NALB - 2019 Regular Season Ends

K. Fields
2020-09-06T13:36:43-04:00
Baseball

The Brooklyn Knights cruised to another playoff appearance after wrapping up the division title on September 9. The Luisville Beasts and Stade Maples also took division crowns without any major drama down the stretch. League 2 Division 2 was a different story. The Vancouver Wild and Richmond Slam battled all season long in this extremely competitive division. In the end, however, the Phoenix Rattlers rode a red hot finish to take the division by a single game. Only two games separated these three teams in the final standings. Therefore, all four playoff teams from last year will be back again.

The League Series match-ups:
Luisville Beasts (98-64) vs. Brooklyn Knights (108-54)
Stade Maples (89-73) vs. Phoenix Rattlers (91-71)

Head to head this season:
The Knights were 12-11 against the Beasts.
The Rattlers were 12-11 against the Maples.

Playoff injury report:
The Knights are without four players from their opening day roster: DH and team captain Hooks Goetz, starting pitcher José Arisa, reliever Stokley McGruder, and reliever Jesús Montufar. McGruder and Montufar are both lefties so that limits Brooklyn's bullpen options. Likewise, the Beasts have four notable players on the Injured List: Noriaki Momotami, Roberto Farinas, Miguel López, and Paul Thompson. Momotami is a starter and the other three are relief pitchers.

The Rattlers and Maples are quite healthy going into October. Phoenix will be without center fielder John Buker in the playoffs. Stade's only player on the Injured List is second baseman Rustin Appling.

September 2019 awards:

League 1
Batter of the Month: Tony Rodarte (Nashville Firecats)
Pitcher of the Month: Darius Luxton (Brooklyn Knights)
Rookie of the Month: Beaghan Cajar (Dayton Grizzlies)

League 2
Batter of the Month: Jonathan Grandberry (Phoenix Rattlers)
Pitcher of the Month: Berto Sarzosa (Stade Maples)
Rookie of the Month: Stafford Konig (Phoenix Rattlers)