|
3 Attachment(s)
|
3 Attachment(s)
|
4 Attachment(s)
|
I am trying to streamline each season in the IPA to play it quicker.
The game recaps will be less poetic and literary... more direct... just the basic facts of the game... with the most important plays covered. It does save time and is quicker... I think it is still fairly well done... just not as fancy. |
That definitely works for me, it makes the recaps easier to read, and they're right to the point.
|
I am also letting the AI play the whole game... I no long play out each game batter-by-batter... so far, I am not pleased... the AI removes the starters after 100 pitches... around the 5th or 6th innings... apparently it is doing it like modern-day baseball... the AI uses too many pinch hitters and makes too many lineup switches for me.
I like 1950's baseball. I will check my era settings to make sure it limits relief pitchers and pinch hitting. But I can live with it... I don't like it... but I can accept it. |
2 Attachment(s)
Attachment 900869
Monday, October 7, 2075 4 IPA PLAYOFF TEAMS AHEAD BIG TIME... 4 IN TROUBLE 4 teams have jumped out to a big advantage -- after just two games, they are in the lead two games to none in the Islandian Pro Alliance Elite 8 Series -- this means 4 teams are in trouble big time and 4 of them are in serious danger of early elimination from the postseason playoffs. The Sligo Rovers and Marston Nine are in the driver's seats in the Ruthlandian Union... the Rovers rallied to nip the Valka Blackhawks 6-5 and the Nine trimmed the Ranford Bulls 7-4... both Sligo and Marston have now won both games in the best-of-seven series. It's the same scenario in the Tycobbian Union Elite 8... Hartsdale has beaten Pro Cup favorite Turon two games in a row and Tuckanarra had defeated favored Rolling Hills in the first two games... the Hellcats spanked the Typhoons 5-2 and the Tiger Cats surprised the Racers again 4-1. 2074 IPA Elite 8 Stars of the Day Attachment 900870 |
3 Attachment(s)
2075 IPA Ruthlandian Union Elite 8 Series - Game 2
Attachment 900871 Attachment 900872 Attachment 900873 |
3 Attachment(s)
|
3 Attachment(s)
2075 IPA Tycobbian Union Elite 8 Series - Game 2
Attachment 900877 Attachment 900878 Attachment 900879 |
4 Attachment(s)
|
I figured out a way to damper down the many changes the AI has been making as for as pitching changes and double switches... I revamped the league settings to make them more like 1950s baseball rather than modern-day pitch-count dominated baseball... I also made substitutions most of the time... the AI was limited in its changes... this worked out well.
I can't totally control it without playing out each game like I used to, but I can severely limit the AI substitutions. Hopefully good pitchers can go deeper into the game now. In the first two games of the playoffs, the AI pulled good pitchers with good stamina at the 100-pitch mark... game threes were much more like my style of baseball. |
2 Attachment(s)
Attachment 901389
Wednesday, October 9, 2075 MARSTON AND HARTSDALE COULD SWEEP FAVORED RANFORD AND TURON IN IPA ELITE 8 There are no heavy favorites in the Islandian Pro Alliance Pro Cup playoffs this year... parity is rampant... it's pretty much a crap shoot... roll the dice and see who comes up... however, there are a couple of mild surprises... and a major one, too... in the Ruthlandian Elite 8 Series, Marston, using its fine pitching staff, has silenced the Ranford bats and snatched three straight from slightly favored Bulls... while upstart Hartsdale has beaten Pro Cup favorite Turon three times in a row in the Tycobbian Union... unexpectedly the Hellcats have whipped the Typhoons on the hill and at the plate. In yesterday's play in the Ruthlandian Union Elite 8, the Marston Nine rode some very fine pitching and squeezed out a 1-0 win over the Ranford Bulls... and the Valka Blackhawks unleashed some lumber and walloped the Sligo Rovers 9-4 in the third game... the Rovers still have a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven series. In Tycobbian action Hartsdale stopped the Turon Typhoons 1-0 and Rolling Hills finally won one from the Tuckanarra Tiger Cats 6-4... fhe Tucks have won 2 of the 3 games. IPA Elite 8 Series Stars of the Day Attachment 901390 |
3 Attachment(s)
|
3 Attachment(s)
|
3 Attachment(s)
2075 Tycobbian Union IPA Elite 8 Series - Game 3
Attachment 901397 Attachment 901398 Attachment 901399 |
4 Attachment(s)
|
2 Attachment(s)
Attachment 901958
