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Baseball in the United Kingdom

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Baseball in the United Kingdom
CountryUnited Kingdom
Governing bodyBritish Baseball Federation
National team(s)Men's national team;
Women's national team
First played1862
National competitions
  • British Baseball Federation
    AAA,
    AA and
    A divisions

Baseball is a growing, minor sport in the United Kingdom, with an estimated 22,500 people playing in 2020.[1]

The sport is governed by the British Baseball Federation, which runs a multi-tier national league. There are also independent regional leagues, and around 20 universities field teams currently in existence. In 1938 the Great Britain national baseball team won the Baseball World Cup, and were runners-up in the 1967 and 2007 European Baseball Championship. As of 2020 Great Britain competed internationally at under 12, under 15, under 18, under 23 and senior levels. The under 23 team placed fifth at the 2019 European Under 23 Baseball Championship.[2]

Despite relatively low numbers of participation in the United Kingdom, there have been a number players to have played in Major League Baseball. (MLB)[3] Amongst over 90 British and Irish players to have played in the MLB [4] Danny Cox, Lance Painter and Bobby Thomson are notable. Thomson hit the Shot Heard 'Round the World that took the New York Giants to the World Series in 1951.

A number of high-profile MLB players who can trace their ancestry to Britain and who qualified to represent the Great Britain national team despite never residing in the United Kingdom include former British national team coach and Hall of Fame inductee Trevor Hoffman, whose mother was English and whose grandfather was a professional footballer with Southend United.[5]

History

Origins

It is argued that modern "American baseball" can trace its roots to 18th century Britain,[6][7][8] with the earliest known mention and illustration of the game appearing in John Newbery's A Little Pretty Pocket-Book in 1744. The earliest known rules were printed in 1796, in Germany, as "Das Englische Base-ball". For a fuller context of the origins of baseball games in Britain see British baseball.

Although early varieties of baseball may have originated in Britain, modern baseball, as Americans would understand it, started to be played in Britain as early as the 1870s and it was fully developed by 1890, when the National Baseball League of Great Britain and Ireland was established. Professional baseball was especially popular in Britain during the 1930s and it enjoyed a heyday before the Second World War, but the outbreak of war led to a decline. Since the 1870s exhibition matches between American teams have been staged in Britain,[9] culminating in the MLB London Series in 2019, which sold out 120,000 tickets in less than an hour.[10] As a result, a number of MLB teams have small but dedicated fan clubs in the United Kingdom.

American influence in the 19th century

In the 1870s, baseball teams from the United States, including the Boston Red Stockings and Philadelphia Athletics, toured the United Kingdom, in an effort to popularise the sport,[11] but with limited success. At that time, John Wisden and Co. were the most famous supplier of essential baseball equipment, "as used by the baseball clubs now in England in all their matches", which shows that organised clubs did exist in England in some form as early as the 1870s.[12] Wisden remains a prominent name in international cricket today.

In 1888 the President of St. Louis, on returning to the United States from their European tour, remarked that "England is now educated up to American sports", and encouraged other American baseball club presidents to continue promoting the game in England.[13] Later in 1888, John Barnes, of the Western League St. Paul club, discussed his plans to travel to England to establish a "baseball syndicate" in London, Birmingham and other large cities.[14]

In 1889 the wealthy Albert Goodwill Spalding used his position as a former star player and as a leading sporting goods supplier to arrange yet another tour of the United Kingdom by American baseball stars including the Chicago White Stockings,[15] building on the earlier tours in the past decades. As with previous tours the cricket establishment of England was used to promote baseball, with the Prince of Wales one of the "very large number of spectators" to witness the game at the Oval,[16] and over 8,000 attended a game at Lord's.[17] On arriving at Bristol, Spalding paid tribute to the English cricket star W. G. Grace,[18] "the best known Englishman in the world".

