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Category: Featured
In search of perfection
written by hertsbaseball.com correspondent Ken Pike
“You can’t be afraid to make errors! You can’t be afraid to be naked before the crowd, because no one can ever master the game of baseball, or conquer it. You can only challenge it.”
– Lou Brock, Left Fielder, St Louis Cardinals, 1977
I find baseball a truly unique and in many ways perplexing sport because of something that you will never actually find in baseball…perfection. Ok, don’t worry I haven’t been on mind altering substances, and I will explain.
Let’s start with a contrast: football (yet again). If you consider a football player and what would constitute a ‘perfect’ season, perhaps winning the Champions league, domestic league and cup, and maybe, every other year, a major international competition. Maybe throw in being PFA player of the year as well as the league’s top scorer.
The list of teams that have had unbeaten seasons is longer than you would think and includes Arsenal (ghhhhwah pfft – I spit their name), Juventus, AC Milan, Galataseray (who still finished second! Should have tried scoring goals as well as keeping clean sheets) , Benfica, Porto, SC Internacional, Rosenborg and bizarrely Preston North End (a very long time ago). Individually, and within living memory (for most of us) Gilberto Silva was on the World Cup winning Brazil ‘02 squad before going off to join Arsenal and have an unbeaten domestic season. The Champions League went to Real Madrid that year though, and Arsenal crashed out at the second group stage so maybe he had a way to go, but still a good shot at it.
Where am I going with this analogy? Well, I know you might be able to get the perfect one off event like a hit or pitch, and even extend that over several innings or a game or two, but what would constitute a perfect season in baseball? There’s no way in god’s green earth that you could have an undefeated season like Arsenal, ghhhhwah pfft. The Mariners and Cubs who jointly own the record with 116 games still lost 46 games in the season, nearly 30% of their games. Pretty pathetic really when trying to reach perfection (har-di-har). As for winning every competition, if baseball comes to the Olympics, I don’t think MLB players would realistically give a hoot.
On the individual level, it gets even harder. 20 pitchers have now managed perfect games (well done Matt Cain for the most recent entry) and that would certainly be the pinnacle of a career and a direct express first class ticket to a Cy Young award and the hall of fame, but perfect season? There is always more to strive for. Cy Young’s own perfect game was part of a hitless streak of 24 or 25⅓ straight innings—depending on whether or not partial innings at either end of the streak are included. It was also part of a streak of 45 straight innings in which Young did not give up a run, which was then a record. No matter how remarkable that is, he still lost 16 games that year and remained as far from perfection as anyone.
A pitcher throwing a perfect game, EVERY game of a 162 game regular season and potentially 11 wins needed in post season games, would frankly be the result of either impressive advances in doping technology or extraterrestrial/divine intervention (delete according to own theistic beliefs). As for batters, Ted Williams managed 16 base reaching plate appearances in a row while Di Maggio managed a 56 game long hitting streak. Records, yes, but also a million miles from a perfect season. Hitting a homer with every at bat while never making a single fielding mistake all year and scooping up every single play that is within his area? Maybe one day a muscular Jedi will pick up a Louisville and a glove and sign for the Alderaan Athletics, but I doubt it will be in my life time.
The problem being one of baseball’s most specific and unique principles: statistics. The sport is utterly ruled and filled by them. I am not talking English Southern Division Single A here, as those records are of dubious statistical value at best, and hardly indicative of anything over a 12 game season. Combine this wealth of metrics by which to measure success with the sheer length of the season, and you have a situation where attaining true perfection is impossible.
So how does that translate to the English leagues? They are infinitely shorter seasons so it should be much easier to go the whole way never giving up a hit. However, we also play alongside amateur team mates with huge variations in the quality of your backup from game to game, and none of us train on a daily basis (no you don’t, don’t even start fibbing about it.) so personal consistency is quite unlikely in itself at the level needed to get multiple perfect games or 1.000 batting averages.
