2013 British Baseball Federation National Baseball Championships
What a difference a year makes.
Yes, the Liverpool Trojans are once again at the NBCs and the Harlow Nationals are also double-defending their National Title, but elsewhere else change is the dish of the day.
NBL Championships (14/15 September)
Starting with the NBL, the Herts Falcons lost only four times throughout the year to win the league and take an automatic bye into the NBCs on 14/15 September at Farnham Park. Joining them in going straight there are the London Mets – although both they and the Southampton Mustangs both had 23-5 seasons, the Mets had a better head-to-head record against the Mustangs, who finished third.
That meant the Mustangs, to reach their third consecutive NBCs, needed to overcome the Essex Arrows in a playoff game last week. It was a tougher match than they’d have envisaged, against a team with a 10-18 record, but ultimately their class came through in a 10-6 victory.
The Harlow Nationals had a less impressive regular season than last time out, finishing fourth with 15 wins and 13 defeats, but when the business end of the campaign arrived they, too, showed their style. Undefeated in seven playoff games now in three seasons, they easily swept past the Bracknell Blazers, many of whom had been representing the GB development squads and even the full senior team in the past couple of months.
It sets up a Herts-Harlow semi-final on the 14th of September, a repeat of last year’s Championship Final, while London and Southampton will battle it out to face the winner in the quest for the title. If Southampton and Herts progress, there’ll be a brand new champion in 2013, but both Harlow and London have form in recent years.
My prediction – London Mets.
The weekend in prospect…
But that’s all next week. This week sees the finals of the Single-A, AA and AAA championships at Farnham Park.
Single-A Championships (7/8 September)
On Saturday, the whole Single-A division will be decided. With the Haverhill Blackjacks (7-7) and Richmond Dukes coming (8-6) through close playoff matches against the higher-ranked Milton Keynes Coyotes (8-6) and Guildford Mavericks 2 (8-6) respectively, they’ll both fancy their chances in semi-finals against the Herts Raptors (10-4) and top-seeded London Marauders (11-3), who each picked up byes through to the NBCs.
With the semi-finals at 10:00, the full Single-A final takes place on the main diamond at 15:00. All year teams have picked up wins against everyone else across the division, so choosing a probable winner is almost impossible. I’m going with the Haverhill Blackjacks, if their best squad is available – they’re packed full of Americans from Lakenheath and Mildenhall US Air Force bases. It would be an incredible debut season.
AA Championships (7/8 September)
The AA championship sees northern teams take on southern sides in what can genuinely be classed as a national competition. The Hull Scorpions (22-2), who lost just twice during the regular season, came through their playoff match against Manchester As to confirm top billing at the NBCs, and their reward will be the Guildford Mavericks (12-4) in the semi-final. Guildford haven’t made the playoffs since promotion to this division, despite only losing four regular season games in two seasons, but they find possibly the best-equipped AA team in the country standing in their way. The Scorpions are reborn from struggling at the end of last season, welcoming back British Baseball Hall of Famer and former professional Gavin Marshall who has led with his bat and from the mound, while club stalwart Simon Langton has also notched eight wins to co-lead the division.
In the other semi-final, Hove Tuesday (14-2) – beaten Single-A finalists in their 2012 debut season – are the top-side from the south and seeded second overall, with the challenge of Harrogate Tigers (19-5) standing in their way. Harrogate, reformed in 2012, have lost only a handful of times themselves en route to the NBCs, handing a comprehensive defeat to 2012 Single-A champions Leicester Blue Sox (10-10) in the playoffs last week. Bearing in mind Leicester beat Hove last year to pick up the title, Hove would be weary of the path to the final, but riding Thomas Izutta’s arm from the mound the side from Sussex have been almost unbeatable this season, also recording a resounding playoff victory last week against the energetic Sidewinders (11-5).
The winners progress to a final on Sunday, and to pick a winner would be putting my neck on the line in a big way. But as much as I’ve been impressed by the teams from the south this year, it’s hard to see past another national title returning to Hull after a long dry spell.
AAA Championships (7/8 September)
Liverpool (21-2) once again make the NBCs, with their fourth consecutive divisional title helping them on the way. They’ll be the team to beat, especially as they made it through a tough playoff fixture against 2012 AA champions Nottingham Rebels (15-5) to confirm their place. Joining them are local rivals Halton Jaguars (13-9), who beat Midlands division winners MK Bucks (17-3) to ensure that no Midlands sides make the AAA playoffs either.
Those two northern teams, seeded first and fourth of the qualifying sides, meet in the first semi-final on Saturday, while the Southern bracket sees London Metros (23-5) and Cambridge Royals (18-10) squaring off for the right to represent come Sunday. The Metros beat perennial playoff candidates and 2010 AAA Champions Oxford Kings (17-11) to make the championships, while Cambridge swept past the young London Mets II (17-9) to make their second consecutive NBCs in AAA, after winning the 2011 Single-A championships.
As good as other sides have been, it’ll be difficult to see past Liverpool winning another crown as they’ve increased their squad numbers and have even more strength in depth behind the evergreen Martin Godsall from the mound.
Last year teams from the Midlands picked up both championships they were eligible for, but in 2013 none of them make the NBCs, with a rejuvenated Northern bracket representing against the south. It’s likely that they’ll be taking home the goods from both that they qualify for, too, given the great records of Hull and Liverpool throughout the summer.
One thing is for sure, though – whatever happens, it’ll be some cracking baseball on display. Possibly the best finals line-up in the last four years.
And that’s before we even look at the kids finals, taking place alongside the NBL Championships next weekend. The future’s bright, the future’s baseball!