Category: Headlines

by Cristobal Hiche

Perfect Falcons travel to Harlow to sweep the Nationals

Cristobal Hiche hit the first Falcons home run of the 2013 season in the first game of the day (photo by Will Baxter)

written by Cris Hiche

The 9-0 in the 1st inning of the first game and 14-0 by the 2nd inning summarises the difference Falcons showed against the 2-time NBL champions Harlow Nationals throughout the day. A lot can be said about the game and both teams will draw their own conclusions. The fact is Falcons did everything perfect. Pitching was great, hitting was great, defence was great, and running was great. With such a high score, there’s bound to be great highlights and there were. Cris Hiche blasted the first home run of the season for the Falcons to right field. The defensive and impressive duo of Robbie Unsell (2B) and Xavi Gonzales (SS) was up to the highest level once again. John Bloise (LF), Barry Wiles (3B), Phil Clark (1B), and Dave House (C) were solid. However, Dave Tretheway (RF) stole the show with a tremendous diving catch.

It is important to note that Nationals looked awful out there and they’ll be the first to admit it. They committed an unusual amount of easy errors from experienced players and their bats were too quiet. Credit to winning pitcher Jordan Farkas, who although didn’t have the velocity of previous outings, managed to control the game. Nevertheless, Nationals is always a dangerous team and was able to score some runs to end up with a more “decent” final score of 16-8 for the Falcons. Pitcher Jordan Farkas said after the game: “My arm was dead since the first inning and didn’t have the speed. So I used my control to outsmart the always dangerous Nationals lineup. I got the run support which is always great for a pitcher.”

Herts pitcher Darrin Ward was in control in game two (photo by Project COBB Photography http://projectcobb.org.uk/)

And if you thought the second game would be much closer and hard-fought, well it wasn’t. It was a deja-vu with again solid defence, running, hitting and pitching by the Falcons. The player of the match was without a doubt pitcher Darrin Ward who with his vast experience shutdown their lineup once again. It was so one-sided that by the bottom of the 7th it was still 8-0 with 2 outs and no man on base. ‘Wardie’ relaxed a bit and walked the next batter. Of course baseball is about momentum and the Nationals used that little window of opportunity to score one run to spoil Darrin Ward’s perfect day and avoid a shutdown (Final score 8-1).

Some of the highlights of the game were some good defensive plays by several Nationals players (trying to stop the numerous Falcons hits) and as imagined, little can be said of the Falcons defence because they were barely challenged. Yet the only time the Nationals could have done something with man on second and one out with a deep fly ball to center, a ‘textbook, MLB style’ 8-6-5 relay was performed to execute the double play and finish the inning. Cris Hiche mentioned after the game: “I really enjoyed that double play. It was beautiful all the way and I love throwing people out like that. I enjoyed it more than the HR in the first game.” Manager Lee Manning summarised the day: “Two great games and is fantastic to sweep the Nationals. Our team played excellent in every aspect of the game and this gives us confidence that we can achieve our goal this year.”

With the next games on Saturday 4th of May at Finsbury Park against the London Mets, I really encourage all adults and youth players of the Herts family and those from other organisations to come watch two great teams battle each other and see these exciting Falcons try to make it 7-1 for the season.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Eagles battle hard but go down in Milton Keynes

Eagles 16 MK Coyotes 34, BBF Single-A League

written by Duncan Hoyle

Herts Eagles were on the wrong end of a 34 – 16 scoreline at MK Coyotes on opening day, but can still take many positives from the game.

The Eagles have a completely new look about them in 2013, with several players now having moved up the Herts organisation. Only 2 players remained in the starting lineup from last seasons opening day, and it was last season’s joint Single-A Home Run Champion Adrian Smithers who got the Eagles off to a good start with a line drive to left field in the first at bat of the game. He would get in to score, along with returning catcher Geoffrey Thomas to start the ball rolling in the top of the first.