Throwing or batting a dozen perfect games, is certainly more doable than the 162 MLB games required, but in the real world, just as unlikely, unless some superstar takes early retirement and decide that a spell in Hertfordshire is just the ticket. Over 12 games with the ensuing 348 outs required (admittedly less if mercy rules come into effect), even an NBL pitcher from the Falcons, Nationals, or Mets dropping down to single A is going to get someone along the way who gets a hit, even if it is through pure dumb luck or poor fielding from the defence. Even I have hit off NBL pitchers in the Hunlock series and while being ok on the batting front, I ain’t all that. I imagine that hitting 1.000 is more likely over 12 games but it would still need someone to be playing at very much the wrong level of the game. Getting home runs for each of those hits is flat impossible. Even roid-freaks in home run derby’s with pitchers throwing perfect balls for them don’t hit over the fence every time let alone 60 or so times in a row.
So where is this going? Well, one of my Raptors team mates was dissecting his own performance after our (glorious) win against the Eagles. For once it wasn’t me, and the advice I gave that person was simple: “You may not have been perfect in every part of your game, but you did your own job perfectly.”
The pitcher did his job, the catcher did his, the fielders did theirs, the contact hitters got on base and the power hitters got the big slams, and that’s how you win games. Dropping one or two balls here or there or getting struck out a couple times is utterly irrelevant in the grand scheme of a game if you do what you are needed to do. In various positions you face a varying number of throws, hits or catches to field or dish out getting all of them is an issue of percentages. Percentages none of us doing this sport for free are ever going to be able to keep at 100 (or 0 depending on the target end of the metric). So what do we count as perfect here in blighty-baseball?
Being someone who kicks themselves more than I should for much of the time, and in light of my recent article about starting to enjoy myself again, it is quite clear I can’t be perfect at every part of the game. Well, duh, no great revelation there Ken, thanks, but the fact is I am dreaming if I want to be perfect in even one part of the game. You could be the best the team has at one particular thing, even a league leader, and finding a fault or shortcoming somewhere will still be very easy.
One could say that winning a game means you did what you needed to do, and that is perfection. Let’s face it, if you have that kind of easy going attitude then there is a very good chance that you lack the competitiveness to become good enough to achieve it. Sweeping generalisation alert, but if you are good and claim that you are THAT relaxed about it, I don’t believe you. Sorry. Every competitive person I ever met constantly wanted to improve their own performance in whatever they were aiming themselves at irrespective of win or loss. I bet Cy Young, Ty Cob, Babe Ruth and all the others were never truly 100% happy with their performances. Even after their careers were over, and despite ego’s the size of small countries (large countries in some cases) I bet each and every one of them wished they had done at least one thing better or at least differently. Cy Young even said he should have become a doctor instead of playing baseball, though without having heard the tone it was spoken in, I safely assume it was a joke.
You could say that enjoying yourself and doing the best you can is perfection, but frankly, you’d be the kind of tree hugging fairy that enjoys sports like synchronised swimming and campaigns for school sports not to be scored so kids don’t get downbeat by losing, and I would really rather go and stand on the other side of the room from you now.
Conclusion? I think that deep down, that’s what people actually love about baseball, whether playing or watching. I have not met a person in Herts yet who didn’t want to win, and who didn’t want to be better than they are, irrespective of how good they actually are, and even watching stars at work I hear people talking about so-and-so-won-but-you-see-that-drop-by-whotsitsface? I have seen our best NLB pitchers cursing themselves beneath their breaths for a bad throw and monster hitters dump their helmets and bats in anger after strikeouts. It’s the striving for constant improvement that is one of the biggest draws of the sport. Its always trying to find that marginal edge. You can go home really happy after a game in which you won and did well, but you will always be thinking, hmm, I hope I can do that again next week and just maybe even a little better.
If Tim Keefe (WHO?!?!?!…he played in 1880) has the single season ERA record of 0.857 while Ed Walsh has a career ERA of 1.82 and while Tip O’Neil (1887 this time) has a single season batting average record of .485 and Ty Cob’s career record is 0.366, we got a way to go before someone gets 0.00 or 1.000 respectively.
Doesn’t mean we will ever stop trying.
Dodgers edge Giants in U11 Thriller
written by hertsbaseball.com correspondent, Chris Jones
Saturday’s skies were clear across Southern England from Penzance to the Wash. Three days on from the summer solstice, the air was hot, heavy, humid. A dog lay on the pavement, motionless but for a pant of the tongue and a flick of the ear. Dragonflies hovered over the river, their faint buzzing the only sound to be heard. In the distance a flag drooped, still, like the pendulum of a long-stopped grandfather clock. The sun was merciless, the black streets baked like the hot charcoal of a barbecue. Young children took refuge in cool, blue, rippling paddling pools, old women closed their shutters and waited for the cool of evening.
