Herts Baseball Club’s teams were out in the sun for their first outdoor session of the year. We have less than a month before the first Spring Training games of the year as part of the Herts Spring League.
Category: Featured
Falcons open 2014 season at home vs Mets
Mets vs Falcons on Opening Day – Robbie Unsell may have returned to America, but he is only a transatlantic flight away from Grovehill Ballpark (photo by Will Baxter)
(this article by Joe Gray was first published on britishbaseball.org)
Southampton Mustangs @ Harlow Nationals
Opening Day in the National Baseball League (NBL) on 6 April will see the Southern Nationals and Southampton Mustangs continuing where they left off last season, with the national finalists from 2013 squaring off in a double-header at Farnham Park.
The Nationals are shooting for a record-breaking fourth consecutive national title, having become the first club in British baseball history to win national titles in each of their first three seasons. But they will be doing so without talisman Will Lintern, the most successful active player in the British game, with six national titles to his name. Will is competing this year for Hove Tuesday in AAA South.
The Mustangs recently completed the most exciting off-season transaction to date, picking up catcher Jose Lopez, who reached the AAA level in his professional career in North America. Southampton will be hoping they now have the final piece in place to claim a first-ever national title for the South Coast city.
London Mets @ Herts Falcons
In another mouth-watering match-up, the Herts Falcons and London Mets, first and second seeds from 2013, will resume their rivalry on Opening Day. The teams played out several nail-biting contests in a closely-fought battle for the league title last season. The Mets were propelled by a league-leading seven wins on the mound for Pietro Sollecito, but the Falcons held off their charge to claim a first-ever NBL pennant.
The Falcons retain Ryan Bird, the league’s Most Valuable Batter from last season, but have lost Robbie Unsell, winner of the Most Valuable Pitcher award, who has returned to the States. However, their roster is strengthened by the recently-announced addition of Abel Salas, a left-handed hitter from Mexico, who previously played for the Mildenhall Bulldogs.
Bracknell Blazers @ Essex Arrows
The Bracknell Blazers and Essex Arrows – fifth and sixth seeds respectively in last season’s play-offs – are paired up in the third and final double-header on Opening Day. Both teams might feel that they need to be sweeping match-ups like this one to have a chance of figuring in the 2014 playoff picture. The Blazers are competing in the top tier for a league-leading 17th straight season.
The South London Pirates, entering their 16th season of top-flight baseball, have a rest week on 6 April in what will be a seven-team league this season. The Essex Redbacks have moved to AAA South and the Lakenheath Diamondbacks will play this year in the newly created AAA Central Division.
Salas is Herts Falcons’ first major signing of 2014
It has been exactly 20 weeks since the 1-run semi-final defeat to the Harlow Nationals in the 2013 National Championships and Herts baseball fans still feel the pain. The best way to bring the energy back into the club is to unveil a big player signing and that’s exactly what Herts have done this evening.
Abel Salas will be joining the Herts Falcons for the 2014 NBL season. He plays in the Left Field, First Base and Pitcher positions. He pitches and bats left handed adding to a Falcons batting line-up packed with hard-hitting lefties such as Ryan Bird, Phil Clark and Dave Tretheway.
35-year-old Salas is from Mexico and has previously played in the NBL for the Mildenhall Bulldogs during the 2011 season. In that year he had a batting average of .405 and slugging average of .568, with 12 runs batted in and only 2 strikeouts in 37 at bats. He also picked up 7 stolen bases.*
As a pitcher, in 22 and 2/3 innings of work he had an ERA of 4.76 with a record of 1 win and 2 losses, 2 complete games, striking out 19 batters (7.5 strikeouts per 9 innings).*
When he joins up with the players shortly there will be familiar face for Salas as he will be reunited with his 2011 Mildehall Bulldogs teammate, John Blose, who joined Herts last year.
The NBL teams are preparing for the new season and the next two months are critical as everyone looks to strengthen ahead of Opening day on 6 April. Will the balance of power in the NBL shift in 2014? We will keep you updated as soon as Herts make any further announcements.
* – NBL statistics courtesy of Project COBB
Get your gear ready for Spring Training
As the Herts adult and youth team players prepare for the first Spring Training session of 2014 this Saturday, 25 January, everyone seems to be doing some very valuable forward-planning. We are seeing fielding gloves and all sorts of other equipment being delivered for the players. Others are checking their uniform items to see what they will need to restock for the upcoming season. This is where the Herts Club Shop can give players and fans a head-start.
For most of the first 5 months of the season weather conditions are likely to require an extra layer. Herts Shop Manager, Mark Caress, has the solution. “We have just received the shipment of Herts training fleeces which are available at £29 in all sizes from small to XXXL” said Caress. He added that “sizes tend to run small so I would suggest ordering a size bigger than players normally have. Players may also want to consider Majestic therma-base feather-lite undershirts available in sizes Large and XL which are ideal to use as winter undershirts and currently available in stock at only £20. We will have these and other items available to sell at the first training session this Saturday.”