Derby Baseball Club group photo
Derby Baseball Club were one of Britain's leading baseball teams in the 1890s

This tour led to a number of new baseball clubs springing up, such as York Baseball Club, formed at Stotts Refreshment Rooms in Parliament Street as early as March 1889.[19] The most notable of these new clubs was formed 1890, in Derby, as Ley's Recreation Club, by Francis Ley, a local man who had experienced the game on a trip to the United States. Following their first ever game (as Ley's Recreation Club) Ley began to appeal for "professionals aged 20 to 25" and "cricketers who can field smartly" to attend Ley's Recreation Centre to form a club, in March 1890[20] and Ley's Recreation Club became Derby Baseball Club. Despite evidence showing clubs such as York were formed slightly earlier than or at the same time as Derby, Ley erroneously claimed "we were really the first club formed in Great Britain" when discussing Derby in 1890.[21]

Ley, who certainly had "introduced baseball amongst his employees"[22] and was instrumental in providing superb facilities at Derby, was not in attendance in October 1889, when noted supporters of a new National League of Baseball of Great Britain met at the Criterion, London, to formally establish the new baseball association, though he was elected as a provisional officer. Representatives of Preston North End, Gloucester County Cricket Club, Essex County Cricket Club, Staffordshire County Cricket Club, Aston Villa and the National Rounders Association all were represented and elected as officers to the association, with Newton Crane elected to the chair.[22]

The new association quickly moved to establish a headquarters at 38 Holborn Viaduct, London, from where it would agree on and promote a set of rules by which the new National League would be played.[23] By July 1890 it was estimated that there were over 90 baseball clubs in England alone, with Derby Baseball Club being widely believed to be the best professional club in England.[24] Yorkshire proved to be a surprising hotbed of baseball by 1890 when it was reported that "there are more baseball clubs in Yorkshire than in any other county in England."[25] It was not totally unexpected when the Secretary of Essex County Cricket Club, Morton Peto Betts, resigned his position to take up the role of Secretary of the newly formed Baseball Association of Great Britain, in July 1890.[26]

Aston Villa, now known exclusively as a football club, won the only professional baseball championship in 1890. The competition was hindered by poor weather and disappointing crowds and made a loss for its investors.[27] Aston Villa's win was not without controversy, however, with both Aston Villa and Preston North End being found guilty of cheating during the season.[28] For much of the season Derby Baseball Club did lead the championship, however, pressure from other teams in the league over the number of American players on the Derby team and low attendances led to Derby being expelled before the end of the season, though at the time the club insisted they had "retired" as champions,[29] despite evidence to the contrary.

In response to the accusations against Derby of employing too many talented American baseball players, Ley wrote letters to editors of newspapers to state "Derby Baseball Club is the only one of the four League clubs to have not imported professional players from America" and went to lengths to point out the lack of support Spalding provided to Derby compared to the other clubs, which he was a major shareholder in.[21] Ironically, given the finger pointing at Ley for employing too many talented Americans, of the various American baseball players sent across to coach and play baseball in England, in the 1890 season, the most prominent was arguably Preston North End captain Leech Maskrey, who had played Major League Baseball. In August 1890 the Preston club organised a presentation for their captain, who was returning to the United States.[30] Meanwhile, Spalding turned his attention to establishing collegiate baseball in the United Kingdom[31] with very little success.

In March 1890 Edinburgh Northern Baseball Club began to meet for practice[32] and Spalding's influence was obvious when The Spalding Baseball Club of Aberdeen sprung to life in July 1890, their headquarters being at 59 Princes Street.[33] By August 1890 the financial backing of Spalding resulted in two local rivals emerging in Aberdeen, the Spalding Baseball Club and Aberdeen Baseball Club, who played at The Links. The two competed for the Spalding 50 guinea Challenge Cup[34] and the right to take on the University Baseball Club of Edinburgh, evidence of Spalding's desire to establish collegiate baseball in the United Kingdom. Wales, possibly due to the continued popularity of British or Welsh Baseball, was slower to adopt the American game. In April 1893 The Cardiff Central were formed, and claimed to organise "the first game of American baseball played in South Wales." They were based at Grangetown.[35]

The Golden Age and Postwar Decline

Baseball's peak popularity in Britain was in the years immediately preceding World War II. Professional baseball teams often shared grounds with football clubs and the game was run at a professional standard with up to 10,000 spectators per game. In 1933, in response to a challenge from Major League Baseball's National League President, John Haydler, the wealthy British gambling tycoon, Sir John Moores, established the National Baseball Association and continued to fund the establishment of amateur and professional leagues in England.