Thursday, October 10, 2075 HARTSDALE SWEEPS PRO CUP FAVORITE TURON IN FIRST ROUND OF IPA PLAYOFFS The first round of the IPA playoffs is quite surprising so far... some teams are not playing ball with the postseason predictions... after just four games, mighty Turon is gone from the playoffs... the Typhoons were the #1 choice to win the IPA Pro Cup this season, but lo and behold, the Hartsdale Hellcats put the broom to the Typhoons and swept them in four straight... and the #3 pick Ranford is down three games to one and on the edge of elimination in its series with the Marston Nine... Hartsdale skimmed past Turon 7-6 yesterday afternoon and sent them home for the season... Ranford finally won a game from the Marston Nine... the Bulls shut them out 4-0, but they still trail in the Ruthlandian Elite 8. In the other series, Sligo is playing like they are predicted to play and they have a three games to one bulge over Valka... the Rovers outscored the Blackhawks 8-7 yesterday in a dramatic duel in RU Elite 8 play... in the Tycobbian Union Rolling Hills evened up with Tuckanarra at two games apiece... the Racers toppled the Tucks in another tense one 7-5 in 13 innings. 2075 IPA Elite 8 Series Stars of the Day Attachment 901959 |
3 Attachment(s)
|
3 Attachment(s)
|
3 Attachment(s)
2075 IPA Ruthlandian Union Elite 8 Series - Game 4
Attachment 901969 Attachment 901970 Attachment 901971 |
4 Attachment(s)
|
2 Attachment(s)
Attachment 902360
Friday, October 11, 2075 TUCKS TAKE LEAD OVER ROLLING HILLS IN TU SERIES... VALKA AND RANFORD HANGIN' IN IN RU SERIES Three game fives were played in the Islandian Pro Alliance Elite 8 Series Thursday... Tuckanarra took a tight one from Rolling Hills 4-3 to take a three games to two lead in the Tycobbian Union, while Valka and Ranford avoided elimination from the playoffs with critical wins... the Blackhawks shut out Sligo 2-0 and the Bulls eked out a 4-3 comeback victory over the Marston Nine in the Ruthlandian Union. All three best-of-seven series will continue after a day off... Rolling Hills, Sligo and Marston have the homefield advantage... Hartsdale is the only team to clinch a series... they swept Pro Cup favorite Turon in round one... they will play the winner of the Tuckanarra-Rolling Hills series for the Tycobbian Union title and the right to play in the IPA Pro Cup Series. 2074 IPA Elite 8 Stars of the Day Attachment 902361 |
3 Attachment(s)
2075 Ruthlandian Union Elite 8 Series - Game 5
Attachment 902362 Attachment 902363 Attachment 902364 |
3 Attachment(s)
|
4 Attachment(s)
2075 Tycobbian Union Elite 8 Series - Game 5
Attachment 902368 Attachment 902369 Attachment 902370 Attachment 902371 |
There are several teams in the IPA playoffs this year that haven't been in the postseason lately... I will cover the team history and tell you a little about the town and it baseball heritage.
Around the Town in the IPA RANFORD BULLS Owner: Barnes Petroleum Enterprises President, GM and Manager: Bert Skippman The Ranford Valley has long been known for its rough and tumble lifestyle. During its early years the town of Ranford was a hamlet set up to offer merchant services to the soldiers at Fort Branagh which was built to protect the Valdar Bay gateway. The army decided to consolidate all the island’s armed forces in Valmara in 1912. Ft. Branagh was abandoned and Ranford became a refuge for outlaws, gamblers and bootleggers. It was sometimes referred to as the "forgotten city" as much of Ruthlandia cut any existing ties to the area which was kept afloat by the economic backbone of barkeepers and gambling halls. After the great revival of ’29, churches slowly started to outnumber the saloons and commerce and merchants from the mainland began to return and expand into Ranford. For the next 35 years Ranford’s reputation moved from a town of debauchery to being known as the hardest-working town in Ruthlandia. It was a well-earned distinction as those who toiled with the rough and rocky terrain were well-suited for the country’s lumber and manufacturing faction. In the mid 1960’s oil was discovered inland and within five years extensive exploration had begun. In what seemed overnight, much of Ranford’s blue collar work force had joined the aristocracy. Ranford has a diverse population with just about all ethnic groups in the Islands represented. They come from near and far to participate in the oil prosperity in the area. Ranford has become one of the most affluent cities in Ruthlandia, but has kept to its blue collar roots. The early years of baseball in Ranford consisted of amateur teams made up of soldiers, sailors and ruffians from the area. Despite the amateur status of the teams, the games were taken very seriously and brawls often took place between players and fans alike. During the industrial years the team was known as the Outlaws, but in efforts to makeover the town’s reputation it was later changed to Bulls and stayed that way when the Islandian Pro Alliance was formed in 2001. The original owner of the Bulls