Attachment 714546
Thursday, April 2, 2065

BEST FRANCHISE IN IPA HISTORY?
Who is the best franchise in Islandian Pro Alliance history?
If you use the criterion of who has won the most IPA Pro Cups, it would be the Rolling Hills Reds/Racers... Rolling Hills has copped the Pro Cup trophy 5 times... the Turon Typhoons, Valmara Vipers and North Hills Hawks would be right behind with 4 overall IPA titles.

If you used the criterion of which team has made the postseason playoffs the most, it would be be Valmara... the Vipers have appeared 25 times in the playoffs... Turon is number two with 21 appearances, followed by the Middlefield Roosters on 20 occasions... Tuckanarra 19 times... and Sugar Valley 18 times.

And if you use the criterion of which club has the best overall winning percentage in Islandian Pro Alliance history, it would be Turon at .552 in the top spot... second place would go to Tuckanarra .545... in the third spot would be Sugar Valley .536... fourth would be Valmara .534... and in fifth place Rolling Hills .533.

Combining all of the above criteria into one, the best overall franchise in IPA history would arguably go to the Turon Typhoons with the Valmara Vipers a close second... the Rolling Hills Reds/Racers in third place... followed by the Tuckanarra Blue Jays/Tiger Cats in the fourth spot.

TYCOBBIAN UNION 36 PRO CUPS
RUTHLANDIAN UNION 28 PRO CUPS

Rolling Hills 5 ('29, '31, '48, '60, '62)
Turon 4 ('03, '06, '09, '18)
North Hills 4 ('34, '36, '38, '41)
Valmara 4 ('26, '43, '49, '50)
Tuckanarra 3 ('23, '24, '35)
Southport 3 ('27, '44, '47)
Middlefield 3 ('05, '52, '56)
Waleska 3 ('28, '37, '39)
Far Mountain 3 ('11, '12, '13)
Crystal Lake 3 ('20, '22, '58)
South Fork 2 ('25, '42)
Eastshore 2 ('16, '17)
Midway 2 ('53, '54)
Wynnamac 2 ('08, '55)
Red Bluff 2 ('04, '57)
Oxford 2 ('07, '61)
Hartsdale 2 ('46, '63)
Sugar Valley 1 ('45)
Taranto 1 ('15)
Volusia 1 ('01)
Ranford 1 ('40)
Rocky Rapids 1 ('19)
San Alejo 1 ('32)
Sligo 1 ('21)
Blue Lake 1 ('30)
Colfax 1 ('10)
Elnora 1 ('33)
High Mesa 1 ('02)
Kenwood 1 ('14)
Arlon 1 ('51)
Ginza 1 ('59)
Claxton 1 ('64)

MONTIES FAVORED AGAIN IN TU SOUTH
The 2065 season for the Tycobbian South Division pretty much looks like a rerun from last year... according to the baseball scribes, sportscasters and prophets it will be the San Alejo Montaneros winning back-to-back titles... followed at a distance by the Southport Sun Sox and Summerland Sunsets... getting a nod to finish fourth in the standings are the longsuffering Colchester Elites.

2065 Tycobbian South Preseason Poll

1st Place: San Alejo Montaneros
The Monties began rebuilding the club in '54 and it took quite a spell, 8 years... '62 was a turnaround season for the club... and 2 years later it paid off with the TU South crown last season... San Alejo captured its one and only Pro Cup trophy in 2032... down through the years, the team has made the postseason 9 times in its IPA history... the Tycobbian South is noted for being a pitcher's league... it's a well-balanced league with the teams pretty evenly matched... last place Colchester was 70-84 last year, 16 games behind champ San Alejo (86-68)... the Elites were the best of the 8 cellar-dwellers in the IPA last season... the Montaneros depend more on their bats for success than their mound staff... San Alejo has a solid core of batters, led by 1B Nicky Yorke (.294 BA, 22 HR, 94 RBI, 82 R, 2 SB), 3B Roman Redondo (.244 BA, 23 HR, 93 RBI, 68 R), LF Hector Cavazos (.268 BA, 20 HR, 61 RBI, 95 R, 12 SB), 2B Ted Keating (.289 BA, 9 HR, 50 RBI, 48 R, 2SB) and CF Al Lester (.273 BA, 13 HR, 56 RBI, 86 R, 14 SB)... the offense might get some help from rookies C Sergio Vidal and CF Hoot Hancock... they both hit well in the spring... and the pitching rotation is pretty good with starters Adrian Acosta (9-3, 2.72 ERA), Jimmy Doak (11-7, 2.96 ERA), Paulo Passos (12-8, 3.25 ERA, 19 saves, 68 games) and Alvaro Muniz (11-11, 4.03 ERA)... Joca Qartez (5-8, 4.17 ERA) and Gino DeChiara (12-11, 3.54 ERA) will also be vying for a spot in the rotation... the bullpen does an adequate job with Elmer Cane (6-4, 2.75 ERA, 6 saves, 34 games) taking over the closer role for Passos.. San Alejo is a little better this season than last year... could repeat in the TU South this season.

2nd Place: Southport Sun Sox (7 GB)
It looks like the Sun Sox are going to play second fiddle to San Alejo again this year... since winning 100 games in '62, Southport has slipped each season, falling to second in '63 (5 GB) and to third place (7 GB) in '64... but the Sun Sox could have won the pennant in each of the past two years... and they could win this year... Southport has appeared in the playoffs 13 times in its history with 3 Pro Cup trophies (2027, 2044, 2047)... pitching is the name of the game for the Sun Sox with the likes of Roman Littrell (19-4, 2.12 ERA), Bebe Kinney (12-8, 2.29 ERA), Jeff Moncriffe (12-10, 3.31 ERA) and Greg Brisbourne (8-2, 2.56 ERA)... the bullpen is fairly decent, headed up by Billy Ray Echols (8-15, 3.51 ERA, 25 saves, 90 games), but it's not rock solid... three rookies made the roster as position players and one new hurler... but none of them stood out in the spring... still rookie Riley Kincade will get his shot to shine in the starting rotation to start the season... Southport's offense is just not good enough to overcome the San Alejo Montaneros... the Sun Sox will wind up second or third this year.

3rd Place: Summerland Sunsets (8 GB)
For the past 6 seasons the Sunsets have been in the pennant chase each season... they won the TU South in '63 and wound up tied for second last season, trailing by 7 games... sadly, Summerland has only won 5 pennants in its history and has never won the IPA Pro Cup... in fact, the Sunsets have never come close to winning one... they have just never been much of a hitting club because they play in such a huge ballpark with distant fences all-around... when they hit fairly well for average, they win the pennant... it's an age-old problem and it's still there... superstar CF Johnny Pendergrass (.308 BA, 21 HR, 80 RBI, 93 R, 31 SB) and LF Zee Van Holbeek (.294 BA, 18 HR, 66 RBI, 60 R, 1 SB) are the only two threats in the batting order... 1B Doc Pollins (.256 BA, 19 HR, 50 RBI, 51 R, 3 SB) may help some... he came in a trade with Valmara late last year... could add some firepower... Summerland will be pretty much the same team as last year... only three rookies added to the roster... none of them performed well in spring training... the returning starters are solid, Marty Westhuizen (13-12, 2.57 ERA), Bernardo Marcos (12-8, 2.74 ERA) and Otis Stockdale (10-3, 2.68 ERA) will anchor the rotation... the key to the season will be rookie Edward Lasky, rookie Terry Holmquist and journeyman Tex Dalford... all three are in the starting rotation... the Sunsets really need a closer... Jacob Vandenboom (7-12, 4.53 ERA, 18 saves, 66 games) was sorely lacking last year... if the rookie hurlers come through and Summerland can get another productive bat or two, they could win the TU South... second or third looks like the best the Sunsets can do this year.

