The #roadtoherts – who will be there and how did they manage it?
The National Baseball Championships are upon us, just a few days away. At Hemel Hempstead between 25-27 August, 14 sides will play out for four trophies, with the finals taking place on Bank Holiday Monday.
And here comes my completely impartial assessment of who’ll have No Bloody Chance or who’s Names (will) Be Chanted at the NBCs.
NBL
Harlow Nationals (1), Herts Falcons (2), Southampton Mustangs (3), London Mets (4)
The #roadtoherts:
Nationals – finished top of NBL
Falcons – finished second in NBL
Mustangs – finished third in NBL
Mets – finished fourth in NBL, beat Lakenheath Diamondbacks in one-game playoff (14-6 final score)
In 2011, the Southern Nationals won the National title in their debut season. In 2012, they renamed themselves to reflect their home and raced to winning the NBL pennant, qualifying first despite a nervy final few weeks. They’ve mixed more than 10 pitchers through the summer, so most of the side have shown they can do it from the mound, which is vital over a tournament weekend with as little rest as is provided during the NBC weekend.
The Herts Falcons retooled after a few seasons struggling at the top level, but with their new players they have found a new zest for the game and head in with some decent form and know they can beat everyone else in the final four. They’ve already done it this season. Like the other sides, they have shared their pitching around having identified the shortcomings in the defeated sides at recent NBCs, and though their hitting hasn’t been as emphatic as other sides, they’ll be hard to set down.
The Southampton Mustangs were there or thereabouts for most of the season, dropping a few games in mid-summer before heating up when the going got tough. A sweep of the London Mets made third place the Mustangs’ to keep, and another sweep of the Nationals two weeks ago put them in a strong place for the weekend. They’ll have to win four matches to pick up the title, rather than three for the top two, but they give themselves every opportunity. Last season they ran out of pitching and fell down in the semi-final stage, but their pitching has massively improved and they’ll be hoping to show that on the biggest weekend of the British Baseball calendar.
The Mets haven’t reached this stage of the season for a couple of years, having lost out in a playoff game to the Southern Nationals last season. They dropped off after a great start, forcing another one-game playoff upon their side this year, but with a few excellent additions to last year’s roster they are primed and have, as a Club, more experience than the other three sides at succeeding in weekend tournament competition; they were National Champions in 2007 and 2008, losing only a handful of games over the two seasons.
AAA
Liverpool Trojans (1), Oxford Kings (2), Essex Redbacks (3), Cambridge Royals (4)
The #roadtoherts:
Trojans – finished top of AAA North, won one-game playoff over Menwith Hill Patriots (14-7 final score)
Kings – finished top of AAA South Pool A
Redbacks – finished top of AAA South Pool B
Royals – finished second in AAA South Pool B, won by forfeit over the Bristol Badgers in one-game playoff
Defending Champions. Only two defeats in 2 and a half years. But they both came this summer, against sides they’ve comfortably beaten in other matches, so the writing’s on the wall if other sides want to bring it to them. However, in Martin Godsall they have the best pitcher in AAA baseball and Paul Smith’s bat has been massive for them this season. A side that don’t lose easily and will fight every strike on the corner.
The Oxford Kings started relatively slowly but put together some excellent performances down the stretch to win their NBC berth – third consecutive – by beating the Bristol Badgers in the final game of the season. Their pennant success was their first in two seasons, and the last time they won a division they also won the whole title (2010). Last year they went down to the Liverpool Trojans, which was revenge for 2010’s beaten finalists, but they’ll hope they have enough to go all the way again this year. Great defence has helped them get this far, and it’ll need to be on top form against some hot bats from other sides.
The Essex Redbacks were semi-finalists last year, also going down to the Liverpool Trojan’s unbeaten season, but bounced back by winning the Pool B division in AAA South in response. They pipped the newly promoted Cambridge Royals – Single-A National Champions in 2011 – by a game after a split on the final day behind the pitching of experienced hurler Vince Warner. The side have two no-hitters and 16 home runs between them (9 from Franklin ‘Chicki’ Martinez) as well as a few more shutouts, so could this be the Redbacks’ season? They’ll need to keep calm under pressure, but the omens are good for the side from Chelmsford.