With the golden age, British baseball achieved a major milestone in 1938, with the victory of Great Britain over the United States, in the 1938 Amateur World Series, considered the first World Cup of Baseball. The series was created by Sir John Moores, with the 1939 Amateur World Series competition initially being named the John Moore's Cup.

With the backing of Sir John Moores an England baseball team was given financial support to compete in the 1939 series, in Havana, presumably as defending champions Great Britain. In doing so they would have become the first national representative team to compete outside the United Kingdom[36] but the outbreak of the Second World War interrupted the development of British baseball, the team withdrew and the sport entered into decline. Following the war, in July 1951, Wolsley Athletic (Birmingham) became the first British baseball team to play in continental Europe, in an official game, in Belgium.[37]

British and Irish players in Major League Baseball

Over 90 players born in Britain and Ireland, or who qualified to play for the Great Britain national team, have played in the MLB. This includes players born in Ireland before the partition of Ireland and Ireland ceding from the United Kingdom and players from the Bahamas who qualified through ancestral heritage.

At present

As of the 2021 season, there are 90 teams from 48 baseball clubs actively participating in leagues, and 1,500 adult and Junior (under 18) players ranging geographically from London to Liverpool, St Austell to Edinburgh.

There have been numerous league formats since 1890. The British Baseball Federation (BBF) is the governing body for baseball in the UK and the baseball leagues. The season runs from April until August. Affiliated baseball clubs pay annual affiliation fees to be a member of the BBF and play in the BBF Leagues and Junior Leagues. There are three leagues independent of the British Baseball Federation: the Scottish National League, run by Baseball Scotland; the Northern Baseball League containing mainly teams based in Northern England; and the South West and Wales Baseball League, representing some of the teams in the South West of England, plus one team in Wales. There is also a full Great Britain Baseball Programme which comprises the Great Britain Baseball Academy,[38] junior national teams and Great Britain 'Seniors' Baseball Team. British national teams have competed in the European Baseball Championships[39] and the World Baseball Classic.[40]

The BBF league format is divided into the national divisions, consisting of four tiers from the National League, down to the Single-A league. At the end of the season, all divisions compete in post-season tournaments where the top teams from each conference play knockout matches, with the winning teams then progressing to the Championship Series. The Championship Series of the National League is best of three; the AAA, AA and A championships are single games.

The Independent leagues compete against the teams in their own leagues, and in 2017 the first Independent leagues finals weekend was held at Hull, which consisted of semi-finals between the champions of the Independent leagues and a final held the next day. This was followed by an England v Scotland friendly All-Star game.

Baseball in Northern Ireland is affiliated to Baseball Ireland for practical reasons. Northern Ireland's only team, the Belfast Northstars, play in the Irish Adult League.

British University Baseball has also been growing, with 20 universities with clubs at the end of the 2015/16 season: Cambridge, Coventry, Durham, Edinburgh, Essex, Hull, Imperial, Leeds Beckett, Leeds Gryphons Baseball Club, Loughborough, Manchester Metropolitan University (Cheshire), Nottingham University, Nottingham Trent University, Sheffield, Southampton, Stirling, Swansea, UCL and University of East Anglia. The university season runs from September to May, the typical off-season for the sport. Without a British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) league, teams compete in the National University Baseball Championships (NUBC) tournament, which happens twice a year in the spring and the autumn and is run by BaseballSoftballUK (BSUK). The Spring 2016 Champions are Loughborough, and have won the past 3 NUBC tournaments. Despite not having a BUCS league, a Northern University Baseball League was set up for the 2015/16 season, and is planned to expand and be renamed to the National University Baseball League, and have a similar set up to the BBF leagues.