4th Place: Colchester Elites (10 GB)
Taking a look back at Colchester history... it is one of the worst in the IPA... only 4 playoff appearances with no Pro Cups or even close to a Pro Cup... no pennants since 2036... last season the Elites were in 8th place... dead last in the standings...so what is this?... Colchester picked for fourth place in the TU South? can't happen... as high as 4th place has not happened in 13 years... 2051 to be exact... why such optimism amongst the IPA prognosticators?... 6 rookies, 3 position players and 3 hurlers, could make some of the difference, along with two rock solid starters like Jud Chesbro (15-11, 3.24 ERA) and Johnny Walker (11-11, 2.88 ERA)... veteran starter Branch McCracken (13-9, 4.34 ERA) could also lend a good hand... newcomers on the hill, Lou Barden, Dalton McKay and Herman Mueller did well this spring and could be impact players... the bats will be led by blossoming star CF Merle Creekmur (.288 BA, 40 HR, 94 RBI, 90 R, 19 SB) with slugging help from LF Paddy Terry (.242 BA, 32 HR, 78 RBI, 77 R, 21 SB), RF Mel Albertson (281 BA/21 HR, 65 RBI, 82 R, 5 SB) and 3B Teddy Lundquist (.279 BA, 14 HR, 49 RBI, 52 R, 8 SB)... the Elites can go deep... Colchester just might do it... fourth place is possible.

5th Place: Arroyo Grande Suns (16 GB)
The Suns just might be the worst team in the Islandian Pro Alliance... no Pro Cups... and only 4 TU South flags in its 63 seasons... only one time in its history has it done well... Arroyo Grande won 4 pennants in 5 years from 2020 to 2024... the Suns hit well for average in those years averaging about .270... scored very well and even pitched well (3.70 ERA) during that stretch... nothing like that since... in recent years, after missing out on the pennant by one, single, solitary game in '61, the Suns have slipped badly... 8th place (39 GB) in '62... 7th place (31 GB) in '63 and 7th place (12 GB) again last year... the Arroyo Grande bats just don't hit for average, but they can go deep with 202 homers last year... they only hit .219 last year, .221 in '63 and .228 in '62... the longballers were SS Dan Fargo (.233 BA, 39 HR, 77 RBI, 90 R, 12 SB), CF Rueben Jones (.216 BA, 34 HR, 81 RBI, 69 R, 6 SB), RF Gaston Robin (.224 BA, 29 HR, 75 RBI, 79 R, 7 SB), LF Chris Hardcastle (.205 BA, 26 HR, 53 RBI, 49 R, 8 SB) and C Sammy Workman (.210 BA, 24 HR, 47 RBI, 46 R)... but the Suns have some sunshine on the mound in starters Lyle Welborn (10-8, 2.45 ERA), Roland Daye (13-13, 2.97 ERA) and Al McCarron (11-11, 3.62 ERA)... rookie Shelly Winger had a good spring and looks like a good one... the bullpen is not very good... closer Kurt Wolf (10-8, 3.53 ERA, 29 saves, 88 games) is shaky and inconsistent... just average... the bullpen needs some help for the Suns to thrive... they need to hit for a much higher batting average, too, to be a contender in the TU South... not likely this year.

6th Place: Cape Coral Hurricanes (17 GB)
The 'Canes have not been a very good franchise... just 8 postseason playoff appearances in 64 years with no Pro Cups... never came close to a Pro Cup trophy... never reached the Pro Cup Finals... the last pennant was way back in 2041... with no winning season since '59... last year Cape Coral came in fourth in the standings (77-77), just 9 games off the pace... the Hurricanes did it with good contact bats and mediocre mound work... they led the TU South in hitting and scoring runs... no real sticks at the plate, just a lot of good ones like LF Marvin Cordice (.302 BA, 9 HR, 65 RBI, 94 R, 20 SB), 3B Barney Fiske (.295 BA, 17 HR, 68 RBI, 71 R, 1 SB), 2B Renzo O'Brian (.279 BA, 11 HR, 80 RBI, 65 R, 4 SB), 1B Kalian Coston (.270 BA, 22 HR, 70 RBI, 63 R, 3 SB), CF Lenny Larker (.313 BA, 9 HR, 54 R, 74 R, 6 SB) and SS Lynwood Barley (.290 BA, 0 HR, 49 RBi, 75 R, 10 SB)... and look for budding star 1B Jurrien Rynsburger (.348 BA, 4 HR, 43 RBI, 31 R) to have a breakout season and add a top gun to the lineup... it's the pitching corps holding the 'Canes back... Cape Coral has two good starters in Cedric Ashford (12-13, 3.04) and Davis Tyrrell (12-5, 2.31), but they need help... rookie Finn Roogeveen may supply some help... he did well in the spring and earned a spot in the rotation, along with rookie Joop Heemskerk, but he struggled... despite the poor showing Heemskerk will still be in the starting rotation at the start of the season... one thing the Hurricanes have is a standout closer, Manny Rosetti (10-5, 2.26 ERA, 29 saves, 74 games... he is as good as it gets in the IPA... should the pitching kick it up notch, Cape Coral could climb as high as the fourth spot in the TU South in 2065.

7th Place (tie): Ginza Ninjas (18 GB)
What has happened to the Karate Kids?... they were the darlings of the IPA when they won the Pro Cup in '59 and almost won it again in '60, but lost in the Pro Cup Finals... age has taken its toll on the Ninjas since the glory years... the great reliever Abram Worth retired last year at age 39 with 311 saves and a brilliant 2.52 lifetime ERA... star Gold Glove shortstop Kuzuki Tamura retired in '62 at age 36... a 4-time All-Star Tamura hit .296 in his career with 199 homers and almost 1200 RBIs... Ginza has now fallen back into the middle of the pack... they wound up sixth last season, 11 games behind San Alejo... the baseball pollsters are not impressed with them... the Ninjas have trouble scoring runs and they lack home-run power, but they have some fine pitching... at age 29 Kurt Brophy (15-11, 3.30 ERA), one of the Pro Cup stars, is still a solid starter... Shintaro Matsushina (16-3, 2.98 ERA) really blossomed last season... filling out the rest of the rotation will be Stephen Pyburn (9-12, 3.94 ERA), Kodai Norimoto (0-2, 2.38 ERA) and Junichi Kimura (3-6, 4.44 ERA)... the Ginza bullpen is solid with Jeremy Muldoon (9-9, 2.99 ERA, 11 saves, 57 games) and Shinjo Sunada (5-5, 2.94 ERA, 35 games)... the Ninjas have little punch at the plate... just a bunch of reliable hitters like 3B Vic Carnaggio (.301 BA, 10 HR, 72 RBI, 66 R, 16 SB), 2B Masato Okamura (.293 BA, 11 HR, 64 RBI, 86 R, 17 SB), CF Tamotsu Saikawa (.281 BA, 5 HR, 75 RBI, 68 R, 17 SB) and 2B Otto Bracklin (.264 BA, 7 HR, 69 RBI, 60 R, 12 SB)... Ginza is still good enough to contend for fourth or fifth place, but no higher... increase firepower would give the Ninjas a boost in the TU South standings.

