The Knights had a rough May. It took two wins to close out the month to bring Brooklyn back to .500 in May with a 14-14 record. Poor play on the road has been Brooklyn’s problem this season, going 12-15 away from home. The Knights have a fragile one game lead over the Mudcats heading into June.

Richmond’s Tony Rodarte had been destroying opposing pitchers all season long until going to the DL on May 13 with a herniated disc in his neck. At first, the Slam stayed hot even without Rodarte in the lineup. His absence in the lineup eventually caught up with the team, however, as Richmond lost eight of its last nine games to finish the month.

May 2014 awards:

League 1
Batter of the Month: Manuel Montaya (Luisville Beasts)
Pitcher of the Month: Francisco Rodil (Nashville Firecats)
Rookie of the Month: Manuel Montaya (Luisville Beasts)

League 2
Batter of the Month: Ricardo González (Key West Corals)
Pitcher of the Month: Stokley McGruder (Phoenix Rattlers)
Rookie of the Month: Kurt Johnson (Key West Corals)

The Knights sputtered a bit out of the gate, losing four out of their first seven games. Brooklyn was hot for the rest of April, however, and finished on a 13-2 stretch. Injuries added to Brooklyn’s outfield woes. After Godim and Garfield went on the disabled list in spring training, Usquiano and Santago joined them on the DL in April.

One of the big stories of the 2014 season thus far is the outstanding play of Richmond left fielder, Tony Rodarte. Rodarte is putting up legendary numbers with his bat. He batted .539 with 14 HR, 40 RBI and an unbelievable 1.728 OPS. It is extremely unlikely that he can maintain this pace but he’s certainly off to a record setting season. Rodarte is a big reason why the Slam are in first place in their division.

April 2014 awards:

League 1
Batter of the Month: Hooks Goetz (Brooklyn Knights)
Pitcher of the Month: José Arisa (Brooklyn Knights)
Rookie of the Month: Ossie Muñíz (Las Vegas Luck)

League 2
Batter of the Month: Tony Rodarte (Richmond Slam)
Pitcher of the Month: Gutierre Jiménez (Richmond Slam)
Rookie of the Month: Kurt Johnson (Key West Corals)

The Brooklyn Knights played well in spring training. Brooklyn’s 16-8 record was the best in League 1 and tied for best overall. As it was last season, the outfield will be a challenge for the Knights. Right fielder Maurílio Godim had a hot bat, hitting .371. Unfortunately, shoulder inflammation will keep him on the disabled list until late June. Backup right-fielder Cleveland Garfield strained a hamstring and is expected to miss seven to eight weeks. The newly re-tooled Luisville Beasts looked good in spring training. They led the division with a 14-10 record

In League 2 Division 1, the Key West Corals certainly looked like the defending World Champions. The Corals went 16-8 and appear ready to defend their title. The Vancouver Wild were a surprising 16-8 to lead League 2 Division 2.

The Brooklyn Knights’ Lariel Gómez was one of the hottest hitters in spring training. He hit .400 with 4 HR, 12 R, and 11 RBI.

