Fans, Knights Players React to Franchise Move to Slatington, PA

(New York Daily Mirror - October 18, 2010)

NEW YORK - The NASBL Commissioner's office formally announced earlier today that the New York Knights, after playing for ten years in one of the largest and most baseball-savvy cities in the world, will be moving to the tiny burg of Slatington, Pennsylvania and become the Slatington Bulldogs.

For those who don't know, Slatington is a borough of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania (also home of the NASBL's Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs) and is located about 15 miles northwest of Allentown, PA. The municipality has a total area of 1.4 square miles and its total population in 2000 was 4,434 - the equivalent of about two full 10-car subway trains in Manhattan. It was founded in the early 18th century and at one time was one of the chief suppliers of slate stone (hence the name) in Pennsylvania.

Without question, the move is a shrewd one by new Knights/Bulldogs owner Matt Eddy. By moving to a tiny town in Pennsylvania and escaping the harsh glare of the New York media spotlight, Eddy will be able to tear down the Knights and create the Bulldogs pursuant to his own vision in relative obscurity.

Knights fans were, by and large, unconcerned with the move, knowing from experience that it was inevitable. Messages left on the club's soon to be closed Facebook site included the following publishable missives in a family paper: "Good riddance" from John in Queens; "So long, losers" from Albert in the Bronx and our personal favorite, "Don't let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya" from Ira in Staten Island.

Reached at his Texas home earlier today by WFAN radio in New York, former Knights captain Michael Young was optimistic about the move, but less so on his future with the Knights. "I see it as a positive," Young told the FAN's Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts this morning. "There's no question that playing in New York is a high pressure job and comes with great expectations. If you have the words "New York" on your uniform, you know you have to perform every day. Unfortunately, we didn't do well for our fans in New York, but I'm hoping they all know that we tried. Things just didn't break our way." Asked about his possible future as a Bulldog, Young was realistic. "I'm 34 years old now and I'm sure Matt's going to want to go with younger players. I'm okay with that. I really enjoyed my time as a Knights and I'm looking forward to the rest of my career. I'm pretty sure that I can still help a contender somewhere if Matt decides to go in another direction."

Matt Cain enjoyed a bounceback season under Eddy's stewardship, winning 15 games with a 3.94 ERA and 196 strikeouts in 2010, one of four Knights hurlers to win at least 13 games this season. Cain was excited about the move to Small Town USA. "I admit, I felt a lot of pressure to be a staff ace after I was drafted #1 a couple of years ago. No disrespect to Mitch, but once he was gone, I felt like I could just be myself." He was also optimistic about the prospect of being a major cog in a formidable rotation."Mitch tried to build a top rotation a few years ago but that failed. I think he left us in a great position now, though, with Josh (Johnson), Lester and myself. I think the fans in Slatington are going to love us."

Much like they did when the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958, Knights fans are losing the franchise just when it seems to be on the verge of becoming something special. Dodger fans in Brooklyn cheered on the Bums for 70 years but enjoyed just one championship, in 1955. But within ten years of moving to Los Angeles, the Dodgers had won three more, including a sweep of the hated Yankees in the 1963 Fall Classic. Knights fans weren't looking for a dynasty, just a playoff spot. Now it looks like they will have to become Bulldog fans to get their wish.