As MLB Spring Training continues, and the World Baseball Classic reaches a climax that will be the one bit of the event us in the UK will be able to watch, attention turns to our own shores and the early throes of the British baseball calendar.

Spring has sprung in Britain (sort of)

The Herts Spring League gets underway today (Saturday) at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead, with 16 teams taking part in the event across the next three weekends.

The full schedule can be found here. Hopefully the weather is kinder to those attending than the hardy Herts faced last Sunday.

So, this was the view when arriving at "Spring" training at Grovehill today… #britishbaseball #britishweather pic.twitter.com/yuqgmSkDnQ

— Herts Baseball Club (@HertsBaseball) March 12, 2017

Three weeks to NBL Opening Day

The final Sunday (2 April) of the HSL will include a National Baseball League season-opening double-header between the hometown Falcons and the Brighton Jets.

Whilst that’s taking place at Grovehill, the London Mets and Southampton Mustangs will be staging a repeat of the 2016 NBL Championship at Farnham Ballpark near Slough.

There will be a full day of events at Farnham alongside the NBL clash and attendees will be able to enjoy the new combination baseball and softball field and, perhaps even more importantly, a new clubhouse, the ‘Home Plate Bar and Kitchen’.

University Baseball and Softball

The first excuse to check out the improvements at Farnham Park comes today with the first of two weekends of university action.

The Spring National University Baseball Championship takes place this weekend with 15 teams taking part. The following weekend is the turn of the Spring National University Softball Championship. Updates can be found by following the new @unibaseball account.

Up North, and South West

There have been major developments over the off-season within northern baseball, with eight teams deciding to opt out of the BBF and forming an independent league. Details about the new British Baseball League can be found on their Facebook page.

Meanwhile the independent South West Baseball League has recently published its fixture list for the 2017 season.

Bristol’s Field of Dreams

The SWBL’s Bristol Baseball Club are making great progress with their exciting new facility at Somerdale Pavilion in Keynsham between Bath and Bristol. The CrowdFunder page for the project can be found here.

Great work guys – it's looking great – #BaseballIsBack #bristol #keynsham #somerdale pic.twitter.com/ORj8fF1Kz8

— Bristol Baseball Club (@BristolBaseball) March 11, 2017

Norwich Iceni

The Norwich Iceni Baseball Club has found a home at Locksley School, just south of the city centre. They will be getting ready for their first season in the BBF leagues with two fixtures against the Cambridge Monarchs and then the latest installment in the #BattleOfTheBroads with the UEA Blue Sox.

#battleofthebroads April 2016 against @UEASox! Round 3 this April! Get ready for Training MARCH 5th! #britishbaseball @unibaseball #uea pic.twitter.com/9oPmaC9OGk

— Norwich Iceni Baseball (@NorwichBall) February 14, 2017

New logo, new mojo?

Finally, the NBL’s South London Pirates are looking to gain some ground on their competition after three consecutive finishes at the bottom of the NBL standings. If their new logo is anything to go by, they certainly mean business!

Toying with the come color options still but this has easily been one of my favorite projects #branding #baseball https://t.co/SJXMrE34sA

— Big Main (@kurtwasemiller) February 27, 2017

Bad weather was a factor again last weekend as teams across the country battled wind and rain to get their games in.

The Northern section didn’t have much luck as all of the scheduled games in both Triple-A and Double-A were sunk by heavy rain.

However, things were a bit brighter down south where some teams were able to take to the field.

Where the rain stayed away

In the National Baseball League (NBL), the Southampton Mustangs were one of several teams delighted to be able to get some game-time after several weeks on the sidelines. They extended their unbeaten run to 20 regular season games, stretching back into last season, with two victories over the Essex Arrows and their 4-0 start to the season keeps them at the top of the league. Still, the Arrows pushed them close as both games were decided by a single run, showing that whilst the Mustangs may be out in front, they are far from being out of reach of the other teams.

