Here are North American League Baseball’s prestigious individual award winners for 2010.

League 1
Outstanding Batter Award: John Edwards (Cornfield Axemen)
Outstanding Pitcher Award: Bob Wiesner (Brooklyn Knights)
Newcomer of the Year: Hsiao-lou Yeh (Brooklyn Knights)
Manager of the Year: Bill Scotton (Cornfield Axemen)

Slick Fielder Award Winners
Pitcher: Buddy Lake (Phoenix Rattlers)
Catcher: Ted Pollet (Brooklyn Knights)
First Baseman: Albert Pineda (Cornfield Axemen)
Second Baseman: Travis Wen (St. Rock Mudcats)
Third Baseman: Moray Williams (Las Vegas Luck)
Shortstop: Dustin Fernandez (Dayton Grizzlies)
Left Fielder: Alan Gathers (Dunedin Otters)
Center Fielder: Tad Burridge (Cornfield Axemen)

League 2
Outstanding Batter Award: Travis Araoz (Stade Maples)
Outstanding Pitcher Award: Max Brown (Stade Maples)
Newcomer of the Year: Héctor De Echevarría (Richmond Slam)
Manager of the Year: Rurik Bonner (Richmond Slam)

Slick Fielder Award Winners
Pitcher: Max Brown (Stade Maples)
Catcher: Al Abernathy (Quebeck Sky Chiefs)
First Baseman: Larry Arceniaga (St. James Crusaders)
Second Baseman: Norberto Salguero (Vancouver Wild)
Third Baseman: Spud Naktenis (Vancouver Wild)
Shortstop: Yale Burns (St. James Crusaders)
Center Fielder: Daniel Salley (Quebeck Sky Chiefs)
Right Fielder: Ángel Jirnénez (Richmond Slam)

The Brooklyn Knights (114-48) and Stade Maples (89-73) met in the World Championship for the fourth time. Both clubs rebounded from disappointing performances in the 2009 playoffs. Last season, the Knights blew a 3-1 lead to lose the League 1 Series to the Nashville Firecats. Likewise, the Maples lost to the Phoenix Rattlers after having a 3-1 lead in the League 2 Series.

The Knights and Maples had formidable offenses, with great hitters and fearsome power. Brooklyn backed up great hitting with great pitching. Stade did not have that luxury. Their starters were decent in the regular season. They lacked their ace, Max Brown, however, because of a late September injury. That meant extra pressure on a bullpen of aging pitchers, which posted a league worst 5.81 ERA. Other than Ed Winkleman (age 31), the other seven relief pitchers ranged in age from 37 to 41.

The Knights finished off the Maples in five games. The games were very close, however. Many of them went down to the wire. Over five games, Brooklyn outscored Stade 38-33. Other than game four, the Knights pitching was just a little bit better. The Brooklyn Knights are world champions for the eighth time!

Game 1: Brooklyn 10, Stade 9
Game 2: Brooklyn 6, Stade 5
Game 3: Brooklyn 10, Stade 6
Game 4: Stade 5, Brooklyn 1
Game 5: Brooklyn 11, Stade 8

Click the image for the NALB 2010 World Championship roster

Game five was the final game in Stade. A win by the Maples would send the series back to Brooklyn. Pitching for the Knights was their game one starter, Tracy Corkhill (11-1, 2.30 ERA). Opposing him was young 24 year old Puerto Rican lefty, Iván “Hawkeye” Urías (8-11, 4.92 ERA).