was Cliff Barnes of the Barnes Oil Company. He inherited the company from his father, Digger Barnes. The Barnes family has always had a running feud with the Ewing family that still continues to this day because Jock Ewing had supposedly swindled Digger out of his share of an oilfield partnership, when both were just getting started in the oil industry. Back in the 1980s, the feud simmered down a lot when Bobby Ewing won the heart of Pamela Barnes. Yep, love conquers all, even family feuds. Barnes hired O'Neal Buckman as chief operating officer. Buckman had played for and managed Barnes Oil company teams in the amateur leagues for 30 years and had been quite successful. Buckman surprisingly hired a teammate of many years, Page Satcher, to be his manager. Satcher was a heck of a player, but had no experience as a manager. Satcher alway gave the appearance of not taking the game of baseball too seriously. Many baseball people questioned Buckman's choice for those reasons. When grilled about this, Buckman just grinned and said, "Old Satch is gonna make you guys regret those words. He's gonna be a darn good manager. You just wait and see." Satcher, who was a local star for the Ranford Outlaws back in the industrial league years and one of the best pitchers ever to throw a baseball. Satcher played into his 50s and never revealed his age, saying, "How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?" Not only was he good on the baseball mound, but he was good with a quote, too. "I ain't ever had a job, I just always played baseball." Another of his poetic jewels was his work ethic. "I don't generally like running. I believe in training by rising gently up and down from the bench." Satcher had the reputation for doctoring up the ball. "I never threw an illegal pitch. The trouble is, once in a while I would toss one that ain’t never been seen by this generation." Asked what the secret of his success was, he would reply, "Just take the ball and throw it where you want to. Throw strikes. Home plate don’t move." After two decades at the helm, Satcher retired as manager and became the team's GM. He was followed by Chris Bernhoffer, who starred for Ranford for 14 years from 2002 to 2015, going 202-197 for mostly mediocre clubs. Bernhoffer posted a solid 3.37 ERA in his career. He was especially good in the playoffs with a 6-2 mark and a terrific 1.89 ERA in nine starts. Bernhoffer retired in 2043 and turned the reins over to standout catcher Kyle Hunt, an 8-time All-Star with a career .292 batting average. After 16 years as skipper Hunt retired and the Ranford management decided to go to the college ranks and hired a very successful college coach, Bert Skippman. He did well right off the bat and won the RU North pennant in 2060, but since then Shippman has only had fair success in the pro ranks. The Ranford Bulls play at Ranford County Stadium, a nondescript, but adequate ballpark. The ballpark fare is just middle-class with hot dogs, cokes, burgers, peanuts and crackerjacks. A special fan feature at Bulls' game is when they go to the bullpen. The reliever strolls in like a matador at a bullfight to the music of Herb Alpert's "Lonely Bull", a hit song from the 1960s. It is the intent of the Bulls' pitcher to silence the opposition and to kill the threat. Hear the "Lonely Bull" at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uqPBZncL5Q Ranford County Stadium (1953) Capacity: 7,850 Dimensions: Left Field Line - 315 Left Field - 362 Left Center - 382 Center Field - 402 Right Center - 382 Right Field - 362 Right Field Line - 315 |
2 Attachment(s)
Attachment 902780
Sunday, October 13, 2075 ROVERS BEST BLACKHAWKS IN 6 IN RU ELITE 8... BULLS AND RACERS FORCE 7TH GAMES In the Ruthlandian Union Elite 8 Series Sligo finished off the Valka Blackhawks in six games, but the other two series will play it out to the end, going the full seven... the Sligo Rovers spanked the Blackhawks 8-2 to take the series four games to two, while the Ranford Bulls won a miracle game from the Marston Nine, rebounding for an 11-9 victory and forcing a final game seven... in the Tycobbian Union Rolling Hills rallied for a 6-5 win over Tuckanarra and is still alive in that series... the Racers and Tucks have split the six games so far... Hartsdale already won its series in a 4-game sweep over Pro Cup favorite Turon. 2075 IPA Elite 8 Series Stars of the Day Attachment 902781 |
3 Attachment(s)
2075 IPA Ruthlandian Union Elite 8 Series - Game 6
Attachment 902782 Attachment 902783 Attachment 902784 |
3 Attachment(s)
|
3 Attachment(s)
2075 IPA Tycobbian Union Elite 8 Series - Game 6
Attachment 902789 Attachment 902790 Attachment 902791 |
What brutal loss for Marston. All the pressure is on them for Game 7.