On the mound was manager Duncan Hoyle, making his first BBF league pitching appearance. Despite getting a number of first pitches in the strike zone, he wasn’t able to capitalize on this and after the end of the first MK had opened up at 6 – 2 lead, the Eagles being punished for a number of errors. But they responded superbly in the second to tie the game at 6 all, helped by 2 RBIs from Mike Cresswell and newcomer Jamie Lang, and some superb catching in left field from Will Belbin.

Manny Banson and Jamie Lang are just two of the many players who made their league debut on Sunday

At the mid point of the 3rd Herts had opened up a 9 – 6 lead but once again, made errors in the 3rd that got punished, and with Hoyle’s arm now beginning to tire MK score 9 times to lead 15 – 9.

Simon Roberts came in to pitch in the 4th, along with DH Adrian Smithers who moved to catcher. Roberts couldn’t find the strike zone with any regular accuracy, pitching all around the edges but not inside. MK went on to score heavily in the 4th and 5th and the Eagles batting had now ran out of steam with only 1 run being scored in the 5th and 6th.

Jamie Lang came on to pitch the 6th for the Eagles and he will be delighted to have secured his first strike out and to only concede 3 runs in his first attempt at pitching. Herts rallied well in the 7th to try to avoid a defeat on the “mercy-rule” but despite loading the bases could only score once.

The Eagles had a completely new look about them, with the vast majority of the squad beginning their first full season in baseball. Notable performances included a superb performance at 1st base from Dan Bartram, who in only his second week of playing the game looks to be a great signing, good performances in the infield from Mike Cresswell, Jamie Lang and Tom Kosak at 3rd, the latter two who were both making their first league starts. Adrian Smithers had a great game with 4 hits, 3 runs scored and looked good at catcher.

The ever dependable Will Belbin had a solid game at left field and 1st, with some solid hitting, 15 year old Adam Landau Smithers did all that could have been asked of him at centerfield with a good catch and 3 runs scored. Club favourite Manny Banson made his debut and scored to get his account opened with the club, and also debuts were given to Dans brother Andy Bartram, and James Holt in the closing stages to leave the Eagles with many positives to take from the day, and a great platform to build upon in 2013.

A special mention should be given to Joseph Osborne-Brade, who suffered a horrendous injury in the Hunlock Series, and instead of feeling sorry for himself has remained positive while he regains his fitness and has taken up the role of base coach, scorer and assistant to manager Duncan Hoyle and his presence has no doubt helped the Eagles make some excellent early season progress with their. Base-running game.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Spirited late Ravens rally not enough

Conner Brown impressed on his Ravens league debut (photo by Will Baxter)

The Ravens may have lost two games in heartbreaking fashion against the visiting Leones de Feltham, but they will be going into their next league games with plenty of optimism.

As their name would suggest, the Leones are a team made up of Latin American players with many years of baseball experience so this doubleheader was always going to be a difficult test for the Ravens. With some of the Ravens’ big guns away, it was good to see the club’s upcoming young talent step up and they didn’t disappoint.

GAME1: Leones de Feltham 8 Herts Ravens 4

Liam Green was the starting pitcher in the first game going 4 1/3 innings with 4 strikeouts and 4 earned runs. It was very positive to see improvement in Green’s control with the number of walks reduced significantly and most of them came at the end of his outing when his arm started to tire.

Moment of controversy - it makes a big difference when a professional photographer is covering the action. The photo appears to prove that umpire Dave Smith made the right decision to call Mike Cattermole safe as his foot seems to have made contact with the edge of home plate just as the ball entered the catcher's glove on a force-play at home plate (photo by Will Baxter)

This was a game where both teams showed some good pitching and defence and the score stayed at 2-2 right up to the fifth inning, but then the visitors opened up a 7-2 lead with a big 5-run fifth inning. Gilberto Medina came in to relieve Green on the mound and he kept Herts in the game allowing only 1 hit and no earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. The team couldn’t take advantage of this and was not able to mount a major come back leaving quite a large number of runners on base (11). Matt Johnston who made his comeback from a hamstring injury, had an outstanding day with the bat (3-4).