Meanwhile, Grovehill enjoyed its unique microclimate, thick black clouds moving across the sky in a cold force 8 wind with occasional rainfall. Our two teams, the Herts Dodgers and the Herts Giants eyed each other up cautiously. One-one in the series so far. Who would feel the pressure, who would crack, who would emerge with the vital win ?
Team changes. For the Dodgers, no Rory Vangundy, while the Giants were missing Joshua Jones and Lewis Auchterlounie. The Dodgers lent Cameron Manning to the Giants for the day, and for no obvious reason Alex Jones and Jamie Clark swapped sides.
The Dodgers batted first. A ground-out to first, then three singles, a strike-out, and three more singles (RBIs to William Morillo and Katie Everex-Armstrong) before a force-out ends the inning.
Now the Giants. Single! Single! Single! Single! Single! Single! A ground-out and another single, and it’s the maximum five runs for the Giants: a 5-2 lead.
The second innings showed both teams at their defensive best – no runs for either side. Particular kudos to Ozan Martin with a sharp catch at short stop, and Jonathan Wakelam for tagging out Cameron Manning at second.
The Dodgers were now three down at the top of the third. Another string of singles brought three runs home to tie the scores at five apiece. Rose Burgess-Van Dort and Alex Jones had base hits; then Christian Lynch reached first safely, only to see Alex forced out at second. An identical play with the next batter and the Giants were two down. Rose came home for the run but Noah Lynch struck out to close the inning. 6-5 Giants.
The Dodgers squeezed just one run from the fourth inning to level the scores, but we sensed now that the Giants had the measure of this game. They scored two more, the inning ended by a Cameron Manning fly-out to Ozan at short stop. 8-6 Giants.
But the Dodgers weren’t finished yet. Singles from Garton, Durer, Wakelam, Clark, Morillo. Then up steps Ozan Martin… bang! Line drive to the left field fence for a single. Katie moves him to second, now here’s Thomas Garton… bang! Another line drive to the left field fence. Four runs for the inning, and the tables are turned. 10-8 Dodgers.
Could the Giants respond in the last inning of the game ? Not if pitcher Nicholas Durer and first baseman Thomas Garton had anything to do with it. Katie picked up a run, but a trio of 1-3 ground-outs were enough to close the inning and seal the win. 10-9 to the Dodgers to take a 2-1 series lead.
Shivering they may have been, but the spectators knew they’d seen a game today, one they would talk about long after they drove away, back into the heat of Southern England.
Click here for the scorecast, and choose Replay in the top right corner to follow the game.
Herts push London hard but U17 national champions remain invincible
The London Mets who are the reigning national champions in the British Under-17 league came to Grovehill Ballpark and continued their devastating run with two wins against the Herts All Stars.
Two weeks ago Herts shocked the league with a win at the Cobham Cougars and they threatened to upset the form book again on Saturday. They took a 5-4 lead against the Mets. Herts starter Marty Cullen Jr had another good outing against a difficult opponent. The team kept in touch with the champions right up to the final inning when they were trailing 9-6, but 7 runs in the top of the sixth inning opened an insurmountable lead for the Mets and they secured the win. Relief pitcher Taichi with the win. Herts recorded 5 hits in this game – Liam Green 2-3, Marty Cullen Jr 2-3 2B, Carlos Casal Jr 1-2 2B.
Click to view box scores and play-by-play from game 1
London started game 2 with pitcher Kazuma on the mound. He showed tremendous control with his fatsball and a nasty curveball which had many players bail out of the batters box only to hear the strike three call by the umpire. Kazuma struck out 11 and didn’t allow a hit all the way into the 4th inning, but with two outs Herts ended the no-hitter. 11-year-old Gavin Peterson received a call up from the Herts U14 team to appear as a pinch hitter against the japanese pitcher who was twice his size. He fought off several pitches and with two strikes drove a line drive over the leaping Mets second baseman for a single. Herts put together a late rally with 3 more hits by Jake Caress, Kyle Lloyd-Jones and Kieran Manning before the end of the game, but Kazuma shut the door for a complete game shutout.
Herts’ starting pitcher Liam Green also did well allowing only 5 hits but the Mets took advantage of another 5 batters reaching base on balls as well as 3 others who reached base after being hit by pitch to establish a commanding 7-0 lead. They scored another 4 in the final inning to complete a convincing win. The game included a home run over the right field wall by Jamie Dix.