|
2 Attachment(s)
Attachment 903045
Monday, October 14, 2075 MARSTON AND ROLLING HILLS TOP RANFORD AND TUCKS IN 7TH-GAME FINALES... THE NINE AND RACERS ADVANCE TO IPA SECOND ROUND All four clubs played well in the 7th-game finales in the IPA Elite 8 Series, but only two of them can continue in the postseason playoffs... two of them sadly must call it a season and go home and mourn what might have been. In the Ruthlandian Union Elite 8 Series the Marston Nine snapped Ranford's three-game winning streak and spoiled the Bulls comeback with a 3-1 victory to advance against the Sligo Rovers in the RU title series... in the Tycobbian Union Rolling Hills surged back and edged the Tuckanarra Tiger Cats 7-6 in game seven... the Racers will now tangle with the Hartsdale Hellcats for the TU title... both series will be the best-of-seven. 2075 IPA Elite 8 Series Stars of the Day Attachment 903046 |
3 Attachment(s)
2075 Ruthlandian Union Elite 8 Series - Game 7
Attachment 903047 Attachment 903048 Attachment 903049 |
4 Attachment(s)
2075 Tycobbian Union Elite 8 Series - Game 7
Attachment 903050 Attachment 903051 Attachment 903052 Attachment 903053 |
1 Attachment(s)
Attachment 903171
Wednesday, October 16, 2075 IPA FINAL 4 TIME: MARSTON AT SLIGO IN RU TITLE SERIES... HARTSDALE AT ROLLING HILLS IN TU TITLE SERIES Here are the numbers in the IPA... 64 to 8 to 4... nope, that's not a weird double play... or the title of a Chicago Transit Authority song from the 70s...it's IPA Final 4 Time in the Islands... the 64 teams have been whittled down to just 4 teams...that's all that is left... only the Marston Nine and the Sligo Rovers are left standing in the Ruthlandian Union... and only the Hartsdale Hellcats and the Rolling Hills Racers have survived the cut in the Tycobbian Union. The 2075 IPA Pro Cup playoffs will pick up play again this Saturday afternoon... Marston will be on the road against the Sligo Rovers and Hartsdale will travel to Rolling Hills to take on the Racers... Sligo is the highest-rated team left in the postseason... the Rovers are rated the 2nd-best squad by the baseball experts... the Racers are the 4th-best team... Marston is #5... and last, but certainly not the least, are the #7 choice, the Hartsdale Hellcats, the team that stunned the Islandian baseball world by upsetting the Pro Cup favorite Turon Typhoons in the first round... the Hellcats swept all four games with Turon. In the Ruthlandian Elite 8 Series, Marston defeated the favored Ranford Bulls in a torrid seven-game affair... the Nine won the first three games, lost the next three, then finally finished off the Bulls... Sligo had it a little bit easier in round one... the Rovers knocked off a pretty good Valka team in 6 games... over in the Tycobbian Elite 8, Rolling Hills won a sensational 7-game series with the Tuckanarra Tiger Cats... the Racers had to sweep the last two games... and they just barely won it... they trailed 6-2 halfway through game 7... it took a 5-run inning to come back and win it. Sligo had the best overall record in the IPA this season, going 101-53... followed by Rolling Hills at 100-54... Marston wound up with the 4th-best mark 97-57... the surprising Hartsdale Hellcats were only 87-67, yet they eliminated powerful Turon... the Typhoons posted a 100-54 record. Ruthlandian Union Title Series Outlook Two octogenarians will go head-to-head in the Ruthlandian title series... both Hall of Famers... Russ Woodward, age 81, will lead Marston and Les Patterson, age 84, is in charge of Sligo... both are retiring at the end of this season after long and illustrious careers in the IPA... Woodward had a lifetime .315 BA with 621 homers and 2052 RBIs, while Patterson was 306-230 with a career 2.79 ERA... both have been successful skippers, too... Woodward has captured 6 pennants so far... but has often been a contender in the RU East Division... Patterson has paced the Rovers to 7 RU West titles... Woodward and Patterson rarely had a losing season. Marston's overall pitching depth will be able to contain