Key injuries in spring training:
Brooklyn Knights: On March 21, RF Maurílio Godim was injured while throwing the ball. The Diagnosis: shoulder inflammation. He's expected to miss about 3 months.
Brooklyn Knights: RF Cleveland Garfield strained his hamstring while running the bases on March 24. He's expected to miss about 2 months.
Dayton Grizzlies: On March 9, 2B Lung Quian was injured while running the bases. The Diagnosis: broken kneecap. He's expected to miss about 6 months.
Dayton Grizzlies: SP Ellis Sherling was injured while pitching on March 27. He will need surgery to remove a bone spur in his elbow. He's expected to miss about 4-5 months.
Dayton Grizzlies: On March 28, 2B Ángel García was injured while throwing the ball. The Diagnosis: strained shoulder. He's expected to miss about 5 weeks.
Dayton Grizzlies: C Urbano Romero was injured while running the bases on March 31. The Diagnosis: torn hamstring. He's expected to miss about 2 months.
Dunedin Otters: CF John Buker fractured his hand making a play in the outfield. He's expected to miss about 4 weeks.
Dunedin Otters: On March 22, MR Ed Boudreau was injured while pitching. The Diagnosis: torn rotator cuff. He's expected to miss about 4-5 months.
Key West Corals: On March 17, 1B George Jackson broke his hand on a defensive play. He's expected to miss about 3 months.
Las Vegas Luck: RF Dave Woodall separated his shoulder while making a defensive play. He's expected to miss about 4 weeks.
Las Vegas Luck: On April 1, SS Tino De La Parte was injured in a collision at a base. The Diagnosis: strained hamstring. He's expected to miss about 3 weeks.
Luisville Beasts: RF Shawn Cuyler broke his kneecap on March 11. He's expected to miss about 8 months.
Nashville Firecats: On March 11, SP Steve Towell suffered a torn labrum (Shoulder) while pitching. He's expected to miss about 5-6 months.
Nashville Firecats: C Dacey Rager was injured while running the bases on March 25. The Diagnosis: torn meniscus (knee). He's expected to miss about 6 weeks.
Phoenix Rattlers: SP Tracy Corkhill was injured pitching in a game on March 10. The Diagnosis: torn labrum (Shoulder). He's expected to miss about 6 months.
Phoenix Rattlers: On March 11, MR Francisco Jimenez was injured while pitching. The Diagnosis: strained forearm. He's expected to miss about 3 mont
Quebeck Sky Chiefs: On March 27, SP José Sandoval was injured while pitching. The Diagnosis: sprained ankle. He's expected to miss about 4 weeks.hs.
Richmond Slam: MR Jeffrey Hallman was diagnosed with shoulder inflammation on March 12. He's expected to miss about 3 months.
Richmond Slam: On March 22, MR Dong-u Sop was injured while pitching. The Diagnosis: shoulder inflammation. He's expected to miss about 4-5 months.
St. Rock Mudcats: RF Kyle Tynie was injured diving for a ball on March 18. A sprained thumb will keep him out of the lineup for about 6 weeks.
St. Rock Mudcats: On March 18, Charles Difranco was diagnosed with bone chips in his elbow. He's expected to miss about 5 weeks.
St. Rock Mudcats: On March 25, SS Kazuki Sai was injured in a collision at a base. The Diagnosis: oblique strain. He's expected to miss about 4 weeks.
Stade Maples: On March 12, MR Ray Kernaghan was injured while pitching. The Diagnosis: shoulder inflammation. He's expected to miss about 5 months.
Stade Maples: CF Ye-qing Chen was injured while running the bases on March 24. The Diagnosis: strained posterior cruciate ligament. He's expected to miss about 3-4 weeks.
Stade Maples: CF Mark Huff was diagnosed with chronic back soreness in a game on March 26. He's expected to miss about 4 weeks.

There were some notable roster moves before spring training began for the 2014 NALB season.

The Brooklyn Knights made several offseason moves:

• The Knights extended the contracts of ten players through salary arbitration: Alexis Schmidt, Hsiao-lou Yeh, Bruce MacOmish, Tony Tamayo, Lonnie Bennett, Alvino Flores, Rigo Hurtado, Ángel Santago, Rico Haros, and Rikiya Kiyomizu.
• Arbitration was offered to Bob Wiesner and Craig Bella. Both declined and opted to file for free agency.
• Arbitration was not offered to Carl Gwinn, Ron Deluna, Francisco Jimenez, and Zhu-Ian Xian.
• The Knights traded minor league starting pitcher Ronald Parker and minor league reliever Nub Aranda to the Sky Chiefs for 27 year old center fielder Romeo Usquiano.

Rule 5 Draft:

• The Stade Maples drafted C James Wetzel from the Las Vegas Luck.
• The Cornfield Axemen drafted MR Javier Rodríguez from the Dayton Grizzlies.
• The Stade Maples drafted SP Doug Reynolds from the Luisville Beasts.