7th Place (tie): Turon Typhoons (18 GB)
Turon has the best won-lost record in Islandian Pro Alliance history with a .552 winning percentage... last year for the first time in 18 seasons the Typhoons suffered a losing record with a 76-78 mark... this is only the 12th time in club history this has happened... along with Valmara, Rolling Hills and Tuckanarra, Turon is arguably one of the best franchises in IPA history... the coming 2065 season does not bode well for the Typhoons according to the preseason polls... the crux of the problem is scoring... Turon has an absolutely awful offense... Gold Glove star CF Maxie Mullinax (.277 BA, 4 HR, 57 RBI, 86 R, 18 SB) is still a fairly good batter at age 33, but he's just about all they have in the batting order... 2B Juan De La Roca (.307 BA, 6 HR, 73 RBI, 59 R, 9 SB) and SS Kel Buckner (.268 BA, 8 HR, 70 RBI, 50 R, 11 SB) are also decent at the plate... currently the entire Typhoon roster only hit 42 home runs last year... Turon was last in the Tycobbian Union last year with 73 roundtrippers... it looks like the worst is yet to come... but the starting pitching is considered darn good with Larry Lynch (10-9, 2.05 ERA), Kelly Jarman (5-0, 2.20 ERA), Ollie Dickinson (8-8, 2.83 ERA), Monty Wheeler (7-16, 3.44 ERA) and rookie Mike Peavy, who stood out in the spring... however, the bullpen is suspect with closer Johnny Hatchett (12-9, 3.71 ERA, 8 saves, 51 games)... the future looks bleak for the Typhoons.

2064Tycobbian South Final Standings
Attachment 715108
Attachment 715109
Attachment 715110

TU EAST TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Whew!
Five teams fighting for the Tycobbian East title... that's what Island baseball forecasters are predicting... last year's winner Tuckanarra... the winner in '60 and '63, South Fork... the champ in '59 and '62, High Mesa... and the '61 titlist, Midway... plus recent contender, up-and-coming Ozarka... all finishing within five games of one another this season according the almighty baseball gurus and all-knowing fortune tellers.

2065 Tycobbian East Preseason Poll

1st Place (tie): Tuckanarra Tiger Cats
Defending champion Tuckanarra has challenged for the last five seasons and finally won the TU East crown in '64... improved pitching pushed them to the next level, coupled with a rock solid batting order... the Tucks have a good track record in the IPA annals, one of the top franchises... 19 postseason appearances... 3 Pro Cups (2023, 2024, 2035)... an overall .545 winning percentage... and they could make it two pennants in a row... the quality bats are still there with budding star 3B Atticus Finch (.293 BA, 26 HR, 102 RBI, 85 R, 1 SB), star 1B Boomer Carlton (.265 BA, 25 HR, 94 RBI, 90 R), 3-time All-Star C Odell Overstreet (.282 BA, 13 HR, 60 RBI, 60 R, 9 SB), RF Bubby Creekmur (.263 BA, 17 HR, 76 RBI, 74 R, 3 SB), CD Barry Waters (.266 BA, 7 HR, 57 RBI, 80 R, 8 SB) and LF Duncan McLemore (.268 BA, 15 HR, 50 RBI, 80 R, 12 SB)... heading up the mound corps is superstar ace Ian Timms (18-7, 2.38 ERA), two-time Golden Arm winner (2057, 2058)... along with Alan Dayton (12-4, 2.25 ERA)... add in veteran Terry Cahoon (11-15, 4.25 ERA) and youngster Christopher Crabb and you have a good starting rotation... Crabb may be ready for the big time... Crabb did very well in the spring... the bullpen is not of championship caliber with Mick Dooley (8-10, 3.65 ERA, 16 saves, 70 games) and Danny Turnbow (7-9, 3.96 ERA, 9 saves, 54 games)... look for the Tucks to make another run for the pennant.

1st Place (tie): South Fork Stallions
After winning the TU East flag in '63, the Stallions took a tumble to the fourth spot last year (11 GB)... caused by a dip in its pitching... historically the Ponies have only been so-so with just 8 playoff appearances, but they do possess 2 Pro Cup trophies, won in 2025 and 2042... South Fork has an overall .502 winning percentage... the club has two top-notch starters in Herm McClanahan (13-4, 2.51 ERA) and Rex Waller (11-9, 2.60 ERA)... several starters had down years last year and the bullpen wasn't very good... the Stallions are hoping for a revival... the other three in the rotation will be Sam Black (8-10, 3.82 ERA), Caine Hanlon (8-6, 3.44 ERA) and rookie Jimmy Masters, who did well this spring... the bullpen is still a question mark with vets Christopher Hollie (7-12, 3.69 ERA, 8 saves, 46 games) and Bret Danziger (11-12, 4.05 ERA, 18 saves, 84 games)... three guys carry the offense... superstar 6-time All-Star RF Bob Purkey (.282 BA, 30 HR, 100 RBI, 73 R, 4 SB), LF Artie Greer (.291 BA, 16 HR, 65 RBI, 86 R, 23 SB) and CF Rudy Gatlin (.289 BA, 6 HR, 57 RBI, 75 R, 19 SB) needs some help in the offense... they can't match the Tuckanarra bats.

3rd Place: High Mesa Mustangs (1 GB)
Right up with the Tucks and South Fork are the Mustangs... they won the pennant in '62, suffered pitching woes in '63 and dipped to 6th place, but just 9 games behind... but they ran a solid race last year, finishing third, only 7 games behind, in spite of the mediocre pitching... not a lot of success in High Mesa's history... only 5 postseason playoffs, but they have won a Pro Cup... that was many years ago in 2002, their first season in the IPA... over 63 seasons High Mesa has played .502 baseball... the current club can really bang the ball, especially the longball... sparked by two superstars... 1B Roy Roberts (.311 BA, 59 HR, 115 RBI, 118 R, 1 SB) and 5-time All-Star and Gold Glove 3B Kagetoki Miyazaki (.270 BA, 46 HR, 138 RBI, 94 R, 2 SB)... plus RF Billy Putnam (.243 BA, 31 HR, 77 RBI, 83 R, 16 SB) and LF Zippy Coburn (.261 BA, 22 HR, 74 RBI, 69 R, 2 SB) can go deep, too... High Mesa will be a presence in the TU East pennant chase, but it is tough to win with such lackluster pitching... noticeable improvement will be needed from starters Robby Numbers (11-13, 3.73 ERA), Weldon Herrington (10-7, 3.94 ERA) and Alex Crabtree (9-8, 3.73 ERA)... Dylan Bowers (8-1, 3.50 ERA) did well in his rookie season and shows promise... and his twin brother, Galan Bowers, won a spot in the starting rotation this spring... closer Eliot Regan (19-12, 3.80 ERA, 12 saves, 86 games) needs improvement... he suffers from too many gopher balls.

