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Wednesday, October 10, 2074 BRAVES LATE-GAME HEROICS TAME TUCKS IN 11 INNINGS IN 7TH GAME The Chicopee Braves came on strong late in the 7th game of the Tycobbian Union Elite 8 Series and finally finished off the Tuckanarra Tiger Cats 5-4 in 11 innings... Chicopee's quest for its very first IPA Pro Cup Trophy continues... the Braves will now tussle with the aspiring Summerland Sunsets, who also have never won a Pro Cup... the Sunsets knocked off the Pro Cup favorite, the Oxford Red Caps in a 6-game series. 2074 IPA Postseason Stars of the Games Attachment 878756 Attachment 878757 Attachment 878758 Attachment 878759 |
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AROUND THE TOWN IN THE IPA
OXFORD RED CAPS Owner: Tyco-Tech GM: Babe Friedriksen Manager: Dennis Hartwig Oxford is a town of 89,000 found in the east central plains of Tycobbia, 10 miles east of Blue Lake and 10 miles west of the Silver Mountains. It is a rural area, settled by English emigres in the 1850s and was originally called Mills Creek. In its early days farming and sheepherding were the mainstays of the economy. One of the emigres was a young commoner, Charles Emerson Winchester, who had been turned down for admission to the famed Oxford University in England. It was his dream to be an educator and eventually become a university scholar and administrator. His heart was broken by Oxford's rejection, so he enrolled in a lesser school and graduated summa cum laude. He then emigrated to Tycobbia, where there was no class system and started a small rural college in Mills Creek. Winchester said, "My voice shall be heard from this wilderness"... and it was. It was the first college in Tycobbia and within a few years became so successful that the name of the town was changed to Oxford. Winchester said his dream to teach at Oxford had finally come true. Oxford College rivals St. John University in Ruthlandia as the outstanding higher learning institution in the Islands. Today Oxford College is a thriving private institution and much desired by the Islands high school graduates. The Oxonian graduates are in much demand in Tycobbia and Ruthlandia. The university is the town's dominant industry and supplies the local high tech companies with outstanding recruits. One of those high tech companies is Tyco-Tech, which is the owner of the Oxford Red Caps in the Islandian Pro Alliance. The team is named in honor of the university and adopted Oxford's red and black colors for their own. The school even shares historic Winchester Park (circa 1909) with the the Oxford Red Caps of the Islandian Pro Alliance. Oxford's entry into baseball began in the late 1890's, when the college began an intramural baseball league. That soon expanded to include the townspeople. By 1905, Oxford baseball expanded to playing other town teams in Tycobbia. In 1920 the Amateur Baseball Alliance changed it rules, so that players could be employed by companies and play baseball. In theory, they were not paid to play baseball, just given time off from work to practice and play games. It continued that way until 2001, when Ban Johnson, the ABA commissioner, said it was time for a professional baseball league, where players could be paid just to play baseball and do it legally. The company and industrial league sponsors had long been circumventing and violating the spirit of the amateur rules. Johnson said it was time to bring it out in the open. That is how the IPA came to be. Winchester Park is situated on the beautiful Oxford campus. Smokestacks and school buildings are visible beyond the outfield fences. The Oxfordian fans have a rousing good time at the Red Cap games. It is a college crowd, filled with undergrads and alumni. Cheerleaders and a dance team inspire the fans with all of the old Oxford cheers, adapted for the Red Caps. You still hear "two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar" and the Oxford fight song reverberating throughout the ballpark. In the seventh inning there is the traditional "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". Then in the eighth, everyone sings the Oxford Alma Mater. If the game goes into extra innings and reaches the fourteenth frame, the fans will again sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the Fourteenth-Inning Stretch. This is unique in all of baseball. No one else does this. Food concessions at Winchester Park are just the typical hot dogs, hamburgers, cokes, beer, peanuts and crackerjacks. The Oxford Red Caps have an experienced management team, consisting