The League 1 All-Stars triumphed again this year by a final score of 8-1. Jeff Ramirez was credited with the win while Mike Conigliaro took the loss. The Brooklyn Knights’ players came to play and keyed the victory. Hooks Goetz started the scoring with a two-run home run in the top of the fourth inning. Peaches Treacey smashed a homer in the bottom of the fifth to cut the lead to 2-1. Things came unraveled for the League 2 All-Stars in the seventh inning. The Knights’ Dan Kelley and Gary Mccreery opened the inning with back to back doubles. Later, Brooklyn’s Jeff Castino hit an RBI single. After the seventh inning damage was done, League 1 had a 7-1 lead. Another run was added in the ninth to make it an 8-1 final.

There was some slight jockeying for position in June but very little changed overall. The Quebeck Sky Chiefs saw their division lead cut to three games while the Cornfield Axemen had their lead cut from eleven games to seven games. Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Knights are now firmly in control with a 16 game division lead.

The Brooklyn Knights had a couple of additional key player injuries in June. Hooks Goetz and Michael Duhon both experienced back injuries. Goetz missed a little over two weeks while Duhon’s injury is expected to keep him out of the lineup for a total of five weeks.

June 2008 awards:

League 1
Batter of the Month: Dan Kelley (Brooklyn Knights)
Pitcher of the Month: Verdo Mlicki (Nashville Firecats)
Rookie of the Month: Roque Cordero (Cornfield Axemen)

League 2
Batter of the Month: Quinn Hernandez (Quebeck Sky Chiefs)
Pitcher of the Month: Kid Wilson (St. James Crusaders)
Rookie of the Month: John Holler (Phoenix Rattlers)

Here are the official All-Star rosters. The starters, relievers, and fielders for each league are ranked by the number of votes received. The Knights lead all teams with eight players selected to the League 1 roster.

League 1 Pitchers:

SP A. Harrington (SR)
SP D. Hambright (BRO)
SP B. Martinez (COR)
SP T. Stivers (SR)
SP B. Wiesner (BRO)
SP B. Palmer (COR)
CL J. Pendarvis (COR)
CL E. Sherling (LUI)
CL T. Fisher (DAY)
CL V. Mlicki (NSH)
CL C. Martinez (DUN)
CL J. Ramirez (BRO)

League 1 Fielders:

1B D. Kelley (BRO)
3B H. Goetz (BRO)
CF O. Barrientes (SR)
2B F. Marquez (COR)
LF R. Cordero (COR)
C T. Pollet (BRO)
C D. Holter (SR)
SS L. Sullivan (LUI)
RF B. Prendergast (DAY)
3B M. Torres (LUI)
1B C. Corwin (LV)
CF J. Stoneman (DAY)
2B J. Edwards (COR)
CF D. Reyes (LV)
1B J. Castino (BRO)
CF G. MCcreery (BRO)

League 2 Pitchers:

SP R. Mijangos (KW)
SP J. Lehr (PX)
SP M. Brown (STD)
SP K. Wilson (SJ)
SP R. Wilkins (QUE)
SP R. Snyder (SJ)
CL M. Vanzandt (VAN)
CL B. Clark (RMD)
CL M. Macfarlane (PX)
CL R. Muncy (STD)
CL W. Rambo (QUE)
SP M. Conigliaro (VAN)

League 2 Fielders:

RF T. Rodarte (RMD)
SS S. Schultz (PX)
1B T. Araoz (STD)
2B L. Hubbard (STD)
RF P. Greene (VAN)
CF M. Huff (STD)
3B P. Treacey (PX)
C A. Abernathy (QUE)
C T. Blefary (STD)
LF Q. Hernandez (QUE)
SS G. Cooper (RMD)
RF R. Renteria (STD)
RF J. Larkin (KW)
1B G. Manuel (QUE)
1B K. Boris (KW)
LF G. English (WSH)

The annual First-Year Player Draft was held on June 15, 2008. Ulucan Gilmore, a 19 year old first baseman from New York City, was chosen as the top pick.

Here were the first round picks:

Round 1, Pick 1 - Dunedin Otters: 1B U. Gilmore
Round 1, Pick 2 - St. Rock Mudcats: C A. Strain
Round 1, Pick 3 - Phoenix Rattlers: SP P. Portio
Round 1, Pick 4 - Richmond Slam: RF E. Genoves
Round 1, Pick 5 - Dayton Grizzlies: 3B D. Jowett
Round 1, Pick 6 - Las Vegas Luck: SP J. Brandariz
Round 1, Pick 7 - Washington Allies: SP N. Ikeda
Round 1, Pick 8 - Key West Corals: C J. Cruz
Round 1, Pick 9 - Luisville Beasts: 1B J. Barnstaple
Round 1, Pick 10 - Quebeck Sky Chiefs: SS M. Kawaii
Round 1, Pick 11 - Luisville Beasts: SP B. Canio
Round 1, Pick 12 - Nashville Firecats: 3B J. Pacheco
Round 1, Pick 13 - Richmond Slam: LF A. Pajón
Round 1, Pick 14 - Cornfield Axemen: CF J. Wrottesley
Round 1, Pick 15 - Phoenix Rattlers: SP T. Rusch
Round 1, Pick 16 - Brooklyn Knights: C C. MacThomas

With their first pick, the Brooklyn Knights selected a talented catcher. In the supplemental round, the Knights picked up Cristófor ‘The Hammer’ De Jesús, an extremely talented 18 year old pitcher with a 99 mile per hour fastball.

In May, the Knights, Axemen, and Sky Chiefs stayed atop their respective divisions. Vancouver faded and was unable to stop the surging Phoenix Rattlers as they grabbed the division lead.

The Brooklyn Knights had a successful month despite several key injuries. Yale Burns fractured his elbow and is expected to be out five months. Greg Young ruptured a finger tendon on his pitching hand and will miss three to four months. Backing up Yale Burns was Carlos Cardenas until Cardenas fractured a rib. That injury should keep Cardenas out of action for four weeks.

May 2008 awards:

League 1
Batter of the Month: Dan Kelley (Brooklyn Knights)
Pitcher of the Month: Bob Wiesner (Brooklyn Knights)
Rookie of the Month: Jaime Fretga (Luisville Beasts)

League 2
Batter of the Month: Steamboat Schultz (Phoenix Rattlers)
Pitcher of the Month: Joe Lehr (Phoenix Rattlers)
Rookie of the Month: Roy Dabbs (Key West Corals)