4th Place: Midway Wolves (5 GB)
For the first time since 2053 the Middies will be without two dynamite stars... 9-time All-Star and Gold Glove LF Norishige Ito (.313 BA, 654 HR, 1853 RBI, 1769 R, 134 SB) and 7-time All-Star and Golden Glove CF Daryl Vale (.292 BA, 368 HR, 1235 RBI, 1122 R, 215 SB)... the dynamic duo led the Wolves to 2 Pro Cups ('53, '54) and 6 TU East titles... both Ito and Vale retired last year... both saw their numbers declining and decided to call it quits... Ito hit .300 last season with 26 HR, 70 RBI and 83 R, while Vale had his third poor year in a row, batting only .241, but with 28 homers, 79 RBI and 71 runs... Ito was 36... Vale just 31... they will be sorely missed... Midway was in the hunt last year, winding up second to Tuckanarra, 6 games off the pace... despite the loss of the two superstars, the baseball critics are giving the Wolves a chance at the TU East crown with good pitching and decent bats... the starting rotation is solid with Linc Christopher (14-6, 2.91 ERA), Tino Monarrez (11-11, 2.82 ERA), Ezra Wilcox (11-7, 3.01 ERA), Eli Pausina (6-4, 2.93 ERA) and Ayasha Kanjorsky (6-6, 3.84 ERA)... but Midway needs bullpen help... closer Phil Bellamy (12-9, 3.38 ERA, 22 saves, 80 saves) needs to be much better for the Wolves to win the division crown... the Middies have only two good bats... RF Kody Kenyon (.310 BA, 30 HR, 82 RBI, 106 R, 7 SB) and 2B T. D. Crowder (.307 BA, 22 HR, 62 RBI, 55 R, 2 SB)... but they are nowhere close to Ito and Vale... Midway does not look like the class of Tuckanarra, South Fork and High Mesa.

5th Place: Ozarka Naturals (5 GB)
Like Midway, the Nats depend on their pitching staff... the bats are just not there at the level of the other contenders... but the club has done well the last two seasons, ending up second in '63, 4 GB and fourth in '64, 9 GB... it's really been a long, long time since Ozarka won the TU East... the last division title came in 2040... but the Naturals have appeared 15 times in the playoffs, much of it in the early years of the IPA, but never have won a Pro Cup, but Ozarka did make it as far as the Pro Cup Finals on 5 occasions (2011, 2012, 2016, 2019, 2020)... overall in the team's history the Nats have a .514 winning percentage... they won 10 flags in 12 years from 2010 to 2021... if Ozarka takes the TU East title this season, starters Billy Lake (14-12, 3.20 ERA), former closer Sammy Strickland (15-10, 3.37 ERA, 24 saves, 88 games), Jimmy Douglas (11-12, 3.68 ERA), Jordy Alberstadt (11-11, 3.92 ERA) and Jim Pippin (5-3, 3.27 ERA) will have to step it up to a higher level... and rookie closer Ezra Hancock has to come through, too... they all did quite well in spring training... so there is hope for the future in Ozarka, especially if the offense can inprove... right now CF Chris Kile (.291 BA, 3 HR, 43 RBI, 71 R, 11 SB) and 1B Ari Alpert (.247 BA, 20 HR, 84 RBI, 73 R) are the best of the lot... the Nats are in dire need of some offensive help.

6th Place (tie): Hillsboro Blazers (13 GB)
The rest of the TU East is not quite up to snuff talent-wise... the Hillsboro Blazers cannot hit a lick and the mound staff is just mediocre... they have come in seventh the last three years... are on a six-year losing streak... and the future doesn't look good... and the past is even worse... only one time in the Hillsboro history has the club won a pennant... that was in 2051... they won 98 games that season and lost in the first round of the playoffs to the team that won the Pro Cup that year, the Arlon Champions... it took Arlon seven games to eliminate the Blazers... it was the toughest series of their championship season... overall the Blazers have a very poor .473 winning percentage, one of the worst in the IPA... Hillsboro has a few good starters in Jerrod Kipling (12-7, 2.97 ERA) and Scotty McKay (11-14, 3.32 ERA)... Jay Jay Conlee (8-14, 3.83 ERA) is fairly decent... they have added two rookies, Sneaky Atwater and Chet Sloan to the starting rotation, but neither did well in the spring... the Blazer bullpen is in good hands with closer Jeffrey Bevan (6-14, 2.35 ERA, 20 saves, 77 games)... offensively, Hillsboro is really "offensive"... in the sense of really bad... the best batting average on the team is 3B Harold Essex (.255 BA, 25 HR, 60 RBI, 55 R/2 SB), but the Blazers can hit the ball out of the park... CF Boogie Boyd (.198 BA, 39 HR, 83 RBI, 78 R, 9 SB), 1B Jackie Hansford (.241 BA, 30 HR, 77 RBI, 70 R), LF Jeff McDaid (.241 BA, 23 HR, 64 RBI, 80 R, 12 SB) and RF Eli Nickelson (.234 BA, 21 HR, 61 RBI, 66 R, 6 SB) just don't make contact very often... team batting average last year was a terrible .221, but they slammed 202 homers.

6th Place (tie): Red Bluff Red Sox (13 GB)
For a 3-year period from '57 to '59 the Red Sox were one of the elite teams in the TU East Division... in '57 Red Bluff captured the Pro Cup... they ran a close second the next two seasons to pennant winners Midway and High Mesa... then the decline set in... the Red Sox competed for the pennant in only one of those five years... third place (8 GB) in '63... and 15 games out last year in sixth place... Red Bluff is forecast to wind up near the bottom this year... they have really good starters in the rotation with Dontrelle Gilbreath (17-8, 2.45 ERA), Wilson Sharpe (12-13, 2.70 ERA), Joe Cummings (14-7, 3.81 ERA), Ben Laughlin (9-3, 2.03) and Ian Goldsmith (5-4, 2.71 ERA)... the bullpen is fairly solid, too, with closer Duane Sturgeon (10-12, 3.31 ERA, 21 saves, 71 games)... however, the offense is just not there... it's pretty pathetic... the top hitters are SS Cal O'Leary (.257 BA, 17 HR, 82 RBI, 65 R, 1 SB) and RF Odis Keener (.256 BA, 16 HR, 60 RBI, 60 R, 10 SB)... that's as good as it gets in the batting order... and judging by spring training, none of the three rookies will win a regular spot in the lineup.

8th Place: East Point Panthers (26 GB)
The last seven seasons have been bad for the Panthers... 4 times they finished in the TU East basement, twice they were seventh and one time in the fifth spot... the most recent good period for East Point was '50 to '57... the Panthers won pennants in '50 and '52, five times wound up in the runner-up spot and fourth one year... overall East Point has made the postseason playoffs only 7 times, have never won a Pro Cup, but the Panthers came very close in 2033, losing to the Elnora All-Stars in a tense 7-game series... overall East Point has the worst-winning percentage in the Islandian Pro Alliance by far - just .459... this season the team doesn't have much of anything... no pitching... and not a lot of scoring... Bob Yoder (11-8, 3.31 ERA) is a good starter... not much after him except for closer Joel Clifford (11-10, 3.93 ERA, 11 saves, 58 games)... the Panthers have 6 newcomers on the roster this year, 5 of them hurlers... only one of them did well in the spring... East Point hits homers, but doesn't hit for average... top longballers are 1B Mark Carmickle (.227 BA, 33 HR, 81 RBI, 74 R, 1 SB), 3B George Leach (.251 BA, 29 HR, 80 RBI, 66 R, 1 SB), LF Jake Bohannon (.238 BA, 24 HR, 50 RBI, 66 R, 12 SB) and CF Robert Flowers (.262 BA, 19 HR, 60 RBI, 51 R, 3 SB)... 2065 does not bode well for the East Point Panthers.