of Babe Friedriksen as general manager and Dennis Hartwig as manager. She was the women's softball, basketball and golf coach and athletic director at Oxford College. Hartwig was an outstanding hitter and outfielder, who played college ball at Oxford, then signed with the Red Caps upon graduation. He starred for 16 years from 2023 to 2039, batting .303 with 338 home runs and 1349 RBIs. Hartwig was a Golden Glover, Ruthlandian Rookie of the Year in 2023, Batter of the Year in 2025 and a 5-time All-Star. Though he had a standout career, the Red Caps were just a mediocre club during his career. Oxford never made the postseason playoffs. However, Hartwig has been quite successful as the Red Caps skipper, winning 10 pennants in his 25 years with the club... he also captured the Pro Cup in 2061, the second time in the team history. Oxford won it the first time in 2007. Winchester Stadium (1909) Capacity: 10,250 Dimensions: LF Line 335 LF 355 LCF 382 CF 420 RCF 368 RF 335 RF Line 300 |
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Around the Town in the IPA
TUCKANARRA Tiger Cats (aka Bluejays 2002-2059) Owner: Quinn, Glynn and Lynn Starr 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. The Tucks went into a two decade-long postseason drought until Quinn Starr took charge of the club in 2062 and made them competitive again. The Tiger Cats have flourished under Starr, winning 4 pennants so far. Tuckanarra is still seeking its 4th Pro Cup Trophy. 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. The talented trio also performed even better in the IPA playoffs. The Starr Triplets are now the proud owners of the Tiger Cats, which they purchased in 2060. Quinn is the skipper, Glynn, the pitching coach and Lynn is the batting coach. Tuckanarra is truly a family affair. The Bluejays 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 vegemite (salty food paste) sandwiches 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 |
Cool, Tuckanarra is a real Australian town. I didn't know that until now!
I visited Australia in 2004 with the Danbury CT Brass Band. Went to Sydney, Darwin and Cairns, then came back to the Sydney area at the end of the trip and stayed in a city called Gosford. Spent about a week in each place. A couple of highlights of the trip were seeing the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House and visiting the Great Barrier Reef, and performing various concerts for the citizens of Australia. |
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Several newly-updated items for Taranto's Tars are now present in my main graphics thread you started for me quite a good while ago here on the forums. Hopefully they'll look at least a little bit better for you than my first take on them earlier, of course, EC. Please let me know what you think of them, if and when you can and like, as always. Thank you for your time, then, too. CD out.
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AROUND THE TOWN IN THE IPA
SUMMERLAND SUNSETS Owner: Angelo Altonno, La Cosa Nostra Enterprises GM: Antonio Vasquez Manager: Jayson Hallstrom Summerland is a serene paradise south of the Tycobbian mainland populated by about 93,000 residents and located on the northeastern edge of Arvonian Island in the Southern Sea. It was originally settled by the Dutch in the 1840's and called Sommerland and still has a sizeable Dutch minority, but with a British majority. Both ethnic groups have really taken to the sport of baseball. Like every town in the Islands, baseball is king. Modern day Summerland is a year-round playground with perfect weather amid a lush tropical landscape. People love to slip away to the sunshine of Summerland with its sparkling stretches of white powdery sand and crystal clear turquoise seawaters. Summerland’s high-rise hotels and seaside villas offer world-class amenities, impeccable service and accommodations topped off with tempting epicurean pleasures and a bountiful array of activities designed to pamper and delight. It is the home of the Summerland Sunsets of the Islandian Pro Alliance, who play at Sunset Park, one of the plushiest ball palaces in the league. The club plays in the Tycobbian South Division. Sunset Park is built right on the water with the front facade looking out on the Bay of Caledonia. Each evening tourists gather on the shore to watch the majestic tropical sun slowly sink into the sky-blue azure waters. The Summerland skyline, with its luxury hotels and retirement condos, is visible from the park. The Sunsets are still owned and operated by the Augie Altonno family, baseball