Dick Moran led off with a double. He ended up scoring on a sacrifice fly by Hooks Goetz and the Knights were quickly up 1-0. The Maples didn’t wait long to tie the game. Leslie Hubbard hit a double in the second inning. He later scored on a ground out to even the score. Brooklyn struck back in the third. With Moran and Pollet on base, first baseman Alexis Schmidt struck with a three-run homer. Corkhill cruised along until the fifth inning. Left fielder Shayne Kimpel led off the inning with a solo home run. Hisham Makwetu, Dad Taylor, and Gene Anson hit consecutive singles to score another run for the Maples. Brooklyn’s lead was cut to 4-3. After Corkhill was pulled for a pinch hitter, the Knights brought in Rigo Hurtado to pitch in the sixth. Hurtado gave up hits to Ivan Cahill and Travis Araoz. Cahill scored on a sac fly by Leslie Hubbard. At 4-4, the game was tied for the second time. Phil Carter pitched the seventh inning for the Maples. He walked three (one intentionally) and gave up a run on a fielder’s choice. Brooklyn had the lead back, 5-4. In the top of the eighth, the Knights went to work against a tired and aging Maples bullpen. Elbert Sullivan and John Hamilton struggled to retire Brooklyn’s hitters. Singles by Angel Santago and Carl Gwinn got things started. Victor Trujillo doubled and the Maples responded by intentionally walking Dick Moran. Ted Pollet doubled and the Maples decided to put Hooks Goetz on. The bases were loaded when Hamilton entered the game. He struggled to find the strike zone against Schmidt and walked in a run. With the sacks full, Martin Swader hit a bases clearing double deep to center field. A big six-run inning put the Knights solidly in front by a score of 11-4. The Knights turned to their lefty setup man, Craig Bella in the eighth. After a walk and a hit, he gave up an RBI single to Roberto Rentería. With an 11-5 lead, Brooklyn sent in their star closer, Bernard Gastelu to get the last out in the eighth. Gastelu was anything but sharp in the ninth, however. The Maples staged a comeback with consecutive hits by Scott Buckley, Mark Huff, and Ivan Cahill. Leslie Hubbard also singled off of Gastelu and the score was 11-8. With two on and two out, Shayne Kimpel came to the plate, representing the tying run. Kimpel fouled off a few pitches in a tough at bat. With a full count, Gastelu struck him out to preserve the win.

Final score: Brooklyn 11, Stade 8

Down three games to none in the series, every game was an elimination game for the Stade Maples. Instead of sticking with a four man rotation and pitching Iván Urías, manager Sakutaro Yoda decided to roll the dice. He went back to his game one starter, Martin Claunch (12-8, 5.02 ERA). Claunch got a no-decision in the opener. He out-pitched Tracy Corkhill, however, lasting into the sixth inning and giving up only three runs. The Knights stuck with their number four starter, Ralph Kerfoot (20-7, 3.78 ERA).

Three consecutive singles almost put the Maples on the scoreboard in the first. It took a perfect throw from left fielder Angel Santago to get Travis Araoz at home plate. Araoz redeemed himself in the third, however, with a two-run homer. Strong starting pitching kept the score 2-0 going into the seventh inning. With nobody out, the Knights then loaded the bases, thanks to three straight singles by Yeh, Swader, and Duhon. Brooklyn struggled to convert. They managed just one run on a sacrifice fly by Santago. After Alexis Schmidt pinch hit for Kerfoot, Lonnie Bennett replaced him in the bottom of the seventh. After retiring the first two batters, Bennett got into trouble. He gave up a single to Scott Buckley and a double to Mark Huff. Pitcher Brian Hanson was pulled for a pinch hitter. James Maguire came off the bench and blasted a three-run home run to make it 5-1 Maples. In the eighth inning, the Knights kept their hopes alive with a leadoff double by Carl Gwinn. Dick Moran lined out hard to short and Gwinn was tagged out for a double play. The rally was killed. Brooklyn tried another comeback in the ninth. Yeh, Duhon, and Pollet all singled to load the bases with only one out. In the ninth, Stade’s closer, Floyd Minoso, saw his first action in the World Championship Series. He got Angel Santago to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the game.

Final score: Stade 5, Brooklyn 1

After winning the clinching game of the League 1 Series, Bob Wiesner (21-6, 3.16 ERA) got his first World Championship Series start in game three. Earle Seeman (11-5, 4.41 ERA) started for the Maples.

Despite two ace pitchers on the mound, there was plenty of hitting in a drizzly game 3. Stade fans were quieted when Hooks Goetz hit a home run in the first inning. A Shayne Kimpel double ignited the crowd in the bottom of the first, however, to tie the game, 1-1. A two-run homer by Roberto Rentería put the Maples ahead 3-1 in the third. After a couple of hits, the Knights scored on a wild pitch in the fourth to make it 3-2. Bob Wiesner gave up another home run, however. This time, Reggie Spina did the damage with a two-run shot. After four innings, the Maples were up 5-2. In the fifth, Brooklyn scratched back with an RBI single by Hsiao-lou Yeh to pull the Knights within two runs. Seeman left the game in the sixth with a 5-3 lead. Brian Hanson came on in relief and promptly gave up the lead. Kid Detherage hit a three-run blast to right-center field. Moran smashed a first-pitch fastball over the wall in left-center. The Knights took a 7-5 lead off of back to back homers. In the seventh, Brooklyn’s Ted Pollet batted in another run. The Maples struck back with an Ivan Cahill solo homer off of Carl Hatton. After seven, Brooklyn still led 8-6. In the eighth inning, the Knights added some insurance runs. Two walks and hits by Moran, Goetz, and Gwinn made it a 10-6 game. The runs came at a heavy price, however. Kid Detherage was hurt running the bases, trying to score from first base on Moran’s double. Detherage will miss the rest of the WCS. The Maples made it interesting in the ninth with two hits off of Rigo Hurtado. MacOmish was sent in to retire Rentería and the rally was snuffed.