2064 Tycobbian East Final Standings
Attachment 715517
Attachment 715518

RACERS ROLL ON, FAVORED TO WIN 7TH STRAIGHT TU WEST FLAG
The Island baseball know-it-alls have looked into their crystal balls and picked the Rolling Hills Racers to keep on rolling in the Tycobbian West with their seventh successive division flag... in addition, the pollsters are giving the Racers a good chance to win their 3rd Pro Cup in 6 seasons... and it looks like they will not have much of a challenge in the weak TU West except for the Kenwood Wildcats... ranked a distant third in the preseason preview poll are the Denton City Redbirds... nobody else among the other 5 teams in the TU West are given any chance at all... Bay St. Clair and La Claire are the best of the rest and are forecast to wind up over 20 games behind in the fourth and fifth spots in the standings.

2065 Tycobbian West Preseason Poll

1st Place: Rolling Hills Racers
The Racers have ruled the TU West for the last decade with 6 pennants... they missed out on a golden opportunity to win a record-setting 6th Pro Cup last year, falling to underdog Claxton in the Pro Cup Finals in 6 games... time may be running out on Rolling Hills... they may not be quite as good this year as in previous years... the offense is not quite what it was and the pitching has slipped a bit in the last year or so... overall the Racers are one of the top franchises in IPA history with 5 Pro Cups, a .533 winning percentage and 16 postseason appearances... Rolling Hills' lineup is packed with blockbuster bats, led by superstar 3B Teddy Stonich (.328 BA, 29 HR, 121 RBI, 103 R, 1 SB), star CF Hugo Sutton (.293 BA, 22 HR, 103 RBI, 105 R, 24 SB), star 1B Luca Palazzi (.300 BA, 17 HR, 88 RBI, 111 R, 28 SB), star RF Jimmy Brandini (.333 BA, 10 HR, 67 RBI, 106 R, 17 SB), star LF Jean-Luc Roubique (.273 BA, 23 HR, 93 RBI, 86 R, 9 SB), star SS Jameson Mulbert (.323 BA, 2 HR, 61 RBI, 65 R, 8 SB) and 2B Clayton Claiborne (.303 BA, 6 HR, 75 RBI, 59 R, 7 SB)... the only question mark is the Racers' mound corps... they don't have a dominant starter, just a fairly good rotation with an average bullpen... Clay Callaghan (10-9, 3.20 ERA) and Vance Dillaway (14-4, 3.25 ERA) are the top starters with some help from Brownie Ashmore (14-9, 3.86 ERA), Jordy Wales (14-5, 3.69 ERA) and Charley Clutterbuck (10-6, 4.26 ERA)... closer Rob Gates (9-10, 3.19 ERA, 27 saves, 80 games) anchors the so-so bullpen... old age is settling in on the Racers' rotation... Rolling Hills can still put lots of runs on the scoreboard, but it needs better pitching against Pro Cup caliber teams.

2nd Place: Kenwood Wildcats (2 GB)
As far as history goes Kenwood has appeared in the playoffs on 10 occasions with one Pro Cup trophy (2014) and an overall won-lost .514 percentage... the Wildcats have not won the TU West since '52... this could be the year... they came in third last year with much improved pitching and some solid offense, only 8 games behind Rolling Hills... the staff is the key to success... if Marcelo Cervantes (16-7, 3.66 ERA), Johnny Merriman (15-12, 3.94 ERA), Dennis Tarrant (9-11, 3.31 ERA), Robert Currie (11-4, 3.50 ERA) and Mickey Maughan (8-6, 3.67) can step it up just a bit and closer Pee Wee Windham (9-12, 4.27 ERA, 24 saves, 79 game) can do a better job in the bullpen, then Kenwood would be right up there with Rolling Hills... that's a lot of ifs... the Wildcat bats are not in the league of the Racers, but they can score with the likes of CF Rick Lundgren (.320 BA, 5 HR, 63 RBI, 112 R, 29 SB), 2B Lorne Latimer (.315 BA, 4 HR, 76 RBI, 85 R, 18 SB), 1B Joe Kellogg (.267 BA, 11 HR, 80 RBI, 74 R, 14 SB), RF Kenny Battles (.275 BA, 12 HR, 61 RBI, 80 R, 19 SB) and 3B Reg Haynesworth (.244 BA, 13 HR, 66 RBI, 76 R, 13 SB)... all in all, it still looks like Rolling Hills is the top team in the TU West.

3rd Place: Denton City Redbirds (11 GB)
Since winning the TU West 4 times in 7 seasons from 2053 to 2059, the Redbirds have deteriorated the last two years, falling to 6th in '63 with a 69-84 mark, 37 games behind... and coming in 5th in '64 at 71-83, 24 games out... failure to hit and score runs were the reasons for the drop in the standings... overall Denton City has made the playoffs 13 times, but they have never won the Pro Cup, but made the Pro Cup Finals in '05 and '08... the Redbirds are on the winning side of the won-lost ledger with a .513 percentage... on the hill Rance Hasbrough (11-12, 3.45 ERA) is the only effective starter and Burnell Kelley (13-9, 2.95 ERA, 25 saves, 70 games) is the only effective arm in the bullpen... leading the offensive attack are 36-year-old long-time star shortstop Vincent McCloud (.296 BA, 19 HR, 89 RBI, 93 R, 4 SB), who is still the most productive bat in the lineup, helped out by CF Danley Donovan (.291 BA, 23 HR, 79 RBI, 93 R, 22 SB), C Ozzy Crenshaw (.319 BA, 12 HR, 62 RBI, 52 R), 3B Josh Karnes (.270 BA, 13 HR, 58 RBI, 76 R, 21 SB) and part-timer RF T. D. Barnett (.308 BA, 15 HR, 57 RBI,71 R, 3 SB), who will get a full-time spot in the lineup this season... it may be the Denton City offense that gets it as high as third this season in the TU West.

4th Place: Bay St. Clair Buccaneers (21 GB)
It has been quite a few years since the Bucs had any success in the TU West... the last pennants came in '49 and '50... never won a Pro Cup trophy, but did make the Pro Cup Finals in 2015... no recent success... the last winning season was in 2057... all-time winning percentage is lackluster at .495... last year the Buccaneers wound up in the sixth spot in the standings, 26 GB... just a mediocre ballclub as far as hitting and pitching... only a couple of good hurlers... last year's closer Shea Curlin (15-6, 2.83 ERA, 15 saves, 80 games) will head up the starting rotation this season... Darcey Kennedy (10-15, 3.57 ERA) is also a reliable pitcher... not much in the bullpen, the cupboard is bare... not much at the plate, either... 1B Kenny Malcolm (.291 BA, 25 HR, 67 RBI, 70 R, 1 SB) is the most productive bat and he gets a little help from RF Manny Cedeno (.226 BA, 19 HR, 79 RBI, 74 R, 1 SB) and 3B Steven O'Connor (.267 BA, 13 HR, 67 RBI, 54 R)... there are a lot of bad teams in the TU West.