fanatics with some questionable business affiliations. The Altonno family spares no expense when it comes to the Sunsets. At each game there is a Big Band orchestra to entertain the fans. After the game an automated dance floor is set up so the fans can swing, sway and dance the night away. The first owner and club president, Augie Antonno, was quite a character... Augie loved to dance and could often be seen dancing with a lovely young thing acting like Tony Manero with “Saturday Night Fever” on the dance floor. Most of the time Augie went home to Mama Rosa and left the “Fever” on the dance floor... yep, most of the time he headed home to Mama Rosa. The Altonnos spare no expense when it comes to the concessions at Sunset Park, either. You have wide choice of menu, Italian, Dutch, or standard baseball fare. Delicious spaghetti, lasagna, pizzas and muffalettas are on the menu, along with Dutch specialities like broodje (hot dog), bratwurst, patat met (chips with mayo) and Frikandel (meatloaf croquette). Famous Italian beers like Peroni and Birra Moretti are served along with Dutch beers like Heineken's and Grotsch and of course American beer, cokes and fine Italian wine. The Antonnos' favorite dessert is available, too - Angelo Brocato’s Spamoni ice cream imported from the French Quarter in New Orleans. A visit to the Antonno family's baseball palace is “to die for” (figuratively speaking, of course). Summerland was guided by beloved Will Hackett for the first 48 IPA seasons. He was a legendary company league icon as a player, one of the best hitters ever in amateur circles, but Hackett had little success as manager, making the postseason playoffs only 4 times (2005, 2033, 2040, 2046). He only had 23 winning seasons. Fortunately for Hackett, he was a member of the Antonno family. He married Augie's only daughter, the lovely Mona Lisa. That was pretty good job security. However, Hackett did have one great season and almost won the Pro Cup in 2040. That year the Ranford Bulls upset the heavily-favored Sunsets in a sensational 7-game series. The current GM of the Summerland Sunsets is Antonio Vasquez, a rock-solid and steady Golden Glove outfielder for the club from 2030 to 2048. He batted .281 lifetime with 103 homers, 1411 runs, 1116 RBIs and 372 stolen bases. Vasquez succeeded his father-in-law Hackett and piloted the team from 2049 to 2067. Overall he was more successful than Hackett, finishing over the .500 mark in 14 of his 19 seasons at the helm, but Vasquez only made the playoffs one time (2063) and lost in the first round. Vasquez was a fine skipper and didn't need any job security, but just to be sure he married Will Hackett and Mona Lisa's lovely daughter, Venus. Yep, it never hurts to be a part of the family. Vasquez stepped down as manager in '67 and became the GM. Vasquez selected long-time pitching superstar and his former teammate Jayson Hallstrom to take over the managerial reins in 2068. The Sunsets have been one of the better teams in the TU South ever since. Hallstrom was inducted into the Islandian Pro Alliance Hall of Fame in 2061. In his career Hallstrom was 368-274 with a great 2.65 ERA in his 21 seasons from 2037 to 2057. There's no telling how many games he would have won had he played for a contending team. Sunset Park (2001) Capacity: 7,550 Dimensions: Left Field Line - 353 Left Field - 372 Left Center - 375 Center Field - 415 Right Center - 375 Right Field - 372 Right Field Line - 353 |
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Thursday, October 11, 2074 IPA FINAL 4 SLATE: EASTSHORE @ CRYSTAL LAKE IN RUTHLANDIAN UNION SUMMERLAND @ CHICOPEE IN TYCOBBIAN UNION The Islandian Pro Alliance will kick off another round of the postseason playoffs this weekend... the 64 IPA teams have been chiseled down to the Final 4... Eastshore and Crystal Lake survived the cut in the Ruthlandian Union and Summerland and Chicopee tee it up in the Tycobbian Union... IPA Final 4 play begins this Saturday afternoon... the victors will advance to the Pro Cup Series for a chance to win the pot of gold -- the IPA Pro Cup... both series will be the best-of-seven. Coming into postseason play the Oxford Red Caps were favored to win the Pro Cup this season, but the Red Caps kicked the bucket at the hands of the surprising Summerland Sunsets in first-round action, the #7 team... the remaining clubs are #2 Chicopee, #3 Eastshore and #4 Crystal Lake... in the Ruthlandian Union it's an evenly-matched series likely to go the full 7 games... most scribes are leaning toward the Cotton Kings over the Skippers... better