Final score: Brooklyn 10, Stade 6

Stade started 36 year old left-hander Luis Hesterfer (5-5, 4.91 ERA) in game two. Brooklyn had their young horse, 23 year old José Arisa (8-1, 1.79 ERA) on the mound.

The Maples wasted no time to get on the board. James Maguire singled and Travis Araoz followed up with a home run. Hooks Goetz homered for the Knights in the bottom half of the inning. The score stayed 2-1 until the sixth inning. Arisa struggled with his control for much of the game. He was able to work out of several jams, but it finally caught up to him. After a walk to Araoz and a single by Shayne Kimpel, Arisa walked Leslie Hubbard to load the bases. He struck out Rentería and was one out away from getting out of the inning when Gene Anson hit a bases-clearing triple. Down 5-1, Brooklyn came back in the sixth. Hesterfer suddenly couldn’t find the strike zone. He loaded the bases with three straight walks. Swader drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Michael Duhon doubled and Ted Pollet singled. The Knights were back in it, down by a score of 5-4. With Ed Winkleman pitching in the bottom of the eighth, the Knights took the lead for good. Alexis Schmidt and Michael Duhon both hit singles. Ted Pollet came through with a clutch line drive double to right-center field. Both runners scored to put Brooklyn ahead 6-5. Once again, Bernard Gastelu pitched the ninth and retired the Maples in order to get the save.

Final score: Brooklyn 6, Stade 5

Two familiar foes are playing for the NALB 2010 World Championship. This is the fourth time the Stade Maples (89-73) and Brooklyn Knights (114-48) will play for the NALB title.

The Maples started Martin Claunch (12-8, 5.02 ERA) in the opener. Claunch was spectacular against the Richmond Slam in the League 2 Series. He pitched Stade to victory, giving up only one hit in eight innings. At home in Brooklyn, the Knights sent 36-year old lefty Tracy Corkhill (11-1, 2.30 ERA) to the mound.

After two scoreless innings, things fell apart for Corkhill in the third. He gave up six hits, but the last one did the most damage. Third Baseman Ivan Cahill capped the inning for the Maples with a three-run homer. Heading into the bottom of the third Stade had a 6-0 lead. James Maguire committed an error at first base, which gave the Knights some life. They followed it up with back to back hits by Moran and Goetz. After three innings, the Knights still trailed 6-2. Mark Huff drove in another run the next inning to stretch the lead to 7-2. After a wild pitch in the bottom of the fourth, Alexis Schmidt scored on a ground out to make it 7-3 Maples. In the sixth inning, James Maguire made his second error of the game. After that, Brooklyn got its offense going. With two hits, they knocked Claunch out of the game. They got three more hits off of Brian Hanson and tied the game, 7-7. Craig Bella came in to pitch against Kimpel and Araoz in the seventh. Kimpel singled and Araoz blasted a shot deep to center field to put the Maples back on top, 9-7. The Knights were running out of time when they made their move in the eighth inning. Moran and Yeh singled. Martin Swader was up with two men on and two outs. As he did in game one of the League 1 Series, he saved his heroics for the end of the game. This time, he drove an Ed Winkleman pitch into the left field seats as the crowd went wild. In the ninth, Bernard Gastelu retired Kimpel, Araoz, and Maguire to save the win.

Final score: Brooklyn 10, Stade 9

2010 League 2 Series - Stade Maples (89-73) vs. Richmond Slam (96-66)

Game 1: Stade 12, Richmond 3
Game 2: Stade 2, Richmond 1
Game 3: Stade 12, Richmond 4
Game 4: Richmond 13, Stade 6
Game 5: Stade 18, Richmond 7

Unsurprisingly, this series featured the top two scoring teams in League 2. The Richmond Slam were also a great pitching team, leading their league with a 4.00 ERA. The Stade Maples did not pitch well in 2010. Their 5.04 team ERA was second worst in League 2. Stade and Richmond played 26 times during the regular season, with the Slam winning 14 of those games. The Maples were in the unfamiliar role of League 2 Series underdogs. Stade needed big performances from its hitters, particularly back to back triple crown winner, Travis Araoz. Richmond’s offense was strong, but not at full strength. Superstar left fielder, Tony Rodarte, broke his ankle in late August and was still on the mend.

