2023 British baseball season

2023 was the 94th season of competitive baseball in the United Kingdom.

This season saw the National Baseball League contract from 7 teams to 6, with BC Vetra and both Legends clubs (London and Lancashire) leaving, being replaced by the Herts Falcons (who last competed in 2021) and the East London Latin Boys.[1]

Three previously independent leagues, the British Baseball League (Featuring teams from the North West of England), the East of England Baseball League (Representing teams from the East Midlands and East of England) and the North East Baseball League all affiliated themselves with the BBF, being added to the pyramid.[2]

The BBF season had its opening day on 16 April, with the NBL season ending on 13 August.[1] The Playoffs were held at the Farnham Park National Baseball & Softball Complex in Buckinghamshire, with the Single-Game Semi-Finals happening on 20 August, and the Final (reverting to a Best-of-3 series for the first time since 2018) being held across 26 and 27 August.[3] The London Mets won the NBL Final, besting the Capitals 2-1 across the 3 game series.

National Baseball League

Capitals, Mets
Latin Boys
Falcons
Arrows
Bruins
Location of the 2023 National Baseball League Teams

Teams

Team Location
East London Latin Boys Waltham Forest, London
Essex Arrows Waltham Abbey, Essex
Herts Falcons Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
London Capitals Haringey, London
London Mets Haringey, London
Sheffield Bruins Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Standings

Pos Team Pld W L Win% GB Qualification
1 London Mets 25 22 3 0.880 – Qualify for Playoffs
2 Essex Arrows 25 20 5 0.800 2
3 London Capitals 22 13 9 0.591 7.5
4 Sheffield Bruins 19 7 12 0.368 12
5 Herts Falcons 23 4 19 0.174 17
6 East London Latin Boys 22 2 20 0.091 18.5

Source: BBF

Correct as of 13/08/23

Playoffs

Semi Finals
20 August 		NBL National Championship
26-27 August
        
1 London Mets 11
4 Sheffield Bruins 0
1 London Mets 3 5 14
3 London Capitals 5 0 0
2 Essex Arrows 5
3 London Capitals 7

British Baseball Federation and Affiliated Leagues

Triple A Level

BBF AAA

Teams
Bears
Badgers
Metros
Pirates
Cardinals
Buccaneers
Redbacks
Knights
Location of the 2023 BBF Triple A Teams
Teams Location
Bournemouth Bears Ferndown, Dorset
Bristol Badgers Keynsham, Somerset
Croydon Pirates Sutton, London
Herts Cardinals Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
Kent Buccaneers Hadlow, Kent
London Metros Haringey, London
Essex Redbacks Chelmsford, Essex
Richmond Knights Richmond upon Thames, London
Standings
Pos Team Pld W L Win% GB Qualification
1 Bournemouth Bears 25 19 6 0.760 – Qualification to Playoffs
2 Richmond Knights 26 19 7 0.731 0.5
3 London Metros 25 17 8 0.680 2
4 Herts Cardinals 25 13 12 0.520 6
5 Bristol Badgers 28 12 16 0.429 8.5
6 Croydon Pirates 27 11 16 0.407 9
7 Essex Redbacks 27 10 17 0.370 10
8 Kent Buccaneers 25 3 22 0.120 16

Source: BBF


Playoffs

Semi Finals
10 September 		AAA Championship
17 September
      
1 Bournemouth Bears 9
4 Herts Cardinals 5
1 Bournemouth Bears 9
2 London Metros 7
2 London Metros 9
3 Richmond Knights 6

BBL - Higher

Teams
Teams Location
Liverpool Trojans Army Sefton, Merseyside
Liverpool Trojans Navy Sefton, Merseyside
Manchester As Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester
Manchester Bees Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester
Sheffield Kodiaks Sheffield, South Yorkshire
Standings
Pos Team Pld W L Win% GB Qualification
1 Liverpool Trojans Navy 22 19 3 0.864 – Advance to Final
2 Liverpool Trojans Army 22 17 5 0.773 2 Advance to Wild Card
3 Manchester A's 22 12 10 0.545 7
4 Sheffield Kodiaks 20 5 15 0.250 14
5 Manchester Bees 22 1 21 0.045 18