The Arrows are 5-3 following those two losses, a win-loss record matched by the London Mets after they picked up two wins against the South London Pirates. The Bracknell Blazers also picked up two good wins at the expense of the Herts Falcons. The Falcons slipped to a 1-3 start as a result, a disappointing and perhaps not-too-surprising consequence as injuries and the loss of some key players has left them with a weaker roster than the one that topped the NBL with a 24-4 record last season. They’ll be keen to fight back quickly, that’s for sure.

In the AAA-Central division, the Cambridge Royals are continuing to lead the way thanks to strong pitching and more-than-timely hitting. They picked up two more wins last Sunday against the Leicester Blue Sox and will put a 6-0 record on the line this Sunday in a double-header at Birmingham against the Maple Leafs.

The London Mammoths are another team that has come off the diamond with that winning feeling every time so far this season. They’ve started their AA-South campaign with four consecutive wins, the latest a 6-5 rain-soaked battle against the Richmond Dragons. The Mammoths’ Single-A clubmates, the Marauders, are also enjoying an unbeaten start to the season (3-0), whilst Haverhill Blackjacks earned a 13-9 win at home against Kent Mariners to make it two wins from two for them.

GB All-Star Series

The BBF league action was joined last weekend by the second round of the inaugural Great Britain All-Star Series. Judging by Marty Cullen’s report on the BBF website, the series is producing some great games and working well as a chance to get GB youngsters playing together in competitive contests.

Tweets of the Week

Plenty of news coming from the Essex Redbacks club

Loads of our #britishbaseball reports for the weekend going live today: http://t.co/CHiYjzBX0d pic.twitter.com/lPAhJ3YozR

— Redbacks Baseball (@essexredbacks) May 14, 2014

Herts continue their sterling efforts to get the next generation involved in British baseball

Our Open Day managed to avoid the rain. Very enjoyable day. Great turnout in all age groups despite the weather pic.twitter.com/zuqhFwOZjz

— Herts Baseball Club (@HertsBaseball) May 10, 2014

The Robots expressing sentiments the rest of us can all agree with

Send some sun over this way "@Claretoli27: Robot on tour!! @BoltonBaseball pic.twitter.com/S8qJyfIgaQ" #Bolton

— Halton Robots of Doom (@Robots_Of_Doom) May 12, 2014

The National Baseball League, the top-tier of British Baseball, got underway last Sunday.

The Southampton Mustangs spent the off-season looking back at the 2013 NBL Final when their dreams of a first championship were dashed by the Harlow Nationals in a 12-7 defeat.

Opening Day brought the two teams together, Harlow now back to being the Southern Nationals, and the Mustangs exorcised a ghost or two by sweeping a double-header against three-time reigning champions at Farnham Park.

Southampton went into the playoffs last year on a 16-game winning streak and, whilst they might be keen to put 2013 behind them for the most part, they will have an 18-game winning streak to defend the next time they take the field on 27 April in a home game against the South London Pirates.

Elsewhere, the Essex Arrows got their season off to the perfect start with two home wins against the Bracknell Blazers. The Arrows travel to Finsbury Park this Sunday to take on the London Mets, who opened their campaign by splitting an eventful double-header at the Herts Falcons.  Herts will take on the Nationals this Sunday, with the other double-header seeing the Blazers traveling to Roundshaw Field for the South London Pirates’ season opener.

Check out Clive Barker’s round-up on the BBF website for the full story on last Sunday’s games.

Opening Day for the rest

This Sunday is Opening Day for the other three levels of senior British baseball.

There’s a comprehensive preview of the AAA divisions on the BBF website and it really shows how competitive it is going to be this season. The London Metros have the biggest target on their back as reigning champions, but the Liverpool Trojans will be strong challengers again having narrowly missed out on three titles in a row last year and there are plenty of other interesting teams in the mix too, not least Hove Tuesday who make the step up to AAA after winning Single-A and Double-AA titles in their first two seasons.