Last year’s Single-A champions, the Cambridge Royals initially didn’t seem as though they would last in AAA. In their first game they were no-hit by the Essex Redbacks. But they recovered to take the divisional title down to the wire against those Redbacks and will be confident that a strong one-two of Brett Curran and Raj Perera will give them a chance of being there or thereabouts over the weekend.
AA
Poole Piranhas (1), Nottingham Rebels (2), Herts Hawks (3), Milton Keynes Bucks (4)
The #roadtoherts:
Piranhas – finished second in AA South Pool A, beat London Mammoths (11-1) and Sidewinders (5-4) in regional playoffs
Rebels – finished top of AA Midlands, beat Harrogate Tigers (16-0) in one-game playoff
Hawks – finished second in AA South Pool B, beat Southampton Mustangs II (28-4) and Guildford Mavericks (12-7) in regional playoffs
Bucks – finished second in AA Midlands, beat Sheffield Bladerunners (13-2) in one-game playoff
Just the one loss for the Poole Piranhas this season, and it was rectified when they beat the Sidewinders – the only team to beat them during the summer – in Dorset last weekend. In Shannon Hall they have the best individual pitcher in AA South and a potential higher level star as well, while the bats, gloves and arms around the Piranhas’ outfit have crushed sides around the region all year. They’ll be chomping at the bit at the chance to pick up some silverware after a lean few seasons (they last made this stage of the playoffs as the Bournemouth Sharks in 2008).
The Nottingham Rebels’ quest for perfection was ended only by a couple of defeats to the Milton Keynes Bucks, who were still unable to overturn the Rebels at the top of the standings, and in their second season the Rebels have made their first NBC, going down early in the playoffs last time round. Opponents say that they could easily make the step up to AAA or even NBL for some players, so if they bring their A-game then it’ll certainly be tough to argue the AA National Championship going anywhere other than Nottingham. Sherwood’s bandits could steal this one with their very big hitters and great pitching. Watch this space.
The Herts Hawks have benefited from reshuffles across the Herts Club and with pitchers Nick Russell and Nic Goetz locked in, few have been able to best them over seven or nine innings. The addition of Andy Fulford towards the end of the season added power to the batting order, protecting leading slugger Louis Hare, and their infield has been consistently excellent in a division where errors are easy to make and hard to overcome. They beat the Guildford Mavericks to get here, who were unbeaten all season before then, and have home advantage at Grovehill too. Outsiders, but not a bad bet.
In 2010 the MK Bucks were the Single-A Champions. Last year they lost twice, once in the league en route to an emphatic divisional title, and once in extra innings to the eventual AA National Champions, the Bolton Robots of Doom. Form this season hasn’t been as good as the previous two, but in a division that has become far stronger, they have the talent to go all the way. Their only problem is that the other three sides might have a bit more than they do. But it’s all up for grabs and a good start on Sunday could set up for a monster weekend and an underdog’s victory. They have the most playoff pedigree of anyone in their competition and will use every ounce to deliver another coveted title.
Single-A
Hove Tuesday (1), Leicester Blue Sox (2)
The #roadtoherts:
Tuesday – won Single-A South, beat Essex Archers (9-0 forfeit) and London Marauders (13-3) in regional playoffs
Blue Sox – finished third in AA Midlands, beat Oldham North Stars (41-2) and Manchester Torrent (25-15) in regional playoffs
The baseball club in Brighton may have been the best at the turn of the century, delivering a couple of national championships and developing some of the country’s top talent. In 2006 everything seemed to go wrong, but after the town’s softball programme has blossomed, baseball’s made a comeback at Pavilion Fields and Hove Tuesday have gone unbeaten to cap a glorious return to action. They’ve made their baseball look very easy at times, like the Cambridge Royals did in the division last season, and the omens are strong; an unbeaten debut season and a Midlands team providing the opposition in the one-off Championship decider.
The Leicester Blue Sox will be ready to fight in Hertfordshire on bank holiday Monday. After the Club struggled in 2011, the addition of a youth side has reinvigorated baseball in Leicester and they immediately bounced back with a strong showing in the incredibly tough Midlands division and two comfortable wins in the playoffs. In the nine-inning contest, they’ll fancy their chances of finishing early or even going the distance if needed but coming up with a National Championship to crown a great summer for the Blue Sox.