starters will make the difference... Lucien Dillingham (13-7/2.90 ERA), Vinnie Harrington (15-7/3.14 ERA) and Ayasha Kanjorsky (14-8/3.27 ERA) are 3 solid starters for Eastshore... they were outstanding in the Taranto series... Lew McGrane (14-4/2.52 ERA) and two rookies, Noel Arboneaux (10-5/2.14 ERA) and Lloyd Mason (17-7/3.72 ERA), will do the hill honors for Crystal Lake... they did well against the Stoner Silver Sox in round one... give a slight edge to the more experienced Cotton Kings' staff... Eastshore also has a better relief corps. In the Tycobbian Union, despite the upset of Oxford, most baseball prophets are picking the Chicopee Braves to finish off the upstart Summerland Sunsets in 6 games... superior pitching will put the Braves into the Pro Cup Finals for a chance to win their first Pro Cup in the team's lousy history... the Sunsets have only made 3 postseason appearances... Ray Weatherly (14-6/2.92 ERA), rookie Clancy Mahaffey (12-7/2.47 ERA) and Cris Samuels (12-10/3.52 ERA) were the key to beating Tuckanarra... the Sunsets are in the same boat... Summerland has never won the IPA Pro Cup, however the Sunsets have had a more successful history in the IPA... the baseball sentimentalists would like nothing better than for one of these teams to take the Holy Grail of Islandia this year... pundits love the underdogs... but the heart can only go so far in picking the winners... they fear Summerland starters Luc Cochrane (17-3/2.45 ERA), rookie Mort Cassidy (9-6/4.18 ERA) and Jason Irons (9-10/4.18 ERA) may not be able to handle the Braves' bats. Crystal Lake is the best of the lot in Pro Cups with 3 (2020, 2022, 2058)... Eastshore had accumulated a pair of Pro Cups (2016, 2017)... Summerland and Chicopee have never won the Pro Cup... the Skippers also lead with 13 postseason appearances, the Cotton Kings have made it on 10 occasions... this is the 6th time the Sunsets have made the playoffs and only the 4th time for the Braves. To win the Pro Cup, you have to have the pitching -- good pitching beats good hitting -- the team that gets the best pitching will win the IPA Pro Cup Trophy this year... being lucky sometimes helps, too. Eastshore Home Page Attachment 879623 Crystal Lake Home Page Attachment 879624 Summerland Home Page Attachment 879625 Chicopee Home Page Attachment 879626 |
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(NOTE FROM EC: Please let me know by Private Message if any Native Americans are offended by some of the things posted here and I will remove the offending words)
AROUND THE TOWN IN THE IPA CHICOPEE BRAVES Owner : Jenkins Lumber Company CEO: Benny Jenkins GM : Kurt Gustavsen Manager: Ryan Ledbetter Chicopee was founded in 1852 by a small band of Chicopee Indians who had left America because of the constant persecution by the American government and rich land owners. To understand the story of Chicopee, we have to go back to 1828 in North Carolina, USA. The Chicopee had spent generations living in Carolina, but because of the influx of the white man, their lands were shrinking all the time. Before this, the Chicopee shared Carolina with the Creek Nation, but by 1849 the Creek Nation had left Carolina and it wasn’t long before the Chicopee Nation would follow. The Chicopee Nation at the time were split with many wanting to fight the “Indian Removal Act“ but also many, who didn’t want to fight. By 1851 the United States began to relocate the Chicopee from North Carolina to Oklahoma. But a small group of about 20 Chicopee led by Chief Black Fox decided they want to live on free land. So one night, they slipped away from the soldiers and headed on up to Alaska. However, before they got to Alaska they met up with famous mountain man and fur trapper Jim Beckworth in Colorado. Beckworth had been a friend of many Native Americans and took pity on the plight of the few Chicopee he had met. So he told Chief Black Fox about Tycobbia and that it was a country that welcomed any man, woman or child, no matter what their skin color or background. He then travelled to San Francisco with the band of Chicopee, where he managed to persuade a ship's captain to take them to the new world of Tycobbia. He gave up all the furs and money he had to pay the captain and said farewell to the Chief and his people, who would always be in debt to Beckworth. On reaching Tycobbia in 1852, the Chicopee settled along the coast near Bay St. Clair, a remote spot that had good hunting and fishing to help them survive their new environment. In 1860 land rights were granted to them by the Tycobbia government as a thank you