The future of British Baseball?

The arrival of a new season brings plenty of optimism and makes for a good time for all to assess the state of the game and what it may become.

The Nottingham Rebels’ have completed a successful recruitment drive over the offseason, finding players from many different backgrounds keen to join. Their efforts had the team posing the question as to whether there is scope for British baseball to make a step up from its current amateur level.

“England does not have a professional league like other countries as you may know, so every player must pay to play but when a local team in Nottingham can recruit players from all around the world and gather fans to almost every single game we play, you have to start wondering why isn’t there a professional or semi-pro league already?

The country seems to bring baseball talented players over here already so I guess it’s up to us to make it more readily available in more areas of the country if we are going to see British Baseball on our home tv’s anytime soon”.

It was a topic also being addressed by the NBL Herts Falcons as they reflected on the news of losing their 2013 MVP Xavi Gonzlez to the German Bundesliga team the the Stuttgart Reds.

“So does this transaction carry any significance in terms of the long-term prospects for growth and development of Herts Baseball Club and the British baseball league as a whole? Does this mean that clubs like Herts cannot compete with teams in the Netherlands, Germany and Italy due to their financial superiority? Will all of Britain’s rising stars end up playing under similar professional or semi-professional contracts in these countries? A few years ago the answers to these questions would probably have been pessimistic, but there are signs of a shift in direction in the UK. There is a buzz around the leagues right now and obvious signs that clubs are starting to realize that there is potential to grow the sport and secure a market share similar to the British ice hockey and basketball professional leagues. Front offices are beginning to approach the running of their clubs as a business generating extra income which is then quickly reinvested into baseball infrastructure, grassroots development and promoting the game in the community.

“We are very optimistic that in the next few years we will be able to turn the table and compete financially with the big European leagues. The traffic of players will change direction and we hope that we will be able to see Xavi back in a Herts jersey. This gives us one more reason to push even harder” said [Herts Club President Aspi] Dimitrov”.

Clearly there is plenty of work to do, but British Baseball does not seem to be lacking in enthusiasm and ambition among its ranks.

Tweets of the Week

The skies may have been overcast, but the mood was in no way gloomy at Grovehill Ballpark as the Herts Falcons hosted the London Mets.

What a day of baseball!The NBL is back.After the rollercoaster of game1,the Falcons bounced back to win2nd game 11-10 pic.twitter.com/0dmieY6AQa

— Herts Baseball Club (@HertsBaseball) April 6, 2014

The Leicester Blue Sox and Nottingham Rebels were able to get ready for the start of their regular seasons thanks to a suitably blue Blue Sox tarp.

Tarp has worked! Games are on at @NottsBaseball #LeicsBlueSox14 pic.twitter.com/Utkij4dOoi

— Leicester Blue Sox (@BlueSoxBaseball) April 6, 2014

And Double-A Daws Hill announced news of their new website going live:

The new Spitfires site is live! Check us out http://t.co/4m93w2iy1V

— Daws Hill Spitfires (@dhspitfires) April 7, 2014

Just as the start of the MLB season creates plenty of excitement, so does the thought that the British baseball season is just around the corner.

The Herts Spring League is already in full swing, whilst other teams are playing friendly games and working hard in pre-season preparations.

On my part, the off-season has been a useful time to re-evaluate this weekly British baseball column. The main aim over the past couple of seasons has been to try to bring together all of the key stories from around the leagues. Whilst the National Baseball League naturally gains the most headlines, I’ve always wanted to make sure here that a no-hitter in Double A or a long-awaited first win for a team of rookies in Single A would get just as much attention as a key top-tier double-header.

The only problem with that is it takes a fair bit of work every week, from all of the initial research across the leagues to then planning out the article and then writing it all up, adding links (and some pics where available) along the way. I’m far from being the first person, and certainly won’t be the last, in and around British baseball to find that over several years other commitments have come along that have left me with less spare time to dedicate to the task than I once had.