Players and fans can indicate the items which they may be interested in by sending a message to the club to make sure that the products and sizes they are looking for are available on Saturday.
Herts Raptors make official bid for promotion to Double-A
Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that it has submitted an official application for the Herts Raptors to be promoted to the British Baseball Federation’s Double-A League.
The Raptors have been competing in the Single-A League which is Britain’s fourth league tier since their inception in 2008. In the first few seasons the team recorded modest results, but over the last two years has had winning seasons. Last year they recorded their best season to date. They finished top of their division in the regular season with 10 wins and 4 losses. This gave them an automatic place in the Single-A League national semi-finals. They lost to the Haverhill Blackjacks in a nail-biting game but despite this they were widely recognised as one of the top Single-A League teams in the UK.
The Raptors roster features a large number of the club’s outstanding generation of U17 players, many of whom are also members of the GB National Teams. The Club feels that the players have shown a level of performance which supports the application for promotion to the Double-A League, especially as the team’s young players will be a year older in 2014 and Double-A will be the right league level for the team and for the development of these young players who hope to progress through the GB Team ranks in the coming years.
The application is part of the league registration process which BBF clubs have been carrying out over the last few weeks. The four other Herts teams will remain in the leagues which they played in during the 2013 season – Herts Falcons in the NBL, Herts Ravens in the Triple-A League, Herts Hawks in Double-A League and Herts Eagles in Single-A.
2014 Spring Training Dates for Herts adult and youth baseball teams announced
Herts Baseball Club has published details of the club’s Spring Training dates. Both adult and youth league players will be reporting for the first session of Spring Training on Saturday, 25 January.
In the first few weeks, preparations will take place indoors at JFK Catholic School. Herts will then invade the Northwick Park baseball centre where the focus will be mainly on hitting, but other aspects of the game will be covered too. During these early weeks, all Herts players who register for the season will go through a photo session to prepare their profile photos which will be used for club, league and promotional purposes.
On 16 and 23 of February the teams will be going back in time to experience the playing surface which MLB players played on at the Astrodome, the home of the Houston Astros between 1965 and 1999. The venue was nicknamed “The Eighth Wonder of the World” as it was the world’s first domed sports stadium and the artificial grass surface became known as Astroturf. Many other MLB, NFL and Premier League (football) clubs followed in the footsteps of the Houston Astros and played on artificial grass. Herts players will play on the same first-generation artificial grass. It does not mean that it is 50 years old. In fact it is brand new, installed just a few weeks ago at Whitefield School.
The Herts teams will return to Grovehill Ballpark for the first time in 2014 in the first weekend of March where training will continue until the pre-season games in the Herts Spring League and then on 6, 12 and 13 April it will be Opening Day in the respective BBF leagues.
HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE 2014 HERTS BASEBALL SEASON
Herts Baseball Club has commenced the 2014 member registration process. For those who already have a Herts 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 2014 members by completing this form.
Adult and Youth players have started registering for the 2014 Herts baseball season
Player registration for the 2014 Herts Baseball season has just commenced and the club is hoping that it will be another record year after 2013 saw the largest number of Herts members in the club’s 18-year history.
Herts has already completed the league entry process for the Herts Falcons in the National Baseball League and in the coming days will be completing the process for its other league teams. It is expected that Herts will enter all of the league tiers so will be battling for the championship trophies on all fronts.
ADULT LEAGUES
The Herts Falcons finished top of the NBL standings during the regular season but lost to the eventual winners, Harlow Nationals, in the semi-final of the all-important National Baseball Championships last September. This pushed them out of the top 50 ranked teams in Europe having been ranked in 38th place at the end of the 2012 season. They will be hungry to bring the NBL trophy home having come so close over the last two seasons.
The Ravens, Hawks, Raptors and Eagles will also be going for the title in the Triple-A, Double-A and Single-A Leagues.
KEY DATES – ADULT TEAMS
25 January , Adult team players report for first Spring Training session
2 March, First Spring Training session back at Grovehill Ballpark
22 March, Start of the 2014 Herts Spring League
6 April, Opening Day (NBL)
13 April, Opening Day (AAA, AA, A Leagues)
end of August, National Baseball Championships (NBL, AAA, AA, A)
27 or 28 September, Hunlock Series
YOUTH LEAGUES
The BBF announced changes to the British youth baseball league structure and the exciting news is that even more age groups will be involved in the National Youth Baseball Championships in September. Apart from Under-17 and Under-14 teams, in 2014 Under-12 teams will also be battling for the national title.
