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Season 1 in Review: Franchise not in existence.
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Off Season / Preview: Dickshot Baseball League commits one of four expansion
franchises to Rob Ziegler .. The franchise announces that Las Vegas will be
the team's home .. The Knights have proved to be a welcome addition to 'Sin
City' .. In the last round of the expansion draft, Las Vegas chose Fernando
Vina, still the team's second-baseman to this day .. Other key acquisitions
included Andy Pettite and Jorge Posada.
Season 2 in Review: The Knights failed to even crack the 50-win mark
but owner/GM, Rob Ziegler; manager, Pete Rose; and the fans were optimistic
about the team's future.
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Off Season / Preview: The organization brought in the likes of David
Justice, David Segui, and Troy Percival in hopes of turning the team in the
right direction.
Season 3 in Review: "Worst-to-first." The loyal following of
the Las Vegas team witnessed this first-hand. The Knights went from dead last
to a 92-70 record that brought with it a Northern League West Division title.
.. The team was 29-14 in 1-run games .. Highlights included David Segui's .324
average, David Justice's 44 homers and 126 RBI, and a solid .292/23/89 year
from Cliff Floyd in a limited number of ABs .. Mo Vaughn, acquired at the trade
deadline, definitely carried his weight (pun intended), hitting .322 in 54 games
with the Knights .. On the mound, Glendon Rusch excelled, winning 16 games,
while Andy Pettite and Jeff D'Amico chipped in with 12 victories apiece .. Jorge
Posada, Fernando Vina, and Corey Koskie won Gold Gloves.
Season 3 Playoffs: Unfortunately, the Knight's regular season success
failed to translate into October victories, as they lost in 5 games to eventual
NL Champion, Miamisburg .. Despite solid series' from Vaughn and Segui and two
Jeff D'Amico complete games, it just wasn't meant to be for Las Vegas .. Troy
Percival recorded the club's only victory in Game 2.
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Off Season / Preview: The winter saw many a move that would help Vegas
stay competitive in the future, from drafting pitchers Jason Marquis and Carlos
Hernandez to trading for Kevin Millwood, which should really pay off come Season
4 now that Millwood has put together a spectacular year reminiscent of his great
'99 .. Las Vegas added top Mariners' prospect, Chris Snelling and Ty Howington,
in the prospect draft.
Season 4 In Review: Unfortunately, Las Vegas couldn't follow up their
division winning campaign in Season 3 with a playoff appearance, as the team
finished 4th in the NL West with an 85-77 record. While the team was in the
playoff race the entire year, fatigue issues over the final 10 games played
a major role in Vegas falling short of a postseason berth ... The team still
cannot find a way to solve Mudville, going 6-15 against the Nine this year,
and only managing a 15-28 record against the division rival over the past 2
seasons ... Las Vegas scored 10 or more runs in 26 games ... The offense was
led by Cliff Floyd, who put together an MVP-caliber season. Floyd hit .329/.385/.624
to go along with 112 runs, 53 doubles, 36 homers, 115 RBI, and 20 stolen bases;
not to mention his 29-game hitting streak ... Backing up Floyd in the lineup
were Brian Jordan and Tino Martinez. Jordan hit .304 with 47 doubles, 22 homers,
104 RBI, and won a Gold Glove. Tino hit .296 with 28 doubles, 36 homers, and
103 RBI ... These kinds of numbers wouldn't have been possible, though, without
Fernando Vina and Gabe Kapler setting the table. Vina put together a spectacular
year, hitting .287 with 114 runs scored, 20 doubles, 11 triples, 11 homers,
81 RBI, and 33 steals. He also won his second consecutive Gold Glove at 2B.
In the #2 slot, Kapler scored 95 runs and finished with 26 doubles, 17 homers,
65 walks, and 36 steals ... Vegas also received unexpected key contributions
from D'Angelo Jimenez (.328/.403/.469), Gregg Zaun (.333, .553 SLG%), Robin
Jennings (.321), and Pedro Feliz (.280, .500 SLG%) ... Corey Koskie rebounded
from a horrible start that saw him hitting under .200 well into the season to
finish the year with a respectable .253/24/74 to go along with 27 stolen bases
... In the pitching department, there's no doubt who stole the show. After trading
for Russ Ortiz in mid-season, he went 15-6 with a 2.58 ERA for Vegas. He won
the Dave Kingman Award for his 20-9, 2.54, 13 CG combined year with Las Vegas
and Kensington ... Other key mid-season acquisitions included Edgar Renteria
and Derek Lowe ... Kevin Millwood went 12-3 in 19 starts ... The bullpen was
a consistent strong point for Vegas, led by Travis Phelps' 1.85 ERA and Troy
Percival, who posted 27 saves with a 2.98 ERA.
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Off Season / Preview: There's no question which was the biggest splash
made by Las Vegas over the winter -- the acquisition of Mike Piazza. Piazza
was acquired, along with Mark Grudzielanek, for original Knights, Jorge Posada
and Fernando Vina, along with David Weathers. Piazza brings with him a powerful,
right-handed bat for the middle of the order, a dimension the Knights have lacked
for as long as can be remembered ... The Las Vegas offense will also receive
help from Jacque Jones, returning to the club after playing elsewhere for two
seasons ... Jeremy Giambi will see time at first base and Melvin Mora was brought
in to play centerfield ... The club also managed to add Keith Foulke, Mike Remlinger,
and Jose Jimenez to a bullpen led by Troy Percival ... Las Vegas used a couple
other minor trades and the draft to add versatile players with quality at-bats
and innings to avoid the usage problems that plagued them down the stretch of
last season ... Miguel Cabrera and Shin-Soo Choo were selected in the Prospect
Draft. Though both are still at least a couple years away, management was excited
to call their names on draft day ... Las Vegas feels that they have a great
shot at being a major player in the league in 2003 with Derek Lowe, Kevin Millwood,
and Matt Clement at the top of the rotation... Add in a dominant bullpen, quality
offense, and a versatile bench and Vegas fans can expect to look forward to
a quality season, a return to the playoffs, and potentially, a World Title.
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