Baker-Latham, Gary & Robinson Elected to Club Committee
Conor Baker-Latham
First Team Manager
At 19 years old, Baker-Latham is the youngest first team manager in Trojans’ history but don’t be fooled into thinking that he isn’t qualified for the role.
Baker-Latham became obsessed with the game at a young age and has already enjoyed a successful playing career that has seen him travel all over the world as part of the Great Britain Baseball National Teams program.
Chris Gary
Third Team Manager
Gary, the grandson of Trojans’ great Norman Wells, was born into the family tradition of baseball and is currently the second-longest serving player at club (only veteran catcher Paul Mason has been around longer).
He is looking forward to putting his knowledge to work by aiding in the development of players new to the sport.
Matt Robinson
Treasurer
Robinson joined the club as recently as 2020, but wasted no time at all in putting himself forward for this role when the opportunity arose.
As an accountant in his professional life, and already performing a similar role for the Wirral Vikings American Flag Football Team, the members had no hesitation in voting Matt in to the post.
A Fond Farewell to Mitch Cross, Paul Smith steps down from Committee Duties
The club would like to recognise the contributions of two valued committee members as they step away from their official duties with the club.
Mitch Cross formed an instrumental role in the merger with Halton Baseball Club that was ratified by last year’s Club AGM. He had served as a volunteer for Halton Baseball for many years prior to the merger where as well overseeing the day-day running, he also coached on top of his responsibilities as a player. He is off to join the military so will also be stepping away from full-time playing duties, but we hope he’ll come back and see us when his timetable allows. Good luck Mitch!
Paul Smith is known to many across British baseball as the powerhouse shortstop that the Trojans have so often relied on to make the big play or come up with clutch RBIs. However, it isn’t just on the field that he has contributed to the ongoing success of the club.
Smith has served on the committee for the last decade filling a variety of roles, while also serving as the Assistant Manager of the First Team under both Ian Blease and David Martin Baez. Thanks for everything Paul, your contributions are beyond measure!
There were also some internal moves within the committee as John Baxendale and David Martin Baez opted to stand for new roles rather than those that they had held previously.
J-Bax, who has decided to retire from playing during the winter break, will serve as the club’s Officials Coordinator - a role created to address a shortage of umpire development within the local area, and take some pressure off team managers when it comes to ensuring umpires are assigned to our home games.
DMB contacted the committee over the break to let them know that he was unlikely to run as First Team Manager again, but stating that he still wanted to be involved in the clubs organisational hierarchy in a new role - Youth Baseball Lead. This proposal was put to the AGM and passed without question. We look forward to seeing the fruits of his labour over the next few years!