Category: Headlines

by Herts Baseball News Editor

The Dynamic Duo becomes the Formidable Trio

Herts Baseball Club has reacted quickly after the rejection of the Herts Raptors bid to be promoted to the Double-A League, by appointing Herts Raptors Manager, Arnie Longboy, as the joint-Herts Hawks Manager. This means that the Herts Hawks will be managed by three co-Managers in 2014. Longboy joins current co-Managers, Andy Cornish and Greg Bochan. The Cornish and Bochan managerial team has become known in media circles as the Dynamic Duo. Members of the media will have to find a new name for this newly formed managerial trio.

We have been searching through the archives to find other sports teams which have had three joint managers. There have been several high-profile cases of teams with two joint managers such as Roy Evans and Gerard Houllier at Liverpool Football Club in 1998 and Jimmy Quinn and Mick Gooding at Reading Football Club, but so far our search has been unsuccessful. Does this mean that Herts Baseball Club has made sporting history with today’s announcement? We invite our readers to send in any details which they are able to find in our search for another sports team with three joint managers.

The Herts Hawks will play in the Double-A League which is where the Herts Raptors were hoping to be this season, but after their application was rejected the Herts Hawks will be the team where Herts will have to fit players who are most suited to the standard of baseball played in the Double-A League.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

BBF rejects Herts Raptors’ Double-A bid

The Herts Raptors after the heart-breaking National Championship Semi-Final defeat last September. They have received another painful blow today.

Last month the Herts Raptors submitted an official bid to be promoted from the Single-A to the Double-A League. The club has just confirmed that it has received the decision of the British Baseball Federation and, unfortunately for Herts fans, the bid has been rejected.

A club spokesman indicated that Herts does not know which aspects of the entry criteria for the Double-A League were not met, but has asked the BBF for some feedback on this so that the club can put together a much stronger bid in the future.

The club indicated that the BBF did give them four alternative options for the Herts Raptors to consider. This included entry into the Triple-A South, Triple-A Central and Single-A South, however none of these options were suitable for the team for the 2014 season and as a result the club will be entering only four teams in the BBF adult leagues in 2014.

The Herts Falcons will be competing in the National Baseball League, Great Britain’s top tier. The Herts Eagles will be representing Herts in the Triple-A League. Fans of the club will recall that when the Eagles were formed in 2009, they represented Herts in the Triple-A League. They stayed in that league tier in 2010 losing in the National Championship Semi-Final to the Oxford Kings. In 2011 the Eagles did not enter the BBF leagues as the club entered only three adult league teams. A year later they were back in the league, but this time they entered the Single-A, where they have been playing over the last two seasons. With the Eagles moving up to Triple-A this year, their place in Single-A will be taken by the Herts Raptors. The Herts Hawks remain in the Double-A League.

This means that after just one season in the Triple-A League the Herts Ravens will take a year off, but hopefully we will see them back in the leagues in 2015.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Dave Ames returns to the Herts Board as Club Secretary

Herts Baseball Club has announced that Dave Ames has been appointed as Club Secretary and member of the Executive Board.

Ames joined Herts in 2012 after previously playing for the Old Timers. He was part of the Herts Eagles roster during the 2012 and 2013 seasons playing second base. However, an ongoing ankle injury meant that he missed almost all of the 2013 season. The medical complications may mean that he may not be able to be involved on the field but he is keen to continue contributing off the field.

The Club Secretary role remained vacant after the club’s annual general meeting in November and Dave Ames’ appointment has now been confirmed.

Herts President Aspi Dimitrov said: “Dave joining the Board is fantastic news, not just in terms of increasing the capacity of the club’s front office and Executive Board, but also adds key expertise”. Ames is a town planner and his professional credentials may prove to be very valuable in upcoming club projects.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

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.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Boo Matthews joins Herts Board

Boo Matthews (right) with Ian Byers at Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays

Herts Baseball Club’s front office has been strengthened further with the appointment of Boo Matthews as a member of the Board. Boo will be heading the club’s media department as the Communications Director and will be supported by a strong team of contributors, including Cris Hiche, Joe Gray, Ken Pike, Rob Jones, among others.