the Sligo bats... the Rovers are not quite as good on the hill, but are better at the plate... give Sligo the advantage defensively... look for the Nine to win it in 7 games... Marston is seeking its first-ever Pro Cup Trophy... this is manager Russ Woodward's farewell season after 60 years in Marston as a HOF player and skipper... Les Patterson has managed Sligo for the last 24 seasons... he starred for the Rovers for 17 years... Sligo won its only Pro Cup in 2021. Tycobbian Union Title Series Outlook The TU title series should be a 7-game donnybrook as well... Rolling Hills has seven .300 hitters in its lineup... the Racers sported a .302 team batting average this season... they can certainly score runs, but they give up a lot of runs, too... manager Billy Christianson is hard-pressed to find quality pitching... this will be his downfall... look for Hartsdale to take the series... manager Mark Markis has enough pitching to slow down the Racers... both clubs are top-notch with the gloves... Hartsdale hits with more power... that will give them another advantage. Markis is one of the few skippers in the Islandian Pro Alliance with no IPA experience as a player... he is no athlete... Markis never played the game... he only coached it in high school and was very successful... he was hired as a bench coach for the Hellcats and so impressed them with his knowledge of baseball and analytics that they made him manager in 2062... since then, Markis has won 5 pennants and one Pro Cup... that was in his second year in 2063. Christianson is a Hall of Fame infielder... 6-time All-Star and Gold Glover at third base and first base... lifetime .302 BA with 258 homers and 1446 RBIs... Christianson has had tremendous success as skipper of the Racers... he has won 13 pennants since 2052 and 4 Pro Cups... Christianson has been TU Manager of the Year 6 times. |
5 Attachment(s)
Attachment 903363
Sunday, October 20, 2075 IPA FINAL 4 OPENERS WERE THRILLERS AND HEARTBREAKERS Yes, the IPA Final 4 openers started off with a bang. Two bangs to be exact. If you like baseball, it couldn't be much better than the first two games of the Islandian Pro Alliance Final 4 Series... two teams won thrillers and two teams lost heartbreakers... both games were decided in the last inning... one went 9 innings, the other went 10 innings... Sligo rallied past the Marston Nine 5-4 in the Ruthlandian Union... and Rolling Hills came back and nosed out the Hartsdale Hellcats 7-6 in 10 innings in the Tycobbian Union. 2075 IPA Final 4 Stars of the Day Attachment 903364 2075 IPA Final 4 Series - Ruthlandian Union Game 1 Attachment 903365 Attachment 903366 Attachment 903367 |
4 Attachment(s)
2075 IPA Final 4 Series - Tycobbian Union Game 1
Attachment 903368 Attachment 903369 Attachment 903370 Attachment 903371 |
EC is going out on a limb early in prognosticating that a team with the colors red and black will win the 2075 IPA Pro Cup Trophy... yep, that's my pick and I'm stickin' to it.
Or will the pitching-poor Rolling Hills Racers come "out of the blue" and win it all? |
5 Attachment(s)
Attachment 903517
Monday, October 21, 2075 ROVERS UP 2-0 OVER MARSTON IN RU TITLE SERIES... HELLCATS AND RACERS SPLIT A PAIR IN ROLLING HILLS... TEAMS HEAD TO MARSTON AND HARTSDALE Baseball fans couldn't ask for better ballgames than they have witnessed in the first four games of the IPA Final 4 Series... each one of them have been decided by one run... two of the games went 10 innings... in the Ruthlandian Union yesterday afternoon the Sligo Rovers took charge of its series with the Marston Nine... they nudged past the Nine 3-2 to go up two games to one in the best-of-seven affair... it was also hot-and-heavy in the Tycobbian Union where Hartsdale slimmed by the Rolling Hills Racers in extra innings... for the second straight game it was decided by a 7-6 score in 10 innings. 2075 IPA Final 4 Series - Game 2 Attachment 903518 Attachment 903519 Attachment 903520 Attachment 903521 |
4 Attachment(s)
|
Special thanks to all of you who follow the IPA.