Click to view game 1 box scores

GAME2: Leones de Feltham 15 Herts Ravens 13

With Mike Cattermole on the mound for Herts in game two, they got off to a quick start and built up a 7-2 lead after just 2 innings. The heart of the Ravens batting order of Liam Green (2-5 3RBI), Gilberto Medina (3-5 2RBI) and Carlos Casal (2-2) was causing the Leones some real problems. However, the visitors started put up numbers in the next few innings to tie the game at 9-9 in the fifth. They also managed to silence the bats of the Ravens by bringing in their game one starting pitcher. He had pitched 7 innings in game 1 and pitched another 2 in the second game. When he came out for his third inning of game two (10th inning of the day) he threw one pitch at which point Herts Manager, Carlos Casal, referred umpire Dave Smith and the visiting Manager, Andres Maslowski, BBF’s rule 7 (pitching restrictions) which indicates that “If a pitcher pitches in both games of a doubleheader, he/she shall not accumulate more than 9 full innings over 2 games, however distributed (Doubleheader). A pitcher shall be considered to have violated these rules if he throws one pitch in an inning above the prescribed limits.” Under these regulations “The minimum penalty for violating these rules is automatic ejection from the game for the pitcher and his manager”, however the Ravens waived that penalty which allowed both the visiting manager and the pitcher to stay in the game.

By that time the team from Feltham had built a 15-10 lead and the Ravens had one last chance to get back in the game in the bottom of the last inning. 6 Herts players reached base to make the score 15-13 and loaded the bases but the Leones held on and secured the win.

Click to view game 2 box scores

Carlos Casal paid a compliment to his team. “We couldn’t have asked our players for more. A very positive performance giving us lots of optimism for the rest of the season. Several young players made their AAA-League debuts today and it will be exciting to see them develop and grow in the coming years.”

Next up for the Ravens is a visit to Finsbury Park next Sunday, 28 April, where they will meet the London Metros who are 1-3 so far this season but this is after playing against two of the AAA Leagu favourites, Bristol and Oxford, so tis will be a real test for Casal’s team.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

New look Raptors show their claws in season opener

written by Ken Pike

Theo Scheepers went 3-4, with 5 BB and 5R (photo by Rob Jones)

There is an old adage in competitive sports that goes along the lines that a season cannot be won in the first game. While that is certainly true, some common ways of describing opening fixtures include ‘rusty’, or ‘statements of intent’, and both of these were true of the Herts Raptors in their away fixture at Leicester 2Sox.

Preparations for the season were hardly ideal and the Raptors defence could be forgiven a few simple errors. Rain had prevented all but one HSL warm-up game, and the game that did go ahead had several first team members missing due to the Easter Weekend scheduling. A last minute friendly against the Herts Eagles – a sister team intended to be a training ground for newcomers – ended very one sided in the Raptor’s favour, and so the squad were largely untested against high calibre opposition. What’s more, no one knew what kind of opposition the Leicester were bringing to the single A league as they have only just this year moved over from the Midlands double A division.

As a result of this anticipation, and apprehension were both in high supply for Sunday’s visit to Western Park in Leicester. The top of the first inning looked to be going pair shaped with two outs and no runs on the board. However, the famous Herts 2-out drive kicked in and brought 7 runs across the plate. The batting abilities had clearly not been rain affected, and the new additions to the team all made a positive start alongside their more experienced team mates.

The bottom half of the inning however proved a different story. Young star pitcher Zack Longboy struggled to hit his usual devastating groove, and some sloppy fielding all round aggravated the issue allowing five 2Sox runners to get round the bags bringing it back to a 2 run game. This trend continued over the next two innings with Herts consistently batting in large additions to their score only to be pegged back in the bottom of the inning. Despite this, the small overall lead was growing and by the time veteran Raptor Jeff Witter came in to relieve the tiring young starter. The net difference at the turn of the fourth inning was four runs in the Raptors favour.

