Knights Win World Championship Crown

K. Fields
2011-10-21T19:06:11-04:00
Baseball

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