British Baseball: ‘Playoff’ Sunday

Tomorrow is ‘playoff day’ in British baseball.  Twelve teams will battle it out at six venues across the country to determine the final six entrants to the 2009 National Baseball Championships.

There are four broad levels of play in the British Baseball Federation (BBF).  The National Baseball League (NBL) is at the top of the pyramid followed by AAA, AA and A, as used in the Minor League set-up in the States.  Each level of play has a National Baseball Championship (NBC) involving four teams.  The entrants for the NBL and AAA have already been determined by the regular season and two of the AA teams are also confirmed.  Tomorrow’s round of playoff games will determine the other two AA teams and the four A teams.

Read more about which teams have already qualified and those who will be battling tomorrow for the right to join them at BaseballGB.

Thoughts on Baseball and Softball’s Olympic hopes being dashed

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board announced on 13 August that golf and rugby would be put forward for entry to the 2016 Olympics.  The decision ended baseball and softball’s hopes for an immediate return to the Olympic fold after a previous decision in 2005 removed the sports from the 2012 London Games.

Read more at BaseballGB about what this means for the future of baseball in Great Britain and as an international sport.

Keeping score: Pirates-Cubs 14 August 2009

When the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs met last Friday, there was plenty of action to witness both on the field and in the sky. Read my report of keeping score of the game at BaseballGB.

Mark Buehrle’s Perfect Game

Read about one Brit’s experience of following Mark Buehrle’s incredible perfect game from the UK.  It was the topic of this week’s ’Weekly Hit Ground Ball’ column at BaseballGB, a feature that is published every Sunday during the MLB season.

Great Britain heading to Croatia for Baseball World Cup

Great Britain were originally scheduled to play their first round Baseball World Cup games in Moscow, Russia.  If that appeared to be an unusual venue, the new home of Pool D will seem just as strange at first glance.

Great Britain and Japan will be playing in Zagreb, Croatia, alongside the home nation and Nicaragua.  The change of venue less than two months before the tournament is set to start is the latest twist in the story of Great Britain’s World Cup aventure.  Read more about the latest news at BaseballGB here.

European Champion Cup

The European Champion Cup Final Four brings together four of the best baseball teams in the continent.  This year’s event took place over the weekend just gone in Barcelona, Spain.  The four teams battling it out were L&D Amsterdam Pirates, Corendon Kinheim (both from the Netherlands), Danesi Caffe’ Nettuno and Fortitudo Bologna (both from Italy).

Read a full review of the tournament at BaseballGB.

An All-Star team of Major Leaguers who have played in Great Britain

As part of Project Cobb, ex-’Baseball on Five’ presenter Josh Chetwynd (and author of two McFarland publications: British Baseball and the West Ham Club, and Baseball in Europe) has written an article compiling an All-Star team of players who have appeared on British soil over the years. 

Featuring greats such as Willie Stargell, Tris Speaker, Cap Anson, Sam ‘Wahoo’ Crawford, Bob Feller and AG Spalding, it makes for an impressive team.  More importantly, Josh’s article explains how every player ‘qualifies’ for the list, charting an interesting history of baseball on British shores.

Read the full article by clicking through to BaseballGB here.

Replays, earned runs and shortstops at second base: Rangers-Astros 23 May 2009

Last weekend saw the first instalment of Interleague play during the 2009 MLB season.  There are plenty of reasons to dislike the now traditional sight of AL and NL teams coming together outside of the World Series, but it does at least give fans in two-team cities and states the chance to gain bragging rights for a few weeks. 

The Lone Star Series is one such example.  The Houston Astros and Texas Rangers come together to try to gain Major League wins and to capture the ‘Silver Boot’ trophy.

(Click here to read more, including a completed scorecard of the game).

The London Twilight Baseball League of 1976

As well as the regular blog content, BaseballGB publishes occasional Full Articles to provide a more in-depth look at the game. 

In the latest such article, Joe Gray looks at the London Twilight Baseball League of 1976, a project led by Jeff Archer. While the league was short-lived, its innovative nature gives it historical importance and also provides lessons for baseball in Britain today.

The article has been written for Project Cobb (the Project for the Chronicling of British Baseball).  Find out more at the Project Cobb website.

BaseballGB reviews Baseball’s Great Experiment by Jules Tygiel

Baseball is rightly proud of the Jackie Robinson story.  When he ‘broke the colour line’ on 15 April 1947, he didn’t just set in motion the desegregation of baseball, he helped to pave the way for seismic changes throughout American society. 

Jules Tygiel’s book has been widely regarded as one of the seminal texts on this subject since it was first published in 1983.  It is therefore an important addition to any baseball fan’s collection. 

Read the full review here.