2023 was the 94th season of competitive baseball in the United Kingdom .
This season saw the National Baseball League contract from 7 teams to 6, with BC Vetra and both Legends clubs (London and Lancashire) leaving, being replaced by the Herts Falcons (who last competed in 2021) and the East London Latin Boys.[ 1]
Three previously independent leagues, the British Baseball League (Featuring teams from the North West of England), the East of England Baseball League (Representing teams from the East Midlands and East of England) and the North East Baseball League all affiliated themselves with the BBF, being added to the pyramid.[ 2]
The BBF season had its opening day on 16 April, with the NBL season ending on 13 August.[ 1] Farnham Park National Baseball & Softball Complex in Buckinghamshire, with the Single-Game Semi-Finals happening on 20 August, and the Final (reverting to a Best-of-3 series for the first time since 2018) being held across 26 and 27 August.[ 3] [citation needed
National Baseball League
Location of the 2023 National Baseball League Teams
Teams
Standings
Pos
Team
Pld
W
L
Win%
GB
Qualification
1
London Mets
25
22
3
0.880
–
Qualify for Playoffs
2
Essex Arrows
25
20
5
0.800
2
3
London Capitals
22
13
9
0.591
7.5
4
Sheffield Bruins
19
7
12
0.368
12
5
Herts Falcons
23
4
19
0.174
17
6
East London Latin Boys
22
2
20
0.091
18.5
Source: BBF
Correct as of 13/08/23
Playoffs
Semi Finals NBL National Championship 1
London Mets
11
4
Sheffield Bruins
0
1
London Mets
3
5
14
3
London Capitals
5
0
0
2
Essex Arrows
5
3
London Capitals
7
British Baseball Federation and Affiliated Leagues
Triple A Level
BBF AAA
Teams
Location of the 2023 BBF Triple A Teams
Standings
Pos
Team
Pld
W
L
Win%
GB
Qualification
1
Bournemouth Bears
25
19
6
0.760
–
Qualification to Playoffs
2
Richmond Knights
26
19
7
0.731
0.5
3
London Metros
25
17
8
0.680
2
4
Herts Cardinals
25
13
12
0.520
6
5
Bristol Badgers
28
12
16
0.429
8.5
6
Croydon Pirates
27
11
16
0.407
9
7
Essex Redbacks
27
10
17
0.370
10
8
Kent Buccaneers
25
3
22
0.120
16
Source: BBF
Playoffs
Semi Finals AAA Championship 1
Bournemouth Bears
9
4
Herts Cardinals
5
1
Bournemouth Bears
9
2
London Metros
7
2
London Metros
9
3
Richmond Knights
6
BBL - Higher
Teams
Standings
Pos
Team
Pld
W
L
Win%
GB
Qualification
1
Liverpool Trojans Navy
22
19
3
0.864
–
Advance to Final
2
Liverpool Trojans Army
22
17
5
0.773
2
Advance to Wild Card
3
Manchester A's
22
12
10
0.545
7
4
Sheffield Kodiaks
20
5
15
0.250
14
5
Manchester Bees
22
1
21
0.045
18
Source: BBF
Correct as of 20/08/23
Playoffs
Wild Card BBL Higher Championship 1
Liverpool Trojans Navy
10
9
6
2
Liverpool Trojans Army
8
2
Liverpool Trojans Army
13
6
5
3
Manchester A's
3
Double A Level
BBF AA
Teams
Standings
Pos
Team
Pld
W
L
Win%
GB
Qualification
1
Cambridge Lancers
19
15
4
0.789
–
Advance to Playoffs
2
Norwich Iceni
19
15
4
0.789
0
3
Milton Keynes Bucks
17
10
7
0.588
4
4
Essex Archers
20
7
13
0.350
8.5
5
Herts Hawks
21
1
20
0.048
15
South
Teams
Standings
Pos
Team
Pld
W
L
T
Win%
GB
Qualification
1
London Sidewinders
25
20
5
0
0.800
–
Advance to Playoffs
2
East London Latin Boys
25
19
6
0
0.760
1
3
London Musketeers
25
14
11
0
0.560
6
4
London Meteors
25
13
11
1
0.540
6.5
5
Formosa Islanders
23
5
17
1
0.239
12
6
Herts Ducks
23
1
22
0
0.043
17.5
Teams
Standings
Pos
Team
Pld
W
L
T
Win%
GB
Qualification
1
Richmond Dragons
20
15
5
0
0.750
–
Advance to Playoffs
2
Bracknell Inferno
19
12
7
0
0.632
2.5
3
Guildford Mavericks
18
8
10
0
0.444
6
4
Bristol Bats
17
7
9
1
0.441
6
5
Oxford Kings
18
3
14
1
0.194
10.5
South East
Teams
Standings
Pos
Team
Pld
W
L
Win%
GB
Qualification
1
Hurricanes Baseball
18
15
3
0.833
–
Advance to Playoffs
2
Brighton Brewers
19
15
4
0.789
0.5
3
Tonbridge Wildcats
19
7
12
0.368
8.5
4
Kent Mariners
15
5
10
0.333
8.5
5
Croydon Pirates
17
2
15
0.118
12.5
Playoffs
Semi Finals AA Championship S
London Sidewinders
17
C&E
Norwich Iceni
2
S
London Sidewinders
8
SE
Hurricanes
10
SE
Hurricanes
16
S&SW
Richmond Dragons
13
Single A Level
BBF Single A
Playoffs
Wild Card Semi Finals A Championship SWWBL
Cardiff Merlins I
12
SCB
Herts Ravens
2
SCB
Herts Ravens
18
EEBL
Cambridge Royals
1
SWWBL
Cardiff Merlins I
10
SCA
London Mustangs
0
SE
Tonbridge Bobcats
2
SCA
London Mustangs
13
Summer Cup
On the weekend of 22 and 23 July, the BBF hosted the inaugural Summer Cup, a 2-day Tournament run from Farnham Park. 24 teams from 22 clubs took part, with a variety of teams makeups, including representative teams from Baseball Scotland, Baseball Ireland, the South West and Wales Baseball League, and the East of England Baseball league, plus teams from non-BBF Clubs, such as the Long Eaton Storm, Stockton Grizzlies, and BC Vetra.