“Boo’s extensive experience and expertise in this area comes at a critical time for the club” said Club President, Aspi Dimitrov, “we have a number of projects coming up which can double the size of the club in a short period of time and the media department will play a key role”.

Over the years Herts has been setting the pace among British baseball clubs with its media coverage and has an extensive range of media outlets. Apart from the popular news coverage on its website and social media channels, Herts was the first to launch a live radio broadcast, and followed it up with a live TV broadcast a few years later. As these new media tools become available at a lower cost, sports such as baseball are becoming better equipped to compete with the established sports such as football. There is also an increasing interest from people starting up in the media sector who want to contribute on a part-time basis in the Herts Baseball media department. All the signs are that there is great potential and Boo Matthews will have the difficult challenge of making these separate elements work together.

Boo said “I am delighted to be joining the board of Herts Baseball and becoming part of a club that has such passion for the game. My own love for the game was developed during holidays in the USA, but that only extends to spectating and I shall leave the playing to those with the real talent! I look forward to working with the media team to raise the profile of the sport through our activities and the clubs’ successes.”

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts announce 2013 awards for its U14 and U11 teams


HERTS CARDINALS

Sunday’s event at Northwick Park also included the presentation of the 2013 awards for the Herts Under-14 and Under-11 teams.

In the U14 age group, Aaron Witter was voted as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) recognising his contribution both on the mound, in the field and with the bat. He also picked up the Cy Young (pitching category) and the Home Run Champion awards, sharing the latter with Alex Guthrie after their back-to-back home run heroics in the regular season game vs London Sports’ U14 team. The awards were intended to be awarded at the Herts Futures Tournament so Ben Jones’ home run versus the London Mets in that competition was not taken into account, otherwise there would have been a three-way tie in that category.

Ben Jones was not left empty-handed however as he was deservedly named the Herts Cardinals U14 Batting Champion and Stolen Base King of 2013.

Adam White and James Roberts played their last seasons in the U14 league as they will be moving up to the U17s in 2014, and it was very fitting that their contribution over the years was recognised by awarding them the Infield and Outfield Gold Gloves, respectively.

In a season when many of the club’s U11 players made their debuts in the U14 league, there were many candidates for Rookie of the Year. The award went to Oliver Durer.

HERTS DODGERS AND GIANTS

The players have voted that Christian Lynch and Lucas Lebrato are the MVPs for the Giants and Dodgers, respectively. Lynch also received the Cy Young award, the first year that this pitching category is included for this age group. Lucas Lebrato needed a hand from dad, Angelo, to carry his trophies at the end of the presentation as he also received Herts Dodgers’ Batting Champion and Rookie of the Year.

The Cy Young trophy for the Herts Dodgers went to Alex Trautman who leads the Herts U11 League with 66% strikes per pitch. Ben Jupp received the Dodgers’ Rookie of the Year award while the Batting Champion was Josh Jones. Both are expected to make many headlines in the coming years.

Joe Gipple and Nico Durer are the Infield Gold Glove winners for the Dodgers and Giants, respectively, while Noah Haines and Noah Lynch collected the Outfield Gold Gloves. Lewis Auchterlounie and Rory Vangundy were the Most Improved Players of the two teams, and Alex Jones and William Morillo received the Coach’s awards recognising their hard work and progress.

The Dodgers overcame the Giants on the final day of the season to clinch the 2013 U11 Herts Championship. The exceptional talent coming through in that age group has been obvious to see not just in the regional championship games but also in clashes with teams from other regions. It is a very promising sign for the club and is an exciting prospect that the U11 players, coaches and parents have at least 6 more years together in the youth leagues and will have the opportunity to go through the incredible experience of the current Herts U17 generation.

