Baseball in London? It’s a Real Thing, Even When the Yankees Aren’t Visiting

He grew up across the street from the field at Finsbury Park, and as a schoolboy was encouraged to play by a music teacher who coached softball at the park. Cramman fell in love with the game just as any child in Brooklyn, Tokyo or Caracas might, and joined a local club along with his North London neighbor and current teammate, Sam Sproule.

As the boys grew up, so did the club, eventually becoming the London Mets (a name shortened from the youth team moniker, the Meteors, and not a nod to the more famous New York team). The London Mets are the two-time defending champions of the British Baseball Federation’s National League and winners of three of the last four titles.

The National League is made up of four amateur teams, all within a 90-minute drive of one another in Greater London. Over the decades, teams and leagues in Britain have come and gone.

“A couple of years ago I was banging my head against the wall saying, ‘This is the National League, and we have dudes that don’t know the balk rule,’” Cramman said. “So, maybe it’s better that it’s a four-team league.”

Cramman is a bartender, but a good deal of his income comes from teaching top-flight professional cricket players how to properly field balls and make strong, accurate throws (he plays outfield in baseball). That helps cover the league entry fee of 200 pounds, or about $255, that is demanded of each player, except for one foreign recruit per team, who is given a stipend for travel and living expenses. For the Mets, that is Michael Hoyes from La Sierra University, in Southern California, and part of his gig is coaching the club’s minor league and youth teams.

Source: The New York Times

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