5th Place: La Claire Lynx (24 GB)
Last year the Lynx gave Rolling Hills a real run for its money... they came within 4 games of the TU West title, finishing with a 91-63 record... they did it with a fine group of hitters, sparked by LF Taro Lansing (.300 BA, 17 HR, 97 RBI, 83 R, 16 SB), RF Jonny Bacon (.304 BA, 23 HR, 96 RBI, 95 R, 4 SB), 3B Horace Rutherford (.312 BA, 16 HR, 79 RBI, 58 R, 5 SB), 1B Dandy Zack (.285 BA, 21 HR, 67 RBI, 83 R, 2 SB), CF Sean McEuen (.284 BA, 18 HR, 64 RBI, 95 R, 41 SB)... La Claire has three pretty sound starters in Chance Coursey (15-5, 3.13 ERA), Kellen Debussy (12-8, 3.39 ERA) and Tommy Trantham (13-8, 3.15 ERA)... add in Tim Halliburton (11-6, 3.42), Mike Quillen (13-8, 3.51 ERA) and Maurice Aronson (7-10, 4.04 ERA, 21 saves, 75 games)... Aronson was a mediocre closer last season and will be a starter this year... really can't see the Lynx falling off this much this season... they look like a second or third-place club at worst... down through its IPA history La Claire has only made the postseason 4 times... only a .474 winning percentage... never won a Pro Cup... never made it to the Pro Cup Finals... '37 and '38 were the last pennant-winning seasons... the Lynx are really due... if they play close to last year, they just might pull a big upset in the TU West.

6th Place: Bayview Vikings (28 GB)
The Viks came in sixth last year, tied with Bay St. Clair... 26 games behind TU West champion Rolling Hills... Bayview has made the postseason playoffs only 6 times... 5 times in the first 7 seasons of the Islandian Pro Alliance... the last TU West flag came in 2016... never won a Pro Cup... not a very successful franchise with an overall losing mark for its 64 seasons, playing only .487 baseball... the Vikings can hit the ball and score well, but they lack pitching... top guns at the plate are 1B Gunnar Lindberg (.323 BA, 13 HR, 61 RBI, 103 R, 24 SB), 2B Goldy O'Toole (.272 BA, 19 HR, 91 RBI, 77 R, 6 SB), RF Neil Connors (.306 BA, 9 HR, 59 RBI, 88 R, 12 SB) and C Lou Fairhead (.278 BA, 20 HR, 78 RBI, 66 R, 1 SB)... Bayview has one solid starter in Ivar Rasmussen (12-11, 2.83 ERA)... and two more decent ones in Jules Perot (11-8, 3.62 ERA) and Julien Ferrell (9-10, 3.87 ERA)... the bullpen is just plain bad with Vidar Verstergaard (10-18, 5.01 ERA, 14 saves, 97 games) and Olav Einarson (6-13, 4.18 ERA, 8 saves, 53 games)... there's a good chance the Bayview Vikings will be near the bottom of the TU West again in 2065.

7th Place: Chicopee Braves (30 GB)
The Braves were terrible in '64 and will likely be just about as bad in '65... they were dead last with a 56-98 record, 39 GB... Chicopee had a poor offense and the worst pitching in the IPA... looking back over the history of the Braves it shows only 3 playoffs appearances, all in a row, '34, '35 and '36... no Pro Cups... never reached the Pro Cup Finals... overall winning percentage is a dismal .472... the Braves do not possess any serious threats in their lineup... most of the them are just modest hitters, paced by 2B Herm McCanless (.289 BA, 11 HR, 74 RBI, 75 R, 9 SB), RF Stacey Whitmire (.314 BA, 13 HR, 58 RBI, 74 R, 18 SB), LF Lou Stankowski (.282 BA, 10 HR, 50 RBI, 44 R, 4 SB) and CF Mooki Ahanu (.290 BA, 6 HR, 47 RBI, 76 R, 18 SB)... only one Chicopee hurler has an ERA under 4.17... closer Cy Abernathy (9-15, 3.40 ERA, 24 saves, 83 games) has the lowest ERA on the squad, while the highest one belongs to Chata Kota (0-0, 6.88 ERA, 0 saves, 30 games)... Mark Meriwether (10-14, 4.40 ERA) is the most effective starter... it's going to be another long, long-suffering season for the Chicopee Braves.

8th Place: Arlon Champions (32 GB)
For the first time in 5 years the Champs chalked up a winning record (78-76) last year... they did it with good bats and adequate pitching, winding up in fourth place, 17 games back of first place Rolling Hills... 1B Rhett Harper (.314 BA, 12 HR, 65 RBI, 82 R, 23 SB) sparked the club with help from 2B Victor Ard (.296 BA, 15 HR, 74 RBI, 78 R, 2 SB), 3B Carl Mendelsohn (.289 BA, 4 HR, 52 RBI, 74 R, 6 SB) and LF Jamey Stansfield (.270 BA, 14 HR, 41 RBI, 48 R, 4 SB)... Arlon has a reliable rotation with starters Rex August (14-10, 4.13 ERA, 18 saves, 80 games), Clyde Burney (13-12, 3.23 ERA), Zak Dizon (11-10, 3.62 ERA) and Mylon Hebb (13-10, 3.70 ERA)... August was the closer last season and will get a shot at the starting rotation this year... this year's closer will be William Shireland (3-5, 3.66 ERA, 12 saves, 48 games)... the Arlon Champions just might be 4th-place club in the Tycobbian West this season.

2064 Tycobbian West Final Standings
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Goodness Gracious, I'm glad the Preseason Preview is finally done!

Get ready for some baseball!

The 2065 Islandian Pro Alliance season is coming to a ballpark near you!

The work is over!.... the fun begins!

Holy crap! What a Universe... I know they don't have a shot, but I'll be rooting for the Chicopee Braves, since I actually live in Chicopee. :D It will be nice to see the IPA start a new season, so I can follow from opening day. :) Awesome job...

Welcome aboard... I know you are wondering how in the world did I select Chicopee for one of the teams in the IPA.

I went through all of the 50 states town by town and just wrote down a long list of possibilities... then I just pared it down to 64.

Don't remember where Chicopee is.

Here 'tis.

That's it! Chicopee borders Springfield (Birthplace of Basketball / Hall of Fame) and Holyoke (Birthplace of Volleyball / Hall of Fame). :thumbup1:

I skimmed through this thread. Am I correct in thinking that you were Commissioner of a big 64 team league who's files got lost? You restarted the league, but with only 24 teams making up the IPA? And now you're back to 64 teams? Is this the first season back with 64 teams?

Just a little curious about the backstory of the Islandia and the IPA. I'm aware of the work John Branson did - it must have been an almost impossible task, but I'm curious about the beginnings of Ruthlandia and Tycobbia. Why was Islandia divided into two separate countries? Are there any major differences between the two economically or socially? Or was the island divided to assure no one leader could ever impose his will on all of the people?

Lots of good questions.

I let the AI run the IPA's 64 teams... in the Commissioner mode, I create new rookies each year... the AI annual draft just doesn't create enough good players... I purge the rosters of players that never amount to anything and players that should have retired 2-3 years ago... the AI doesn't do a good job of rotating players... it doesn't get rid of bad and mediocre players... old players play way past their prime... the reserve rosters are filled with poor players, that never make the active roster.

Here is how it all began... I was going to start with town ball leagues in the 1890's... 64 towns, some ethnically based... I set it up with 4 teams in each town... that's 256 teams in 16 divisions, playing 15-game seasons... after doing several months work setting up the rosters and teams, I discovered, OOTP would not let me not let me do that type of setup... I had planned to begin with town ball leagues, then expand slowly over the years to regions leagues and take the league through amateur leagues to semi[pro leagues with company-sponsored teams... when that didn't work out, so I decided to just do 24 teams, 4 divisions... but I had to choose only 24 of the 64 towns I created...I really got attached to the other 40 teams, so after 2 seasons I expanded to 64 teams and 8 divisions... been that way since 2003 season.