Raptors manager, Arnie Longboy, will be happy to start the seaosn with a win. (photo by Rob Jones)

Some individual great plays including a pair of difficult outfield stops from Warwick Byrne and Rob Jones and a diving grab behind his shoulder from catcher Ken Pike, along with Jeff’s assured pitching brought a confidence boost to the Raptors and a change of gear. A three up three down 6th inning blew the game wide open putting the Herts team in a commanding position – a mercy rule victory was a possibility with a big score and good defence in the seventh. Precisely that ensued with Herts beating up on the third pitcher to take to the mound for Leicester and ending the inning on a massive 42 run total and a lead well in excess of the 11 run mercy rule margin.

While the 2Sox made a spirited effort at a comeback in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases and scoring runners, it was ultimately not enough. The inning finished leaving the 2sox trailing by 22 runs.

It looks like Ken Pike will be spending more time behind the plate this season (photo by Rob Jones)

For a team with so many changes since last year there was much to be happy about. Having lost some big bats in the form of Gilberto Medina, Glen Downer, and John Kjorstad, worries about weak hitting proved to be unfounded. The newly promoted Sony Lama and Theo Scheepers had been known for strong batting and baserunning abilities on which they delivered perfectly. Returning Raptors veteran Jeff Witter got the game ball from coach Arnie Longboy for a calm and assured performance on the mound, while Ken Pike’s first full game at his newly discovered position of catching only allowed for three pass balls all game and held the Leicester running game in check.

A mighty 42 runs crossing the plate for the Raptors is certainly a statement of intent for a team that is tipped to top their group, and in fact puts them at the top of the league after week one, but conversely conceding 20 runs means work has to be done to prevent stronger opposition from derailing a playoff push. A first test of that will come with the very next game against the Old Timers where a Herts win will turn a whispered statement into an assured proclamation.

Starting Lineup:

Zack Longboy – P (swapped to 1st base in 4th inning)

Rob Jones – LF

Arnie Longboy – 2nd

Ken Pike – C

Sonam Lama – 3rd

Theo Scheepers – SS

Amit Odedra – CF

Jeff Witter – 1st (swapped to P in 4th inning)

Warwick Byrne – RF

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Heavyweights meet again this Sunday

(NBL) FALCONS @ NATIONALS (Harlow, 1pm start)

We are only into week 3 of the National Baseball League (NBL) season so it is too early to build-up games as pivotal, but it would be fair to say that Sunday’s encounter between last year’s top two teams is the biggest game of the NBL season so far.

The reigning champions from Harlow (1-1) didn’t play last Sunday due to waterlogged field so they find themselves 1 game back on the joint-leaders, Herts Falcons (3-1), but they will know that two wins on Sunday and they will jump over Herts.

In the encounters between the two teams last year the Nats came out on top with 3 wins and 1 loss. The new faces in the Nationals’ roster this season compared to 2012 are right-handed pitcher Matt Gilbert who moved over from the Arrows, Dominican catcher and infielder Ambiorix Hurtado who joined from the Latin Boys, pitcher Ben Powell from Leicester, as well as South African, Gary Snyman.

George Lintern and slugger Edwin Alcantara who were influential in 2012, do not feature in the Nationals active roster at the moment.

HERTS TEAMS IN ACTION

This is the first week in which all 5 Herts teams are in action. Fans travelling to see Herts teams in action this Sunday should note the irregular start times of some of the games:

NBL, Herts Falcons @ Nats (1:00pm, venue: Harlow)

AAA-League, Leones at Herts Ravens (1:30pm, venue Grovehill Ballpark, Herts)

AA-League, Hove at Herts Hawks (1:00pm, venue: Grovehill Ballpark, Herts)

A-League, Herts Eagles at Coyotes (2:00pm, venue: Milton Keynes)

A-League, Herts Raptors at Leicester (12:00pm, venue: Leicester)

 

by Rob Jones

Hawks Overcome by Mammoths Stampede

Match report by Ben Marques

The Herts Hawks were absolutely chomping at the bit to begin their season, but with rain pouring down on Friday and again on Saturday, these hopes were looking in doubt.  However, the baseball gods were looking down at Grovehill early on Sunday morning, as the sun beat down, drying out the boggy parts of the Old Diamond.

The game started off with the Mammoths scoring two runs on three hits, setting the pace for what was set to be a tight game. The bottom of the first also went the way of London, striking out the side.

