Manchester Baseball Club
| Manchester Baseball Club | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | British (North AAA, North AA) | ||||
| Location | Manchester, England | ||||
| Ballpark | Wythenshawe Park | ||||
| Year founded | 1947 | ||||
| Nickname(s) | A's, Torrent | ||||
| Manager | Chris Jackson, Ian Marchment | ||||
| |||||
Manchester Baseball Club is one of the largest baseball clubs in the north of England, with two senior teams and four youth teams playing in the British Baseball Federation leagues. The club can trace its roots back as far as 1947, with the formation of the Stretford Saints. Although the Saints club folded in 1973, the name hung around, with the Trafford Saints youth team playing during the 1990s with reasonable success. Trafford merged with the senior Manchester team in 2000, creating the MBC as it is today.
Senior Teams
Around the turn of the 21st century, the senior first team was known as the Manchester Express, after a sponsorship deal with equipment supplier Baseball Express.[1] After the 2003 season, the Express became the Eagles, with the erstwhile A's remaining as the second team. Also at this time a third team, the Torrent, was created to give less experienced players a chance to develop their skills. In the winter of 08/09, the Eagles were disbanded and the A's became the senior squad, and the Torrent entered the BBF leagues for the first time after previously only playing friendly matches.
As of the start of the 2010 season, the A's are playing in the Northern division of the British AAA league, and the Torrent compete in the Northern division of the British AA league.
2009 Season
2009 was a season of mixed fortunes for the MBC teams. The A's made it to the AA Final Four Tournament after finishing third in the Northern League with a record of 18-6. They also finished in 3rd place at the Final Four after losing to the Mildenhall Bulldogs before beating the Kent Mariners.[2] The Torrent had a tough first league season, winning only five games and suffering several forfeits. They ended the league season in 9th place out of ten teams, but will hope to come back stronger in 2010 after a league reshuffle left them with much more favourable opposition.[3]
2010 Season
2010 saw the A's finish with a 14-10 record, and a second third-place finish it 2 seasons for the A's, although with qualification criteria upped to the AAA level this season they did not make the cut for Final Four Tournament. The Torrent built upon last seasons beginnings and finished with a 9-13 record, having let the division in the summer months only to struggle late in the season and finish only above local rivals Oldham Northstars.
Junior Teams
The Manchester Saints have junior teams in three age groups for 2010: Rookie for 7-10s, Pony for 10-13s and Bronco for 13-16s.
References
- ↑ Baseball Express sponsor MBC first team, http://www.manchesterbaseballclub.co.uk/history.html
- ↑ BSUK National Championship report http://www.baseballsoftballuk.com/gen_insert.php?from_level3=Articles&db_story=3377&this_page=baseballnews&back=Current%20%20News
- ↑ BSUK Northern League table 2009 http://www.baseballsoftballuk.com/baseballresults.php?Hold_League=140&Hold_Season=2009