The Maples traveled to Richmond for game one of the series. On the mound, they had Earle Seeman (11-5, 4.41 ERA). Opposing Seeman was the Slam’s most successful pitcher, Harvey Fishback (17-5, 3.86 ERA). Acquired in July from the Las Vegas Luck, he went 11-1 with a 2.99 ERA for Richmond. The game was over for Fishback in a hurry. He didn’t make it through the first inning and only retired one batter. Tony Pittaro came in and didn’t do much better. The Maples scored seven runs in the first and four more in the second. An 11-0 deficit was too much for the Slam to overcome. After Stade scored again in the eighth inning, the Slam were down 12-0 in the ninth. They put together a mini-rally and broke up the shutout with three runs. However, Earle Seeman’s seven shutout innings gave him a convincing 12-3 win in game one.

Martin Claunch (12-8, 5.02 ERA) and Joe Lehr (9-13, 4.41 ERA) squared off in game two. The game was an unexpected pitchers’ duel. Roberto Rentería got things started with a solo homer in the top of the first. In the bottom half of the inning, Aleck Stella tied the game with a home run of his own. Catcher Dad Taylor scored on a wild pitch in the third inning. Both bullpens held on for the rest of the game. The Maples edged the Slam by a 2-1 score.

After a travel day, the series shifted to Stade for game three. Katamor Eizan (14-8, 3.39 ERA) started for Richmond. The Maples had veteran Luis Hesterfer (5-5, 4.91 ERA) on the mound. Eizan lasted two innings while Hesterfer made it through four innings. The game belonged to the hitters. Both clubs had 13 hits, but the Maples took better advantage of their opportunities. A 6-2 Stade lead after two innings was cut into by Richmond in the third and fourth innings. Up 6-4, the Maples blew the game open in the bottom of the fourth. They had several hits and capped the inning with a 3-run home run by Gene Anson. When the inning was over, the Maples were up 11-4. Stade added insult to injury when Araoz scored in the eighth after hitting a triple off of Hang-fu Cui. The Maples won easily at home, 12-4.

The Slam were down three games to none. Every game for them was now win or go home. Their game four starter was 39-year old Walter Sheehan (11-10, 4.06 ERA). To stay alive, Richmond had to beat Iván Urías, a 23-year old Puerto Rican left-hander. They did exactly that. Araoz got the Maples on the scoreboard first with a solo home run in the first inning. Dad Taylor and Shayne Kimpel added RBI singles in the second and third innings, respectively. Down 3-0, the Slam exploded in the top of the fourth. It was a six run inning, highlighted by Yuan Li’s 2-run homer and a 3-run inside the park home run by Aleck Stella. Roberto Rentería drove in two runs in the bottom of the fourth to bring the Maples to within one run. Richmond beat up on Stade’s bullpen down the stretch, however. Catcher Kensaku Shimada hit a 3-run blast in the eighth. Five hits and two walks in the top of the ninth assured the win with four more runs. Araoz went deep again in the bottom of the ninth, but it was too little, too late. Richmond 13, Stade 6.

Game five was a rematch between Fishback and Seeman, the game one starters. Once again, Harvey Fishback struggled mightily. He gave up five runs and was pulled after 2.1 innings. There was plenty of offense in game five. Good defense was in short supply. Both teams showed some poor pitching and sloppy fielding. The Maples outhit the Slam 15 to 13. The Maples had two errors, while the Slam had three errors. This slugfest was tied 6-6 going into the bottom of the sixth inning. Three Richmond pitchers couldn’t stop Stade’s assault. The Maples scored six runs but they weren’t done. They scored another three runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth. A late run by the Slam on a sac fly did little to diminish the wild cheering of the Stade fans in the ninth. An 18-7 drubbing of the Slam gave the Maples the League 2 championship.

The Stade Maples are headed to the World Championship Series for the fourth time. Several Maples’ hitters had a great series. Shayne Kimpel stood out as the League 2 Series MVP, however. He hit .400 with 2 home runs and 11 RBI.

