2020 Bold City Kings Post Impressive 2020 Campaign in Jacksonville MABL
Jacksonville MABL, 18+ Division
Submitted by Bill Klein, Bold City Kings manager
My name is Bill Klein and I am the Bold City King’s manager and I am extremely proud of my team! This is the fourth season of the King’s franchise, coming off 4-14, 10-9 and 9-10 seasons!
We played for a lot of things this season, more of which are greater than any of us individually! We played for a teammate, whose father is battling terminal cancer and flew his #19 the majority of the season.
The King’s finished a franchise best 13-1 in the regular season and advanced to their first Championship Final since their 2017 inception, beating very good teams along the way such as the Rippers led by Tyler Holley, and the Cruisers (twice) led by Brian Hadsen.
The King’s Mr. Franchise, Brandon Lee, along with Corey Quatrine, led the league in home runs in the regular season and added four more home runs in the playoffs. Derek Pasquaralla led the team with a 0.27 ERA, tallying 33 IP and a 5-0 record in the regular season. Derek went on to pitch 17 2/3 innings in the playoffs in two appearances of which both were starts, gaining one win. Diyon Ellis batted .385 in the regular season and went an impressive 11 for 12 in the playoffs with a home run. T. Rourke was the King’s most consistent hitter in the postseason and held down third base throughout the entire playoffs.
In a fair and noble effort, the King’s, without their starting catcher, came up short in the finale and seek to get better and win in future contests. The King’s also showed a weakness playing away from their home park where they had 26 home runs and had an impressive and league leading regular season run differential of +141 runs.
After a three-week layoff, the King’s found themselves in the loser’s bracket after a close loss to the Rippers in their first playoff game. The Kings eliminated three tough opponents on their way to the finals, where the Indians were waiting. The King’s fell short of the season goal to win the championship, losing to a very good Indians squad in a double header where the King’s played five games in 10 days. Pasquarella (King’s) and Burdette (Indians) both pitched nine inning complete games in the first game of an epic Championship Series. Bradley Burdette started the opener and Chris Eng started the second game for the Indians.
The Championship belt will remain with Crawford and the trophy will remain at Flystie for another season. The Kings are not the most beloved team in the league, but offer nothing but respect to Joe H. and Indians!
Here is to a successful and “normal” 2021 campaign!