Here are North American League Baseball’s prestigious individual award winners for 2011.

League 1
Outstanding Batter Award: Hooks Goetz (Brooklyn Knights)
Outstanding Pitcher Award: Robert Givens (Nashville Firecats)
Newcomer of the Year: Roberto Jerrano (Las Vegas Luck)
Manager of the Year: Kevin Fields (Brooklyn Knights)

Slick Fielder Award Winners
Pitcher: Dick Reyes (Cornfield Axemen)
Catcher: Willie Nolan (Cornfield Axemen)
First Baseman: Albert Pineda (Cornfield Axemen)
Second Baseman: Carlos Cardenas (Brooklyn Knights)
Third Baseman: Moray Williams (Las Vegas Luck)
Shortstop: Martin Swader (Brooklyn Knights)
Left Fielder: Michael Duhon (Brooklyn Knights)
Center Fielder: José Hernández (Nashville Firecats)
Right Fielder: Shawn Cuyler (Luisville Beasts)

League 2
Outstanding Batter Award: Tony Rodarte (Richmond Slam)
Outstanding Pitcher Award: Max Brown (Stade Maples)
Newcomer of the Year: Victorio Zavaca (Washington Allies)
Manager of the Year: Piero Snell (Key West Corals)

Slick Fielder Award Winners
Pitcher: Dom Harrelson (Washington Allies)
Catcher: Marty Hunter (Vancouver Wild)
First Baseman: Travis Araoz (Stade Maples)
Second Baseman: Ramiro Socastro (Washington Allies)
Third Baseman: Héctor De Echevarría (Richmond Slam)
Shortstop: Larry Arceniaga (St. James Crusaders)
Center Fielder: Daniel Salley (Quebeck Sky Chiefs)
Right Fielder: Dan Kelley (Phoenix Rattlers)

The Brooklyn Knights (121-41) defeated the Stade Maples (95-67) in a very entertaining series. In five World Championship meetings between these two teams, the Knights have won four of the match-ups. This was the ninth championship for the Knights’ franchise.

Despite cruising through the regular season, the playoff road was not an easy one for the Knights. Brooklyn needed seven games to get by the Nashville Firecats and seven games to defeat the Stade Maples. In both cases, the Knights were down three games to two. They returned to Brooklyn needing wins in games six and seven. The home field advantage was advantageous. After scoring only eight runs in the three games in Stade, the Knights exploded with twenty runs in the final two games in Brooklyn. Hooks Goetz struggled mightily in the World Championship Series. He hit .115 (3 for 26). Luckily for the Knights, Alexis Schmidt picked up the slack. Schmidt was dependable throughout the playoffs. He hit .373 with 3 HR and 18 RBI.

The Maples’ pitching staff did a fine job in the first five games. The injury to Max Brown in game one was quite costly. Stade’s bullpen stepped up and pitched very well overall. The loss of Brown was too much to overcome, however. The other starters were forced to pitch on short rest and it showed in their final performances.

Game 1: Stade 5, Brooklyn 4
Game 2: Brooklyn 9, Stade 6
Game 3: Brooklyn 3, Stade 1
Game 4: Stade 4, Brooklyn 3
Game 5: Stade 3, Brooklyn 2
Game 6: Brooklyn 11, Stade 2
Game 7: Brooklyn 9, Stade 4

Click the image for the NALB 2011 World Championship roster

The World Championship was on the line in a winner-take-all game 7. The Maples had starting pitcher Luis Hesterfer (12-11, 5.03 ERA) on the mound. Hesterfer was very good against Brooklyn in game four; he pitched eight innings and only gave up two earned runs. Pitching at home for the Knights was Ralph Kerfoot (16-6, 3.77 ERA). He looked extremely sharp in game three as he pitched Brooklyn to a 3-1 victory.

Alexis Schmidt drove in the first run of the game as he doubled to score Ted Pollet in the first inning. In the second inning, Hesterfer really struggled. After a leadoff walk, Michael Duhon singled. Ted Pollet singled as well to load the bases, Hesterfer walked Goetz, which forced in a run. He then threw a wild pitch and another run scored. Schmidt came up with his second hit of the game, which scored Pollet and Goetz. After two innings, the Knights led 5-0. Brooklyn’s bats remained hot in the bottom of the third. Yeh, Swader, and Gwinn all singled. Flavio Marquez doubled. The Knights had two more runs and the score was 7-0. Travis Araoz scored the first run for the Maples with a solo home run in the top of the fourth. The Knights were undaunted, however. In the bottom of the inning, Goetz and Schmidt went deep with back to back homers. For Hooks Goetz, it was his first home run of the 2011 playoffs. Brooklyn’s had a commanding 9-1 lead. In the next inning, the Maples fought back. Wei-qiang Goei hit an RBI triple. Then, Araoz flexed his muscles again. “The Beast” homered for the second time, cutting the lead to 9-3. After hitting only two home runs in the first six games of the World Championship Series, Stade’s power was on display in game seven. Leslie Hubbard hit a solo home run in the eighth inning and the score was 9-4. The game ended when Bernard Gastelu struck out Mark Huff for the final out.

Final score: Brooklyn 9, Stade 4

             1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9   R  H  E
Stade        0 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 0   4 11  1
Brooklyn     1 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 X   9 15  0

W: R. Kerfoot
L: L. Hesterfer

The World Championship Series shifted back to Brooklyn for game six. The Maples had an opportunity to win the title with a victory. Standing in their way was Ronaldo “Groove Thing” Mijangos (20-3, 2.20 ERA), ace of the Knights pitching staff. The Maples opted to start Earle Seeman (11-10, 3.28 ERA) on only four days rest.

