day the Mammoths won 6-2 against Brighton who will also be making their Triple-A debut this year. The team from the South coast fielded a mix of their Triple-A and Single-players but they still managed to defeat the MK Bucks who are always difficult to beat. It didn’t get any easier for the Bucks as they suffered another defeat later in the day against the Essex Arrows.

The Haverhill Blackjacks slugged their way to a victory over the Cambridge Monarchs

In the Double-A division of the HSL the Herts Hawks lead the standings after wins against Tonbridge and London Marauders. Haverhill Blackjacks are half a game behind after their win against the Cambridge Monarchs. In the Single-A division, Guildford are ahead following their exciting 15-13 win over the London Musketeers. Herts Raptors beat Kent Mariners and lost to Tonbridge to put themselves in the group of four teams which are half a game behind the Mavericks.

Click to view HSL scoreboard and schedule

Click to view HSL Standings

The HSL games resume next weekend. The game of the day is expected to be the all-NBL clash between the Essex Arrows and the Herts Falcons at Grovehill Ballpark.

18 March 2015 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Tough draw for Herts teams in the BBF Cup First Round

This article first appeared on britishbaseball.org

The BBF has announced further details and first round draws for their new knock-out Cup competitions in 2015 – competitions they hope will add interest to the season and draw fans from different areas to watch games between teams that don’t normally play against each other.

The 2015 BBF Cup will be played as two separate competitions – one in the South for NBL and Triple-A South teams and one in the Midlands and the North for Triple-A and Double-A teams in those regions.

All Cup games will be played over nine innings.

BBF CUP: SOUTH

NBL and Triple-A teams from the South will compete in a knock-out competition held over three rounds followed by a final. Round 1 will be held on Sunday 26 April, and the draw has created the following match-ups:

Herts Falcons at London Metros (11.00 am)

Oxford Kings at London Mammoth (2.30 pm)

Bracknell Blazers at Herts Eagles (1.00 pm)

South London Pirates at Richmond Knights (12.00 pm)

Brighton Bulldogs at Essex Redbacks (12.00 pm)

Quarter-finals will be held on Sunday 21 June when the winners of the first-round matches will then be joined by the top three NBL teams from last season: the champions Essex Arrows plus the London Mets and Southampton Mustangs. Semi-finals will be held on Sunday 9 August, when the quarter-final winners will battle for a place in the BBF Southern Cup final. The final itself will be played on Sunday 20 September, though the venue is still to be decided.

BBF CUP: CENTRAL & NORTH

Meanwhile, a parallel knock-out Cup competition will be held in the Central and North regions, with each club submitting one team into the contest. The first two rounds of play will split into regional pools to minimise travel requirements before the competition hots up at the quarter-final stage with inter-pool play. Teams will be seeded based on league positions last season, with the first round effectively being a wild card match-up between the four lowest-ranked clubs from the North before the remaining teams join in the subsequent rounds. This first round will take place on Sunday 12 April with the following games:

Harrogate Tigers at Bolton Robots of Doom (12.00 pm)

Oldham North Stars at Manchester A’s (12.00 pm)

The winners of these two fixtures will then join Cartmel Valley, Liverpool Trojans, Hull Scorpions, Halton Jaguars, Newton Aycliffe Spartans and Sheffield Bladerunners in the second round scheduled for Sunday 3 May. In the Central pool, second round match-ups featuring Birmingham Bandits, Leicester Blue Sox, Long Eaton Storm, Milton Keynes Bucks, Northants Centurions and Stourbridge Titans will also be scheduled for Sunday 3 May. The reigning Triple-A Champions Cambridge Royals will get a bye in this round and enter at the quarter-final stage. The quarter-finals, to be played on Sunday 23 May, will be an open draw, but each fixture will incorporate a Central v North match-up. Two of the quarter-finals will be hosted by Central teams and two will be hosted by North teams. The winners of each quarter-final will progress to a finals weekend on 6-7 June.

14 March 2015 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Countdown to HSL – first chance to see the teams ahead of the 2015 British baseball season

The biggest pre-season baseball competition in Britain is back. Commencing on March 21, the Herts Spring League (HSL) will see 20 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 20 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 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 and Town Mead Ballpark in Waltham Abbey, the home of the Essex Arrows and Essex Archers.

SCHEDULE

32 games are scheduled to be played on the three diamonds. The competition begins on March 21 with a clash between the Herts Raptors and the Kent Mariners in the HSL-A bracket. The HSL-AA and HSL Majors divisions commence 24 hours later when the 2014 Triple-A National Champions, Cambridge Royals, face the Double-A National Champions, London Mammoths, which secured their promotion to the Triple-A League this year.

Click to view full 2015 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.

12 March 2015 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts add Vasquez to the roster

Moises Vasquez has completed his move to Herts Baseball Club.

The Dominican infielder played last season with the Harlow Nationals in the National Baseball League and prior to that with the Richmond Knights and the Leones de Feltham. He is the third former Harlow Nationals player to join Herts this Spring after Maikel Azcuy and Robbie Almanzar.

Herts fans remember Vasquez well. He hit two home runs against the Falcons in the heart-breaking 6-5 defeat against the Nationals in June 2014. Thankfully he will be wearing a Herts uniform this season.

His NBL career batting average stands at .317 with slugging average of .512 so it looks like Herts have added another productive right-handed batter to the lineup.

He has already met his new team mates in Spring Training and he would have seen several familiar faces among them. Vasquez is expected to play his first game for Herts in the upcoming Herts Spring League which is a pre-season competition ahead of the league Opening Day on 12 April.