HERTS   CARDINALS
MVP Aaron Witter
Batting Champion Ben Jones
Infield Gold Glove Adam White
Outfield Gold Glove James Roberts
Rookie of the Year Oliver Durer
Home Run Champion Alex Guthrie (1)
Home Run Champion Aaron Witter (1)
Most Stolen Bases Ben Jones (3)
Cy Young Award Aaron Witter
HERTS GIANTS
MVP Christian Lynch
Batting Champion Josh Jones
Infield Gold Glove Nicholas Durer
Outfield Gold Glove Noah Lynch
Rookie of the Year Ben Jupp
Most Improved Player Lewis Auchterlounie
Coaches’ Award Alex Jones
Cy Young Award Christian Lynch
HERTS DODGERS
MVP Lucas Lebrato
Batting Champion Lucas Lebrato
Infield Gold Glove Joe Gipple
Outfield Gold Glove Noah Haines
Rookie of the Year Lucas Lebrato
Most Improved Player Rory Vangundy
Coaches’ Award William Morillo
Cy Young Award Alex Trautman
by Herts Baseball News Editor

2014 HSL dates announced

The first baseball games of 2014 at Grovehill Ballpark will be played in 22  March 2014

The Herts Spring League (HSL) has confirmed the game dates for the 2014 edition of the competition*.

HSL MAJORS

The HSL Majors involving the NBL teams will be played over two weekends.

HSL Majors (Week 1 of 2)

• Sat, 22-Mar-13

• Sun, 23-Mar-13

HSL Majors (Week 2 of 2)

• Sat, 29-Mar-13

• Sun, 30-Mar-13

HSL MINORS

The other HSL Division(s) involving AAA, AA, A-League and Under-17 League teams will be played over three weekends.

HSL Minors (Week 1 of 3)

• Sat, 22-Mar-13

• Sun, 23-Mar-13

HSL Minors (Week 2 of 3)

• Sat, 29-Mar-13

• Sun, 30-Mar-13

HSL Minors (Week 3 of 3)

• Sat, 5-Apr-13

• Sun, 6-Apr-13

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 seventh year of the HSL. Every year this competition keeps growing. The geographic spread of participating teams seems to be expanding as well. For more details visit the HSL site.

LEAGUE FORMAT

Teams will be placed in two or more divisions (HSL Majors and HSL Minors) based on the teams’ ranking going into the new season. The exact format will depend on the number of teams entering the HSL and the availability of venues, therefore 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), AAA, AA and A-Leagues, as well as international teams such as the GB Under-19 and Under-16 National Teams and the ASL Eagles.

“The number of team entries has been going up every year. Last year we somehow managed to fit all of the entrants, however in 2014 we have to be mindful of the fact that we may once again reach our full capacity and we may have to restrict team entries when we reach that level again.” said HSL Commissioner, Aspi Dimitrov.

The addition of U17 league teams in previous years has worked very well. The high standard of most of the BBF U17 League teams will certainly enable them to comfortably compete at the level of adult teams from the AA and AAA League teams, or perhaps even NBL.

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.

WEAR THE HERTS BASEBALL JERSEY IN 2014 

Herts Baseball Club welcomes youth players from 6 to 16 and adult players from 14 to 50+ from complete beginners to experienced ballpalyers. New players can join at any time of the year. For more details on how to give baseball a try contact us.

* – The HSL dates are based on the indication that the NBL season will start on April 6 and the AAA, AA and A Leagues on April 13. If these dates change the HSL may make adjustments where necessary.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

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

by Herts Baseball News Editor

We are back in training

The Herts adult and youth teams returned to training for the first Spring Training session of 2014 as the club prepares for the new season.  It was good to see many new faces with around twenty per cent of those in attendance coming to Herts Baseball Club for the first time, which is a good sign for the upcoming season. There are many more sessions coming up every weekend in the coming months and this is the ideal time for newcomers to come give baseball a try.  First session is free for those who are new to Herts Baseball Club (contact us for more details).

Here is a selection of images taken from the first day back in training (click image to enlarge).

Coach Lee Manning taking players through some base-running drills

The youngest Herts Baseball players put on a batting display which was appreciated by the fans in the viewing gallery.

The Herts Harriers (pictured above)came so close to winning the U17 national championship in 2013. They are back preparing for the new season and it looks like they don’t want to leave anything to chance. They are currently expected to have a roster of around 20 players and coaching staff of 7.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Get your gear ready for Spring Training

The Falcons modelling their performance jerseys a few months ago

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.

Herts Harriers and Herts Ravens pitcher, Tom Armstrong, will be breaking in a new glove this Spring

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.