Home British baseball Herts Baseball Open Try-out

Herts Baseball Open Try-out

by Matt Smith

Baseball fans in Hertfordshire and North West London who’ve always fancied moving from the armchair to the diamond now have the perfect opportunity to do so.  Herts Baseball Club will be holding an open try-out for new players of all abilities on Sunday 1 March ahead of what promises to be the most exciting season so far in the club’s history. 

The Herts Falcons will be playing in the highest league, the National Baseball League, for the first time this season after winning the AAA Championship last year.  Herts Baseball Club aim to add a fourth team into their organization, the Hert Eagles, to take the Falcon’s place in the AAA competition.  In doing so, they would become the only organization to have a team at every level in the British baseball structure.

The expansion means that the search is on for more enthusiastic and committed players. Full details about the try outs are available at the Herts Baseball Club website. 

“The Try Outs are aimed at both newcomers and players who are hoping to make the Herts Falcons roster in their first season in the British National Baseball League.  They will all go through a series of skills trials which will test their batting, fielding, pitching and running abilities.  Since any adult can join the Herts Baseball Club, and all members get playing time on the diamond each weekend, the day is not about ‘making the cut’… but, rather, welcoming new members to the Herts family and helping the four team managers fashion their squads (or ‘Camps’) for the rest of the Spring Training”.

Adult newcomers are also welcome to join the organization’s regular Spring Training sessions prior to the 1 March try out.  Boys and girls should not feel left out though; further details about the Herts Little League are due to be published soon.

The ambition and drive of the folks at Herts Baseball Club is immediately apparent as soon as you take a look at their website.  Ideas and enthusiasm are great qualities to have, but when you add professionalism to them as well then you have a real force to be reckoned with. 

If you’re a baseball fan living in the Herts area and aren’t moved to ‘join the family’ (whether as a player or in another role) after watching this promotional clip, frankly there’s something wrong with you!

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6 comments

Chico February 18, 2009 - 4:40 pm

Matt and Joe Gray: 2 quick questions for you. Are either or both of you going to be playing this season? Have either of you thought about coaching the little league in your area? We are beginning our upcoming season by the guys playing very easy catch indoors. Our official starting date for High School practice is March 23rd. Our first game is at the University of Illinois- Chicago on April 4th. We play a double header in the shadow of the Chicago skyline at one of the nicest college fields in the country, in my opinion. It is an artificial turf surface that is capable of taking 4 inches of rain and playable within an hour. Anyway, I’ll keep you informed of our season as it progresses. Chico

Reply
Matt Smith February 18, 2009 - 6:01 pm

Hi Chico. I don’t really have a team where I live unfortunately. Joe is involved with the Croydon Pirates, primarily as a scorer but he swings the bat occasionally (1.000 BA last year I believe!).

Looking forward to reading your updates on how the season goes.

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Chico February 18, 2009 - 7:25 pm

Matt: I do remember you live near the coast and north of London, if I am correct. That’s too bad that a team cannot be resurrected again in your area. I do now remember Joe was with the Pirates. I did get a nice view of the field in Croyden on Google Earth. I would encourage you to find our field, except Google Earth does not come in very well because we are so rural. If you want to get an idea of where we are find Rice Lake and Cumberland in Western Wisconsin. We are north of Eau Claire on route 53 and basically NE of the Twin Cities. I’m sure you can google the Metrodome, U.S. Cellular field, and the U.of Illinois Chicago field. The street level Google Earth is amazing. We are too rural for Google to have gotten to street level views here. Almost all of the Twin Cities and Chicago are on there. You can get a nice view of U.S. Cellular Field. Anyway, I’ll email you some shots of our complex and a team picture later on in the spring if you would like. Might be nice for you to see a very good program (have to boast a bit) at the HS level. Chico

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Matt Smith February 18, 2009 - 8:59 pm

Hi Chico. Yes I’d love to see some shots of your complex later this spring.

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Joe Gray February 19, 2009 - 12:26 am

Hi Chico,

For more on my baseball playing ability (and, more importantly, an excellent scoresheet from 1962), check out “For some of us, paper and a pencil is the best baseball equipment”. I think the title might give you a clue as to my skill level.

As for coaching, I have total respect for anyone who can coach baseball succesfully for any age group, as, to me at least, it looks fiendishly difficult to do properly.

The presence of junior baseball is limited to a few areas of the country. My area, Herts, happens to be one of them, thanks to the genuinely great efforts being put in by that club.

Finally, it would be great to see some photos, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being proud of a good baseball set-up.

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Joe Gray February 19, 2009 - 10:22 am

Chico,

Sorry… I forgot to add that “For some of us, paper and a pencil is the best baseball equipment” is due to be posted on 25 February.

Reply

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