8 March 20158 March 2015 by Daniel Levitt

Herts Falcons announce the acquisition of the 2012 NBL best pitcher

Pitcher Robbie Almanzar facing Falcons slugger Ryan Bird in game 6 of the 2012 National Championship Final

The Herts Falcons have announced the signing of left-handed pitcher Robbie Almanzar.

Hailing from the Dominican Republic, Almanzar is entering his fourth season in the National Baseball League, having spent the 2012 and 2013 seasons with the Harlow Nationals followed by a brief spell with the Essex Arrows last year.

In his NBL debut season he burst onto the scene scooping the Most Valuable Pitcher Award after a remarkable debut season. He led all of the key pitching categories including Most Wins (9 wins 0 losses), Most Strike-Outs (52), Best ERA 3.36, Best WHIP (1.17) and Most Innings Pitched (72).

TEAM	SEASON	W	L	ERA	CG	IP	SO	SO/9IP
Harlow Nationals	2012	9	0	3.36	8	75	52	6.2
Harlow Nationals	2013	1	4	6.75	2	29 1/3	18	5.5
Essex Arrows	2014	0	0	0	0	2/3	0	0

Source: Project COBB

Herts fans remember him well after he broke their hearts in game 6 of the National Baseball League Championship Final. He won that game 6-3.

Robbie Almanzar (left) trying to get to first base in the 2013 National Championship Semi-Final (photo by Richard Lee)

He added to Herts Falcons’ misery a year later when the two teams met again in the playoffs, this time in the National Semi-Final. The game finished 9-8 with Almanzar once again pitching a complete game to claim the win.

Although NBL fans mostly recognise him for his pitching achievements, he has impressive batting stats with career batting average of .281, slugging average of .378, including one home run, which was a grand slam against the Essex Redbacks in May 2013.

TEAM	SEASON	R	HR	RBI	SB	BA	OBA	SLA	PA/SO
Harlow Nationals	2012	24	1	10	6	0.338	0.44	0.463	12.1
Harlow Nationals	2013	14	0	5	6	0.216	0.32	0.275	15.3
Essex Arrows	2014	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	4

This news is a major boost for Herts ahead of the new season. With 2014 NBL Most Valuable Batter and Most valuable Pitcher, Abel Salas, making the move to the USA, the Falcons were desperate to add to their roster. The additions of Maikel Azcuy and Robbie Almanzar are two major acquisitions which have put the team straight back in the NBL race.

Falcons fans are expected to see both new signings make their Spring Training debuts when the Herts Spring League commences later this month.

By Daniel Levitt @DanielLevitt32

6 March 20156 March 2015 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Baseball teams up with Middlesex University to promote baseball in North West London

Herts Baseball Club has teamed up with Middlesex University to introduce adults and youngsters in North West London to the game of baseball.

A large number of open sessions have already been scheduled to take place at Middlesex University’s modern sports facilities and these are proving to be very popular already. The University has been promoting these events and a large number of students have signed up over the last few weeks. In addition, Herts Baseball Club is promoting these sessions through other channels as part of the launch of its North West London branch which is located just a few minutes away at West Hendon Playing Fields.

“We are pleased to have established this relationship with Middlesex University” said Herts Baseball Club President, Aspi Dimitrov. “They have outstanding facilities and we are already looking into ways of expanding the relationship further by exploring areas which could be of mutual benefit not just this year but for many years to come”.

The sessions which started in February and will end in April will take place at the 3G artificial field at Middlesex University. Players will also have access to five batting lanes as well as other facilities.

For details of upcoming open sessions click here.

2 March 20153 March 2015 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Difficult opponents for Eagles, Hawks and Raptors on Opening Day

The British Baseball Federation has published the games schedules for the three minor league tiers below the National Baseball League.

TRIPLE-A LEAGUE

The Herts Eagles will face some familiar opponents in the Triple-A League. The only change from last year’s lineup is the promotion of the London Mammoths from Double-A after their triumphant year. Hove Tuesday have been re-branded as the Brighton Baseball Club, with the Brighton Bulldogs retaining their Triple-A spot. The division will adopt a 24-game schedule, with each team playing home and away doubleheaders.

The Eagles will open the season with a very difficult home doubleheader versus the 2014 runners-up, London Metros. The game will start at 1pm immediately after the first game in the NBL Opener between the Herts Falcons and the South London Pirates.

Newly appointed Herts Eagles managers, Arnie Longboy and Jake Caress, will be keen to find out the playoff qualification process as the team goes into the season with one more year of baseball under their belt and in a more upbeat mood compared to 2014.

SINGLE-A LEAGUE

The BBF’s Single-A League will be contested across three evenly-sized pools consisting of five teams each. Teams will play each other once, with a balance of home and away fixtures.

Herts will be represented by two teams in the Single-A League this year. The Herts Hawks find themselves in a division with Brentwood Bucks, Essex Archers and Forest Glade Redbacks and Haverhill Blackjacks. The Herts Raptors are in a division with the Old Timers, London Marauders, Richmond Dukes and Bracknell Inferno.

The Hawks will start their season on the road against the 2014 Single-A national runners-up Haverhill Blackjacks. This would be the first ever meeting between the two teams.

The Raptors will have to wait an extra week for their season opener at home against Tonbridge on 19 April. This may work in their favour as newly appointed joint-managers Rob Jones and Kal Dimitrov will have an extra week to prepare the team.