Category: Featured

13 March 202313 March 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

17 teams will signal the arrival of Spring in the 2023 HSL

Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that 17 teams have entered this year’s Herts Spring League (HSL). The teams come from all British baseball leagues including the National Baseball League (NBL), Triple-A, Double-A and Single-A Leagues.

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

HSL (NBL) Teams

HSL (Double-A) Teams

HSL (Single-A) Teams

Schedule and Format

The HSL will be played over two weeks commencing on the weekend of 1-2 April and ending on 8-9 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.

5 March 20235 March 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

2023 Herts Baseball Fan Survey – chance to win tickets

During the 2023 NBL season Herts Baseball Club will be running a pilot project to grow its fan base and bring supporters to the ballpark. Spectators will be able to enjoy a special game day experience supporting the Herts Falcons in the NBL – Britain’s top baseball league.

To help the club plan and deliver the best possible game day product, we are inviting those who may be considering coming to a Herts Falcons home NBL game to complete the 2023 Herts Baseball Fan Survey.

Everyone completing the survey will automatically be entered into a prize draw with a chance to win tickets to a Herts Falcons home game. Ten winners will each receive two tickets to a Herts Falcons NBL regular season home game.

Click here to go to the survey

7 February 20237 February 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Grovehill Ballpark to introduce ticketing for 2023 NBL home games

Herts Baseball Club has released initial details of the reconfiguration of Grovehill Ballpark for Herts Falcons National Baseball League (NBL) home games this season.

In December Herts launched its NBL Pilot Project which aims to take the club and the sport to the next level. The new business model is designed to grow the fan base, attract spectators to its National Baseball League (NBL) games, generate revenue and build a highly competitive team by offering financial rewards to coaches and players.

As part of that project, Grovehill Ballpark will look very different as it prepares to welcome ticket-buying spectators for the first time in the club’s 27-year history.

View an enlarged image of the ballpark layout and seat map

Capacity

The image above shows the ballpark layout and seat map with a capacity for 196 spectators which can be increased to 499 for high profile games such as the postseason playoffs.

Ticket types

40 of the tickets will come with seats. The other 156 will be lower-priced tickets for fans who would like to bring their own seats or who would prefer to stand. If demand for tickets with seats is high, there is flexibility to add more. There is a limited number of premium seats which are located behind home plate and they will give those fans an up-close view of the pitcher-versus-batter duel. If demand for premium tickets is high, the club can look to add more in future seasons.

Example of a ballpark offering bring-your-own-seat tickets.

Home and away fans – game day atmosphere

Unlike MLB ballparks, Herts will adopt the British tradition of providing a separate sector for away fans. This is expected to enhance the atmosphere, especially when facing direct rivals, as both sets of fans would not want their rivals to have stronger support.

Home fans will occupy the blocks on the third base side of the ballpark while away fans will be on the first base side. The reason for this is that the third base side can accommodate more fans. Some home blocks have a partially restricted view of the left field foul pole area due to trees, but this is not likely to have a major negative effect for those spectators.

Since the opening of the diamond in 2010, home teams have usually been in the dugout on the first base side which means the Herts Falcons will have to get used to being in the third base dugout.

View of the infield from the home fans sector

One advantage which Grovehill Ballpark has over MLB stadiums is that it is not expected to sell 40,000 tickets so there will be ample space in the spectator areas. With this in mind there will be more leg room and around 30cm of space between each seat for greater comfort but not much more than that as keeping fans closer together is likely to create a more vibrant atmosphere, more social interaction and the feeling of being part of a community of fans supporting the team. The same approach will be adopted for the away sector.

Food and Beverage

Food and beverage will play an important part in the game day experience. If the project produces good results in 2023, the club is aiming to put the required facilities in place to be able to offer a unique menu and not just the food we have become accustomed to at sports and entertainment venues.

The club is also looking into adding a gathering area with tables for greater social interaction while having a drink and a snack during the game.

Game Day Entertainment

The game will always be the main event of the day, but there will be so much more to look forward to before, during and after the game. The club will publish more details of this closer to Opening Day.

Activities for Kids

Boys and girls coming to the ballpark will want to get involved in playing baseball. Over the course of the season some of the game days will be themed specifically for children and they can look forward to activities such as batting, pitching, fielding, base running practice and contests. A special PlayBall diamond will be set up for those events. Full details will be published prior to those game days.

The club hopes that this element of the NBL Pilot Project will introduce more children to the game of baseball and will see them join the Herts Youth Baseball League teams and, in a few years time, we hope to see those young Herts baseball fans put on the Herts Falcons jersey and play in the NBL.

Other ballpark facilities

On game days, fans can also look forward to Herts merchandise such as baseball caps, t-shirts and hoodies.