National Baseball Champions

Season Winners Score Runners-up Comments
1890 Aston Villa Preston North End No playoff
1892 Middlesbrough 25–16 St. Thomas's
1893 Thespian London 33–6 Darlington St. Augustine's
1894 Thespian London 38–14 Stockton-on-Tees
1895 Derby Baseball Club 20–16 Fullers
1896 Wallsend-On-Tyne 16–10 Remingtons
1897 Derby Baseball Club 30–7 Middlesbrough
1899 Derby Baseball Club 14–3 Nottingham Forest
1900 Nottingham Forest 17–16 Derby Baseball Club
1906 Tottenham Hotspur
1907 Clapton Orient 8–7 Fulham
1908 Tottenham Hotspur 6–5 Leyton
1909 Clapton Orient 6–4 Leyton
1910 Brentford 20–5 West Ham United
1911 Leyton 6–5 Crystal Palace
1934 Hatfield 13–12 Albion
1935 New London 7–1 Rochdale Greys
1936 White City 9–5 Catford Saints
1937 Hull 5–1 Romford Wasps
1938 Rochdale Greys 1–0 Oldham Greyhounds 15 innings
1939 Halifax 9–5 Rochdale Greys
1948 Liverpool Robins 13–0 Thames Board Mills
1949 Hornsey Red Sox 10–5 Liverpool Cubs
1950 Burtonwood Bees 23–2 Hornsey Red Sox
1951 Burtonwood Bees 9–2 Ruislip Rockets
1959 Thames Board Mills 12–4 East Hull Aces
1960 Thames Board Mills 6–1 Liverpool Tigers
1962 Liverpool Tigers 8–3 East Hull Aces
1963 East Hull Aces 8–3 Garringtons
1965 Kingston Aces 4–2 Stretford Saints
1966 Stretford Saints 3–1 Liverpool Aces
1967 Liverpool Yankees 4–2 Beckenham Bluejays
1968 Hull Aces 4–1 Hull Royals
1969 Watford-Sun Rockets 8–7 Liverpool Trojans 11 innings
1970 Hull Royals 3–1 Hull Aces
1971 Liverpool Tigers 8–3 Hull Aces
1972 Hull Aces 6–4 Hull Royals
1973 Burtonwood Yanks 23–3 Hull Aces
1974 Nottingham Lions 5–3 Hull Royals
1975 Liverpool Tigers 5–3 Nottingham Lions
1976 Liverpool Trojans 5–4 Spirit Of '76
1977 Golders Green Sox 9–5 Hull Aces
1978 Liverpool Trojans 14–12 Crawley Giants
1979 Golders Green Sox 9–7 Hull Aces
1980 Liverpool Trojans 12–1 Hull Aces
1981 London Warriors 23–1 Hull Aces
1982 London Warriors 16–7 Liverpool Trojans
1983 Cobham Yankees 10–3 Hull Mets
1984 Croydon Blue Jays 9–8 Hull Mets
1985 Hull Mets 10–8 London Warriors
1986 Cobham Yankees 12–5 Hull Mets
1987 Cobham Yankees 6–0 Southglade Hornets
1988 Cobham Yankees 16–1 Burtonwood Braves
1989 Enfield Spartans 15–9 Sutton Braves
1990 Enfield Spartans 22–3 Hull Mets
1991 Enfield Spartans 9–7, 2–4, 4–1 London Athletics Spartans won 2 games to 1
1992 BBF Leeds City Royals Humberside Mets Awarded championship by walkover
1992 NL London Warriors 23–0, 5–4 Enfield Spartans Warriors won 2 games to 0
1993 BBF Humberside Mets and Chicksands Indians Title decider not played
1993 NL London Warriors 2–1 Enfield Spartans
1994 BBF Humberside Mets 2–3, 10–0, 8–0 Essex Arrows Mets won 2 games to 1
1994 NL Enfield Spartans 8–5 Waltham Forest Angels
1995 Menwith Hill Pirates 3–2, 7–6 London Warriors Pirates won 2 games to 0
1996 Menwith Hill Pirates 14–9, 11–23, 18–12 London Warriors Pirates won 2 games to 1
1997 London Warriors 11–5, 31–12 Kingston-upon-Hull Cobras Warriors won 2 games to 0
1998 Menwith Hill Patriots 13–5, 17–15 London Warriors Patriots won 2 games to 0
1999 Brighton Buccaneers 16–4 Windsor Bears
2000 London Warriors 11–7 Brighton Buccaneers
2001 Brighton Buccaneers 8–5 Windsor Bears
2002 Brighton Buccaneers 5–1 Windsor Bears
2003 Windsor Bears 9–4 Brighton Buccaneers
2004 Croydon Pirates 12–10 Windsor Bears
2005 Croydon Pirates 11–4, 10–9 Brighton Buccaneers Pirates won 2 games to 0
2006 Richmond Flames 7–11, 8–5, 9–0 Croydon Pirates Flames won 2 games to 1
2007 London Mets 7–2, 11–1 Croydon Pirates Mets won 2 games to 0
2008 London Mets 11–4 Richmond Flames
2009 Bracknell Blazers 16–4 Richmond Flames
2010 Richmond Flames 10–1 Bracknell Blazers
2011 Harlow Nationals 13–3 Lakenheath Diamondbacks
2012 Harlow Nationals 6–3 Herts Falcons
2013 Southern Nationals 12–7 Southampton Mustangs
2014 Essex Arrows 5–1, 5–4 London Mets Arrows won 2 games to 0
2015 London Mets 6–2, 11–2 Southampton Mustangs Mets won 2 games to 0
2016 Southampton Mustangs 0–1, 7–3, 9–4 London Mets Mustangs won 2 games to 1
2017 London Mets 15–14, 6–0 Southampton Mustangs Mets won 2 games to 0
2018 London Mets 16–1, 11–1 Herts Falcons Mets won 2 games to 0
2019 London Mets 14–4 London Capitals
2020 London Mets 9–1 London Capitals
2021 London Mets
2022 London Mets[41] 9–4[42] London Capitals

