Press release Project Cobb
Among the highlights of the 2017 National Baseball Season was Ryan Trask’s phenomenal hitting display for the Southampton Mustangs against the Herts Falcons in game one of their 20 August double-header. NBL legend Trask, who had had just a handful of at-bats over the previous five seasons, converted his four at-bats in this particular game to three home runs and a double. The 14 total bases broke London Warrior Mike Ocon’s 36-year-old top-tier record of 13 total bases in a game: https://is.gd/q0Q739. (This record was equalled by Ocon’s team-mate Lee Pierce the following season, who hit for the cycle with an additional triple, the only known cycle that has been hit in modern top-tier history.)
Trask’s former Bracknell Blazers club-mate Henry Collins also had an excellent season, starring on the mound for the Mustangs. His 7-3 record was good for the NBL pitching wins crown, a title he last won back in 2007: https://is.gd/AHYaAC.
Elsewhere, Maikel Azcuy took the batting crown with a .500 average, his second title in three seasons, and in doing so became the NBL’s all-time leader in hits, finishing the year on 322 for his career. Azcuy also extended his all-time career home run lead, taking his total out to 45.
Finally, the London Mets joined an elite group of clubs that have won four national titles, the others being the Cobham Yankees, the Hull Aces, the London Warriors, and the Liverpool Tigers. No team has won five. Grant Delzoppo, part of the Mets’ squad, became the 18th player in British baseball history to win four national titles: https://is.gd/AFclJO.
About Project COBB
The Project for the Chronicling of British Baseball (Project COBB) is an online collaboration aimed at restoring the record of British baseball’s past and preserving its present. Its website is located at: http://www.projectcobb.org.uk/.