LYBL win two. Vangundy pitches no-hitter and hits 2nd and 3rd homerun of the year
The Herts U14 team faced LYBL in a repeat of last year’s U14 National Final. With so many of Herts U14 players from last year moving up into the U17 age group the team is made-up of younger players who may not be able to match the top teams in the league at this stage of their development, but the club hopes that the youngsters will develop over the next few years to challenge for the title.
LYBL won both games convincingly and they move up the standings closing in on second-placed London Sports.
NO-HITTER BY VANGUNDY
A look back at the box scores from the Herts U14 games versus London Sports confirms the impressive performance by Callum Vangundy who pitched a no-hitter over 4 and two-third innings not allowing any earned runs and striking out 7 batters at which point he reached his 85-pitch limit and had to be substituted in accordance with league rules. He also had a good day at the plate hitting his second and third home runs of the season.
Click to view box scores and play-by-play from game 2 of London Sports at Herts U14
Tom Everex-Armstrong who started game one against London Sports also had an effective outing with no earned runs through 3 and one-third innings allowing only 1 hit.
Click to view box scores and play-by-play from game 1 of London Sports at Herts U14
Mani joins Herts
Herts Baseball Club has confirmed the signing of Emmanuel “Mani” Santillan.
The 25-year-old shortstop and outfielder comes from the Dominican Republic – the country which has produced baseball legends like pitcher, Pedro Martinez, Albert Pujols, Sammy Sosa, and hundreds of other legendary MLB players.
He has registered in time and is eligible for Sunday’s league games.
Something’s gotta give, again
The Herts Falcons (12-4) are in the middle of a 6-week period during which they face their direct opponents in the race for the National Baseball League title. They won 3 of their last 4 games against the Harlow Nationals (13-4) and the Southampton Mustangs (12-5) last Sunday.
In both of these series their opponents came to Grovehill Ballpark as the team with the best defence (fewest runs allowed per game) in the league while the Falcons were the team with the best offence (most runs scored per game). Something had to give and it did. The Falcons bats drove in 24 runs putting a major dent in the Nationals runs allowed per game which stood at 4.30 before that weekend and they were no longer the best defence after that. Next up came the Mustangs. They had overtaken the Nationals as the team with the best defence but once again the Herts offence was too hot to handle scoring 27 runs in that doubleheader.
We have the same scenario this coming Sunday. The London Mets (10-3) come to Grovehill Ballpark having surged up the standings to within 1 game of the league leaders Harlow. They are now officially the team with the best defence with an impressive 4.46 runs allowed per game. Will defence prevail on this occasion or will the Falcons bats strike again for the third week in a row?
The London Mets are the only team yet to face the Herts Falcons this season and it promises to be a colossal duel. The two teams did meet in the Herts Spring League in March and the Falcons still have the bruises to prove it as Mets starting pitcher Pietro Sollecito shut the Herts offence down with a 7-0 win in that game. This Sunday the Falcons will be eager to prove that this was just a spring training glitch. First pitch is at 12pm.
24 HOURS EARLIER
In fact the London vs Herts rivalry gets going 24 hours earlier with a London vs Herts doubleheader in the British U17 League. London are the reigning national champions at U17 level and they have a clear lead in the standings so far this season with a record of 10-2. However they come into the games after a loss to the Cobham Cougars just to prove that they are human after all.
There are more youth league games at Grovehill Ballpark on Saturday. LYBL come to town to face the Herts U14 team in a repeat of last year’s National Final. Many of the Herts players from last year have moved into the U17 age group so this is a chance for the new generation of U14 players to carry the Herts flag. In the U11 bracket the Dodgers and the Giants series resume. They are tied 1-1.
RAPTORS AND HAWKS WITH POSTSEASON AMBITIONS
The Herts Raptors travel to Tonbridge on Sunday looking to build further momentum after their 14-5 win against the Eagles last week. The Herts Hawks return after 3 weeks of rest. They host the Brentwood Stags in a AA-League doubleheader in what is proving to be a very close race for the postseason playoffs.