This is the 14th year. For the last 4 days there have been over 500 viewers each day. Much appreciate each and every one of you. |
2 Attachment(s)
Attachment 903664
Wednesday, October 23, 2075 THE NINE AND HELLCATS WIN BIG GAMES IN IPA FINAL 4 It's early in the best-of-seven IPA Final 4 Series, but the Marston Nine and Hartsdale Hellcats each made strides... the Nine finally won a game from the Sligo Rovers, but they still trail by a 2-1 margin, while the Hellcats copped a pivotal game three from the Rolling Hills Racers and took a 2-1 lead in that series. Marston went on a rampage and ravaged the Rovers 9-3 in game 3 of the Ruthlandian title series... Hartsdale also blistered the Racers 9-6 in the Tycobbian title series. 2075 IPA Final 4 Series Stars of the Day Attachment 903665 |
3 Attachment(s)
2075 Ruthlandian Union Final 4 Series - Game 3
Attachment 903666 Attachment 903667 Attachment 903668 |
4 Attachment(s)
2075 Tycobbian Union Final 4 Series - Game 3
Attachment 903669 Attachment 903670 Attachment 903671 Attachment 903672 |
2 Attachment(s)
Around the Town in the IPA
TUCKANARRA Tiger Cats (aka Bluejays 2002-2059) Owner: Tuckanarra Baseball Enterprises GM/Manager: Quinn Starr Tuckanarra is a rural town in southern Tycobbia with a population of 49,000. It is about 100 miles east of Bay St.Clair, 100 miles west of South Fork and 100 north of Denton City. Tuckanarra came into existence in the 1860s, when a group of Australians were shipwrecked on the coast near Bay St. Clair. Not having the means to continue their journey from Tuckanarra, Australia to England, they decided to move inland to set up homesteads. Included in their numbers were a few aboriginal families. These were farmers, cattle ranchers and sheep herders. Wheat, wool, beef and lamb were their main products. They named the town after their old hometown, Tuckanarra. The main industries in modern day Tuckanarra are woolen textiles factories and meat processing plants. In the early 1900s, the game of baseball arrived in the form of exhibition games by the Chicopee town teams, who began to barnstorm the Islands. Initially just traveling to nearby towns like Denton City, Colchester and Tuckanarra, then expanding to Tycobbia, Ruthlandia and even to distant Valdar Island. The Aussies took a liking to the American game and began to form teams, which led to leagues. It took them almost 20 years to compete on the level of the other adjacent towns. By 1920 company leagues were flourishing in Tuckanarra. It stayed amateur and semipro for the next 80 years, when in 2001, the first pro baseball league in the Islands was established, the Islandian Pro Alliance. It was an attempt to get rid of all the corruption in the Amateur Baseball Alliance. Too many teams were just violating the rules by paying the players to just play baseball, but not requiring them to do any bonafide work for the company sponsors. Since it is one of the smallest towns in the Islands, it seemed like Tuckanarra was going to miss out on the IPA. But local baseball aficionado, playboy and philanthropist, Jayden Thorpe, stepped up to the plate and put up the money for the franchise, the Tuckanarra Bluejays. He chose the name Bluejays simply because it is a tough and feisty bird, just like him. He thought it would make a good mascot, too. Thorpe made his fortune riding high tech stocks in the 1980s and 90s. He hired as GM and manager, Carlton "Lefty" Stevens, a great left-handed pitcher in the industrial leagues. Stevens led the Golden Age of Bluejays baseball. From 2002 to 2038 he guided Tuckanarra to 17 playoff appearances, 3 Pro Cups in 2023, 2024 and 2035 and was named Manager of the Year 3 times in 2013, 2017 and 2028. Stevens was blessed with the 6-foot-6 Starr triplets from 2022 to 2036. Quinn and Glynn were pitchers and Lynn a first baseman. They were the core of his teams. In his career Quinn Starr was 219-164 with a 2.97 ERA, Glynn Starr was 172-130 with a 3.24 ERA and Lynn Starr batted .296 lifetime with 317 homers and 1184 RBIs. Upon Stevens' retirement, the Tucks went into a two decade-long postseason drought. In 2059 Thorpe thought rebranding the club as the Tiger Cats might rejuvenize the stagnant franchise. The Starr family purchased the club from Thorpe family in 2062 and made them competitive again. The Tiger Cats have flourished under Starrs, winning 5 pennants so far. Tuckanarra is still seeking its 4th Pro Cup Trophy.The talented trio also performed even better in the IPA playoffs. The Starr Triplets are now the proud owners of the Tiger Cats. Quinn is the skipper, Glynn, the pitching coach and Lynn is the batting coach. Tuckanarra is truly a family affair. Central Park Stadium comes alive in the 8th inning when all the Starrs lead the fans in singing the great Sister Sledge song "We are Family". Here is a link to the classic song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcrvVuaQtgw The Tiger Cats play at Central Park Stadium, which is located right in the middle of a beautiful