In addition, in 2014 Herts youth teams will be affiliated with Little League Inc with a chance to reach the Little League World Series in America which is shown live on ESPN to millions of viewers across the globe. But to get to the World Series, the Herts youth players will first need to compete in the regional, national and then continental qualification stages before they get to the World Series.
Herts is also expected to make an announcement about the expansion of its youth programme. “We will have more details in the next few weeks, but it is exciting to be involved in a project which could double the size of our club in the next few years” said Club President, Aspi Dimitrov.
KEY DATES – YOUTH TEAMS
25 January , Youth team players report for first Spring Training session
12 April, Opening Day (U17 Regional Leagues)
26 April, Opening Day (U14, U11 Regional Leagues)
14-15 and 21-22 June, Little League UK Qualifiers (U17, U15, U12)
6-12 July, Little League Europe Qualifier (U17 – Novara, Italy)
7-10 July, Little League Europe Qualifier (U15 – Kutno, Poland)
12-20 July, Little League Europe Qualifier (U13 – Kutno, Poland)
10 -16 August, Little League World Series (U15 – Taylor, Michigan, USA)
10-16 August, Little League World Series (U17 – Bangor, Maine, USA)
14-24 August, Little League World Series (U13 – Williamsport, Pennsylvania, USA)
13-14 September, National Youth Baseball Championships (U17, U14, U12)
20 September, Herts Futures Tournament (U17, U14, U11)
HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE 2014 HERTS BASEBALL SEASON
Herts Baseball Club has commenced the 2014 member registration process. For those who already have a Herts 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 2014 members by completing this form.
Byers added to Herts Board
Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that Ian Byers has been appointed as a member of the Executive Board. He has been appointed in the capacity of Board Member at Large with focus on the club’s youth baseball programme and in particular the Under-14 and Under-11 baseball programmes. Byers will be working alongside the club’s Youth Baseball Commissioner. He is now one of three Board Members at Large. The others are Joe Gray and Kevin Freeman.
This announcement comes after Ian Byers’ appointment last month as a member of the Herts Harriers coaching staff.
Byers has just returned from a trip to Tampa, USA, and his role on the Board will commence this Friday, 17 January, with a Herts Board meeting to be held in St. Albans.
Herts 2013 MVPs and other awards announced
Herts members have been casting their votes and the club has just announced the MVPs (Most Valuable Players) of the five senior league teams as well as awards in the other categories.
The Herts Falcons MVP is shortstop, Xavier Gonzalez. In a team packed with superstars it says a lot about Xavi when his teammates recognise his outstanding debut season for the Falcons by voting for him. There aren’t many 5-tool players in the world and Gonzalez is one of them. His batting average was .411 and slugging average .712 with 3 home runs. Defensively he committed only 2 errors and was awarded a Gold Glove as the best shortstop in the NBL for 2013. We can add his speed to that with 13 stolen bases.
HERTS FALCONS
MVP, Xavier Gonzalez
Batting Champion, Ryan Bird (.549)
Infield Gold Glove, Dave House (F% .956 E2)
Outfield Gold Glove, Cristobal Hiche (F% 1.000 E0)
Best Pitcher, Robbie Unsell (W5 ERA 1.09)
Most Stolen Bases, Robbie Unsell (33)
Home Run Champion, Cristobal Hiche (3)
Home Run Champion, Xavier Gonzalez (3)
Most RBIs, Ryan Bird (31)
Coach’s Award, Jordan Farkas
Rookie of the Year, Conner Brown
Liam Green picks up the Ravens MVP. He also collected the Home Run Champion (1HR) and Most RBIs (14). He was also in the chase for the Best pitcher award with 2 wins, however Matt Spaulding, Louis Hare and Pete Kikel were slightly ahead of him overall.
HERTS RAVENS
MVP, Liam Green
Batting Champion, Gilberto Medina (.340)
Infield Gold Glove, Pete Kikel (F% .833)
Outfield Gold Glove, Seth Lipstock (F% .846)
Best Pitcher, Louis Hare (ERA 3.86 W3)
Most Stolen Bases, Jon Lewys (9)
Home Run Champion, Liam Green (1)
Most RBIs, Liam Green (14)
HERTS HAWKS
Hunter Devine is the 2013 Hawks MVP. He has grown up in the Herts organisation joining as a youngster and working his way up the leagues. In 2013 he earned the name “Mr. Clutch”. Whenever a Hawks game was in the balance, Devine delivered the big hits including the walk-off hit in the final game of the regular season against Kent.
2013 was the best season in Raptors history and Zack Longboy played a key role in the team’s success. His teammates have voted him as this season’s MVP. He led the team in batting average (.482), slugging (.625), wins (tied with Will Zucker and Brodie Caress all on 2 wins), and ERA (5.40).