Falling (back) in love with the game
written by Herts Raptors player, Ken Pike
Whenever I hear stories in the news about top class athletes having problems because they are not enjoying the game or finding the stress particularly difficult to cope with I used to scoff and wonder how people could get stressed at doing something that most people did for fun or enjoyment. They even had the added benefit of getting paid to basically take part in a hobby!
To the casual sportsman a day playing baseball, or football, or whatever sport floats your boat, is a way of relaxing, blowing off steam , and clearing your mind. It is fun. Maybe the aches and pains the next day take a bit of grimacing to get through, and the occasional more serious injury can put a damped on your enjoyment, but for the most part, hearing a multimillionaire complaining about playing is at least confusing and at worst galling and infuriating for those whose jobs are much less savoury.
However, over the past couple of years I may have found some empathy for them. For those who don’t know me, and those particularly new to the club (welcome) I used to manage the Herts Raptors. By further admission, and I am sure those who do know me will nod emphatically, I am not particularly easygoing or relaxed owing to being massively competitive.I generally want everyone and everything to go in the direction of a win. Not at all costs, but certainly at high cost (having myself been at the receiving end of a very serious, and nearly baseball career ending injury three years ago, I fought through hell and high water to get back into the sport).
Let me just point out that this article may read in parts as a confessional, and in parts like a whinge. It isn’t one, it’s an explanation of a journey from love to hate and back. Over the past two years of managing a rookie team I have discovered there is a point where it does start to matter so much that it causes you sleepless nights, stress, gnashed teeth and tense shoulders. A sad point where ultimately, you wake up one day realising that you are not looking forward to going to play baseball.
The Raptors were never expected to achieve much other than train new blood to feed the more senior leagues, but when you are part of the team, and in charge of the team, that expectation is out of the window. You do care, and you want to win, and my opinion is that the day I no longer win is the day I walk away.
I recall heated debates and arguments with the other managers in the club over team selection (I apologised after, and do so again). I also recall being the first at the field and the last off it at every game and every training session, and several more occasions too in a hope to put as much of my soul and energy into the Raptors. I’d like to think I was never the kind of manager to ball people out for not playing well, and hope that the times that I did raise my voice were only ever taken to be the encouragement that I intended them to be, but I imagine that is probably naive, and it is almost certain that at some point people have felt downbeat and sometimes even insulted. (Again, I apologise to them – it wasn’t meant that way). Whether I was right or wrong is now irrelevant, and not the point of this little story anyway.
The end result is that two years in management of a team was hard work. Don’t worry, I am not looking for sympathy, as there is also plenty I gained from it including some good friends, some real experience in teamwork, and even management that has even been translatable to my workplace in small degrees, and a feeling of achievement. Granted, we never won the league, but in both seasons the Raptors went from a team with potential but without any skill or experience to a team that won games and progressed players up the leagues. That was the point of the Raptors at the time so in a way, we were successful.
However, at some point last year, I have to admit I was not enjoying it. It was adding to pressure elsewhere in my life (young family, new job, empty bank account) instead of relieving it. I wouldn’t say it was turning into a job, as I wasn’t getting paid, but it was certainly not the fun pastime it had started out as. I spent hours after the game and even into the next few days analysing my performance and that of the team. Figuring out how we were going to get wins. Figuring out how to get the performances I knew we were capable of. I couldn’t get it out of my head and lost plenty of sleep as a result.
So, one day, after a rather heated argument with one of my own team mates which nearly came to blows, I realised the time had come to step down. Properly. I had done so after my first year in charge to make way for someone else, but was persuaded to give it another shot when no one stepped up, but this time I was certain that if I continued to manage it would damage my relationship with the sport.
The result has been night and day. Now, several months, one Hunlock series, one offseason, one pre-season and one HSL later and a few games into the season and the Raptors are a different kettle of fish. Thanks to some excellent work by various members of the board and the generally fantastic reputation of the greater club, some wonderful talent was recruited to bolster the upper teams, and the knock-on effect has been that the Raptors were put together with the intention of creating playoff (and possibly title) contenders.
The new Raptors manager in the shape of Arnie Longboy brings a much deeper tactical knowledge to the position than I did, and also a much calmer and more pragmatic style of leadership. These are things that are starting to pay off much earlier in the season as we sit on a .500 record with two of the next three games being very winnable. Despite a wobbly start against high quality opponents, hindered by long spells of not having any games thanks to a mixture of timetable, weather and other factors, the Raptors look powerful. Solid defence and a powerful offence. They look like they could be contenders.