Notable offseason signings:

• Richmond kept its closer, Benny Alazardo, with a $4,400,000 one year extension.
• The Crusaders extended starter Cory Gregory’s contract for a year. He will be paid $3.45 million.
• Axmen starting pitcher Hartman Ivers inked a $2,390,000 extension to play in Cornfield for another year.
• Star shortstop Hsiao-lou Yuan agreed to a one year $6.85 million extension with St. James.
• The Beasts and superstar closer Jesús Montufar agreed to a one year extension worth $3,320,000.
• The Rattlers signed 27 year old free agent reliver Francisco Jimenez to a three year $2,790,000 contract.
• Free agent slugger Paul Lyons found a new home. The powerful first baseman will play in Nashville thanks to a two year deal worth $8,620,000.
• Vancouver tapped free agency to land lefty reliever Angel Mandujano. Mandujano will pocket $3,960,000 over three years.
• Jeffrey Hallman agreed to play for the Richmond Slam for another year. He signed a one year extension for $1,240,000.
• The Richmond Slam signed a new shortstop. Former Mudcat Gary Cooper agreed to a three year deal, which will pay him $4,686,666 per year.
• Quebeck signed free agent reliever Carl Hatton to a $4.4 million, two year deal. The Sky Chiefs intend to make Hatton the team’s closer.
• The Beasts aggressively pursued starting pitcher Te Li in free agency. After several seasons in Quebeck, he chose Luisville as his new home. His contract is a four year deal worth $8,370,000.
• Luisville landed another prized free agent when they signed Pete Chavez to a five year, $58.05 million deal. Chavez is expected to play third base for the Beasts.
• The Phoenix Rattlers came to terms with the most coveted pitcher on the free agent market. After posting a 55-21 record over the past three seasons, starter Robert Givens had many teams desiring his services. Thanks to his new contract, Givens will pocket $61.94 million over the next five seasons.
• Richmond has a new third baseman in Carlos Galicia. Galicia was the postseason hero for the World Champion Corals last season. He hit .481 in the playoffs, which raised his stock as he headed into free agency. The Slam may have gotten a steal when Galicia agreed to a two year contract at $2,910,000 a year.
• The Allies improved its starting rotation by signing Kid Wilson. Wilson had spent his entire 13 year career with the St. James Crusaders. A $25.74 million deal over three years persuaded him to move to Washington.
• Nashville added a quality lefty to its bullpen. The Firecats signed former Brooklyn reliever Craig Bella to a $10.1 million two year deal.
• Relief pitcher Ezra Demello agreed to a new contract with the Quebeck Sky Chiefs worth $5,840,000 over two years.
• Dayton will have another proven reliever this season. Hugh Rossiter joined the Grizzlies after agreeing to a $4 million single season contract.
• Another big name starter found a new home. On the first day of spring training, Bob Wiesner became the newest member of the Dunedin Otters. The Otters showed faith in the former two time NALB Outstanding Pitcher by offering him $9,150,000 a year for the next four years.
• Roy “Firecracker” Dabbs was the top outfielder on the market. He had spent his entire seven year NALB career with Key West. Testing free agency paid off well for Dobbs, however. He agreed to a $26.8 million four year contract with the Washington Allies.

Notable offseason trades:

• The Beasts sent 26 year old outfielder Damien O’Halloran and 20 year old minor league shortstop Morgan Kittle to the Axemen in exchange for 26 year old shortstop Rodrigo Gómez.
• Quebeck and Luisville agreed to a swap that sent 27 year old first baseman to the Beasts with 19 year old minor league catcher Nick Koche joining the Sky Chiefs.

• Key West sent 31 year old right fielder Alex Sestiaga to Cornfield. In return, the Corals got 25 year old third baseman Kurt Johnson from the Axemen.
• Vancouver traded 30 year old third baseman Ace Burd to Las Vegas in exchange for 26 year old reliever Johan Gaier. Burd is expected to play shortstop for the Luck.
• Boris Crookshanks found a new home in Quebeck. Las Vegas traded him for a pair of minor leaguers, first baseman Jorge Morales and left fielder Clive Thoma.
• 27 year old catcher Urbano Romero is now with the Dayton Grizzlies. The Grizzlies traded minor league starting pitcher Shane McSweeny and minor league left fielder Ricardo Oliveira to the Sky Chiefs to get him.
• Cornfield sent 25 year old starter Juan Rodríguez to the Luck. The Axemen received 23 year old minor league starter Martin Bayley in return.
• The Luck dealt 29 year old right fielder Alfred Struthers to the Otters for 28 year old minor league reliever Tulio Efores.
• St. James and Key West agreed to a one for one swap. 26 year old center fielder Ricardo Gonazález goes to the Corals while 27 year old reliever Andrew Hulsey goes to the Crusaders.