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| BBF LEAGUES AND TEAMS FOR 2009 |
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Here is how teams will line up in the British Baseball Leagues for the 2009 season:
NATIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE
London Mets
Richmond Flames
Croydon Pirates
Bracknell Blazers
Herts Falcons
For 2009, the National Baseball League (NBL) has been expanded and now has five teams. The expansion team is the Herts Falcons, which won the British AAA National Championship last year.
Due to restructuring in the North, teams from that region have chosen not to take their postseason places in the NBL. As a result, the NBL Championship will be contested between the five southern NBL teams. See the 2009 Postseason and National Baseball Championship article, which will appear on the website shortly, for more details.
Schedule and Format: There will be 24 games on 12 Sundays (all doubleheaders). The five teams will play against each other six times (3 DHs) over the course of the season.
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
AAA DIVISION (SOUTH)
Pool 1
Oxford Kings
Burgess Hill
Southampton Mustangs
Bristol Badgers
Bournemouth Sharks
Pool 2
London Metros
Sidewinders
Richmond Knights
Herts Eagles
Essex Arrows
There are three new teams in the AAA (South) this season. The two best teams from last year's AA League, the Bournemouth Sharks and the Sidewinders, join Pool 1 and Pool 2 respectively.
With the promotion of the Herts Falcons to the NBL, the Herts Eagles, an expansion Herts team, will enter the AAA League.
Schedule and Format: The 10 teams are divided into two pools and will play 26 games each (16 against teams in their own pool and 10 against teams in the other pool), played on 13 Sundays, all doubleheaders.
AA DIVISION (SOUTH)
Windsor Bears
Kent Mariners
Herts Hawks
Brentwood Stags
Croydon Pirates III
Thames Valley Bisons
Three new teams will compete in the AA League in 2009. The Thames Valley Bisons and the Croydon Pirates III have been promoted from the Single-A League, while the Windsor Bears join the league from AAA.
Schedule and Format: Six teams will play 20 games (10 single games and five doubleheaders on 15 Sundays).
A DIVISION (SOUTH)
Pool 1
Bracknell Blazers II
Southampton Mustangs II
Guildford Mavericks
Pool 2
Old Timers
Braintree Rays
Essex Archers
Pool 3
Richmond Dragons
London Marauders
Herts Raptors
The Single-A League has been restructured into three pools of three teams. The pools have been decided on the basis of the teams’ geographic location in order to minimise travel.
Schedule and Format: Each team will play 12 games over 12 Sundays (all single games). Teams play three times against teams in their own pool and once against teams in the other pools. The teams finishing top of their pool qualify for the 2009 Playoffs along with the best second-placed team (the “Wild Card”).
NORTHERN CONFERENCE
Bolton Robots of Doom
Halton Jaguars
Harrogate Tigers
Humber Pilots
Liverpool Trojans
Manchester A's
Manchester Torrent
Menwith Hill Patriots
Oldham North Stars
Sheffield Bladerunners
The North has been restructured into a single conference of ten teams including new Club Harrogate Tigers and Manchester's expansion Torrent playing in the league for the first time.
Schedule and Format: Ten teams will play 24 games over 12 Sundays (all double headers). Each team will play the other nine for 18 games and will play again against three opponents for a further 6 games.
MIDLANDS DIVISION
Alconbury Braves
Leicester Blue Sox
MK Bucks
Mildenhall Bulldogs
Birmingham Maple Leafs
During the winter, the teams in the Midlands have done a great deal of work to put together a much stronger league line-up. In 2009 the Midlands League welcomes the Alconbury Braves and the Mildenhall Bulldogs. These additions will make the Midlands a very competitive league which will certainly be a force in the postseason playoffs and National Baseball Championship.
Schedule and Format: Each team plays three times against each opponent (two doubleheaders and one single game). This amounts to 20 games over 12 Sundays (eight doubleheaders and four single games).
POSTSEASON AND NATIONAL BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
This year the BBF has re-introduced the playoffs, which will take place on August 23, 2009 across the country.
Teams that qualify from the North, Midlands and South will meet in a deciding nine-inning game. The winners of these playoff games will earn a place in the National Baseball Championship.
The return of the playoffs is expected to bring more excitement, as there will be more postseason places to fight for so postseason races are likely to go right to the end of the season. Teams' win-loss records may prove critical as they will be used to determine the teams that qualify for the postseason as well as home field advantage, which will be vital when teams from different regions meet.
The teams that qualify for the 2009 British National Baseball Championship will be able to compete in a format different from the Final 4 format adopted in previous years. The BBF has decided to adopt the Double-Elimination format that brought so much excitement to the World Baseball Classic last month.
See the separate 2009 Postseason and British National Baseball Championship article, which will appear on the website shortly, for more details.
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