For my own part I can concentrate on my own game again, and while parts of my game are still not where I want them to be (notably pitching) other parts have returned in full force (I seem to be able to catch again and ground balls no longer fill me with any fear) and others are returning nicely (I’m getting bat to ball more often than not again).
The insertion of confidence from the first win, hopefully followed by a straightforward fixture against league struggling Tonbridge next week may be enough to kickstart a roll. There are at least three fixtures that the Raptors should be well capable of winning, and another that will be close. If we put those in the bag then we are facing postseason.
However, that’s a paragraph full of ‘ifs’ ‘hopefullys’ and ‘shoulds’ and ultimately the end position is not the point. It is not always getting the result and league position that counts in making a game enjoyable. That’s not to say winning isn’t important though. I think the hardest thing for someone with my competitive streak was not being competitive. Not being in with a shout at all is harder than narrowly missing out on what could have been. Spending every game looking for the little victories and sometimes scraping the barrel when trying to find the positives is not easily sustained. Sooner or later morale starts to sap.
The long and short of it is, that without the burden of management, and coupled with a real prospect of competing for wins, means that slowly but surely that passion for the game is re-igniting in my heart. I had a smile on my face for the whole of Sunday’s hard fought win against the Eagles, and for the first time in a long time my head was not racing for the rest of the evening with things that I or the team could have done better, because for the large part…there wasn’t really anything. Instead it was filled with dreams of the Raptors playing that well again (as Eagles manager Duncan Hoyle said, the Raptors made few mistakes and were clinical in everything they did.)
Maybe I do understand how people fall out of love with the game now. When the desire to win, or to achieve a certain target, even if that target is just to play to your best irrespective of results, does not meet up with reality it can feel a bit like a kick in the teeth. Maybe some of those MLB/NFL/NBA/NHL/Premier League superstars that swap from team to team hoping for a solution are not looking for more money or glory, but just trying to re-set their focus and find a place they enjoy being at (maybe).
I have now re-set my focus, and have been hit with the wonderful fortune that it seems the whole team have turned a new page at the same time. Some habits die hard, and I am sure there will be times when I feel frustrated and downbeat if we blow a close game for example. I still want to win more than ever, and with the potential of doing so being closer than ever part of me burns for that success. But for the most part, I am not just back to enjoying the game…I am back to sitting at my desk on a Tuesday afternoon, barely over the aches and pains from the last game, dreaming of next Sunday. Of hitting that ball one more time, of running the paths, and making those outs…all for the love of the game.
Herts topple Southampton at the top of the NBL
written by Trevor Clissold for britishbaseball.org
The top four teams in the BBF’s National Baseball League are separated by just one game following sweeps for Herts, Harlow and London. Herts took the spoils in their top-of-the-table clash with the Southampton Mustangs and the lead at the top changed hands for the third time in three weeks.
Having earned a hard-fought split in their series with the defending champion Harlow Nationals on June 10, the Herts Falcons could have been forgiven for wanting an easier encounter than hosting the NBL-leading Southampton Mustangs the very next week. But following their sweep of the Mustangs, Herts will be elated at coming through with a 3-1 record against two of their biggest rivals in the standings.
Sam Dempster, Head Coach for the Great Britain National Team, was in the crowd on Sunday and everyone was keen to impress. And the visiting Mustangs got off to a fast start in Game 1 with some help from the Herts defense, who showed some early nerves.
Robbie Unsell was given the start on the mound for Herts and looked dominant initially, striking out the lead-off batter and getting ahead 0-2 against Alberto Rodriguez. But then things started to go wrong for Unsell as he threw four consecutive balls to walk Rodriguez before a wild pickoff attempt allowed him to progress to second base. Rodriguez then stole third before scoring on a ground-out by Victor Aizpurua to give the Mustangs an early 1-0 lead. This quickly became 2-0 on a home run from the very next batter, as Gary Davison lifted a 1-2 pitch over the left field fence. Despite issuing another walk to Marius Urbanavicius, who also stole second, Unsell managed to get out of the inning without any further damage.
Herts knew they would have to respond early and took full advantage of some wayward pitching by Mustangs starter Gary Davison. Robbie Unsell was hit by the very first pitch and reached third on a line drive double from Cristobal Hiche. Unsell would score on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Bird to halve the deficit, and then a series of errors from Southampton allowed Hiche, David Tretheway and Darrin Ward to follow Unsell across the plate as the Falcons began to take charge.