The club is currently in discussions with Dacorum Borough Council working towards improving and increasing the capacity of toilet and washing facilities at the ballpark. Providing clean and tidy amenities is a top priority for the club.

The NBL Pilot Project is a year-long experiment therefore many of the installations will be pop-up and temporary in nature. This includes the barrier fence along the boundary of the spectator areas. There is a slight risk of members of the public jumping over the fence but this will be monitored by event staff and ticket-holders will be given a wrist band – different colour from one game to the next – to ensure that those without tickets can be identified easily and escorted out of the spectator area.

Stay tuned

We have only two months until the launch of the 2023 NBL season. Season ticket sales are coming up shortly and there will be a lot more information in the coming weeks. Follow the club on social media and on hertsbaseball.com for all the latest news.

6 February 20236 February 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Teams starting to enter the 2023 Herts Spring League

The game dates for the 2023 Herts Spring League (HSL) have been confirmed.

Saturday, 1 April 2023
Sunday, 2 April 2023
Saturday, 8 April 2023
Sunday, 9 April 2023
Saturday, 15 April 2023
Sunday, 16 April 2023

They are based on the indication from the BBF that the Opening Weekend of the NBL season is expected to be 15-16 April 2023. For the other leagues the Opening Weekend is expected to be 22-23 April 2023, although some lower league teams may play their opening games on 15-16 April 2023. More will be known when the BBF league schedules are published.

How to enter your team

Spring is the time when managers put together their teams and aim to turn them into winning machines ahead of Opening Day. Similar to the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues in MLB, the HSL provides a competitive edge to Spring training. This is the sixteenth year of the HSL. Last year 19 teams took part. For more details visit the HSL site.

LEAGUE FORMAT
Teams will be placed in divisions based on their ranking going into the new season. The exact format will depend on the number of teams entering the HSL. Full details will be published when the league line-up is confirmed.

TEAMS
Over the years the HSL has featured teams from the National Baseball League (NBL), Triple-A, Double-A and Single-A Leagues, as well as international teams such as the GB Under-19 and Under-16 National Teams and the ASL Eagles.

Teams from around the United Kingdom will be submitting their entries over the next few weeks and the HSL lineup and games schedule is expected to be published in early March.

VENUES

Games will be played at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead. If the two diamonds in Hemel Hempstead are filled to capacity with HSL games, some games may be scheduled at Basing Hill Ballpark in NW London for teams which find that venue more convenient.

Players are now registering for the 2023 season

2 February 20232 February 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

The number of Herts baseball teams increases from 5 to 7

Late last night Herts Baseball Club submitted its team entries in the various BBF leagues. In the previous year the club had five teams in the adult leagues. That number has increased to seven for the upcoming season.

The BBF gave Herts a 24-hour extension to submit their entries. The main question which required more time to consider was whether to enter one or two teams in the National Baseball League (NBL).

“The club did consider the option to enter two NBL teams, as originally planned but, after assessing all of the aspects, we decided not to overstretch ourselves and instead create competition for roster spots and build a Herts Falcons team that can compete and attract fans as part of the NBL Pilot Project. We are also looking to put a structure in place to create a pathway for young players to join Herts, develop, win a spot on the NBL roster and reach their full potential internationally” said Herts Falcons manager, Cris Hiche.

The Herts Falcons are back in the NBL this year and it will be interesting to see what the roster will look like when the players report for Spring Training on 19 February. Cris Hiche did not go into specific details but said, “our NBL roster will combine some experienced players with a large number of young players with enormous potential and we must give credit to Jonathan Rodriguez for that. It will be exciting to see what we can achieve with this group of players and we hope Herts baseball fans will enjoy supporting the team this season.”

The Herts Cardinals had a 10-16 record last year in the Triple-A league and there is no doubt that they will be pushing hard to climb up in the league standings this year.

In 2022 the club was not represented at the Double-A league level. This year there will be two Herts teams in that league tier. Herts Hawks have been promoted after reaching the Single-A league semi-finals last year. They are joined by the Herts Ducks – a new addition to the Herts baseball family. The Hawks will play their home games at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead while the Ducks will be based at Basing Hill Ballpark in north west London.

At the Single-A league level, there will be three Herts teams. In addition to the Herts Eagles and Herts Raptors we will see the return of the Herts Ravens whose last appearance was in 2013 in Triple-A.

Last season Herts had teams only in Triple-A and Single-A. The club is now fully equipped to make a big push in all four league tiers which also puts the club in an excellent position to provide the path for players to work their way up the leagues from the youth programme covering players aged 6 to 14 all the way to the NBL – Britain’s top league.

The managers have left room in the team rosters and new players are continuing to register.