The result last year was that the column fell by wayside during the second half of last season as I always work on the principle that if you’re going to do something, you should do it properly. Just knocking up a quick half-baked article for the sake of it is not my style.

So, I’ve been thinking about the format of the column and what I can do that adds something to the mix of British baseball coverage, whilst committing myself to a realistic amount of work. I’m going to stick to the aim of publishing the column every Thursday; however I’m going to rid myself of the self-imposed obligation of trying to give everyone space in the resulting article. I’m going to pick out the key things that caught my eye, as well as highlighting some of the main fixtures across the leagues to look out for on the coming Sunday, and then make that a starting point so that others can then use the Comments section to add in other stories that deserve a mention.

In short, don’t be offended if I fail to mention that Team ‘x’ picked up a great double-header sweep or player ‘y’ had a brilliant day on the mound, give the team/player a shout out in the Comments instead.

Fixtures published

The 2014 league fixtures have now been published on the British Baseball Federation website, with a ‘Road to Farnham Park’ guide coming soon to explain the playoff qualification and postseason format.

The late withdrawal of the NBL team Lakenheath Diamondbacks was both a real shame (to lose a top-level team as the latest consequence of US military personnel and operation changes on these shores) and something of a pain (as the timing meant that large swathes of the original schedule had to be completely re-worked).

Although the fixtures have now been uploaded onto the website, the full details for the two AA South Pools and the AAA South and (new for 2014) AAA Central divisions are still to be published. Triple-A, Double-A and most of Single-A will get their seasons underway on Sunday 13 April, with the exception being a Single-A contest between the Richmond Dukes and London Musketeers at Finsbury Park this coming Sunday.

NBL Opening Day this Sunday

This Sunday is Opening Day in the National Baseball League and there are three exciting double-headers to look forward to.

The Southern Nationals come into the season looking to earn a historic four top-tier titles in a row, although there have been some changes over the offseason. The team has reverted back to their original Southern name after two years as Harlow and they have moved from their previous base to the impressive new Farnham Park facility. Meanwhile catcher Will Lintern will be a tough man to replace following his decision to join up with the fast-developing Hove Ballclub.

Youth set-up changes

A new structure for youth baseball has been introduced this year. Four new age categories have been introduced - Under-17 (ages 13-16), Under-15 (ages 12-14), Under-13 (ages 11-12) and Under-12 (ages 7-11) – to replace the previous Pony and Bronco age groups and to align the British set-up with more conventional Little League age groups. There will also be greater local flexibility over fixtures so that travel considerations can be taken into account more easily.

The overall aim of the changes is to create a framework that allows for a set-up that can match up with the Little League structures of other countries – factoring in European and World Series timetables, for examples – whilst keeping some freedom within the structure so that the kids, parents and teams can enjoy games in a way that suits them locally.

Team GB

On the National Team level, Glen Robertson of Brentwood Baseball Club has taken on the role of General Manager for the Great Britain Men’s National Team. He will work alongside  National Teams Programme Director, Marty Cullen, Head Coach Sam Dempster and the rest of the staff as the senior team prepares for this year’s European Championships in Germany and the Czech Republic in September.

The 2012 European Championship was a disappointment for Team GB as they lost four of their five games and were forced into qualifying for the 2014 event. However, Dempster’s men did just that thanks to winning their B-Level qualifying tournament in Zurich, Switzerland, last July.

Team GB will face a tough task at the Euros, playing a group that contains the reigning champions Italy, a strong host German team and good national set-ups in Belgium, France, and Sweden. Still, with Liam Carroll’s GB Lions roster giving young domestic players a great opportunity to develop, hopefully the event at the impressive Regensburg facilities will prove to be a positive experience for all involved with the Brits determined to spring a surprise as underdogs.