Source: BBF

Correct as of 20/08/23

Playoffs

Wild Card
2 September 		BBL Higher Championship
2-3 September
1 Liverpool Trojans Navy 10 9 6
2 Liverpool Trojans Army 8 2 Liverpool Trojans Army 13 6 5
3 Manchester A's 3

Double A Level

BBF AA

Central & East
Teams
Teams Location
Cambridge Lancers Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
Essex Archers Waltham Abbey, Essex
Herts Hawks Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
Milton Keynes Bucks Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
Norwich Iceni Norwich, Norfolk
Standings
Pos Team Pld W L Win% GB Qualification
1 Cambridge Lancers 19 15 4 0.789 – Advance to Playoffs
2 Norwich Iceni 19 15 4 0.789 0
3 Milton Keynes Bucks 17 10 7 0.588 4
4 Essex Archers 20 7 13 0.350 8.5
5 Herts Hawks 21 1 20 0.048 15
South
Teams
Teams Location
East London Latin Boys Waltham Forest, London
Formosa Islanders Old Oak Common, London
Herts Ducks Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
London Musketeers Haringey, London
London Meteors Haringey, London
London Sidewinders Haringey, London
Standings
Pos Team Pld W L T Win% GB Qualification
1 London Sidewinders 25 20 5 0 0.800 – Advance to Playoffs
2 East London Latin Boys 25 19 6 0 0.760 1
3 London Musketeers 25 14 11 0 0.560 6
4 London Meteors 25 13 11 1 0.540 6.5
5 Formosa Islanders 23 5 17 1 0.239 12
6 Herts Ducks 23 1 22 0 0.043 17.5
South & South West
Teams
Teams Location
Bracknell Inferno Bracknell, Berkshire
Bristol Bats Keynsham, Somerset
Guildford Mavericks Guildford, Surrey
Oxford Kings Oxford, Oxfordshire
Richmond Dragons Richmond upon Thames, London
Standings
Pos Team Pld W L T Win% GB Qualification
1 Richmond Dragons 20 15 5 0 0.750 – Advance to Playoffs
2 Bracknell Inferno 19 12 7 0 0.632 2.5
3 Guildford Mavericks 18 8 10 0 0.444 6
4 Bristol Bats 17 7 9 1 0.441 6
5 Oxford Kings 18 3 14 1 0.194 10.5
South East
Teams
Teams Location
Brighton Brewers Brighton and Hove, East Sussex
Croydon Pirates Sutton, London
Hurricanes Baseball Hadlow, Kent
Kent Mariners Rochester, Kent
Tonbridge Wildcats Tonbridge, Kent
Standings
Pos Team Pld W L Win% GB Qualification
1 Hurricanes Baseball 18 15 3 0.833 – Advance to Playoffs
2 Brighton Brewers 19 15 4 0.789 0.5
3 Tonbridge Wildcats 19 7 12 0.368 8.5
4 Kent Mariners 15 5 10 0.333 8.5
5 Croydon Pirates 17 2 15 0.118 12.5
Playoffs
Semi Finals
10 September 		AA Championship
17 September
      
S London Sidewinders 17
C&E Norwich Iceni 2
S London Sidewinders 8
SE Hurricanes 10
SE Hurricanes 16
S&SW Richmond Dragons 13

Single A Level

BBF Single A

Playoffs
Wild Card
9 September 		Semi Finals
10 September 		A Championship
17 September
         
SWWBL Cardiff Merlins I 12
SCB Herts Ravens 2
SCB Herts Ravens 18
EEBL Cambridge Royals 1
SWWBL Cardiff Merlins I 10
SCA London Mustangs 0
SE Tonbridge Bobcats 2
SCA London Mustangs 13

Summer Cup

On the weekend of 22 and 23 July, the BBF hosted the inaugural Summer Cup, a 2-day Tournament run from Farnham Park. 24 teams from 22 clubs took part, with a variety of teams makeups, including representative teams from Baseball Scotland, Baseball Ireland, the South West and Wales Baseball League, and the East of England Baseball league, plus teams from non-BBF Clubs, such as the Long Eaton Storm, Stockton Grizzlies, and BC Vetra.