Herts added two more runs in the second inning to take a 6-2 lead and threatened to run away with the game.
But the Mustangs then showed why they were leading the NBL coming into this series. Justin Frosina started the comeback with a solo shot over the right field fence in the top of the third inning and Southampton tied the game at 6-6 an inning later.
Herts reacted by adding three runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth and moved five runs clear with two more in the fifth, but the scoring was far from over as the Mustangs came back again, scoring twice in the top of the sixth to keep the pressure on their hosts.
Despite this, it was Southampton who cracked, as the Falcons’ bats came to life in a big way with seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to force a mercy-rule victory. Herts had already scored three times when David Tretheway hit a two-run home run, leaving Robbie Unsell to deal the decisive blow with a two-RBI single to finish a breathtaking encounter.
“The final score did not tell the full story,” reflected Falcons Team Manager Lee Manning. “They’re a top team and the game was in the balance right up to the last inning.”
Ryan Bird (3-for-4, 4 RBIs) and David Tretheway (4-for-4, 1 HR, 4 RBIs) both starred with the bat while Robbie Unsell picked up the win along with three RBIs of his own.
Click to view box scores and play-by-ply from Game 1
Game 2 was a much tighter affair, as both sides settled down on defense to back up some solid pitching.
Just as in Game 1, it was Southampton who took an early 2-0 lead with runs in the first and second innings. Alberto Rodriguez took the mound for the Mustangs in Game 2 and was strong early on, holding the Falcons scoreless and allowing just three hits through the first three innings.
But mirroring Game 1 again, the Falcons’ bats came to life in the second half of the game and they lit up Rodriguez for nine runs on nine hits over the next two frames.
Darrin Ward allowed just four hits over the last five innings as he shut the Mustangs down to pick up the win and seal the sweep for Herts. Ward pitched a complete game, allowing two earned runs on seven hits and also went 4-for-4 with the bat to round out an excellent day. Ryan Bird also went 4-for-4 while Jeff House knocked in three runs on two hits.
Southampton Team Manager Ross Arieta was left to reflect on what might have been for the Mustangs. “Obviously, we are disappointed with our performance today,” he said. “Herts are a good team and we gave them too many outs to not be punished today.”
There will be no rest for Southampton though, as they look to return to the summit. “We play Harlow next week,” Arieta added, ”and we are looking forward to making amends for today.”
Herts Manager Lee Manning said, “They were the leaders coming into this game and we knew we needed two wins to overtake them. It was important for the standings to win both games today but it was also important for our momentum; it feels good to be back to winning ways. We have London next and it’s a really exciting time for the whole club. We feel better equipped this year to deal with the top teams, we recruited well both domestically and internationally, and there’s a sense of pride building throughout the club at AAA, AA and Single-A levels.”
Young blood and big bats of the ‘older brother’ overpower Herts newcomers
written by hertsbaseball.com correspondent Ken Pike
Across the sporting world rivalries are borne from close proximity. Either geographical proximity such as football’s Arsenal v Tottenham derby, or from proximity of ability or regular competition such as England v Australia in the Ashes. In our neck of the sporting world a new rivalry has sprung up this year arising from not one, but both of these factors. The Herts Eagles have risen phoenix-like from a one year sabbatical to enter the Single-A division joining the traditional Herts entry, the Raptors.
As far as proximity goes the two teams are from the same club and play on the same fields, so you can’t get any closer. However on competitiveness, there had been a conscious Herts board choice to pick the Raptors team to create a pennant chasing side while the Eagles would be grounds for blooding new players and providing experience and game time to those who could develop over time. As is often the case however, reality bears out a little difference from expectation.
The first game between these two minor league teams was as hotly contested as it was anticipated. The Raptors played the ‘home side’ for this meet having played only two of their regular season fixtures so far thanks to rain delays, forfeits and unfortunate scheduling. Conversely the Eagles had fared better with six games under their belt, including three wins. As a result they had built up some confidence and experience in some of the new young prospects, and more importantly, regular game time for the whole team.
The opening innings were set to be pitched by two of these very bright young prospects for the club with the Raptors promising star Zack Longboy taking the mound while young newcomer William Zucker started for the Eagles.
