Congrats to South Fork! And to Elnora as well. This was a good series. The last two games went to extra innings. And the last three were one run games.

And i like that story about Stan the Man; i'd never heard it.i always remember the stat that was mentioned in Ken Burns' film. He Had 3630 hit in his career; 1815 at home, 1815 on the road.

Shame on you, Dark Horse..:)
I was saving Musial's home and away hits total for a future posting.

Yep, South Fork just had a well-balanced team... the Stallions had the hosses this year.

Oops! Sorry, EC.

No problem... actually it was a very interesting post.

Thank you for sharing it.

It's just as good now as it would be a week or so from now.

Actually, it's better that you posted it now.

MY LIFE IN 2023
EC's Life's Is Filled with Glee in '23

Just thought I would share a little bit more trivia about my favorite ballplayer, Stan "The Man" Musial, the Duke of Donora.

"Wit, Quips and Quotes from the Diamond Minds"
One of my biggest supporters Dark Horse shared this with me.
Stan Musial had 3630 hits in his career... 1815 at home and 1815 on the road.

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Sunday, December 10, 2077

IPA REWARDS 2077 STARS WITH AWARDS
Honor, glory, raves and accolades were in abundance all across Islandia today as the Islandian Pro Alliance announced the 2077 Award winners... the best batters, the best hurlers, best rookies, the best fielders and best skippers were bestowed the greatest honors the IPA has to give.

2077 Ruthlandian Union Golden Bat Award

V'S FIRST SACKER HAZELTON GETS 2ND RU GOLD BAT
In the Ruthlandian Union circles, Volusia's first baseman Matt Hazelton puts the wraps on a fine campaign by winning the 2077 RU Golden Bat Award... this is the second time he has been honored... Hazelton also nabbed the award in 2074... his Vigilantes (79-75) came in 5th in the Ruthlandian West this season, trailing division champion Fort Benton by 7 games... Hazelton beat out Ethan Youngman of the Wynnamac Sundowners and Ronald Bayless of the Elnora Clippers... the Macs finished 82-72 and 4 GB in the RU East, while the Clippers won the RU South crown with an 86-68 mark.

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2077 Ruthlandian Union Golden Arm Award

BLACKHAWK HURLER HONORE HONORED AS RU GOLDEN ARM
In a very close vote Valka right-hander Ron Honore edged out Kilkenny's Jethro Firestone and Ranford's Dayton Stansbury for the 2077 Ruthlandian Union Golden Arm Award... they all three were vital cogs in their teams' success this year... Honore sparked his Blackhawks to the RU South Division flag with an 88-66 record... they won by 5 games over Waleska and Grand City... Honore topped the RU with 26 victories... Firestone had the best ERA in the RU with a sparkling 2.37 ERA and 20 wins... Kilkenny captured the RU North title this season... Stansbury wound up third in the Golden Arm poll with a 23-11 mark and a 2.53 ERA... he finished second in wins and ERA... the Bulls came second in the RU North pennant race... Ranford ended up 9 games behind Kilkenny.

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2070 Ruthalandian Union Rookie of the Year

JUMBOS MCCANN SELECTED BEST NEWCOMER IN THE RU
Spots for rookies were sparse this year in the Islandian Pro Alliance... very few newcomers made impacts this season... the 2077 Ruthalandian Union Rookie of the Year Award went to Ancona's 23-year-old third baseman Jacky McCann... close on his heels in the voting were two freshmen hurlers... Roger Bolin of the Sugar Valley Rattlers and Vance Culpeppr of the Eastshore Cotton Kings.

McCann had a pretty good rookie season with a .273 BA, 141 hits, 23 doubles, 5 triples, 14 homers, 76 RBI, 70 runs scored and 18 stolen bases... however, it was a gloomy year for the Ancora Jumbos... they came in dead last in the Ruthlandian North Division with a pathetic 59-95 record, 34 games behind pennant-winning Kilkenny.

At 31 Bolin compiled a 13-12 mark for the 4th place Sugar Valley Rattlers in the RU East... the Rattlers finished 77-77 and ended up 9 games back of first place Elnora.

Third place in the RU top rookie race went to Eastshore hurler Vance Culpepper... also a late bloomer at 30 years of age, he came to the Cotton Kings in a trade this year with the Hartsdale Hellcats of the Tycobbian Union... overall in his first season Culpepper was 9-9 with an impressive 2.81 ERA... Eastshore did not fare well, posting a 72-82 record in the Ruthlandian East... they came in 14 games behind the first place Elnora Clippers.

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It looks like I may have to create my own rookie class again... I was hoping the AI would produce good rookies... newcomers were few and far between in the IPA this season.