Ben Marques
New AA player Ben Marques at bat

The top of the second looked like the momentum was swinging back in favour of the Hawks, the only blip being a throwing error charged to second baseman Ben Marques, after he attacked a slow roller, picking up but throwing wide of Greg Bochan at first base. The error meant nothing, as Marques completed a 4-3 put out on the next play, and starting pitcher Nick Russell rung up the following hitter.

The Hawks’ momentum continued into the bottom of the inning with the Herts side getting one hit and two walks. However, a lapse in concentration cost them two base runners, with the third out being Callum Vangundy going down swinging.

The fourth inning contained eight runs, with a 4-4 split. Herts’ runs came from what looked like a sure fire triple from OF/C Paul Auchterlounie, however, the hole in the fence restricted him to a Ground Rule Double. Jose Morillo Jr. came in for Vangundy and singled, moving the runner over. Both Morillo and Auchterlounie scored on an error, which left Hunter Devine on second.

Bobby Gould earned a walk, which looked like a good rally starting to build for the Hawks.  But Ross Asquith was out on an infield fly, and Bochan swiftly grounded out. Ilya Dimitrov (1-4, 1R, 2RBI) came to the plate with two outs, and came through with a two-out, 2-run single.

The Hawks couldn’t build on this momentum as Russell grounded out ending the inning, with the Hawks two runs behind, 7-5. The Mammoths then put six runs on three hits with four errors, one LOB in the fifth, shutting the Hawks out in reply.

After five innings, Nick Russell was finished pitching for the day.  Hertsbaseball.com asked Nick how he felt after a long off-season:

“I felt a bit rusty and started aching after only a few innings.”

“Were you confident with AA rookies supporting you on the mound?”

“I wasn’t sure about the new Hawks, as I hadn’t seen them play before. The jump from A to AA will be tough on some players but with a bit more training and game time I’m sure they will be picking up their game. The new guys showed a lot of enthusiasm which helped us rally back and score a few runs.”

Greg Bochan came in to relieve for Russell, who had pitched better than his line score suggested: 5IP; 12H; 13R; 5ER; 2BB; 3K, and immediately made a statement, earning four outs in seven pitches. His AA rookies Marques and Devine both made great plays in support of their manager, Marques a 4-3 put out and Devine making a great backhanded snare L6.

Nick Russell
Nick Russell pitched five innings with three srikeouts

Russell and John Kjorstad made the other two outs in centre-field and right field. After that though, London kept putting bat on ball and finding gaps, going 8-8, 1K and an F8.

The bottom of the 7th inning meant the Hawks needed seven runs to avoid a mercy rule defeat. Nick Russell (1-4, 1R) led off, and set the rally going, with Marques then reaching on an error after laying down a bunt down the third base line. Russell advanced to third.

Auchterlounie stepped up to the plate, and reached on an error, plating Russell (he ended his day 2-3 with 2R). Marques had stolen second, and advanced to third on the error, but as he rounded third, the ball was still a fair way out. He went for it, and a huge collision at home plate followed from a great throw. Marques was called out, and time was taken for the catcher to recover, who to his credit still had the ball in his mitt. This summed up Marques’ day at the plate, who struggled going 0-4, 1SB, 2Ks.

With one out, Jose Morillo Jr. popped up for the second out, leaving a huge task for the team, particularly Devine who reached on an error and later scored along with Auchterlounie from a 2-run single by Bobby Gould (1-2, 1R, 2RBI). This brought Ross Asquith (1-4) to the plate who, although still showing speed, was unable to beat out the throw, and grounded out, ending Herts’ hopes of an
Opening Day win.

After a 21-8 loss, it might be fair to say that the Hawks have yet to hit their stride offensively. On a warm but windy afternoon, the Hawks ended up scoring eight runs on seven hits, striking out six times. The Hawks also struggled with  runners in scoring position, going 4-11).