to them for being law-abiding citizens and good neighbors. It was when these land rights were granted that Chief Black Fox and the Chicopee council decided on naming the land where they lived Chicopee. Thus the town of Chicopee was born in 1860. The Chicopee had found what they had always wanted...a land they could call their own and which would be theirs for generations to come. As the years went by more and more people came to live in Chicopee. A rich, multicultural society began to grow up. Besides the Chicopee, there were also Negro slaves who had also fled America. Irish, Scotch and English emigres also arrived. The land was rich for farming, lumber, fishing and hunting. The first enterprises were the Jenkins Lumber Company and a Chicopee company, Happy Hunting Grounds, that arranged hunting and fishing for rich gentlemen from all over Tycobbia and Ruthlandia. Baseball came to Chicopee and its townspeople in the early 1900s. At first it wasn't organized, but it was a popular sport among the people and was played everyday during the spring and summer and even by some hardier souls during winter. The most popular team was the Towners, who even travelled to places like Colchester, Tuckanarra and Denton City to play games against teams from those towns. They even went to distant Valdar Island and promoted the game there. These other towns referred to the team as the Chicopee Indians, since so many of the players were Indians. It was due to this that the team voted on changing their name to the Chicopee Braves as they felt it would be more suitable than Indians. So in 1922 the Chicopee Braves were born. The Chicopee Braves have played baseball since the early 1900s. When baseball first caught on in Chicopee there were about 6-7 teams, but two teams always stood out, the Chicopee Towners and the Chicopee Atlantics. Both teams were equally good, but the Towners had the more progressive leadership. The Towners owner was Benjamin Jenkins, owner of Jenkins Lumber Company. He took his team to other towns on barnstorming trips. It was also because of his forward thinking that the Towners first started to use the name Chicopee Braves. It was in 1922 that the Braves and Atlantics decided to merge their talent into a Chicopee all-star team, but keeping the name Chicopee Braves as that was the one most people in Tycobbia recognized. In 1924 the town started to build a baseball park for the Braves, which was finished in 1925. The stadium has been used over the years for amateur and industrial league teams. Brewster Street Ballpark is still used today for the IPA Chicopee Braves. Because of its age and history, baseball fans from all over Tycobbia and Ruthlandia come to visit the vintage stadium located at 4th & Brewster. It is heresy to speak of a new stadium in Chicopee. The citizens still hold onto its small town identity, not just in the town, but also at the ballpark, where there’s no fancy food on sale...just the usual hamburgers, hot dogs, popcorn, soda pop and good old fashioned peanuts and crackerjacks. No beer or alcoholic beverages are allowed at the ballpark or even in the county. Chicopee is a dry county and it is strictly enforced. A trip to Brewster is exciting. Chicopee fans are constantly doing tomahawk chops, war chants and war dances to rally their beloved Braves. They have been known to do rain dances when the Braves are losing early in the game, hoping for a rainout. It is all in good fun and nobody in Chicopee takes offense. It really is special in the top of the 9th inning when the whole stadium sings the Chicopee national anthem. They took the whole Chicopee Nation And put us on a reservation Took away our ways of life The tomahawk and the bow and knife They tried to take our native tongue And taught their English to our young And all the beads we made by hand Are nowadays made in Japan Chicopee people, Chicopee tribe So proud to live, so proud to die They took the whole Indian Nation And locked us on this reservation And though I wear a shirt and tie I'm still a red man deep inside Chicopee people, Chicopee tribe So proud to live, so proud to die But maybe someday when they learn Chicopee Nation has returned Has returned Has returned Has returned Has returned (lyrics by Paul Revere and the Raiders...adapted a little bit by EC) The Braves are still owned by the Jenkins Family. The Jenkins family were really excited about the new Islandian Pro Alliance and managed to get a franchise. The story goes that the Chicopee tribe threatened to go on the warpath, if the town was left out it. We think they were just