Brooke E. Knight (born 20 November 1972) is the current manager of the Perth Heat of the Australian Baseball League. He is best known for leading the Perth Heat to back-to-back ABL Championships in 2011 & 2012 (defeating the Bite and the Melbourne Aces respectively). [1] He is also currently manager and director of baseball operations for the Corvallis Knights, a collegiate summer wood bat baseball team in the West Coast League.
A two-sport athlete at Crescent Valley High School, Knight attended Linfield College where he played both baseball and football. After one year at Linfield he transferred to Oregon State University to play both baseball and football for the Beavers. Knight signed with Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Brewers organization in 1995 playing for their rookie affiliate, and was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1996 to the Augusta GreenJackets affiliate. [2]
Knight began his coaching career in earnest in 2008, and as a rookie Manager, led the Corvallis Knights to their first ever West Coast League Championship. He has led the Knights to subsequent crowns in 2011, [3] 2013, [4] 2016, [5] 2017, [6] 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
His tenure with the Knights includes directing the team to seven consecutive West Division titles, 13 championship appearances (winning ten), and eight-time West Coast League Coach of the Year honors.
In late 2010 the Perth Heat, of the MLB-funded Australian Baseball League, hired Knight as Manager, where he led them to back-to-back titles for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. After a season off from the ABL, he returned to coach the Adelaide Bite in 2013-14 and in 2014-15. The Bite won the 2015 regular-season title before losing to Perth in the championship finals. He returned to coach the Heat for the 2019-20 season, and was an assistant coach for Team Australia in 2020 during the KBO Challenge.
The Australian Baseball League (ABL) was a baseball league, established in 1987 and disbanded in 1999.
The Perth Heat is a baseball team in the current Australian Baseball League and a founding member of the Australian Baseball League. It is the most successful team in ABL history, winning 15 Claxton Shields.
The Bellingham Bells are a collegiate summer baseball team in the West Coast League. The team is composed of college baseball players from teams around the U.S.
The West Coast League (WCL) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 2005, comprising teams from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alberta. The WCL was previously named the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League (WCCBL), but in 2008 it was renamed as the West Coast League. The league is designed to develop college talent, and only current college-eligible players are allowed to participate. The West Coast League has produced dozens of professional players, including a number of major leaguers. League teams are operated similarly to professional minor-league teams. The WCL's season typically runs from early June through the middle of August.
The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it shares some history of the original league with the Claxton Shield awarded to winners of both competitions, it is considered to be a separate competition.
Allan Murray de San Miguel is an Australian former professional baseball catcher. He is currently a coach with the Kansas City Royals. De San Miguel was previously a manager for the Melbourne Aces of the Australian Baseball League following a long career with the Australian national baseball team, both the Perth Heat and Melbourne Aces in the Australian Baseball League and various minor league baseball teams.
The Cowlitz Black Bears is an amateur baseball team located in Longview, Washington. They play in the West Coast League, a collegiate summer baseball league. The league comprises teams from Canada, Oregon, and Washington. Cowlitz calls David Story Field on the campus of Lower Columbia College home.
The Walla Walla Sweets is an amateur baseball team located in Walla Walla, Washington. They play in the West Coast League, a collegiate summer baseball league. Walla Walla calls Borleske Stadium home which has a capacity of 2,378 spectators.
The Corvallis Knights, founded as the Aloha Knights, are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Corvallis, Oregon. Founded in 1990 in Beaverton by Dan and his brother Joe Segel, the Knights moved to Corvallis from Gresham in 2007. They play in the West Coast League, a college summer wood-bat league where college players and prospects prepare for the pros. The league comprises teams from British Columbia, Oregon and Washington. Corvallis plays its home games at Goss Stadium, also the home of the Oregon State Beavers.
The Sydney Blue Sox are a professional baseball team, and one of eight foundation teams in the re-formed Australian Baseball League (ABL). The team plays their home games at Blacktown International Sportspark (BISP), one of the two venues used for baseball at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, when it was known as Blacktown Olympic Park. The Blue Sox hosted the league's Opening Day for the inaugural season on 6 November 2010, when they played against the Canberra Cavalry, and won the game 1–0. The Blue Sox are the only team in the Australian Baseball League to implement sabermetrics as a way to run their team with volunteer statistician, Anthony Rescan.
The Adelaide Giants are a professional baseball team that plays in the Australian Baseball League. They are one of the six foundation franchises of the league, in its first incarnation from 1989 to 1999. The team adopted the name Bite or Adelaide Bite when the league relaunched in 2010, officially Adelaide ETSA Bite, when the South Australian power company ETSA Utilities became its major sponsor. After an ETSA rebrand to SA Power Networks, the Bite became the Adelaide Bite, proudly presented by SA Power Networks. In 2019, the team was rebranded as Adelaide Giants.
The Canberra Cavalry is a professional baseball team from Canberra, ACT, Australia. Established in 2010, the team is a founding member of the Australian Baseball League (ABL). The Cavs home ground is Narrabundah Ballpark. The Cavalry are one-time Claxton Shield Champions and one-time Asian Champions.
The Brisbane Bandits are a professional baseball team in Brisbane, Queensland that plays in the Australian Baseball League and is one of the six founding teams of the league. From the 2010/11 season till the 2012/13 season their home ballpark was the Brisbane Exhibition Ground, the ground which the old Brisbane Bandits played at for the majority of their nine-year tenure. As of the start of the 2013/14 the Bandits home ground is Holloway Field in Newmarket.
The 2010–11 Australian Baseball League season was the inaugural Australian Baseball League (ABL) season, and was held from 6 November 2010 to 13 February 2011. It came 12 years after the old Australian Baseball League ceased and is the successor of the mostly amateur Claxton Shield competition that has been played since 1934. The season consisted of six teams competing in a 40-game schedule, followed by a three-round finals series to determine the ABL champion.
The 2011–12 Australian Baseball League season is the second Australian Baseball League (ABL) season, and is being held from 4 November 2011 to 12 February 2012. The season was scheduled to start on 3 November with a single game between the Perth Heat and the Adelaide Bite at Baseball Park in Perth, but the game was postponed due to wet weather.
The 2012–13 Australian Baseball League season was the third Australian Baseball League (ABL) season, and was held from 1 November 2012 to 9 February 2013. The season started with a game between the defending champions Perth Heat and the Adelaide Bite at Norwood Oval in Adelaide.
The 2013–14 Australian Baseball League season was the fourth Australian Baseball League (ABL) season, and was held from 31 October 2013 to 8 February 2014. The season started with a game between the Melbourne Aces and the Canberra Cavalry at Narrabundah Ballpark in Canberra. The Perth Heat won their third title in four seasons defeating defending champions the Canberra Cavalry in the finals.
The 2014–15 Australian Baseball League season was the fifth Australian Baseball League (ABL) season. It was held from 30 October 2014 to 8 February 2015, with the Perth Heat winning their fourth title in five seasons, defeating the Adelaide Bite in the finals to defend their title.
The Portland Pickles are a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the South Division of the West Coast League, a premier collegiate summer baseball league based in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. The Pickles play their home games at Walker Stadium in Portland's Lents Park.