park on the edge of the downtown area, which houses the Central Park Zoo. The zoo specializes in animals native to Australia and features a ferris wheel, carousel and a carnival midway. It is a favorite place for Tuckanarran families to while away weekend hours perusing koala bears, kangaroos, wallabies, dingoes, platypuses, tasmanian devils and kookaburras. Central Park Stadium was constructed in 1948 and is still a great place to watch a ballgame. Even the aboriginal Australians have taken to the sport of baseball and have acquited themselves very ably over the years. Food-wise, you won't just gorge out on Aussie delicacy vegemite sandwiches, a salty food paste, and swig Australian beers like VB (Victoria Bitter) and Foster's at the ballpark, you can also get Aussie gourmet treats like barbecue, Tim Tam (chocolate biscuits) and a chocolate Pavlova (a fruit meringue dessert named for the Russian ballerina) with sorbet. Hot dogs, hamburgers and cokes are available, too. Central Park Stadium (1948) Capacity: 7,750 Dimensions: Left Field Line - 340 Left Field - 370 Left Center - 400 Center Field - 385 Right Center - 400 Right Field - 370 Right Field Line - 340 |
4 Attachment(s)
Around the Town in the IPA
VALKA BLACKHAWKS Owner: Cybertel GM and Manager: Matvey Kazak Valka is found on the southeastern coast of Ruthlandia near Crystal Lake, just 20 miles from the Valerian Ocean. It is a modern town of 82,000 inhabitants, settled by Estonian emigres in the 1890s, who wanted to escape Russian domination of their country. A wealthy landowner, Olev Valk, purchased the land near the lake and set up a community. When a town grew up around the Valk estate, the citizens began to call the town, Valka, in honor of the Valk family. There were three other waves of emigration from Estonia, in 1918 after WWI ended, in the late 1930s, just prior to WWII, and in 1991, at the end of Soviet rule. Today about half of the residents are of Estonian descent. Originally Valka was an agrarian economy, based on vegetable farming, poultry and pork. It remained that way until the 1940's, when the Ruthlandian Institute of Technology was created under the leadership of Hendrik Valk. In the 1950s he started a small company, Cybertel, that blossomed in the 80s into a high-tech electronics and communications conglomerate. Baseball was slow in coming to Valka and wasn't played until about 1920. It was an alien game to the Valkans. But as time went by, more and more of their kids began to play the game. By the 1940s the town had an amateur league, which was expanded to an industrial league. Cybertel and the Institute were both active participants in company league baseball. When the Islandian Pro Alliance was created, the Valk family made sure they had a team. They also made sure they had a stadium, too. Cybertel spared no expense in creating a state-of-the-art baseball Taj Mahal, Cybertel Park, the home of the Valka Blackhawks.The team name was chosen by Hendrik's son, Andrus. As a kid in the 1940's and 1950s, he idolized the comic book heroes, the Blackhawks, a multi-national air squadron, who fought the evil Axis Powers in WWII and the Communists in the Cold War. The team colors are blue and black, the colors of the Estonia flag and also the color of the flying Blackhawks uniform. Cybertel Park is in the centerpiece of a beautiful downtown landscaped park area. A trip to the ballpark is something to behold with its massive centerfield fountains just beyond the outfield fences and huge electronic scoreboard. No ballpark in the Islands has the high-tech electronic pyrotechnic capabilities like the Blackhawks. A special treat for the kids is when the team mascot, Blackhawk, a trained hawk, delivers baseballs to the homeplate umpire. Concessions at Cybertel Park are traditional with hot dogs, hamburgers, cokes, peanuts and crackerjacks. However, to the delight of many fans, Valka's two favorite beers, Saku and A. Le Coq, are served during the games. Both brands are imported from the old home country. Matvey Kazak is the general manager and skipper of the Valka Blackhawks. He took over the managerial reins in 2068. Kazak never played in the IPA. His main fame came from coaching baseball at the collegiate level, winning multiple national titles in a legendary career at Valdarian Military Academy. Valka has had a lackluster history in the Islandian Pro Alliance with only occasional success... the Blackhawks have never won a Pro Cup, but they did reach the Pro Cup Finals in 2073, but they were swept by the South Fork Stallions... Valka has made the postseason playoffs only 8 times. Cybertel Park (2000) Capacity: 9,503 Dimensions: Left Field Line - 340 Left Field - 355 Left Center - 375 Center Field - 405 Right Center - 375 Right Field - 355 Right Field Line - 340 |
3 Attachment(s)
Here is a little history of the Valka Blackhawks... Blackhawk was one of my favorite comic books in the 1940s when I was a kid, so I created a town in the IPA for the high-flying Blackhawks.