kidding...but then again...they really do take their baseball seriously in Chicopee. Overall in their IPA history, Chicopee has struggled. The Braves have been a .500 team only 25 times in its 74 seasons and they have never won a Pro Cup. Only 3 times have they made the IPA postseason. The first Chicopee General Manager was Lou Littlefeather, a longtime baseball player and executive in company league baseball. The first Braves skipper was Harry Fleetfoot, a very successful player, noted for stealing bases in the industrial leagues, and also a fine manager. Both were full-blooded Chicopee... the Braves enjoyed little success until Ivan Burkholder took over as skipper in 2034. Burkholder starred for Chicopee at catcher for 22 seasons (2202-2023), batting .271 with 312 homers and 1185 RBIs. Twice he was an All-Star. It was under Burkholder tutelage that the Braves blossomed. They won the TU West pennant 3 years in a row from 2034 to 2036 and make a lot of noise in the Pro Cup playoffs. Tbis was the Golden Age of Chicopee baseball. Each season the Braves were beaten out by the eventual Pro Cup champion in tight series. They lost to North Hills in 2034 and 2036 and to Tuckanarra in 2035... Burkholder was acclaimed the Tycobbian Union Manager of the Year in 2034. Two of his prime players during that era are now running the Braves. GM Kurt Gustavsen and manager Ryan Ledbetter. Gustavsen was an All-Star infielder for 18 years with a .306 lifetime BA, 347 homers and 1275 RBIs. He batted .331 in 29 postseason games. Ledbetter only spent 4 seasons with Chicopee out of his 13-year career, but they were good ones. Ledbetter was a capable and quality pitcher, posting a 148-126 record and a 3.83 ERA overall. Ledbetter was even better in the postseason with a 5-3 mark and 3.18 ERA in 9 starts... he was 59-50 with a 3.81 ERA in his time with the Braves. Ledbetter retired in 2039 as a player. Chicopee called on him to become skipper in 2066. Slowly, but surely the team has risen up to contending status in the TU West. Brewster Street Ballpark (1925) Capacity: 8,250 Dimensions: LF Line 334 LF 360 LCF 387 CF 400 RCF 410 RF 360 RF Line 331 Brewster Street Ballpark (1925) Capacity: 8,250 Dimensions: LF Line 334 LF 360 LCF 387 CF 400 RCF 410 RF 360 RF Line 331 Brewster Street Ballpark (1925) Capacity: 8,250 Dimensions: LF Line 334 LF 360 LCF 387 CF 400 RCF 410 RF 360 RF Line 331 |
For you young 'uns that have never heard the song Indian Reservation from 1972 by Paul Revere and the Raiders... here 'tis for y'all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDYQ7273-bA |
If I'm not mistaken, for the Chicopee Braves is that basically Ebbets Field?
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Sunday, October 14, 2074 UNDERDOGS NAB IPA TITLE SERIES' OPENERS... SKIPS TOP KINGS AND SUNSETS BEAT BRAVES They are off-and-running in the Islandian Pro Alliance Ruthlandian Union and Tycobbian Union title rounds, but it was the underdogs that took the best-of-seven opening games... Crystal Lake toppled Eastshore 8-4 in RU action and Summerland ran past Chicopee 4-2 in TU play. 2074 IPA Postseason Stars of the Game Attachment 880247 Attachment 880248 Attachment 880249 Attachment 880250 |
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AROUND THE TOWN IN THE IPA
CRYSTAL LAKE SKIPPERS (aka Crushers 2002-2051) Owner: Flood Family Casino Enterprises GM/Manager: Duncan Welch Crystal Lake is the largest lake in Ruthlandia, situated in the southeastern corner of the country. The town, Crystal Lake, is located on a spit of land at the southwestern corner of the lake from which it got its name. Crystal Lake is south of Valka and just 25 miles across the lake. Belair Beach, San Dimas and Grand City are also close by. Crystal Lake is a polyglot town of 77,000 people who march to the beat of a different drummer. Crystal Lake is best known for its liberal politics. Think of San Francisco in the United States for a comparable culture. Environmentalists, Jesus Freaks, Rock 'n' Roll enthusiasts in a fairly free society. Locals claim they are not liberal, they are libertarians. Critics counter that residents aren't libertarians, they are libertines. European tourists compare the town to Amsterdam, but not quite as notoriously liberal. One thing for sure Crystal Lake is a mecca for tourism. It's a wide-open city where anything goes. It's a party-goers' paradise. The lowlands around the town are more properly classified as bogs. Glacial activity 10,000 years ago scooped out what would become Crystal Lake and dumped quite a moraine when retreating, forming the land