{mrb-schedule:2009-07-18|2009-07-19|GB}
by BaseballSoftballUK, www.baseballsoftballuk.com
In early July, the British Baseball Federation confirmed the venue and format for the 2009 National Baseball Championships (NBC). In the National Baseball League (NBL), the top tier of domestic baseball, the four participants in the NBC are already confirmed as the fifth-placed team, Croydon Pirates, cannot now catch and displace any of the top four placed teams. So London Mets, Herts Falcons, Richmond Flames and Bracknell Blazers will be meeting in Croydon over the weekend of August 29-30 to battle it out for the title of National Champion.
However, this doesn’t mean that there’s nothing left to play for in the remainder of the regular season which concludes on August 16. Aside from the final league placing determining the schedule for the NBC, going into games on July 19 any of the top four could still finish in first place and win the divisional title. For the majority of the season so far there’s been little to separate London, Herts, Richmond and Bracknell, making this one of the most wide-open divisional races since the National League was created in 2001.
Here are some other points of interest to add to the intrigue as we head into the final month of league play and the NBC:
— London Mets were back-to-back National Champions in 2007 and 2008 – if they triumph again this year they will join an elite few in British baseball’s history that have won three national championships in a row. Previous achievers of this feat on the official list of national champions are Cobham Yankees (1986-88) and Hull Aces (1963-65)*[see below].
— Since the Brighton Buccaneers won the national championship in the inaugural season of the National League (2001), London Mets are the only team to have won the championship in its first season in the league (2007). However, Herts Falcons – which joined the top tier this season – would equal that claim if they are victorious in August’s NBC.
— Aside from the setting-up of the league, Herts could also become the only team to win the division in the same season it joined the National Baseball League.
— As a founder member back in 2001, Bracknell Blazers have been in the National Baseball League the longest time without winning an honor. Of this year’s NBC qualifiers Bracknell has to its name the most appearances in the championship weekender (four, including 2009) but has yet to win divisional or national honors at NBL level.
Without a league win up to July 15, Croydon Pirates – repeat champions in 2004-5 – are suffering a season they’d like to forget. However, there are a few dubious honors on the horizon which they’d probably prefer to avoid, and attempting to do so may keep them motivated at the expense of their forthcoming opposition:
— The Pirates’ poorest season in the National Baseball League was 2001 when they finished in last place with one win in 25 games (1-24). If they had anything recorded in their win column for 2009 (as of July 15 they are 0-18), league rules dictate that the Pirates’ forfeit of two games back in April would cause them to have one win turned into a loss in their season record as penalty (i.e. subtract one from their win column and add one to the loss column in the standings). Given this, the 2009 team technically needs to win two of its remaining six games to avoid finishing 0-24 and setting both a new club and league standard for worst season record. Basing it on win percentage (and excluding teams which folded mid-season and so forfeited the rest of their games) Manchester Eagles currently hold that honor, finishing 0-20 in 2004.
— If Croydon does finish the season winless it can lay claim to be the only team to have done so having also enjoyed a completely unbeaten season in the NBL (2007, 26-0).
— Although a small number of teams have managed to concede over 250 runs in a season (which normally consists of around 25 games), none have surpassed the NBL record set by the Pirates in that tough 2001 season. In 25 regular season games they gave up 297 runs. With an average of 12 runs conceded per game in 2009, they’re currently on course to hit the 290-region again and will need to significantly cut that average over the final six games to avoid posting a one-two in the all-time list of most runs conceded in a single NBL season. Richmond and Manchester are currently tied for second in that list with 266 runs conceded (in 2004 and 2005 respectively).
In recent weeks the Pirates’ offense has picked up, so if they can combine that with shipping fewer runs on the other side of the scoreboard they stand a chance of steering clear of these unwanted distinctions.
[*Correction – Humberside Mets were initially reported as having won from 1993-95. They did not win in ’95, however back-to-back wins in ’93 and ’94 is still some feat]
{mrb-standing:great-britain-2009}