“I think everybody is trying to get to where we want to be,” Ben Marques said. “Everybody is battling, we’ve had bad weather and limited training sessions, both inside and outside. A new group of players stepping up to AA:  myself, John, Hunter and Jose Jr.  As well as losing some great players like Nic Goetz and Rod Naghar…It has been a combination of things, but I don’t think anybody is concerned about our offense just yet, not after Game 1. I’m not. It’s a long grind.”

However, the Herts fielding was better than the line score suggested with Gold Glove performances from rookies Marques, Devine and Kjorstad, as well as Russell and Auchterlounie.  All five had outstanding days in the field letting nothing past, with Marques the busiest at second base with a left-handed heavy lineup (1 tag, 6 put-outs).

After the game, we asked Hawks manager, Greg Bochan, for his assessment of the performance:

Next time around we need better organization. There were a lot of missed cuts from the outfield and a general sense of players not knowing where to be.

“Although the Hawks lost, what positives can the team take from the game?”

Stand out moments would be our middle infield. Ben made a bunch of great plays and Hunter made that
awesome grab at short.

“Finally, what are you looking for from your team next time around?”

Next time around I am looking forward to a little more attention to detail. A little more baseball smarts. I think that will have to start with pre-game infield/outfield.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

A record number of Herts players confirmed in the final GB U16 squad

The Great Britain National Team has confirmed that six members of Herts have been selected in the final GB Under-16 National Team roster for the 2013 GB games schedule.

Callum Vangundy, Carlos Casal Jr, Conner Brown, Marty Cullen Jr, Tom Everex-Armstrong and Zack Longboy have received confirmation of their inclusion in the GB squad. All of them are members of the Herts U17 team which is preparing for the start of the British U17 league season which opens next Saturday, 27 April, with a home clash against one of the favourites, London Mets.

Herts U17 manager, Cristobal Hiche, was very pleased about this news. He said: “we at Herts are very fortunate to have players with a lot of potential to excel both in the domestic league and internationally”. He added: “the players have put a lot of hard work into this and they should be very proud of what you have achieved. Of course the hard work is only just starting.”

This means that these Herts players may miss quite a large number of games for their club in the U17 league and the adult leagues, which is a major setback for the club, but at the same time it is an opportunity for others to take their place and compete for that spot in the roster.

A total of ten Herts players were part of the GB Under-16 National Team extended roster before this week’s announcement of the final roster. Herts Baseball Club President, Aspi Dimitrov, said: “We have some Herts players who didn’t make the final roster and they will feel down. Our club needs to pick them up. They need to realize that this is a challenge for them to work hard over the next 12 months with the Herts teams. Our club has one of the best baseball programmes in the country to develop players and promote their careers. Those players who do the hard work with Herts will see the rewards very quickly in terms of domestic and international recognition and call-ups.”

The progress of Herts players with the GB teams is a tremendous boost for Herts as an organisation. The Club is even more excited by the fact that there are many more talented players coming through the various age groups of the Herts youth system, from the U-11 and U-14 teams through to the U-17 age group. The opportunity is there for any young players who want to get involved in baseball to progress and wear the GB Team jersey. But you don’t have to be a GB National Team player to play baseball. Any interested players, boys and girls between 6 and 16 years of age, from complete beginners to advanced players can join the Herts baseball youth teams (click here for more details).

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Raptors prepare for a big playoff push

The Herts Raptors start their season this Sunday on the road at the Leicester Two Sox, who, in a Houston Astros-like move, have switched to the BBF Single-A League over from the AA Midlands. We had a chance to put some questions to Raptors Manager, Arnie Longboy.

We are just days away from Opening Day. Do you feel ready or has the bad weather in March affected preparations?

Arnie Longboy: Less than ideal weather is something that baseball players here just have to take as a given. So on one hand all of our competitors have faced the same challenge. That said I hope the indoor training we’ve had, especially with our strength and conditioning coach Tony, will prove to be a competitive advantage for all Herts teams.

What are your main goals for this season?

Arnie Longboy: Our goal is similar to last years. Field a competitive team and have fun in the process. We’ve also had some players move up so I’d like them to further develop and see them move up in the ranks as they progress with their baseball prowess.