Mijangos was pitching on an extra day of rest and he looked sharp. Regardless, Travis Araoz took advantage of one bad pitch by Mijangos and promptly smashed it over the wall in the first inning. Brooklyn’s leadoff hitter, Kid Detherage, hit a home run of his own to tie the game at one run apiece. In the third inning, the Knights pulled ahead by a run when Detherage scored on a sacrifice fly by Alexis Schmidt. In the bottom of the fifth, Schmidt was at it again. The NALB’s RBI leader tallied three more when he hit a 400 foot bomb with two men on base. In the sixth inning, Detherage scored again. The real damage was done by Hsiao-lou Yeh, however, with his three-run homer to right field. The Knights had a comfortable 9-1 lead. Yeh came through again in the eighth. He hit an RBI triple and then scored on a sac fly from Flavio Marquez. After Mijangos pitches a solid seven innings, Francisco Jimenez came on in relief. He pitched a scoreless eighth inning and then surrendered one run in the ninth.

The Brooklyn Knights won easily and forced a deciding game seven. One item of note was that superstar Hooks Goetz finally ended his World Championship hitless slump. After going 0 for 21 in the previous five games, the Knights’ third baseman had two hits and three walks.

Final score: Brooklyn 11, Stade 2

             1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9   R  H  E
Stade        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1   2  5  0
Brooklyn     1 0 1 0 3 4 0 2 X  11 15  0

W: R. Mijangos
L: E. Seeman

Pivotal game five was the last one in Stade. Rico Haros (17-3, 4.04 ERA) got his second start of the Series for the Knights after a no-decision in game one. The Maples pitched Jose Battista (16-10, 4.06 ERA) on short rest. Battista hoped to erase the memories of his abysmal game two loss, in which he gave up five runs without retiring a batter.

A sacrifice fly by Leslie Hubbard scored Mark Huff in the first inning. Travis Araoz doubled in the third and later scored on a throwing error by Martin Swader. The Knights finally got on the scoreboard in the fifth inning thanks to a solo home run by Flavio Marquez. Martin Swader tied the game 2-2 when he hit a home run to left field. The game appeared headed to extra innings. However, in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, Mark Huff hit a single off of Carl Hatton. The Knights brought in lefty Craig Bella to pitch to the Maples’ string of left-handers. In response, Stade called for right-handed catcher, Topper Blefary, to pinch hit. Huff stole second base and the tension began to mount. On the second pitch, Blefary ripped a groundball past Swader. The Maples’ waved Blefary in from second base. He scored and gave the Maples another thrilling victory at home.

Final score: Stade 3, Brooklyn 2

             1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9   R  H  E
Brooklyn     0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0   2  5  2
Stade        1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1   3  8  0

W: B. Smith
L: C. Hatton

In game four, it was a rookie power pitcher versus a crafty veteran left-hander. Brooklyn’s 21 year old Tony Tamayo (13-4, 4.44 ERA) started the first World Championship Series game of his young career. Stade had the experience of 37 year old Luis Hesterfer (12-11, 5.03) on the mound.

This may have been the most entertaining game of the 2011 Series thus far. Carl Gwinn started the game with a double and later scored. The Maples went ahead in the second inning thanks to Leslie Hubbard’s two run homer. The Knights evened the score 2-2 when Carl Gwinn led off the third with a solo home run. Stade went back on top when Red Valdez scored on a Mark Huff single in the bottom of the fourth. In the sixth, Red Valdez’s error at second base allowed Brooklyn to tie the game at three runs apiece. From the seventh inning on, runs were almost impossible to come by. Both teams continued to hit, but good pitching snuffed out any rallies. With the score still tied 3-3 in the 13th inning, Stade strung together four straight singles. The Maples won on George Montgomery’s walkoff hit.

Final score: Stade 4, Brooklyn 3

             1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13   R  H  E
Brooklyn     1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0  0  0  0  0   3 16  2
Stade        0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  0  0  0  1   4 14  1

W: F. Minoso
L: F. Jimenez

Game three was in Stade, which meant the designated hitter was not in effect. Pitching for the Knights was Ralph Kerfoot (16-6, 3.77 ERA). Earle Seeman (11-10, 3.28 ERA) got the start for the Maples. With Max Brown out for the remainder of the World Championship Series due to injury, the pressure was on Seeman to deliver a solid performance.

Seeman gave up two singles in the first inning. It was a George Montgomery error and a wild pitch that caused the most trouble for the Maples, however. The miscues led to two Brooklyn runs. Leading off in the third, Kid Detherage hit a home run to straightaway centerfield. The Knights went up 3-0. Roberto Rentería put Stade on the board with an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh. The Maples appeared well on their way to scoring more runs in the eighth. Red Valdez started things with a single. Scott Buckley followed with a single of his own. Valdez tried to stretch out an extra base; he was gunned down at third thanks to a beautiful throw from Detherage in right field. The Knights got out of the inning without giving up a run. Craig Bella and Bernard Gastelu pitched the ninth and secured Brooklyn’s win.

Final score: Brooklyn 3, Stade 1

             1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9   R  H  E
Brooklyn     2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0   3  4  0
Stade        0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0   1  6  1

W: R. Kerfoot
L: E. Seeman
S: B. Gastelu