Initially, the 3 tiers (Gold, for AAA and NBL-level teams, Silver, for AA and high independent-level teams, and Bronze, for A and low independent-level teams) were split into groups of 4, each of which would play a round-robin, with positional playoffs. However, due to inclement weather over the weekend, this format was instead changed to a single-elimination knockout, with losing teams moving into a lower bracket to decide positions.
Teams
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Baseball Ireland
Bracknell Inferno
Croydon Pirates
Baseball Scotland
Bristol Bats
Fire Breathing Kittens
BC Vetra
Bournemouth Bears
Guilford BC
Croydon Pirates
Formosa Islanders
Kent Mariners
Essex BC
Long Eaton Storm
London Mets
Liverpool Trojans
Norwich Iceni
New Forest Thunder Knights
London Mets
Newcastle Nighthawks
South West & Wales League
Sheffield Bruins
University of Nottingham
Stockton Grizzlies
Gold Bracket
Main Bracket
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
London Mets
7
BC Vetra
1
London Mets
3
Croydon Pirates
1
Croydon Pirates
15
Baseball Ireland
0
London Mets
3
Essex BC
2
Liverpool Trojans
6
Baseball Scotland
7
Baseball Scotland
3
Third Place Play-Off
Essex BC
5
Essex BC
11
Baseball Scotland
13
Sheffield Bruins
1
Croydon Pirates
2
Consolation Bracket
Consolation Semi-Finals
5th Place Play-Off
BC Vetra
4
Baseball Ireland
3
BC Vetra
2
Liverpool Trojans
6
Liverpool Trojans
8
Sheffield Bruins
5
7th Place Playoff
Baseball Ireland
15
Sheffield Bruins
1
Silver Bracket
Main Bracket
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Bournemouth Bears
3
Bracknell Inferno
6
Bracknell Inferno
7
Norwich Iceni
8
Norwich Iceni
12
U of Nottingham
2
Norwich Iceni
3
Long Eaton Storm
6
Newcastle Nighthawks
1
Long Eaton Storm
2
Long Eaton Storm
12
Third Place Play-Off
Bristol Bats
1
Bristol Bats
w/o
Bracknell Inferno
w/o
Formosa Islanders
Bristol Bats
Consolation Bracket
Consolation Semi-Finals
5th Place Play-Off
Bournemouth Bears
7
U of Nottingham
4
Bournemouth Bears
2
Newcastle Nighthawks
9
Newcastle Nighthawks
w/o
Formosa Islanders
7th Place Playoff
U of Nottingham
w/o
Formosa Islanders
Bronze Bracket
Main Bracket
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Croydon Pirates
7
London Mets
8
London Mets
13
Stockton Grizzlies
6
New Forest Thunder Knights
3
Stockton Grizzlies
11
London Mets
8
SWWBL
7
Guildford BC
7
Fire Breathing Kittens
12
Fire Breathing Kittens
8
Third place play-off
SWWBL
13
Kent Mariners
6
Stockton Grizzlies
9
SWWBL
24
Fire Breathing Kittens
17
Consolation Bracket
Consolation Semi-Finals
5th Place Play-Off
Croydon Pirates
New Forest Thunder Knights
w/o
New Forest Thunder Knights
12
Kent Mariners
13
Guildford BC
6
Kent Mariners
7
7th Place Playoff
Croydon Pirates
Guildford BC
w/o
References
Governing bodies National teams Clubs Seasons Venues Hosted events
British Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
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