The Twojans are AA Champs

When putting together a reflective piece, such as this, it can often be hard to know where to start. No such problem this time though as, despite other successes on and off the field, there is one achievement that outshone all the others - After coming close so many times in the past, the Liverpool Twojans are the British Baseball League AA Champions.

Our second team have had only one thing on their mind since they narrowly missed out in 2019 to the Manchester A’s, and that was to put things right and finally take home that trophy! The hard work to make this possible began as soon as the hangovers had worn off following the first team’s success that year. Driven by the ambition of their manager Scott Gray, the Twojans were bolstered with some solid acquisitions for the 2021 season - the experienced duo of Tai Hung and former Great Britain and Skelmersdale Tigers’ Mark King turned heads at the start of the year. However, it was Gray’s persistence in convincing Martin Godsall out of retirement that will catch the headlines.

Godsall, now 53 years old, is a British Baseball Hall of Famer. We thought he had thrown his last pitch at 50, when he threw nine innings against Nottingham to pick up the W in the 2018 AAA Final, but he was tempted to dust off the arm half-way through 2021 - and eventually handed the ball for the must-win game three encounter against Newcastle Nighthawks in the AA Final.

Don’t get me wrong, the Twojans were already a highly effective baseball team but to boast a pitching rotation of three former GB players at AA level could well have proven to be the difference this year. Chris Pittard was, once again, the ace of the Twojans’ staff. Age has brought a level of composure and baseball know-how that you could argue had been lacking at certain times in the past. The southpaw dominated at AA this year, and for the first time since the foundation of the Twojans in 2014, he had not just one, but two very worthy understudies.

Mark King made a return to baseball after something like twenty-five years away from the game - and somehow, he didn’t miss a step. A two-way threat, King was able to contribute heavily with both bat and ball. Godsall came back a little later through the season, and was initially being deployed as either a first or second baseman. As his playing time increased, he started to trust his arm following an elbow injury a little more, and was convinced to throw a few innings in a tight game. Never one to decline a challenge, he took it on and from then on, it was all systems go for the best pitcher in the organisation’s history.

I was delighted to see the Twojans win, and it was even better to be able to be there in person - to cheer them on the way they had supported us in 2019. There were times in the three game series that, maybe in years gone by, their heads could have dropped - Injuries to key players, tough hops at crucial times etc. But, not once did I ever think that was going to happen - There was something different about them this year. The team ethos within the Twojans is incredibly strong, and though he won’t thank me for singling him out, credit for this must go to Gray. He has cultivated a feeling of togetherness that I would dare to suggest is unrivaled in British Baseball - but he has not had to compromise on development and hard work in order to achieve this.

The 2021 final was my first opportunity to see the Twojans play in a competitive game since the 2019. The difference in talent on display was clear to see and, while I have mentioned some key additions, this considerable improvement was not down merely to those players. The continued baseball education of longer-term players like Sean Moore, Joe Makin and Championship MVP Tom Beesley (to name just a few) has paid dividends and provided them with more weapons right through a hard-hitting line-up.

The Halton Trojans make their debut

After a wait that seemed like forever, the Halton Trojans finally took to the field in 2021 - and what a season they had!

Having gone in to the season with no expectations, Halton reached the playoffs. There, they amazingly bested the Hull Scorpions - the tournament hosts and number one seeds - in the semi-final, before running out of steam and going down to Sheffield Bladerunners in the final. The season might have finished with a loss, but everyone at the club is viewing the achievements this year as a huge win!

Led by Chris Gary, one of the longest serving players at the club who was taking his first steps into management, Halton bounced back from a difficult start to the year amazingly well. I don’t have the results in front of me as I write this, but they won they something like seven of the last eight and this propelled them into the playoffs at the expense of a second Bladerunners team - This announcement coming at the 11th hour following the league table not being updated for the last few weeks of the regular season, and potentially contributed to a last minute change of venue from Sheffield’s Forge Valley to Humberside.

I have been absolutely delighted with the progress made in Halton this year. It has been hard work at times - the diamond needed to basically be rebuilt at the start of the year (and the work is not finished yet), most of the players were entirely brand new to the game and there were even field access issues at various times. Despite all the extra problems that they had to tackle the lads knuckled down, worked hard and, in the end, the results on the field came good. I’m yet to get to know most of the guys properly, but I’ll look to put that right at the end of year party. Well done everyone!