Game Corruption: Microsoft Windown 10 was installed by error on my computer several years ago... they installed it without my permission... they probably asked, but I didn't say "no"... that was in league year 2056... I lost my computer, in the transfer to a new computer, my game was corrupted and I just gave up on it.

A few months later... I discovered a backup through the 2052 season... I had put it on an external hard drive and didn't remember I had it... so I installed it and it worked... beginning in 2052... I just had to eliminate the 4 or 5 seasons to 2056 from this thread... you can see where I deleted page after page of posts.

My first season back after the game corruption was about 2052.

ALB123, as far as the backstory, I never got into your questions, which was a mistake... if I had it to do over, I would have gone into more detail about the countries of Ruthlandia and Tycobbia,their histories, government and people... now that would have made the IPA a special dynasty thread.

Like many, many dynasty writers, I just started with a basic backstory with some detail, then I just started reporting the baseball league... basically the IPA became what no dynasty should become, in my opinion, a stats' dump... the good dynasty reports continue to follow the basic storyline that they begin with... the good ones expand on them... but this is hard to do and time-consuming.

I wish I had expanded the story lines and made the IPA commissioner, owners and players more involved like I did at the beginning... a good dynasty report makes the league people come alive... but sadly, I didn't.

Now the IPA is just a stats' dump, but the OOTP Community is still following it... so it must be pretty good as a dynasty report.

Commercially and socially, the towns are pretty much aligned to function in the American and English life styles.

Hope this answers your questions... if you have more, I will try to answer them.

Thanks for reading the IPA... appreciate it.

Why it's two countries?... I embarrassingly never covered that part of the history... never really thought about it.... but I should have.

The two countries have English as the official language... however, some towns are ethnically-oriented and have a second language and its own culture... but Ruthlandia and Tycobbia are basically American and English-based linguistically and culturally.

I posted a town history for each team in the IPA early in the thread... many of the OOTP Community people volunteered to create the town histories... I think they may have written 20 town histories... they were really well done and creative and added a lot of life to the IPA dynasty... I wrote the other 40 or so town histories and they were not quite as good.

About 5 years ago, a reader suggested I get custom graphics instead of using the poor default graphics in the game... they were just plain and simple... not really well done... so I got the wonderful OOTP Graphics Community to design them and they did it... that is one of the best decisions I ever made... good graphics doubled and tripled my daily viewership... and it really made me enjoy the league much more... good graphics will really add to the popularity of a dynasty report... all dynasty threads should have good graphics... they make the dynasty report better... the team logos, jerseys and caps really help me get immersed in the Islandian Pro Alliance... so much so, I would like to take a tour of Ruthlandia and Tycobbia... hoping one day Viking Cruises will take me and my wife there on one of their fabulous river cruises.

My wife and I took a 13-day Viking cruise in Russia 2-3 years ago... and it was fabulous... well worth the high expense... EC is very hard to please... I have very high standards... Viking Cruises was even better than my high standards... it was a tremendous experience... I highly recommend Viking Riverboat tours.

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Sunday, July 12, 2065

IPA STARS SHINE IN CLAXTON TUESDAY
It's midseason in the IPA... for the 65th time the Tycobbian Union Stars and the Ruthlandian Union Stars will tangle for the bragging rights in the Islandian Pro Alliance... 50 of the Islands' best and brightest baseball stars will clash this Tuesday afternoon at beautiful Avalon Stadium in Claxton, the home of the current Pro Cup champion Diamonds... the Islandian Pro Alliance All-Star Classic is always played at the reigning champion's homefield... in the past the Tycobbian All-Stars have overwhelmingly prevailed over the Ruthlandian All-Stars, winning 44 times in the 64 midsummer classics... Tycobbian won last year 7-5... Ruthlandian won it in '63 by the score of 6-3.

Rolling Hills had the most All-Stars, an unprecedented 7 Racers made the TU Stars... Cape Coral had three representatives... heading up the youthful RU Stars will be 7-time All-Star Snooky Bartels of the Wynnamac Sundowners, 5-time All-Star Donald Ray Mooney of the the Elnora Clippers and 3-time honoree Ox Gless of the Far Mountain Redhawks... the Ruthlandian Union has 13 first-timers on the squad, while the Tycobbian Union features 8 newcomers... the RU All-Stars have the only rookies, 21- year-old hurler Jay Jay Earnshaw of the Sligo Rovers and 23-year-old third baseman Charley Young of the Crystal Lake Skippers.

The TU Stars have an abundance of veterans, paced by 6-time selections third sacker Teddy Stonich and shortstop Jameson Mulbert of the Rolling Hills Racers, 5-time recipients first baseman Buddy Blackford of the Oxford Red Caps and center fielder Johnny Pendergrass of the Summerland Sunsets and 4-time honorees pitcher Clay Callaghan of Rolling Hills and right fielder Showboat Lynn of Oxford.

The oldest RU All-Stars are pitcher Kontos Christakis of Ancona and center fielder Ox Gless of Far Mountain, both 34... the youngest RU All-Stars are pitcher Jay Jay Earnshaw of Sligo and left fielder George Chizek of Marston... each of them is 21.

The eldest of this year's Tycobbian Stars is 36-year-old pitcher Clay Callaghan of Rolling Hills... while the most youthful is his teammate 24-year-old center fielder Hugo Sutton.

Incredible! I think what you've done here is amazing - as are the other in-depth dynasty reports. It seems like quite the undertaking and I applaud those who've stuck with it for several seasons. Perhaps one day I will try it myself, but that'll be something I'd need to think about very carefully.

Thanks for taking the time to answer those questions. I had a feeling one or two might be silly...but I really appreciate you giving me a good rundown on the IPA Universe. I think the idea of a "baseball siesta" is totally awesome... :thumbup1:

Wouldn't it be nice if the US took an afternoon siesta to take the kids and family to the ballpark.
(Note: it is a custom in Islandia to take off from work from 11 am to 3pm to take a have lunch, siesta or go to a ballgame... all games are played in glorious sunshine... incidentally, all men in Islandia are handsome, the women are hardworking and all the kids are above average.
(Some of the above was plagiarized from Garrison Keillor and his Prairie Home Companion radio show)

Season tickets are quite affordable in the Islands... admission price is $2 for adults, $1 for kids... You can take a family of four for $12 a game... ticket, drink, crackerjacks, hot dog included... with free parking.

Over the last 20 years my wife and I went to all 37 MLB stadiums and saw them all... it averaged $150-$175 a game for tickets, parking, soft drink, hot dog, crackerjacks... way too expensive for the average family.

$600 for a family of four is totally ridiculous.

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Wednesday, July 15, 2065

AROUND THE IPA AT ALL-STAR BREAK
No huge surprises in the Island Pro Alliance races at the All-Star break, the preseason favorites are doing well, however a few unheralded Tycobbian clubs are raising some eyebrows and creating some chaos... Hartsdale is atop the TU North and Red Bluff and Cape Coral are causing waves in the TU East and TU South respectively... the division leaders in both the Ruthlandian Union and the Tycobbian Union are running pretty much true-to-form.