Players now registering for the 2023 season

28 January 202329 January 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Former GB coach steps back from Herts role

Last month Herts Baseball Club announced the creation of a partnership with Legends Baseball Club with a view to entering two teams in the National Baseball League (NBL) – Herts Falcons and Herts Legends – to coincide with the NBL Pilot Project which Herts will be implementing in 2023.

The president of Legends Baseball Club and GB U18 national team manager, Jonathan Rodriguez, was appointed as the manager of the Herts Legends. One of the objectives of the partnership was to provide an opportunity for players from the GB U18 team and other GB age groups to play together in Britain’s top league.

In the last few days it has been confirmed that the Great Britain national team programme has decided to make changes in its coaching staff and a new GB U18 head coach will be appointed in Jonathan Rodriguez’s place.

After careful consideration of how this would affect his role and one of his key objectives of the partnership, Jonathan Rodriguez has had to make the difficult decision to step down as manager of the Herts Legends NBL team.

Herts Baseball Club president, Aspi Dimitrov, said, “On behalf of the entire club, I want to express our gratitude to Jonathan for all his contribution and support over the last twelve months, from the clinics he ran with the Herts youth teams last year to the launch of the NBL Pilot Project. Since we unveiled it last month, the Project has generated the momentum we were aiming for and Jonathan has played a key role in this. His contribution has put the club in a strong position going into the pilot project which has the potential to create a path to making the leap from amateur to semi-professional status.”

With over 40 players expressing interest in the NBL tryouts with Herts, our club is keen to assess whether it would be possible to keep to the original plan of entering two Herts teams in the NBL and is currently considering candidates for manager of the second NBL team. The decision on this is expected to be announced shortly after the 31 January deadline for BBF league entries.

24 January 202324 January 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Hiche is back as Herts Falcons manager

Herts Baseball Club has announced the appointment of Cris Hiche as manager of the Herts Falcons who are preparing to make a return to the National Baseball League (NBL) this year.

This is a very timely homecoming for him as Falcons manager and looks to be a perfect fit given the fact that he played with the London Legends last season and last month Herts and Legends merged their NBL operations. This puts him in an excellent position to build a strong team made up of returning Falcons players alongside 2022 Legends players and new arrivals.

“It’s an honour to be back home so to speak and what better way than by not leaving Legends, the organisation I played for last year,” Hiche commented “It’s going to be an exciting season and I have a feeling, and hope, Herts fans might be in for further nice surprises in the upcoming weeks”.

This news comes a day after the club introduced financial incentives for its NBL players and coaches.

Herts president, Aspi Dimitrov, said, “Everyone at the club is delighted to see Cris back in charge of the Falcons in what is going to be a pivotal year for the club. Every game will be crucial not only to rebuild the team’s position in Britain’s top league but also to find a way into the NBL playoff race as the club aims to grow its fan base and bring spectators to the ballpark as part of the NBL Pilot Project launched last month. Cris already has a strong connection with Herts baseball fans which is another essential component for this project.”

Cris Hiche first joined the Falcons ahead of the 2012 season and it is not a coincidence that the next four seasons proved to be among the best in the club’s history as the team qualified for the NBL playoffs in three out of those four seasons. That included finishing as NBL runner-up in 2012 and reaching the NBL Playoff semi-finals in 2013 and 2015. That success elevated the team into 38^th place of the European ranking.

His outstanding performances were recognised with the NBL Outfield Gold Glove award in 2012 and 2013 when he did not commit a single error. In 2013 he was also the team’s home run leader.

Hiche also played a key role in the club’s youth baseball department as the head of the U17 and U19 programmes. In 2013 he led the Herts U17 team to the National Final finishing as runners-up which is the club’s highest position in that age group.

In 2016 Hiche signed a professional contract with the Dornbirn Indians in the Austrian top league. He had the third best batting average in the team (.314) with a slugging average of .412 and on-base average of .455. He committed only 2 errors that entire season ending with a fielding average of .979.

In 2017 he returned to the UK and was back in a Herts uniform. In 2018 he became Falcons manager. During that season the team exceeded all expectations qualifying for the playoffs and shocking the NBL by eliminating first the Southampton Mustangs and then the London Capitals.

In the NBL final they lost to the London Mets but being runner-up meant that the team had booked a place in the 2019 European Federations Cup qualifier for the first time in the club’s history. They came up against tough opponents from Sweden, Poland, Romania, Lithuania and Bulgaria but held their own.

2021 proved to be a difficult season for the Falcons. Cris Hiche had to go back to Chile for most of the year due to family bereavement. The team’s roster was seriously depleted and the club had to make the painful decision of withdrawing the team from the 2022 NBL season.