What win-loss percentage would be seen as a successful season for the team and is it realistic to expect your team to reach the playoffs or even challenge for the title?

Arnie Longboy: I want all of the team to expect a winning season and a goal is always to make the playoffs. We almost did it last year and want to challenge for the title this year.

Will the entry of the Herts Ravens in the AAA League affect your team’s chances this season by diluting the strength of the Herts rosters across a larger number of teams?

Arnie Longboy: Herts is blessed to have the numbers to field 5 teams! I think it’s a result of the efforts we’ve made in trying to grow the sport in our region.

Who are the players we should look out for this year?

Arnie Longboy: We’ve again recruited a few of the junior club members so I expect much from them. But some of the veterans returning will provide the wisdom from their experience. It should make for a great team dynamic.

Which of your opponents in the league are likely to be the biggest challengers for the national title?

Arnie Longboy: The Eagles will be a formidable team and as their manager now has a year’s experince under his belt I expect that team to go far. Given we play them twice I think those will be the games to watch for our Herts fan base.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

We do try to do things the right way

The Herts Eagles had a very successful 2012 finishing the season with a .500 win-loss percentage.  We asked Eagles manager, Duncan Hoyle, for his thoughts on the Eagles, ahead of their 2013 season opening game at league debutants, MK Coyotes.

We are just days away from Opening Day of the BBF Single-A League. Do you feel ready or has the bad weather in March affected preparations?

Duncan Hoyle: It has affected our preparations. We have lost two HSL games to the weather, but several of the Eagles have played for other Herts teams during the HSL. All clubs and teams must have been affected by weather but we have had some good indoor and outdoor training sessions and overall I think we are in a good position going into the league season.

What are your main goals for this season?

Duncan Hoyle: The main goal for me is to provide a team for new players to be able to come into the sport and play in a friendly and committed team, in an enjoyable environment. We don’t take things too seriously but we do try to do things the right way. I want all the players who play for the Eagles to have the chance to develop as baseball players.

What win-loss percentage would be seen as a successful season for the team and is it realistic to expect your team to reach the playoffs or even challenge for the title?

Duncan Hoyle: I don’t want to set targets as I think this is unhelpful for us, as we won’t know the quality of the teams we will play against until a few weeks into the season at least. However I would like to think we will be competitive for the most part.

Will the entry of the Herts Ravens in the AAA League affect your team’s chances this season by diluting the strength of the Herts rosters across a larger number of teams?

Duncan Hoyle: For a short time, possibly. However in the long-term I think the introduction of the Ravens will benefit all of the existing teams as we should attract more players to join the club, as we have teams at all BBF levels, and this will in turn increase competition and movement between players within the teams.

Who are the players we should look out for this year?

Duncan Hoyle: We have several young players who I think could have a very good season, it would be unfair of me to single anyone out at this stage. But I am looking forward to the return from injury of last season’s joint Single-A home run-leader Adrian Smithers, the game is never dull when he is involved!

Which of your opponents in the league are likely to be the biggest challengers for the national title?

Duncan Hoyle: Difficult to say. In my time in baseball Single-A has been slightly damaged by always having one or two teams who should obviously be playing a higher grade, but at first glance this year seems to have a balanced line up. London Marauders, Guildford and the Old Timers are always tough to beat.

Which league game are you looking forward to most?

Duncan Hoyle: I am looking forward to the trips to new teams MK, Leicester and Haverhill – all new diamonds for us.

The postseason playoffs will be played at the brand new Farnham Park. Will this act as an even greater incentive for players to reach the postseason?

Duncan Hoyle: I don’t think so. I would hope that players will want to get to the playoffs wherever they are held, but it would be nice to play at such good facilities such as Farnham.

What is your message to Herts Baseball fans ahead of Opening day?

Duncan Hoyle: Watch this space for bigger and better things at Herts!

 

 

by Rob Jones

The Art of Training

The Spring, having finally arrived in the wake of the snow, is now almost over. The National Leaguers and the Double-A Hawks have kicked off their baseball season, and Triple-A will follow shortly after a weather-induced postponement, writes Rob Jones. The Herts Raptors and Eagles will start on Sunday, and as the league action draws closer, I felt it was time to reflect on the pre-season training period.