2010 League 1 Series - Cornfield Axemen (97-65) vs. Brooklyn Knights (114-48)

Game 1: Brooklyn 8, Cornfield 7
Game 2: Brooklyn 7, Cornfield 4
Game 3: Cornfield 11, Brooklyn 9
Game 4: Brooklyn 8, Cornfield 6
Game 5: Brooklyn 6, Cornfield 1

The 2010 League 1 Series featured the two winningest teams in North American League Baseball. The Brooklyn Knights had an impressive 114 win season while the rejuvenated Cornfield Axemen won 97 games to put a disappointing 2009 behind them. The Knights and Axemen played each other 16 times during the regular season, splitting the series at 8 games apiece. These two teams also led the league in home run hitting. Some high scoring games were expected.

The opener in Brooklyn featured two aces on the mound. The Axemen pitched Hap Bedford (14-7, 4.02 ERA) against the Knights’ Bob Wiesner (21-6, 3.16 ERA). Cornfield broke things open in the second inning. After a pair of doubles and a single, the Axemen were on the board with a run. The real damage was done, however, by Steve Jurewicz’s 3-run homer. Martin Swader scored on a Duhon double in the bottom of the fourth to give the Knights their first run. Dick Moran kept the momentum going with a 2-run home run in the next inning to make it a 4-3 game. Moran delivered again in the seventh inning with a sac fly to tie the game. In the eights, the Axemen jumped right back on top when Dee Fletcher hit a 3-run homer off of Craig Bella. The Brooklyn crowd was electric in the ninth inning. Relief pitcher Stew Martin made a critical throwing error, which put a second man on base. Hsiao-lou Yeh made him pay. He drove the ball into the right field seats to tie the game 7-7. The Axemen turned to their closer Joe Pendarvis. After striking out Alexis Schmidt, he threw a 2-2 fastball to Martin Swader. Swader hit a mammoth 475 foot blast into the left upper deck. The Knights won 8-7 on a walk-off home run!

Cornfield had hard throwing BIlly Martinez (10-3, 3.96 ERA) on the mound for game two. Brooklyn went with veteran Tracy Corkhill (11-1, 2.30 ERA) in a battle of lefties. Catcher Willie Nolan hit a double and scored in the top of the first inning. The Axemen were out to a quick 1-0 lead. A solo home run by Kid Detherage and a 2-run homer by Yeh gave the Knights a 3-1 lead. A Dee Fletcher double in the fourth inning set up another run for Cornfield. Brooklyn’s lead was cut to one run. In the bottom of the fifth, the Knights flexed their muscle with back to back solo home runs by Schmidt and Swader. In the next inning, Detherage singled, stole a base, and scored Brooklyn’s sixth run on a John Edwards error. DIck Moran tripled and scored in the eighth to make it 7-2 for the Knights. In the ninth, the Axemen managed two runs off of Francisco Jimenez. The Knights brought in closer Bernard Gastelu to seal the 7-4 win.

As the series moved to Cornfield for game three, the Axemen desperately needed a win. Brooklyn’s young stud Jose Arisa (8-1, 1.79 ERA) was matched up against Cornfield’s veteran lefty John Watkins (14-7, 4.33 ERA). The starting pitchers did not fare well. They managed only six outs and both were pulled in the third inning. Arisa was drilled for eight runs, while Watkins surrendered five runs. The Axemen scored six in the bottom of the second inning. Aided by a 3-run blast by Dick Moran, the Knights roared back in the top of the third with five runs. Cornfield quickly responded with two more runs in the bottom of the third. The slugfest was on! Home run derby continued in the fourth inning. Angel Santago hit a solo shot in the top of the inning and Ben Nicosia countered with a 2-run homer in the bottom half of the inning. After four innings, Cornfield led 10-6. Kid Detherage brought the Knights back with a 2-run home run in the sixth inning. Their comeback fell short, however. The Axemen padded on another run in the seventh and held on for an 11-9 victory.

