Scouting For Success - How Great British Baseball Turned Itself Around
Baseball in Britain has never been so popular since it first came to the fore in a playing field in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, in 1749.
It is often thought to be an American sport, and with the American Major League Baseball (MLB) being the highest level of baseball competitition in the world, it is hard to think of the sport thriving anywhere else.
America may be where modern baseball was developed, but despite popular conjecture, the early origins of the game are found in Britain.
These days cricket reigns supreme as the most popular bat and ball sport in Britain; but, due to the recent success of baseball, things are starting to change.
Great Britain National Baseball Team
Last October the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), which are the governing body for both sports, published an article which recognised the progression of Great Britain titled: ‘Great Britain: Are we witnessing the rise of a new baseball and softball European powerhouse?’
Great Britain has been slowly establishing itself as a major nation in international baseball, and with outstanding on-field performances in 2023, they have reached new heights.
The Big Hitters
Great Britain baseball squads are not comprised simply just of British-born players. Despite growing baseball infrastructure and culture in the UK, the best players still come from abroad.
“We'd love to get to a point where the national team is mostly made up of the London Mets, London Capitals and the Essex Redbacks, but we don't have that talent in the United Kingdom at the moment.”
Many players who are selected for squads are from British overseas territories and Commonwealth nations, or have family connections to Britain. Jazz Chisholm qualified to play for Great Britain through being born in Nassau, Bahamas. Vance Wardley reached out to GB after approaching China three times. He is eligible to represent Great Britain because of his Hong Kong ancestry. Harry Ford, despite being born in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, has parents who are both from the UK.
Harry Ford is the brightest light in the Great Britain squad. He was Seattle Mariners' first pick in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft and is currently the Mariners' 2nd highest rated prospect, and 41st in MLB. He is destined to be the next British player in MLB.
“Not a single player on the roster is American and I'm really clear about that. I make this point because this is often what gets thrown back in our face when we assemble both softball and baseball squads is that they're not homegrown. But they are British, and every single person who represents Great Britain has a tangible tie to Great Britain.”
“Harry Ford is obviously the big star of the GB team. I think any baseball fan in this country wants to see him on the Mariners and wants to see him do well”
“He looks like he's got the minerals, he's got all the pieces to put together and be a heck of a player.”
GB's Alex Webb In Focus
Alex Webb is an ex-Cincinnati Reds minor league pitcher who was born in Watford, England, but lived most of his life in Canada and the USA.
Although no longer playing baseball professionally, Alex plays internationally for Great Britain, and has represented them at the World Baseball Classic and the European Championships.
Watch Alex talk about his time playing for Great Britain Below.
A Very British Game
Baseball is considered as the national pastime of the United States of America, and despite modern baseball rules being developed in the States, the origins of the game are actually found in Great Britain.
The first recorded game of baseball took place in 1749 at Ashley Park, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, and Frederick, Prince of Wales made an appearance on the field. According to extracts from the Whitehall Evening Post, the weather was, in typical British fashion, terrible!
Settlers from the United Kingdom brought the sport across the Atlantic Ocean to America. However, this shared culture was, over time, severed by various important events. Firstly, a great wave of immigration occurred from European countries who separated themselves from the Anglo hierarchy. This was further enhanced by the onset of the American Civil War. During this period of cultural divergence, Americans cultivated their own baseball culture.
Baseball boomed in popularity during the late 19th and early 20th century in the UK. Many dual use grounds were created where baseball could be hosted such as Ley's Baseball Ground, known simply as ‘the baseball ground’. The stadium hosted Derby Baseball Club between 1890-1898 and Derby County FC between 1895-1997.
The inaugural Baseball World Cup was held in England in 1938. Great Britain defeated the United States four games to one.
The sport picked up once again in the late 30s and early 40s when American servicemen were deployed in Britain during World War Two.
Best Of British Clubs
In 1890, the first baseball championships were held in Great Britain. The 1890 championships season is still the only season of professional baseball held in the country. All other championship seasons have been competed over by amateur teams, and baseball remains an amateur sport in the UK to this day.
London Mets are the current champions of British baseball, having defeating London Capitals 2-1 over a three game series held across the 26th and 27th August 2023. The Mets have now won seven consecutive championship titles.
Despite a rich history of competetive baseball, some European nations have much stronger domestic leagues than Great Britain. Czechia, who hosted the 2023 European Baseball Championships, has multiple baseball stadiums and a more established league.
“I almost wouldn't compare that [the gulf between MLB and GB Leagues], that'd be like comparing someone in the 10th division to the premiership. I don't think we are going to be seeing an MLB franchise or an MLB style setup professional league here.”
“One of the ways that Great Britain can get to having a high level of talent is with the income that comes from a quality senior national team. It is best to grow and develop the sport over here.”