Championships by Region

Region Number of
championships
Towns/Cities
London 35 London (35)
North West 16 Liverpool (9), Warrington (3), Preston (1), Rochdale (1), Stretford (1)
Yorkshire and the Humber 14 Hull (9), Harrogate (3), Halifax (1), Leeds (1)
South East 10 Cobham (4), Brighton (3), Bracknell (1), Southampton (1), Windsor (1)
East of England 7 Harlow (2), Purfleet (2), Bedford (1), Waltham Abbey (1), Watford (1)
East Midlands 5 Derby (3), Nottingham (2)
North East 2 Middlesbrough (1), Newcastle (1)
West Midlands 1 Birmingham (1)
Scotland
South West
Wales

League System (2021)

Due to the large turnover of teams (from baseball currently not being a professional sport in the United Kingdom), the league structure changes every season. For 2021, the format is the following:

Level

League(s)/Division(s)

BBF and Affiliated Leagues
1

BBF National Baseball League
6 teams from 4 clubs

2

BBF Triple-A Division South
7 teams from 6 clubs

BBF Triple-A Division South West
4 teams from 4 clubs

3

BBF Double-A Division Central
6 teams from 6 clubs

BBF Triple-A Division South East
6 teams from 5 clubs

4

BBF Single-A Division Central 6 teams from 3 clubs
BBF Single-A Division South 6 teams from 4 clubs
BBF Single-A Division South East 6 teams from 4 clubs

South West and Wales Baseball League – Severn Division
4 teams from 3 clubs

South West and Wales Baseball League – Wessex Division
4 teams from 4 clubs

Unaffiliated Leagues
1

BBL Northern Baseball League Triple-A Division
4 teams from 4 clubs

Scottish National League
6 teams from 4 clubs

Westcountry Baseball League
5 teams from 5 clubs

West Midlands Baseball League
7 teams from 7 clubs

2

BBL Northern Baseball League Double-A Division
4 teams from 4 clubs

3

BBL Northern Baseball League Single-A Division
6 teams from 4 clubs

2021 Clubs

Note: This list does not contain clubs who failed to opt in to the 2021 league system and are officially listed as inactive. Youth teams are also not included.