that was settled in the late 1800's. The area never really did grow population-wise because of the swampy terrain. That's all changed. Crystal Lake was a planned town and came into being in the early 1920s when John William Flood began developing it. It was intended to be a summer resort getaway for the wealthy to escape the dog days of summer before the invention of air conditioning. It is laid out on a grid with north-south streets given names based on trees in alphabetical order (Aspen, Birch, Cedar...) and east-west streets given numbers (First, Second, Third...) and called avenues. Crystal Lake has always been a footloose and fun-loving town. in the 1920s, during the brief Ruthlandian prohibition experiment, they ran speakeasys and night clubs. In the 1950s, they built casinos. Present day Crystal Lake is a little Las Vegas. It's a party place. A tourist's paradise with little or no industry. Getting around Crystal Lake is pretty easy to do. The town was built around an electric traction trolley system that takes people everywhere. The town never adapted to the automobile, which is practically prohibited by ordinance today. It is a biker and walking society, that espouses pollution-free air, exercise and health. The baseball team has been in business in some form for more than 100 years. The original team name was the Crushers. It comes from a 1921 letter from the team owner to his manager on his vision for building the club. John William Flood wrote to the first ballfield manager Andy Capson: "I don't like watching a bunch of dandies or young boys prancing around the basepaths like thieving fools. Bunting is for the birds. I want to see men crush the ball." Hence, the Crushers were born. John William Flood IV owns the team now. He changed the team name to Skippers in the 2052 seasons. John William makes his money in the casino business and is rather indifferent about day-to-day baseball operations. Since he's getting up in age, he has been concerned about his legacy. He's been examining the Green Bay Packers business model closely and is seriously considering willing the club to the people of Crystal Lake. The Floods have always been shady characters. John Williams Flood II was considered a scamp, regularly testing the will of the ABA commissioner in the days of the company leagues. John Williams Flood III was too busy developing real estate to break the rules like his ancestors did. The team had and deserved its somewhat unsavory reputation in the amateur league days. The famed Islandian slugger, Herman "Baby" George, the most prolific home run hitter in the annals of Islandian amateur leagues, was the first manager of the Crystal Lake Crushers. When it comes to hitting a baseball, Baby George is "Mr. Baseball" in the Islands. There has never been anyone quite like him. George was a bon vivant and literally in a class by himself. George began as a pitcher and was a very good one, but his hitting prowess soon converted him into a fulltime position player. He holds the all-time career homer mark in the industrial leagues. He turned out to be a pretty darn good manager, too. And the fans loved him in Crystal Lake for his savoie-faire attitude and his 2 Pro Cup Trophies. George retired at age 90 in 2047 and turned the GM and managerial reins over to Duncan Welch, who starred for the Crushers from 2017 to 2029, helping them win 6 pennants and 2 Pro Cups (2020 and 2022). In 20 seasons Welch was a career 350-255 with a terrific 2.78 ERA. He was especially good in the postseason, compiling a superb 17-5 mark with a 2.50 ERA in 27 starts. Welch was elected to the Islandian Pro Alliance Hall of Fame in 2056. He skippered the club for 15 seasons, won 2 pennants in '58 and '59 and even nabbed the 2058 Pro Cup Trophy, the third time in the team's history. Paul Dillon is the present manager of the Skippers. He was quite a hitter in his 18 years with the club with a lifetime .323 BA, 2850 hits, 170 homers, 1215 RBIs and 1410 runs scored with 413 stolen bases... Dillon was a 3-time All-Star and the 2034 Rookie of the Year. He has had only modest success in his managerial tenure. The Crystal Lake Crushers amateur and industrial teams played in John William Flood Stadium in the 1920s. The name was shortened to JWF Stadium by the press and the public over the years. A new ballpark, Lakefront Stadium, was built in 1985 by the town council. Lakefront Stadium is located right at the water's edge on Crystal Lake. Fans get a magnificent view of the lake. On game days, the best way to get to the ball park is by taking The Traction to the stadium or by sailing up to the marina. The food is typical baseball fare that tries to cater to both tourists and to the whole Earth Day crowd. The hot dog is a foot-long kosher dog served on a dark brown wheat roll. The beers are local microbrews and all claim to be genetically-modified organism free. In his day Baby George was known to enjoy a lot of hot dogs and a few refreshing brews during the games. Lakefront Stadium (1985) Capacity: 10,500 Dimensions: Left Field Line - 340' Left Field - 370' Left Center - 405' Center Field - 400' Right Center - 381' Right Field - 370' Right Field Line - 340' |
