Due to an unexpected injury, the planned articles have had to be abandoned for the year. Instead, the final two pieces will first look back at the distinguished careers of the 2008 Thieves hall of fame class, and finally look forwards to the fall as we welcome the next generation of ball players into the organisation.

 

The University of Nottingham baseball club was set up in January 2006, and on a cold, wet Monday evening, the sports hall opened to welcome the first ever crop of prospective baseballers at the university. That pioneering generation included such household names as Adam Brown, Oliver Ross, Lynn Kozak, John Irving, and Adam Peel, all of whom held positions of authority in those first two tremulous years.

 

The Thieves did not get off to a particularly auspicious start in 2006, turnout was low, organisation lacking, and the standard was not up to the level now associated with Thieves baseball. The lone game of the 2006 season, a friendly against some local players was lost, and the club were embarrassingly only able to turn out 7 players for the game. The final score, sadly, has not been recorded.

 

Things started to look up in the fall, with a bright new crop of talent emerging, and the Thieves went on to win their first three official games, and came runners up in their first drunken cup. A turning point in the clubs history perhaps? All this would not have been possible however, without the hard work and dedication of that first generation, playing through mud and rain in the dismal first season. As several of those players are now leaving the university, it has been universally decided to start a Nottingham Thieves Hall of Fame. Inductees are awarded a commemorative key-ring, and their shirt number is retired for a minimum of three years. The Hall of Fame has strict induction criteria: the applicant must have represented the university for a minimum of three years; the applicant must have held a committee position for at least one year; and the applicant must have a minimum career batting average of .300. Two Thieves qualify this year: John Irving and Adam Peel.

 

John Irving, 37

 

Thieves 2006-2008 (first base, third base, outfield, pitcher)

President 2006-2007

Web-Master 2006-2008

Silver Slugger 2008

 

John joined the club in Jan 2006, after seeing a poster in the student bar. He was one of the only players at that time to have had any previous experience of playing baseball, having spent time during his formative years in Japan. Initially inked in as the Thieves star pitcher, John underwent a set-back in the fall of 2006 as he damaged his elbow and required surgery. Upon return in the spring of 2007, he established himself as a star of the side, with his power hitting from the cleanup spot, and versatility in the field. He went on to collect the silver slugger award in his final season, and is the current Thieves home run leader, with 7 long balls to his name.

After a somewhat mixed record as president, John has proved an exceptional webmaster, dedicating many hours in designing a cutting edge website, and in his final year became very much the social hub of the club, and an integral part of all the club’s off-the-field activity. John will be very much missed next year, both on and off the field.

 

 

Adam Peel, 24

Thieves 2006-2008 (third base, pitcher)

Social Secretary 2006-2007

President 2007-2008

Golden Glove 2007

 

I first suggested to Adam that he joined the fledgling baseball club having seen his strong arm and exceptional co-ordination during cricket nets. Fortunately for the club he accepted this idea, and soon learned to transfer his cricketing skills across to baseball, becoming an accomplished third-baseman and pitcher. His cricket roots still show through however, in his tendency to charge up the batters box to attack slower pitchers, and his unorthodox technique of discarding his glove when charging bunts. His exceptional fielding instincts led to a gold glove award in his first full season, and his remarkable final career era of 2.57 is unlikely to ever be beaten.

Adam was an excellent social secretary and subsequently president in the important formative years of the club, and his undaunted enthusiasm for any task was always much appreciated. Always a well-known and well-liked figure within the club, Ad is living and working in Nottingham for the next year, and might yet return as Thief as a PGCE student in 2009. Hopefully we will continue to see plenty of him in the years to come.

 

 

Also leaving the club in 2008:

 

Rowan Ellis (team player award 2007)

Masa Togashi (team player award 2008)

Phil Longdin

Jake Charron

Kartik Krishnan

 

 

Good luck to all the ex-Thieves!

 

Next week: A look ahead to 2008/2009. What will the fourth generation of Thieves bring?