Club Team Name City/Area Ballpark Division Club Founded
   
   
Aberdeen BC
Granite City Oilers Aberdeen, Aberdeen George W. Chalmers Field SNL 2013
Aberdeen Thistles New entry Women – Scotland
   
   
BC Vetra
BC Vetra Increase Saltford, Somerset Wedmore Road AAA – South West 2020
   
   
Belles Baseball
Belles Baseball New entry Slough, Berkshire Farnham Park Women – England 2021
   
   
Birmingham Metalheads BC
Birmingham Metalheads New entry Birmingham, West Midlands Marston Green Recreational Ground WMBL 2021
   
   
Bournemouth Bears BC
Bournemouth Bears Ferndown, Dorset Ferndown Leisure Centre AAA – South West 2018
Bournemouth Bears (A) SWWBL – Severn
   
   
Bracknell B&SC
Bracknell Inferno Bracknell, Berkshire Westmorland Park A – South 1992
   
   
Brighton BC
Brighton Jets Brighton and Hove, East Sussex Pavilion Field A – South 2016
Brighton Brewers New entry
   
   
Bristol BC
Bristol Badgers Increase Keynsham, Somerset Somerdale Pavilion AAA – South West 2008
Bristol Bats Decrease SWWBL – Severn
Bristol Brunels New entry
Bristol Buccaneers Decrease SWWBL – Wessex
Bristol Bobcats New entry Women – England
   
   
Cambridge Baseball
Cambridge Monarchs Cambridge, Cambridgeshire Coldhams Recreation Ground AA – Central 2011
Cambridge Valkyries New entry Women – England
   
   
Croydon Pirates Baseball
Croydon Pirates Sutton, London Roundshaw Grounds AA – South East 1981
   
   
Cardiff Merlins Baseball
Cardiff Merlins Increase Cardiff, Cardiff Pontcanna Fields SWWBL – Severn 2018
   
   
Cartmel Valley Lions BC
Cartmel Valley Lions Cartmel, Cumbria Cartmel Priority School Field BBL – AAA 1993
   
   
Cornish ClayCutters BC
Cornish ClayCutters Increase St. Austell, Cornwall St Mewan School Field SWWBL – Wessex 2017
   
   
County Durham Spartans BC
County Durham Spartans Increase Staindrop, County Durham Staindrop Academy BBL – AA 2017
   
   
East London LATIN BOYS BT
East London LATIN BOYS Waltham Forest, London Salisbury Hall Playing Field AAA – South 2011
East London LATIN BOYS (AA) AA – South East
   
   
Edinburgh BC
Edinburgh Diamond Devils Edinburgh, Edinburgh Bobby Thompson Field SNL 1985
Edinburgh Cannons
   
   
Essex Arrows BC
Essex Arrows Waltham Abbey, Essex Townmead Leisure Park BBF NBL 1983
Essex Arrows (AAA) New entry AAA – South
Essex Archers Increase AA – Central
   
   
Glasgow BC
Glasgow Galaxy Glasgow, Glasgow Tolcross Field SNL 1997
Glasgow Comets
   
   
Guildford B&SC
Guildford Mavericks Guildford, Surrey Christ's College AA – South East 1992
Guildford Gold Cats New entry A – South
Guildford Millers
   
   
Herts Baseball
Herts Falcons Increase Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire Grovehill Ballpark BBF NBL 1996
Herts Hawks Increase AA – Central
Herts Eagles Increase A – Central
Herts Londoners Increase
Herts Raptors Increase
   
   
Hull Scorpions BC
Hull Scorpions Decrease Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire Eastmount Recreation Centre BBL – A
   
   
Kent Buccaneers BC
Kent Buccaneers Hadlow, Kent Williams Field AAA – South 2018
Kent Buccaneers Development Team A – South East
   