Prior to joining Herts, Hiche developed in the USA where he played at the high school, college and semi-professional league level as well as on the international stage playing for the Chile U12, U16 and the senior national teams. Between 2008 and 2010 he played for the Sahuaripas in the Mesa Semi-Pro League alongside former or injured Minor League players trying to work their way back into the pros, as well as former MLB players such as former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Omar Daal.

Players now registering for the 2023 season

The Falcons are back in the NBL now and Cris Hiche’s attention is firmly on preparing the team for a challenging but exciting season in the NBL.

Players can express interest in trying out for the 2023 NBL season by completing this form.

23 January 202323 January 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts introduces financial incentives for its NBL players and coaches

Last month Herts Baseball Club launched its NBL Pilot Project and today confirmed the introduction of financial incentives for NBL players and coaches for the upcoming 2023 NBL season as part of that project.

The level of compensation will be on a sliding scale based on player and team performances and achieving specific goals such as winning percentage, playoff qualification and the number of fans attending home games.

The amounts are set at a level in line with the scale of the project in this experimental first year.

The NBL Pilot Project aims to test a new business model designed to grow the fan base, attract spectators to its National Baseball League (NBL) games, generate revenue and build highly competitive teams by financially rewarding coaches and players.

This is not a new concept in sports and British baseball did have a professional league attracting up to 10,000 spectators in the golden era of the 1930s. But it has not been achieved in the modern era, so this is an exciting challenge to see if it is viable and if there is sufficient demand in the market.

If the experiment is successful, it will set the path for the club and the sport to the next level.

Players can express interest in trying out for the 2023 NBL season by completing this form.

Click here to express interest in trying out for the 2023 NBL season

The project will create a number of new off-field positions which will need to be filled and more details of these will be published in due course but, those with experience in events, marketing, media, fan engagement, ballpark operations and food and beverage who are interested in getting involved in the project can contact us.

10 January 202318 January 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Britain’s Liam Carroll appointed as Boston Red Sox MiLB team manager

Yesterday, members of Herts Baseball Club were delighted to see the breaking news that former GB Baseball National Team Head Coach, Liam Carroll, has been appointed by the Boston Red Sox as an MiLB team manager.

Over the last 16 years Liam has supported Herts not only as a coach but in various other capacities on and off the field including the launch of the Herts youth baseball programme in 2007 (pcitured above, top row, first from right to left, wearing red) and the combined GB and Herts youth baseball exhibition event at Grovehill Ballpark in 2008, pictured below.

Herts members and fans have been posting their best wishes to Liam in this exciting next chapter in his amazing career.

We look forward to following Liam’s Red Sox MiLB team when the 2023 season commences in April.

10 January 202310 January 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts publishes Spring Training schedules for its adult and youth league teams

The BBF has indicated that the Opening Weekend of the NBL season is expected to be 15-16 April 2023. For the other leagues the Opening Weekend is expected to be 22-23 April 2023, although some lower league teams may play their opening games on 15-16 April 2023. More will be known when the BBF league schedules are published.

This is later than in previous years and the Spring Training schedule of the Herts teams has been adjusted accordingly to reflect this.

The Herts youth league is expected to start slightly earlier than last year.

Here are the key 2023 Spring Training dates for the Herts adult and youth league teams. Events are subject to change due to weather or other reasons.

National Baseball League

Players will report for Spring Training on Sunday, 26 February 2023. This includes players who have expressed interest in trying out for the NBL. The schedule will include four weeks of training and three weeks of Spring Training games.

Click here to express interest in trying out for the NBL

Triple-A, Double-A and Single-A League

Players will report for Spring Training on Sunday, 5 February 2023. Double-A and Single-A players based in Hemel Hempstead will start with several training sessions indoors. The schedule will include eight weeks of training and three weeks of Spring Training games.

Herts Spring League

The Herts Spring League is scheduled to start on the weekend of 1-2 April by which point the team managers are expected to have announced their preliminary rosters. The HSL will run for three weeks for Triple-A, Double-A and Single-A teams and for two weeks for the NBL teams as their BBF league season starts a week earlier.

Teams are expected to announce their Opening Day rosters shortly after their final HSL games.

Herts U15, U13, U11 youth league teams

Herts youth players will report for Spring Training on Saturday, 25 February 2023. The first four weeks will take place indoors alternating between indoor venues in Hemel Hempstead and in NW London. This will be followed by five weeks of Spring Training at Grovehill Ballpark and Basing Hill Ballpark. The Opening Day of the various age groups of the Herts Youth Baseball League is expected to be on Saturday, 29 April, subject to confirmation.

Full schedule

Registered players can view the full list of 2023 Spring Training dates, times and venues by logging into the Clubhouse.

Players now registering for the 2023 season