HERTS RAPTORS
MVP, Zack Longboy
Batting Champion, Arnie Longboy (.482)
Infield Gold Glove, Jeff Witter
Outfield Gold Glove, Brodie Caress
Best Pitcher, Zack Longboy (W2 ERA 5.40)
Most Stolen Bases, Ken Pike (42)
Home Run Champion, Jim Arnott (1)
Home Run Champion, Ben Marques (2)
Most RBIs, Jeff Witter (31)
Rookie of the Year, Andy Bartram
Duncan Hoyle has put so much into the Eagles over the last few years and it is very fitting that he has been voted as the team’s MVP. This is not just a recognition of his hard work off the field as the team manager. He had an outstanding season leading in several categories including Best Pitcher (W2), Most Stolen Bases, Batting Champion (.591), Home Run Champion (1) and Most RBIs (23).
HERTS EAGLES
MVP, Duncan Hoyle
Batting Champion, Duncan Hoyle (.591)
Infield Gold Glove, Tomasz Kosak
Outfield Gold Glove, Adam Landau-Smithers
Best Pitcher, Duncan Hoyle (W2)
Most Stolen Bases, Duncan Hoyle
Home Run Champion, Duncan Hoyle (1)
Most RBIs, Duncan Hoyle (23)
Rookie of the Year, Manny Banson
Coach’s Award, Joseph Osborne-Brade
Coach’s Award, Manny Banson
BEST PLAYS OF 2013
Club members also voted for the 2013 Play of the Year. There were two clear favourites. It is very rare to see back-to-back no-hitters at any level but Ryan Bird did it in the NBL. It is also very rare to see two grand slam home runs in the same game and Ben Marques managed to do it against the Guildford Mavericks. The voting was close and at the end both ended up tied and are both confirmed as the 2013 Herts Plays of the Year.
NOB-OUT
The dreaded Nob-Out award is usually awarded to a player or member of staff, however for a second consecutive year it has been awarded to a team. In 2012 the Hawks picked it up for celebrating their playoff-clinching win at the Daws Hill Spitfires extravagantly on the field only to be told by the umpire that there is one more inning left to be played. It seems that there is a real issue with keeping track of innings and outs for the Hawks squad as they have won the Nob-Out again. This time Hunter Devine, Ben Marques and John Kjorstad turned a 6-4-3 double play against the Kent Mariners and the team started to celebrate walking off the field, but it was too late when they realized that there are only 2 outs as the supposedly stranded Kent runner came in to score with no fielders around. This 6-4-3 double-play was also nominated for Play of the Year but it will now be recorded in the history books as a Nob-Out winner instead. The Hawks better introduce some kind of system to help them keep track of the game in 2014 and cut down on those premature celebrations.
Byers joins Herts Harriers coaching staff, now the largest in British baseball
Herts Baseball Club has announced the addition of Ian Byers to its coaching staff. He joins the 2013 Under-17 national championship runners-up, Herts Harriers, as the team’s Strength and Conditioning coach.
Away from his work as a director of a multi-award winning development company, Byers is manager to Team GB Speedway international, Lewis Bridger, and he also works with London 2012 Paralympic Gold Medallist and World Champion, Hannah Cockroft, who was one of the 10 nominees for the BBC’s 2013 Sports Personality of the Year award, which was presented last week. He previously worked with Team GB sprinter Marlon Devonish, who went on to win the gold medal in the 4x100m relay in the 2004 Olympic Games held in Athens.
Apart from involvement in sports management, he has also competed for Team GB in the European Individual Veterans Fencing Championship in Italy earlier this year, although a serious motorcycle accident has since halted his progress.
His appointment with the coaching staff of the Herts Harriers is the first step in a long-term plan for Byers to develop as a baseball coach and, in due course, take up a role as a manager of one of the Herts teams. He comes with a cricket background, but after experiencing the excitement of MLB he has decided to make the transition to baseball. Byers has already started to work closely with Herts Harriers manager, Cris Hiche, and the rest of the U17 coaching staff as they plan for Spring Training and a very important season ahead for the team.
Ian said “I have been very impressed with the professional approach to sport that I have already experienced at Herts and I would like to thank to Aspi for his support and encouragement, along with Liam Carroll at BSUK for allowing me to attend some of the Academy training sessions. I am excited by the opportunity to work with Cris and the Harriers this year and I believe that as long as we all work hard the team can go one better than last season”.
“We are very pleased that our club, and British baseball, is able to attract highly-qualified people like Ian” said Herts President, Aspi Dimitrov. He added that “Ian’s professional approach and experience at the highest level will bring great value to the club”.
The Harriers now have coaching staff of seven which is the highest of any team in the British baseball leagues. It is even higher than the Great Britain Senior National Team and may soon be competing with the coaching staff numbers of MLB teams.