   
Kent Mariners BC
Kent Mariners Aylesford, Kent Cobdown Park A – South East -
   
   
Legends BC
Lancashire Legends Sutton, London Roundshaw Grounds BBF NBL 2020
London Legends New entry
   
   
Leicester Blue Sox
Leicester Blue Sox Decrease Leicester, Leicestershire Western Park WMBL 2006
   
   
Liverpool Trojans BC
Liverpool Trojans Sefton, Merseyside Bootle Stadium BBL – AAA 1946
Liverpool Twojans BBL – AA
   
   
London Mets B&SC
London Mets Haringey, London Finsbury Park BBF NBL 1988
London Capitals
London Mammoths AAA – South
London Marauders
London Musketeers AA – South East
London Sidewinders
London Minotaurs A – Central
London Mustangs
London Mayhem New entry Women – England
   
   
Long Eaton Storm
Long Eaton Storm Decrease Long Eaton, Derbyshire West Park Leisure Centre WMBL 2014
   
   
Manchester BC
Manchester As Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester Wythenshawe Park BBL – AAA 1947
Manchester Bees BBL – A
   
   
Milton Keynes BC
Milton Keynes Bucks Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire Woughton on the Green AA – Central 1986
   
   
Newcastle Nighthawks BC
Newcastle Nighthawks Increase Newcastle, Tyne and Wear Gosforth Sports Association BBL – AA 2017
   
   
Norwich Baseball
Norwich Iceni Norwich, Norfolk University of East Anglia AA – Central 2017
   
   
Oxford Kings BC
Oxford Kings Increase Oxford, Oxfordshire Horspath Sports Ground AA – Central 1998
   
   
Redbacks BC
Essex Redbacks Chelmsford, Essex Melbourne Park AAA – South
Essex Redbacks (A) A – Central
   
   
Richmond B&SC
Richmond Knights Increase Richmond upon Thames, London Flood Field AAA – South 1992
Richmond Dragons AA – South East
Richmond Dukes A – South
   
   
Sheffield Bladerunners
Sheffield Bladerunners I Sheffield, South Yorkshire Forge Valley BBL – AAA 1985
Sheffield Bladerunners II Increase
Sheffield Bladerunners III BBL – A
   
   
Sheffield Bruins BC
Sheffield Bruins Decrease Sheffield, South Yorkshire Thorpe Green Park BBL – AAA 2018
Sheffield Cubs New entry BBL – A
Sheffield Bruins Women New entry Women – England
   
   
South Coast Pirates BC
South Coast Pirates Decrease Hastings, East Sussex Bexhill Park A – South East 2018
South Coast Seadogs
   
   
Stourbridge Titans BC
Stourbridge Titans Stourbridge, West Midlands Gibson Field WMBL 2011
   
   
Taunton Muskets BC
Taunton Muskets Decrease Taunton, Somerset Muskets Field SWWBL – Wessex 2014
   
   
Tayport Breakers BC
Tayport Breakers Tayport, Fife Tom Waddell Memorial Baseball Field SNL 2020
   
   
Telford BC
Telford Giants Telford, Shropshire Meadow Recreation Ground WMBL 2020
Telford 26ers New entry Women – England
   
   
Tonbridge Baseball
Tonbridge Bobcats Tonbridge, Kent Borley Field A – South East 1982
Tonbridge Wildcats New entry
   
   
SW Rebeldes BC
SW Rebeldes Increase Saltford, Somerset Wedmore Road AAA – South West 2020
   
   
Women's Baseball UK
WB-UK Nomads New entry n/a – travelling team n/a Women – Scotland 2021
   
   
Weston Jets BC
Weston Jets Increase Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset Hutton Moor SWWBL – Wessex 2018
   
   
Wolverhampton BC
Wolverhampton Wolves Wolverhampton, West Midlands Colton Hills Community School WMBL 2019
   
   
Worcester BC
Worcester Sorcerers Worcester, Worcestershire Merlin Field WMBL 2019

See also

References

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