Introduction
Spring is the time when managers prepare their teams ahead of Opening Day. Similar to the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues in MLB, the Herts Spring League (HSL) provides a competitive edge to Spring Training.
League Format
Teams will be placed in several divisions (e.g. NBL, Triple-A, Double-A, Single-A) based on the teams’ ranking going into the new season. The exact format will depend on the number of teams entering the HSL. Full details will be published when the league line-up is confirmed.
Venue
Games will be played at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead.
Teams
Over the years the HSL has featured teams from:
- National Baseball League (NBL),
- Triple-A League,
- Double-A League
- Single-A League
- U19 and U17 leagues
- international teams such as the GB Under-19, Under-16 National Teams and the ASL Eagles.
Schedule
Due to the high demand and lack of playing fields at this time of the year (because of clashes with the football season), we expect to be scheduling games on both Saturdays and Sundays. If there are HSL weekends when you would like to rest your team, this is fine and you can indicate your scheduling preferences when you submit your entry below.
NOTE: The HSL dates are based on the indication that the BBF league season will start on 3 April 2022 for the NBL and on 10 April 2022 for the remaining leagues. Therefore, there will be no NBL teams playing on 2nd and 3rd of April 2022.
HSL (Week 1 of 3)
- Sat, 19-Mar-22 (sunset at 18:11)
- Sun, 20-Mar-22 (sunset at 18:13)
HSL (Week 2 of 3)
- Sat, 26-Mar-22 (sunset at 18:23)
- Sun, 27-Mar-22 (sunset at 19:25)
HSL (Week 3 of 3)
- Sat, 2-Apr-22 (sunset at 19:35)
- Sun, 3-Apr-22 (sunset at 19:37)
Entry Fee
The HSL entry fee is £69 per team per game day.
HSL teams can expect the following benefits:
- Competitive games against opponents of similar level
- Opportunity to prepare for the new season on good quality diamonds at a time when many British baseball fields are unavailable
- On any HSL weekend each team will play one or more games which would give them around 3 hours or more of game time
- The Organisers will provide plate umpires for every HSL game
- The Organisers will provide game balls for every HSL game
IMPORTANT: If a game is postponed due to rain or for any other reason beyond the Organisers’ control, the entry fee is not refundable. The only exception is if the game cannot be played because of Covid restrictions in which case that part of the fee will be refunded.