The first inning saw Zac dominate the mound retiring the first batter with a strikeout. Craig La Roux reached base after being hit by a pitch, but was out the very next play after a bouncer from Theo Scheeper’s bat went straight to second baseman Ken Pike forcing out La Roux on the fielders choice. Shortly after power hitter Reagan Wood grounded out to end the inning with a zero on the board.
By return the powerful bats of the Raptors make the first dent with a mixture of hits and walks bringing four runners home with a nervy start from Will leading to a balk and some errors before he settled into a groove. Singles from Brodie Caress, Gilberto Medina, and Jake Caress were added to by four walks, a fielding error and a balk.
The second inning was a much closer affair. Zack Longboy’s pitching however remained impervious to Eagles attack to result in clean inning number two. The Raptors only added one run courtesy of a Glen Downer double scoring John Kjorstad before the Eagles retired the side.
The third inning saw the Eagles bounce back with three runs courtesy of strong running from Senna Ashida and Craig La Roux topped off by a big double from Reagan Wood. The Raptors had tagged on another single to keep the gap at three runs before the Raptors defence clamped up again and put the Eagles out of business for the next three innings, while adding three more of their own.
To keep the game close the Eagles brought in relief pitcher Theo Scheepers who had a good three innings keeping the Raptors pegged at eight while the Eagles added one run in the top of the seventh.
The eighth inning however proved the final undoing of the Eagles as the Raptors changed up a gear. While the titing, but still impressive pitching from Zack closed out all but one run (which only reached courtesy of a fielding error), doubles from Gilberto Medina and Brodie Caress helped tack a further six to open up a gap just shy of requiring an early mercy rule finish to the game.
This proved too big a gap for the eagles to overcome with two ground outs and a stealing runner beaten by the tag thanks to an immaculate throw from catcher Ben Marques. the final inning resulted in the sixth zero on the board for young star Zack Longboy resulting not just in him being the game MVP, but provided the best performance by a Herts pitcher in a Single-A league game.
In the end that pitching performance and a near impervious Raptors defence (only three errors in total) left precious few chances for the Eagles. On the other half of the inning, the Raptors batting line-up gave the Eagles pitchers no gaps in which to find respite by combining the impressive power hitters Ben Marques, Glen Downer, Gilberto Medina and John Kjorstad with the consistent and speedy base presences of the Caress family, Arnie Longboy, and Ken Pike.
That is not to say the Eagles were impotent by any means. Both young starting pitcher William Zucker with three strikeouts, and reliever Theo Scheepers pitched calmly and impressively showing signs of great things to come, while powerful hits by Scheepers and Reagan Wood were matched by several strong performances around the lineup, notably several great catches from young outfielder Senna Ashida. The Eagles have already matched the Raptors record from the previous year with two games left (including bottom of the table Braintree Rays) and look set for great things to come.
Herts Raptors Manager, Arnie Longboy, commented after the game: “I am really proud of how everyone on the team contributed to the win. As a manager I was particularly proud of how we excelled on the fundamentals of base running – manufacturing runs when we needed them and limiting fielding errors to a season low of 3. As a father I was proud of how Zack not only pitched but also played all aspects of the position from fielding to keeping base runners in check. We won’t have our Ace for our next game but this should test our mettle as a team and I expect us to do well.”
Eagles Manager, Duncam Hoyle, said: “We went into the game believing we had a good chance of winning but the Raptors reminded us why they are the Raptors and we are the Eagles. In general I thought we played well, especially defensively but we couldnt get our offense going – mainly due to the excellent pitching display by Zack. The Raptors made few mistakes and were very clinical in everything they did. Once again we had a lot of positives to take from the game, I was delighted to be able to give Will Zucker his first start from the mound and I thought he was superb. The defeat does hurt but we will bounce back”
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This derby, one of the closest of rivalries, played out in the best weather that British baseball could offer, on one of the best fields in the country, provided a true classic. Perhaps the skills on display were no match for the ‘big brother’ National League Falcons, but, much as the English football team are proving in Ukraine and Poland, a little heart and a lot of passion can go a long way. A dominant win…but by no means a blowout. A game which will surely become unmissable in Herts calendars.
(The result brings Herts Raptors to a .500 record with two wins and two losses while the Eagles sit on 0.429 with 3 wins and 4 losses.)