Encouraging The Next Generation
For prospective baseball players in the UK, opportunities used to be exclusively available at American colleges. However, in 2022, the University of Central Lancashire gave out two baseball scholarships, and there are other baseball programmes at universities such as Loughborough. For budding players who want to play baseball as part of their education; there are now pathways within the United Kingdom.
Matteo Sollecito plays for GB and is an example of a player who developed both in the UK and the US. He played for the London Mets and eventually turned that into a scholarship at Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania. He could potentially go on and play professionally.
The first homegrown British player to sign a professional contract in America was Gavin Marshall. Marshall played independent baseball for his entire professional career but never made the MLB. He was inducted into the British Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010.
As part of the MLB London Series Legacy plan; MLB Europe has promised to invest in British baseball and improve pathways for elite player development.
“One of those things that we've been lucky to do with MLB Europe over the past couple of years is the cadet camp, which is for British and European talent to come down to get some instruction from MLB scouts. That puts them on MLB radar.”
London Calling
Previously having held games in Australia, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico and China, MLB announced it's expansion into the European market in May 2018, with plans for MLB regular season games to be played in the London Stadium (home of West Ham United FC) in 2019 and 2020.
New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox were the first MLB teams to travel to London for two matches on the 29th and 30th June 2019.
Over 59,000 fans were in attendance at both matches as the Yankees beat the Red Sox 17-13 and 12-8.
Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals were scheduled to face off in the 2020 match, however this was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and later rescheduled for June 2023.
The London Series has been a massive success for baseball in the UK. Fans from across the country and abroad came together to soak up the atmosphere in 2019 and 2023.
The 2024 edition is expected to be a further success when the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies come to the London Stadium for a two game series in June.
It wasn't just about the two teams playing, it was a festival of baseball, about the love of the game.”
UK Fans Unite
MLB UK Community was set up in 2017 as a fan-led network for Major League Baseball. They are the leading baseball fan community in the UK.
MLB Europe have even recognised the group, and the two have collaborated on numerous occasions to help grow the UK baseball fan culture.
The group host watch parties and meet-ups in London and encourage all UK baseball fans to start their own meetups under the hashtag #MLBMeetupsUK.
One of the key moments in the founding of MLB UK Community was during the MLB Battlegrounds Home Run Derby event in Hyde Park, London. The event joined former MLB All-Stars together with England cricketers to play a gamified version of baseball, where players showcase their hitting skills. The event was attended by over 16,000 people and watched by over one million live on Twitter.
There was a pre-event party, where the organisers invited 30 fans, each representing one of the 30 MLB teams. It was there that the soon-to-be-founders of MLB UK Community first had the idea to combine their shared love of the sport.
“We didn't even know each other existed, we genuinely thought there were precious few MLB fans in the UK.”
“We love to get new people coming to our watch parties. It's great when somebody new turns up… but what is even more satisfying to me is when that new person then comes again.”
“I only see baseball going in one direction. We're still ranked 18th in the world, that means there's 17 spots to go. There's plenty to do and it's a really exciting time to do it. With the support that we have from UK Sport and the Olympics coming up. Great British baseball only is going to continue to push boundaries and break milestones.”
What Next For Great British Baseball?
In February of 2023 the British Baseball Federation (BBF) proposed their vision for the future of British baseball by 2035. The four key objectives they hope to achieve by then are:
- A comprehensive national adult league system, for mixed and women only teams, with four levels of play accessible in every area of the country.
- A comprehensive national youth participation programme across the whole country.
- A semi-professional National Baseball League with eight teams with at least one team competing in the top-level European tournaments.
- A national teams programme that is perennially in the medal zone in the biggest World and European competitions, showcasing the best British baseball players in the world and maintaining its position in the top 12 international baseball programmes.
California Olympic Dreams
The Los Angeles Olympic Games will see the return of baseball to the Olympics after being absent at the 2024 Paris games.
“I’m delighted and proud that baseball and softball have been confirmed as part of the sports programme at the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 by the IOC Session.
— Riccardo Fraccari (@WBSCPresident) October 16, 2023
“Given our sports’ rich tradition, universality, global appeal and huge popularity also in the US, I know that they… pic.twitter.com/a6oywzPKvz
Great Britain have not yet participated in the any of the previous Olympic baseball competitions and will be eager to make their debut in LA.
Baseball Softball UK will be especially ambitious after appointing the highly experienced Gary Anderson as head of performance systems. Gary will play a huge part in the quest to qualify for the Olympic Games.
“Gary Anderson has 40 years experience in high performance sport in the UK and joined us last year [2022] as a performance manager. Part of what he's brought to the table is synergy with both of the senior national teams that are on the Olympic programme. That means shared resources, shared scouting, shared ways of working, which is really helpful and powerful. It also means that our scouting network gets even larger. We have access to a bunch of players that we've never had access to before. That's how much it's changed in just a couple of years, we don't have to find and hope that we get the right players, we are now able to get passports for players who are eligible because of the relationships that Gary's brought in.”
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