I made it to three or four indoor sessions this year. It was great to have the help of a conditioning coach, working us out and teaching us new exercises. I’m not sure I have fully grasped the idea of plyometrics, but I learned something. And in a slightly perverse way I enjoyed making my body ache. In the last session, I started off a bit badly and actually felt quite ill. But a break and some water helped overcome the effects of intense exercise early on Sunday morning.

Indoor Training
This was how it all started, indoors in January in Berkhamsted

Many of my erudite followers will also have read the excellent baseball novel which was a minor phenomenon last year, The Art of Fielding. In many ways, it’s not really about baseball — like any novel it is, in fact, about love, frailty, friendship and frustration — but the baseball setting speaks to us players more than it does to the average British Joe.

However, one of the biggest things to strike me was the way the shortstop phenom Henry Skrimshander would physically push himself — “working til you puke” — running up and down the football stadium steps, and doing endless reps with weights. It might be going too far to say that it inspired me, but it did make me want to do more and work harder.

That combination of early morning runs, protein shakes, and constant practise is part of the overall vision of being a professional athlete, which most of us reach for with our involvement in baseball. It’s not the glamour part, but it’s an element in the whole.

Perhaps, as I share Henry’s slight build, I saw it as an example of what work could achieve. And honestly, I have tried to put in some extra hours. That meant running round Regents Park in the snow in my dinner breaks whenever I could, and remembering to do my Powerball exercises at home of an evening. There has been no Skrimshander-like transformation, but I did feel better and brighter. And even more keen for the baseball season to start.

But this masochistic passion for personal pain was never going to last. “Running til you puke” is not really my style. Don’t get me wrong — especially if you are a likely opponent this season — I will give a game my all. But I am not one to drive myself over the edge in pursuit of physical perfection. I’m just too rational, too common-sense. And I often did my Powerball exercises with a glass of red wine on the go. Which may have defeated the object slightly.

And so, in the first weeks of March, we were back at the diamond. A couple of cold and grey sessions were the best we could manage here. But even if you don’t arrive at the field to see its glowing emerald green stretch out before you, like a Major League ballpark, it still lifts the heart a little to be at Grovehill.

And I felt pretty happy with these workouts. Just getting to throw the ball freely was good, and playing the rough hops of the diamond instead of the smooth predictability of a gymnasium floor! I felt I was throwing well, and the masterful Darrin Ward gave a large squad of would-be pitchers excellent tips.

Geoff Hare
Geoff Hare, once a fine Herts shortstop, now one of the country's top umpires

In one session, the equally excellent Geoff Hare taught me a base-running technique I had never heard before. Which impressed me, I can tell you. It’s not that I thought I knew everything about baseball, but that after ten years or so you do assume that further things you learn will be on the next level of the game — wheel plays, hit and runs, delayed steals. But this was something you can use in every situation. Obviously, I can’t reveal it here, it’s top secret, but suffice it to say it was fine advice.

The training part of the year ended on Sunday, with a few final drills and a scrimmage game between the Single-A rivals, the Eagles and the Raptors. I’m not sure I made a dramatic case for getting a second baseman’s job ahead of Raptors’ manager Arnie Longboy (who also likes to play there!), as I distinctly remember bobbling a ground ball which should have been the final out of an inning. But fortunately I became the first of three players involved in getting the last out at home plate instead!

I have hardly swung the bat this year so perhaps should not be surprised that my two at-bats led only to a groundout to short, and a pop-up to third which, luckily, was dropped. At least the first AB went to a full count, which is normal service for my batting! I did manage to hurt my back swinging for a low pitch, but I am trusting that is just the rigours of old age.

The most important thing was to take part, and to feel the ball in the glove after weeks snowed off, rained off, and dominated by weekends of work. Hopefully I — and the other Single-A players — will now be set up for Opening day. The Raptors are away in Leicester. Yes, Leicester. This game can take you places. Some places you never dreamed, some that you always dreamed of….  See you there.