After a year's absence at the top of the Ruthlandian North, the LaGrange Gators (56-33) with its dynamite pitching are feasting on the teams again... the Gators have an 8-game edge over the much-improved Ancona Red Elephants (48-41), who were seventh last season...the Red Elephants are deadlocked with the Glasco Foxhounds (48-41) for the second spot in the standings... the Hounds almost won the pennant last season, but fell one game short... last year's RU North champion, the Valmara Vipers (43-46) are nowhere to be seen, mired in fifth place tie with Ranford Bulls (43-46), 13 games out... the seventh place Kilkenny Cats (38-51) and last place Taranto Tars (34-55) have no chance to win the RU North this year... both clubs have a lot to do just to reach the .500 mark.

In the Ruthlandian South Division, the Claxton Diamonds (57-32), the reigning Pro Cup kings of the IPA, have a solid lead of 6 games over runner-up Crystal Lake (51-38)... the Skippers were a distant third last year and were not highly-rated this season... they were rated seventh in the preseason poll, but they are clinging fairly close to Claxton at midyear... up-and-coming Grand City (49-40) is in third place and 8 games back in the race... and Waleska (47-42), the preseason pick, has not played up to expectations and is 10 games behind... though they were surprisingly ranked just the third-best team in the preseason picks, there's a good chance the Claxton Diamonds are going to chalk up their third straight pennant and go deep into the Pro Cup playoffs... none of the other four clubs in the division have much of a chance to take the pennant... San Dimas (44-45) and St. John (42-47) will battle it out for the fifth spot in the standings, while Belair Beach (33-56) and Valka (33-56) will be playing to stay out of the RU South cellar.

Forget a tight race in the Ruthlandian East, the Wynnamac Sundowners (60-29) have returned to their dominating ways and are making shambles of the pennant race with a massive 12-game margin over runners-up Eastshore (48-41) and Marston (48-41)... fourth place Sugar Valley (46-43) is way back at 14 games... nobody's going to catch the Macs this year... fifth place Sugar Valley (46-43) and sixth place Cold Creek (43-46) are in the middle of the pack, but still have a shot at a higher spot in the standings... Belle Plaine (35-54) and Beechwood (34-55) are just playing out the season and hoping to stay out of last place... no doubt about it... this will be the Macs' 5th division title in the last 8 seasons and 9th in the last 14 years.

Over in the Ruthlandian West chase, the Sligo Rovers (52-37) are seeking a second title in a row and are playing well, but it's a tight race with the likes of Fort Benton (49-40), Middlefield (49-40), Colfax (48-41) and Rocky Rapids (47-42)... all of them are within 5 games of the top spot... it's still anybody's ballgame, but Sligo's standout pitching makes it tough for everybody else... strangely and surprisingly. the Stoner Silver Sox (41-48) were the preseason favorite to win the RU West, but they are running sixth so far... Stoner is not very good this year and they were not good last year, winding up far behind in the seventh spot and 21 games behind champ Sligo... the seventh place Volusia Vigilantes (38-51) were also rated high in the preseason poll... the V's were picked to be a very close second to Stoner, but both clubs have flopped badly... the woeful and downtrodden Forest City Firebirds (32-57) were eighth and last in '64... were ranked the worst team in the the RU West this season... and guess what?... they are in last place again.

Over in the Tycobbian Union, are the Hartsdale Hellcats, White River Rascals, Cape Coral Hurricanes and Red Bluff Red Sox for real or just flashes in the pan?... the Hellcats are a very capable club... they won the 2063 Pro Cup... last year in the Tycobbian North race, they stumbled and tumbled to fifth place, 14 games behind pennant-winning Oxford, but this season the Hellcats look like they are much rejuvenated and back as contenders... Hartsdale (50-39) has a slight 2-game margin over the second place Oxford Red Caps (48-41)... Oxford has been a powerhouse with 6 division crowns in the last 9 seasons... the Red Caps also won the Pro Cup in 2062... after seven consecutive losing seasons and ranking near the bottom of the TU North, White River (47-32) is making a big splash in the pennant chase and running a close third place, trailing by just 3 games and are tied with the Blue Lake Skippers (47-32)... three other clubs, North Hills (44-45), Luxora (43-46) and Mahaska (43-46) are within striking distance and could get into the hunt with a good second half... only Fairfax (34-55) seems to have no chance this year... seven teams could battle down to the last day of the season to decide the TU North title.

Halfway through the year, the Tycobbian East is still a closely-bunched affair with 5 teams in the race... last year's winner Tuckanarra (51-38) has a slight 3-game edge over upstart Red Bluff (48-41), who is surprisingly tied for the second spot in the standings with this year's favorite, South Fork (48-41)... hard to figure?...yes indeed!...because the Red Sox came in sixth in '64, 15 games off the pace and were picked to end up in seventh place this season... clinging close by are fourth place Midway (47-42) and Ozarka (47-42), just 4 games off the pace... High Mesa (45-44), in sixth place, is only 6 games behind... looks like it's going to be an exciting, down-to-the-wire run for the roses in the TU East... the seventh-place Hillsboro Blazers (40-49) will have to wait until the proverbial next year... and you just feel sorry for the fans in East Point (30-59)... for the 8th successive season they will finish near the bottom... the Panthers have come in last 5 times in recent years... the last winning season was in '57... the last TU East title came in '52.

There's also a tight race going on in the Tycobbian South Division, where the perennial also-ran Cape Coral Hurricanes (49-40) are creating a storm... forecast to finish a distant sixth this year, the second place 'Canes are right up there with the big boys, just 2 games back of first place and highly-regarded Southport (51-38)... the last pennant for Cape Coral was in 2041... the last good season was 2047 when they contended for the division crown... the last winning season came in 2059... third place goes Summerland (48-41), only 3 games out... fourth place belongs to Turon (47-42), just 4 games behind the Sun Sox... the Ginza Ninjas (45-44) are playing tough again this year, 6 games behind... will the Karate Kids make another second-half comeback and win it all?... and what's happening in San Alejo?... last year's TU South winner and this year's preseason favorite, the San Alejo Montaneros, are slumbering in sixth place and trail Southport by 8 games... the Arroyo Grande Suns (41-48) are 10 games back in the race, mired in seventh place in the standings and probably won't get much higher... perennial loser Colchester (32-57) is losing again... but there was some optimism for a winning season this year... nope, forget it... just another long, long season for the poor Elites.

And we may have saved the best for last... as usual the best in the west is the Rolling Hills Racers and they just may be the best in the entire Islandian Pro Alliance... they started off slowly in April with an uncharacteristic 13-12 mark, but have righted the ship since and blown the other teams away... the Racers have won the TU West for the last 5 years and have also claimed 2 Pro Cups in '60 and '62... and almost won it last year, but lost in the Pro Cup Finals to IPA champion Claxton in six games... this year the Rolling Hills Racers (57-32) are riding high in the saddle with a 7-game margin over second place Bay St. Clair (50-39)... 9 games better than third place Kenwood (48-41) and 10 games up on the Denton City Redbirds (47-42)... La Claire (44-45) gave the Racers fits last year, but have sunk to fifth place in the standings and 13 games back... Bayview (39-50) and Arlon (39-50) will fight it out for sixth place... and as usual, last place is the private domain of the hapless and hopeless Chicopee Braves (32-57)... I suspect many Native Americans would like for Chicopee to get a new nickname.

2065 Ruthlandian Union Midseason Standings
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2065 Tycobbian Union Midseason Standings
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2065 Ruthlandian Union Midseason Team Batting and Pitching Statistics
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2065 Ruthlandian Union Midseason Batting and Pitching Leaderboards
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