Fresh from their game three win, the Axemen hoped to even the series up. To do so, however, they had to beat Brooklyn starter Ralph Kerfoot (20-7, 3.78 ERA). The pressure was on Cornfield sinker ball pitcher, Hughie Grover (13-9, 5.28 ERA). The Knights started the scoring in the third inning when catcher Ted Pollet hit one over the wall in left-center field. After a few more hits, Brooklyn was up 3-0. Next inning, the Knights broke things wide open with a grand slam by rookie Hsiao-lou Yeh. Up 7-0, it looked like the game was going to be a rout. Cornfield refused to go quietly, however. In the bottom of the fourth, Ben Nicosia drove in two runs. Brooklyn came right back with a run in the fifth when Swader scored on a ground out. An 8-2 lead looked comfortable but Kerfoot did not have an easy fifth inning. He gave up three hits and two more runs. Three more hits in the sixth inning added two additional runs for the Axemen. The Cornfield crowd was going wild as their team only trailed by a score of 8-6. With Cornfield’s heart of the order (Edwards, Trujillo, and Fletcher) due up in the ninth, they hoped to mount a comeback. Brooklyn’s closer Bernard Gastelu extinguished their hopes as he struck out the side. The Knights won the game, 8-6.

Game five would determine whether or not the series needed to go back to Brooklyn. In a rematch of game one starters, the Axemen hoped Hap Bedford was up to the task. Hap Bedford was sharp but Bob Wiesner was exceptional. Both pitchers struck out nine batters. Bedford gave up 7 hits in 7.2 innings. Wiesner went the distance and gave up only 4 hits in nine innings. His sole blemish was a solo home run surrendered to Albert Pineda in the seventh. The only player on the field who eclipsed Wiesner’s outing was the Knights right-fielder, Kid Detherage. He went deep three times to set an NALB playoff record. He drove in all but one of Brooklyn’s runs. Behind Wiesner and Detherage, the Knights easily came out on top, 6-1.

In an entertaining series of power hitting, it was the superior pitching of the Brooklyn Knights that made the difference. The won the series three games to one and will play for the World Championship! The League 1 Series MVP was Kid Detherage. He hit .455 with 5 home runs and 10 RBI.

The Brooklyn Knights had easy sailing this season. The second-place Mudcats played .500 baseball and didn’t present a serious challenge in the division. After a disappointing 2009, the Cornfield Axemen returned to form. Led by superstar second baseman John Edwards, they won their division by 20 games. Despite being pushed hard by the Key West Corals, the Stade Maples claimed yet another division crown. Rounding out the playoff picture is the Richmond Slam. The Slam were steady all season long and easily outpaced their competition.

The League Series match-ups:
Cornfield Axemen (97-65) vs. Brooklyn Knights (114-48)
Stade Maples (89-73) vs. Richmond Slam (96-66)

The 2010 NALB season produced some amazing feats. After winning the NALB’s first triple crown last year, the Maples’ Travis Araoz won his second triple crown this season. He hit .357, smacked 53 homers, and had 133 RBI. Even more amazing was that John Edwards won the triple crown in League 1. Two triple crowns in the same year! Edwards put up a .345 average with 53 home runs and 148 RBI.

Playoff injury report:
The Axemen will be without star right fielder, Roque Cordero, and star shortstop Flavio Marquez. Center fielder Tad Burridge will miss the League Championship Series. He could see action if Cornfield makes it to the World Championship Series. The Knights do not have CF Jeromy Bezanzon available. RF Zhu-Ian Xian and 2B Carlos Cardenas will miss the LCS but could return Brooklyn plays for the World Championship. CF Carl Gwinn will miss LCS game 1, but it expected to return in game 2. The Maples have two injuries, which are major concerns. Catcher Topper Blefary is out with a ruptured MCL. Ace starter Max Brown experienced serious shoulder inflammation at the very end of September. Neither will play in the 2010 playoffs. Richmond has a number of injured players: SP Markus Donovan, SP Jose Smith, SS Steve Mcneill, and C Matty Byers. None compare to the hole in the lineup caused by the absence of LF Tony Rodarte. He fractured his ankle on August 24 and will need another two months to heal.

One of the four division races was decided early. The Brooklyn Knights clinched a division title on the last day in August. The other three divisions will be decided down the stretch in September. The Axemen and Slam are in good positions with a 13 game lead and a 10 game lead, respectively. The Maples have a tougher road ahead, however, with a narrow two game lead over the Corals.

August 2010 awards:

League 1
Batter of the Month: John Edwards (Cornfield Axemen)
Pitcher of the Month: Bob Wiesner (Brooklyn Knights)
Rookie of the Month: Hsiao-lou Yeh (Brooklyn Knights)

League 2
Batter of the Month: Travis Araoz (Stade Maples)
Pitcher of the Month: Manuel Sánchez (Washington Allies)
Rookie of the Month: Cooper Westfall (St. James Crusaders)