Initially, the 3 tiers (Gold, for AAA and NBL-level teams, Silver, for AA and high independent-level teams, and Bronze, for A and low independent-level teams) were split into groups of 4, each of which would play a round-robin, with positional playoffs. However, due to inclement weather over the weekend, this format was instead changed to a single-elimination knockout, with losing teams moving into a lower bracket to decide positions.

Teams

Gold Silver Bronze
Baseball Ireland Bracknell Inferno Croydon Pirates
Baseball Scotland Bristol Bats Fire Breathing Kittens
BC Vetra Bournemouth Bears Guilford BC
Croydon Pirates Formosa Islanders Kent Mariners
Essex BC Long Eaton Storm London Mets
Liverpool Trojans Norwich Iceni New Forest Thunder Knights
London Mets Newcastle Nighthawks South West & Wales League
Sheffield Bruins University of Nottingham Stockton Grizzlies

Gold Bracket

Main Bracket

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
      
London Mets 7
BC Vetra 1
London Mets 3
Croydon Pirates 1
Croydon Pirates 15
Baseball Ireland 0
London Mets 3
Essex BC 2
Liverpool Trojans 6
Baseball Scotland 7
Baseball Scotland 3 Third Place Play-Off
Essex BC 5
Essex BC 11 Baseball Scotland 13
Sheffield Bruins 1 Croydon Pirates 2

Consolation Bracket

Consolation Semi-Finals 5th Place Play-Off
    
BC Vetra 4
Baseball Ireland 3
BC Vetra 2
Liverpool Trojans 6
Liverpool Trojans 8
Sheffield Bruins 5 7th Place Playoff
Baseball Ireland 15
Sheffield Bruins 1

Silver Bracket

Main Bracket

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
      
Bournemouth Bears 3
Bracknell Inferno 6
Bracknell Inferno 7
Norwich Iceni 8
Norwich Iceni 12
U of Nottingham 2
Norwich Iceni 3
Long Eaton Storm 6
Newcastle Nighthawks 1
Long Eaton Storm 2
Long Eaton Storm 12 Third Place Play-Off
Bristol Bats 1
Bristol Bats w/o Bracknell Inferno w/o
Formosa Islanders Bristol Bats

Consolation Bracket

Consolation Semi-Finals 5th Place Play-Off
    
Bournemouth Bears 7
U of Nottingham 4
Bournemouth Bears 2
Newcastle Nighthawks 9
Newcastle Nighthawks w/o
Formosa Islanders 7th Place Playoff
U of Nottingham w/o
Formosa Islanders

Bronze Bracket

Main Bracket

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
      
Croydon Pirates 7
London Mets 8
London Mets 13
Stockton Grizzlies 6
New Forest Thunder Knights 3
Stockton Grizzlies 11
London Mets 8
SWWBL 7
Guildford BC 7
Fire Breathing Kittens 12
Fire Breathing Kittens 8 Third place play-off
SWWBL 13
Kent Mariners 6 Stockton Grizzlies 9
SWWBL 24 Fire Breathing Kittens 17

Consolation Bracket

Consolation Semi-Finals 5th Place Play-Off
    
Croydon Pirates
New Forest Thunder Knights w/o
New Forest Thunder Knights 12
Kent Mariners 13
Guildford BC 6
Kent Mariners 7 7th Place Playoff
Croydon Pirates
Guildford BC w/o

References

  1. ^ a b "Opening Day is the 16th April for BBF league". British Baseball Federation. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Three Regional Leagues Affiliate to Baseball's National Governing Body for 2023". British Baseball Federation. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  3. ^ "METS AND CAPITALS MEET IN REMATCH TO DECIDE 2023 NBL CHAMPIONS". British Baseball Federation. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.