Comic books and sports pages in the newspapers were a great aid to EC's education... I probably learned more reading the comic books and sports pages than I did in school... I have always had a good vocabulary and can spell pretty well... creating baseball stats greatly help me to do simple arithmetic... fractions, division and multiplication were easy for EC. (Special Thanks to Wikipedia) After a period of membership fluctuations during the first 10 issues of Military Comics, the team finally settles into its most famous roster. Although minor character details would shift and change over time, this original version of the team would stay largely intact from the characters' debut in 1941 to the end of their first run in 1968. At one point or another, every member of the team except Blackhawk is depicted in ways stereotypical for the time, and over the course of the series several would develop their own catchphrases. Blackhawk – first Polish, then American, the man known as Blackhawk is portrayed as a strong, decisive leader. He's not always easy on his men—calling Olaf a "big fat-head", for example[24]—but always appears to command their unquestionable respect. Stanislaus – Blackhawk's second-in-command. Polish, Stan is initially depicted like his teammates with various ethnic distinctions, but those disappear as the series progresses to the point that he could very well pass for an American. He is often portrayed as an acrobat, then later as the team's strongman. Chuck – at different times stated as being from Brooklyn or Texas, Chuck is often shown as the team's communications specialist. His words are peppered with frequent American colloquialisms like "I reckon!" and "Dagnabbit!" Hendrickson – known as "Hendy" for short, the oldest of the Blackhawks is also their ever-dependable sharpshooter. Heavyset with white hair and a thick, Germanic mustache, he's usually portrayed as Dutch (though German in some accounts), and often exclaims, "Himmel!" (German for "sky" and "heaven") or "Ach du lieber!" (a German phrase akin to "Oh, dear!"). André – with his pencil-thin mustache and natural born suavity, André's appreciation of beautiful women often leads the team into precarious situations. Their demolitions expert, he frequently utters "Sacre bleu!" (an old French profanity). Olaf – a giant of a man, Olaf is usually portrayed as Swedish, his brutish size and poor English playing into the "big, dumb Swede" stereotype. He often shouts, "Py Yiminy!" and demonstrates impressive acrobatic abilities (a trait that Stanislaus' character loses over time). (Note: the character Chop Chop may be offensive as depicted in the 1940s... remember the time and place... it is a part of history... we were at war with Japan and Germany... should anyone be offended... I will remove Chop Chop.) Chop-Chop – Chop-Chop is originally the team's Chinese cook and essentially Blackhawk's sidekick, riding along in Blackhawk's plane as opposed to piloting his own. He evolves over time from comic relief mascot to a valued member of the team proficient in the martial arts. His full name is eventually revealed to be Liu Huang. Blackie: In the third picture on the right, you can see Blackie, the blackhawk, the mascot of the Blackhawks. |
5 Attachment(s)
Attachment 904127
Thursday, October 24, 2075 SLIGO ON VERGE OF ELIMINATING MARSTON IN RU ELITE 8 SERIES... ROLLING HILLS AND HARTSDALE ARE ALL EVEN IN TU SERIES The Sligo Rovers took command of the Ruthlandian Elite 8 Series with a hard-fought 7-5 victory over Marston in game four... the Rovers are in front 3 games to one in the best-of-seven affair... one more win and the season is all over for the Marston Nine... in the Tycobbian Union Rolling Hills and Hartsdale are trading wins... the Racers captured game four 10-6 to even the series at 2 victories apiece. 2075 Ruthlandian Union Elite 8 Series - Game 4 Attachment 904128 Attachment 904129 Attachment 904131 Attachment 904132 |
4 Attachment(s)
2075 Tycobbian Union Elite 8 Series - Game 4
Attachment 904144 Attachment 904145 Attachment 904146 Attachment 904147 |
| All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:29 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.10
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright © 2024 Out of the Park Developments