Croydon Pirates is a British baseball club based in South London, England, who run three teams in various national leagues. They play at Roundshaw, which is one of the best baseball diamonds in the U.K., meaning Croydon are often the hosts of the London Tournament and National Finals.
The first team competes in the Southern section of the top flight of British baseball. They were National Champions in 2004 and 2005 and runners up in 2006.
In 2007 the team again won the National League South earning them the right to compete in the Final 4 tournament on the weekend of 1–2 September 2007, along with Josh Chetwynd's London Mets, Menwith Hill Patriots and Liverpool Trojans. Croydon and the Mets won their semi-finals to advanced to the final where the Pirates were defeated 2–0 in a best of 3 series. The team is one of the most diverse, having other 15 nationalities at the club in one season.
In 2008, Croydon Pirates III won the British Baseball A-Division, finishing the season with a record of 10 wins and 2 losses. They were subsequently promoted to the AA-Division in 2009, Pirates III having a very strong season tying joint first place. However, the Kent Mariners and Brentwood Stags had better offensive stats, rather than having a 3-way play-off, these 2 teams made it to the Championships. In 2011, Pirates I were defeated at the Play-off stage.
Famous quotes containing the word pirates:
“Well, you Yankees and your holy principle about savin’ the Union. You’re plunderin’ pirates that’s what. Well, you think there’s no Confederate army where you’re goin’. You think our boys are asleep down here. Well, they’ll catch up to you and they’ll cut you to pieces you, you nameless, fatherless scum. I wish I could be there to see it.”
—John Lee Mahin (1902–1984)