Category: Video News

London has a new baseball team
by Herts Baseball News Editor

London has a new baseball team


Earlier this evening, at its 22nd Annual General Meeting, Herts Baseball Club unveiled its first London-based team. At a packed venue it was announced that the name of the team will be the Herts Londoners.

In deciding the name, the club opted to retain its established brand name, Herts, symbolising its origins, while at the same time the team’s moniker, Londoners, signifies its new geographic location. Over the years Herts teams have featured a large number of players from North West London, but this new team will welcome not only these existing Herts players, but, more importantly, it aims to give playing opportunities to everyone in North West London who is interested to play baseball but until now has not had a team located near them and has found it difficult to travel to the club’s existing baseball complex in Hemel Hempstead.

This additional club base will give Herts extra flexibility and greater capacity to accommodate players of all levels from complete beginners to players of the highest calibre. The MLB London Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees will be played on 29 and 30 June, but it is already having a positive effect in attracting new players to the club. The team managers will need to show foresight and leave extra room in their rosters so that they have the capacity to accommodate the surge in demand from new players as we get closer to the London Series.

The Herts Londoners will be wearing the traditional white uniform with the red Herts letters on the chest and the red letter “H” on their black baseball caps. The team’s logo also reflects these established branding features and the Club’s colours of red, white and black.

The 31 January deadline for team entries in the various leagues of the British Baseball Federation (BBF) is fast-approaching. The Club did not reveal at this stage which BBF league tier the Londoners will be entering, but it will announce this on or around the deadline day. After that, the focus will turn to the 2019 Season Opening Day in April and the first ever game in the history of this team.

Stay tuned for our next article which will include all the facts and details of the ballpark in North West London which will be the home of the Herts Londoners.

For more details about how to join any of the Herts adult and youth baseball and softball teams or to try baseball at an upcoming open session, please contact us. You can now follow the Herts Londoners on Twitter.

WATCH: The first ever game to be streamed live from Grovehill Ballpark
by Herts Baseball News Editor

WATCH: The first ever game to be streamed live from Grovehill Ballpark


On Sunday Grovehill Ballpark hosted the British Baseball Federation Single-A National Final between the Long Eaton Storm and London Musketeers. The game was streamed live on the BBF YouTube Channel making it the first ever game to be streamed live from the home of Herts Baseball Club. The game was previously rained out on three separate occasions. This game being played on 21 October may have made history as the first game to be played so late in the season.  Usually the National Finals are played in the first half of September.

Herts Falcons qualify for Europe
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Falcons qualify for Europe

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By virtue of reaching the NBL Final, and regardless of the outcome of the Final, the Herts Falcons have qualified for European club competitions in 2019.  Players were not told by Manager, Cris Hiche, until after the two Playoff wins on Sunday that reaching the NBL Final would secure a place in Europe. In their post-game interviews we put a few questions about playing in Europe next year to Cris Hiche and Conner Brown both of whom have played under professional contracts with European clubs in the last two seasons – Hiche in Austria with the Dornbirn Indians and Brown in Germany with the Cologne Cardinals.

It’s official. MLB is coming to London.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

It’s official. MLB is coming to London.

The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will play each other in two Major League Baseball regular season games at the London Stadium in 2019. The matches, which will be held on 29 and 30 June, will be the first MLB games to be staged in Europe.

The long-awaited announcement was made at a press conference earlier today by London Mayor, Sadiq Kahn, and MLB Commissioner, Rob Manfred.  The games themselves will be surrounded by an exciting range of events and activities related to baseball and to the cultures of the rival teams from Boston and New York.

Further details will be released soon on the timing of the games and ticket arrangements, but even with a capacity of 55,000, the London Stadium games are expected to be sell-outs.

 

MLB says it intends to play again in 2020 and establish “a long-term footprint in the city”.

MLB regular season games have already been staged outside the USA in Mexico, Japan, Puerto Rico and, most recently, at Australia’s Sydney Cricket Ground in March 2014.

It is now for Herts Baseball Club, and for the sports of baseball and softball in this country as a whole, to take full advantage of this incredible opportunity to grow and develop the game.

Contact our club for more details about tickets for the MLB London Series 2019, how to get involved playing baseball and softball, or to get involved in the game in other capacities such as umpire, scorer, reporter, event staff, front office personnel and many others.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

VIDEO: Herts Hawks open the 2017 season with a win over the Champions


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The Herts Hawks opened their 2017 season with a win away at the reigning BBF Double-A League Champions, Daws Hill Spitfires.  This was a major upset as the Hawks had just gained promotion from the Single-A League and were not expected to be able to compete against the champions. The game was played at Farnham Park and the final out was captured from a camera high up in the sky (see video).