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Monday, October 15, 2074 UNDERDOG SKIPPERS AND SUNSETS NAB FIRST 2 GAMES So far, so much for being the pick of the pundits... the underdog Crystal Lake Skippers and Summerland Sunsets are making hay while the sun shines in the Islandian Pro Alliance playoffs with victories in the first 2 games... the Skippers held off the Eastshore Cotton Kings 7-6 yesterday afternoon, while the Summerland Sunsets were whipping the Chicopee Braves 6-3... both clubs are enjoying a 2-to-nothing edge in the best-of-seven RU and TU title series. 2074 IPA Postseason Stars of the Day Attachment 880710 Attachment 880711 Attachment 880712 Attachment 880713 |
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YESTERDAY IN THE IPA
The Islandian Times Tuesday, September 17, 2019 Pro Cup Begins Tomorrow, Defending Champs Turon Favored The IPA Pro Cup playoffs get started tomorrow afternoon with the Elite 8 Series. The 8 division champions will be pitted against one another in the first round of the postseason. 6 of last year's participants are back again in another quest for the Pro Cup, symbolic of professional baseball supremacy in Islandia. Turon is the defending champion and is favored to repeat, but it will have a tough path to get through Ozarka and Rolling Hills, two very potent Tycobbian challengers. Rocky Rapids is the pick in the Ruthlandian Union, but it faces three fine teams in Eastshore, Taranto and Claxton. Most baseball analysts say the field is wide open with no clear-cut favorites. Only three times in Pro Cup history has the team with the best regular-season record managed to win it. Colfax did it in 2010, Far Mountain in 2012 and Turon last year. It is also rare for the favorite to win the crown. In the Ruthlandian Elite 8, two powerhouses face up right away. The Rocky Rapids Snappers will host Eastshore in a best-of-seven series. The Snappers won the match-up last year and then lost to the unheralded Ancona Elephants. Two heavy-hitting teams tangle in the other RU match-up. The Taranto Tars will be at home against the Claxton Diamonds. Taranto has one of the highest-scoring team in IPA history and the Diamonds are not far behind them. The Eastshore-Rocky Rapids victor is expected to reign supreme in the Ruthlandian Final 4 because of better pitching. Last year's Pro Cup winner Turon takes on the Luxora Zorros in the Tycobbian Elite 8. The Z's took them to 7 games last year. So the Typhoons know to be wary and not over confident. Nothing is a cinch in the playoffs. Many times in the past, underdogs have done well. Volusia (2001), Middlefield (2005), Wynnamac (2008) and Kenwood (2014) are examples of lowly-rated clubs that won the Pro Cup. The first two games will be played at Typhoon Stadium in Turon. In the other TU series, Rolling Hills Reds will be at home hosting the Ozarka Naturals. It's the Reds first postseason appearance since 2003, a gap of 16 years. |
YESTERDAY IN THE IPA
The Islandian Times Saturday, September 21, 2019 2019 IPA Elite 8 Series (best-of-seven) Snappers Sweep Eastshore Rocky Rapids proved to be too much for Eastshore... the Snappers whipped them in the Ruthlandian Elite 8 for the second straight year... this time they swept the Elegants in four games... 23-game winner Joe Anderson (1.00 2.00) nailed down the series with a 4-1 triumph... Anderson went the route, holding Eastshore to 6 hits and a run with no walks and 5 Ks... taking the loss was Danny Siegfried (0-1 3.50), who allowed 4 runs and 10 hits in 8 innings... Rocky Rapids went to work early and built up a 4-0 lead after 3 frames... 3B Bill Riley (.400) had 3 hits and an RBI for the winners, while 2B Paul Shelton (.235) batted in 2 runs and SS Joel Williams (.133) drove in the other run... the Snappers will have to wait to see who will win the other RU Elite 8 series between Taranto and Claxton... the Tars have a 3-0 lead and could end it today. |
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