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2077 Ruthlandian Union Golden Glove Team

EASTSHORE SS DAGGS SNAGS 5TH GOLD GLOVE TROPHY
SP Gianni Trevisani (Sugar Valley Rattlers): (29 G/1.000 FA/13 PO/30 Assists) (13-7/4.11 ERA)
C Jorgy Jorgensen (Elnora Clippers) (135 G/.992 FA/5 PB/26.5% RTO) (.269 BA/2 HR/52 RBI/40 R)
1B Tory Swinnerton (LaGrange Gators) (153 G/.993 FA/113 Assists) (.294 BA/39 HR/101 RBI/98 R/6 SB) (2-time Golden Glove)
2B Jason Malone (Ranford Bulls) (149 G/.978 FA/478 Assists) (.287 BA/6 HR/63 RBI/97 R/65 SB) (2-time Golden Glove)
3B Dain Rayford (San Dimas Rancheros) (153 G/.981 FA/274 Assists) (.247 BA/0 HR/42 RBI/39 R)
SS Ollie Daggs (Eastshore Cotton Kings) (150 G/.973 FA) (517 Assists) (.231 BA/11 HR/58 RBI/54 R/16 SB) (5-time Golden Glove)
LF Olev Kotli (Valka Blackhawks) (152 G/.997 FA/312 PO/8 Assists) (.305 BA/14 HR/77 RBI/98 R/43 SB) (2-time Golden Glove)
CF Sasha Kazakov (Claxton Diamonds ) (149 G/.998 FA/428 PO/11 Assists) (.236 BA/22 HR/68 RBI/78 R/33 SB)
RF Harland Schiffman (Taranto Tars) (145 G/.994 FA/311 PO/10 Assists) (.302 BA/28 HR/101 RBI/78 R/6 SB)

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2077 Ruthlandian Union Most Valuable Player Award

ELNORA 3B BAYLESS HONORED AS RU MVP FOR 2077
This year Ronald Bayless had a terrific season for the Elnora Clippers... for his performance of the baseball diamond the 30-year-old third baseman has received one of the elite honors in the Islandian Pro Alliance... Bayless had been voted the 2077 Ruthlandian Union Most Valuable Player... not only did he outpoll the RU Golden Arm Ron Honore, he also beat out the RU Golden Bat winner Matt Hazelton... Bayless edged out Honore and Fort Benton second sacker Stosh Dusek.

Bayless was the RU Swing King with a league-leading .374 BA... in 140 games he amassed 194 base hits, 21 doubles, 10 triples, 15 roundtrippers, 88 RBIs and scored 104 runs... the speedy Bayless also stole 61 bases... he sparked the Clippers to the RU East Division flag... Bayless is a 2-time RU All-Star... Elnora (86-68) edged out the Marston Nine (2 GB) and Wynnamac Sundowners (4 GB) for the division crown... in 9 seasons Bayless has compiled a .330 BA... he first 4 years were spent in the Tycobbian Union with the Tuckanarra Tiger Cats, where he languished on the bench... Bayless came alive in Elnora in 2072 and has been a stalwart ever since... the Tucks loss was Elnora's gain.

Valka's standout hurler Ron Honore led the RU in wins with a 26-6 record and a fine 3.02 ERA... the Blackhawks finished 88-66 and captured the RU South race by 5 games over runners-up Waleska and Grand City.

Winding up third in the Ruthlandian MVP poll was Fort Benton's talented second baseman Stosh Dusek, who batted .358 and topped the league with 221 hits, while playing 143 games... Dusek stole 62 bases, scored 115 runs and drove in 58 runs from the leadoff spot... he was a prime performer in the Defenders taking the RU West Division title... Fort Benton won a very tight 5-team race by 4 games over the Forest City Firebirds, Sligo Rovers, Rocky Rapids Snappers and Volusia Vigilantes.

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I'm enjoying this. Eugene you had a youtube video of your dynasty at one time and I really enjoyed watching that with your commentary. Could I ask what your youtube channel is??

Nope... sorry... that wasn't me... I have no idea how to put commentary on youtube about my Islandian Pro Alliance.

I'm lucky to be able to post it here on the OOTP Dynasty Forum... I'm computer-challenged, severely lacking in tech skills..

Thanks for your interest... thank you for checking the IPA out.

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2077 Ruthlandian Union Manager of the Year Award

KILKENNY SKIPPER NAMED RU MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Only twice in their long history have the Kilkenny Cats made the IPA postseason playoffs... the only other time the Cats appeared was 36 years ago in 2042... this year's Ruthlandian Union Manager of the Year Dave Stratford sparked them to a turnaround season... Kilkenny was second in 2076 with an 84-70 mark winding up 10 games behind in the pennant race... this year the Cats won the RU North by 9 games with a strong 93-61 record... after struggling in his first 6 seasons, Kilkenny has blossomed under his leadership beginning in 2074... Stratford toiled long and hard for the lackluster Cats from 2034 to 2054 as a fine pitcher, posting 207 wins and 197 losses with a 3.65 ERA... twice Stratford won 20 or more games... he is a first-time recipient.

Stratford was pushed hard for the top skipper trophy... runner-up Max Gregory of the Fort Benton Defenders got them in the playoffs for just the 3rd time in the club's existence... last year they wound up sixth in the RU, flip-flopping from 75-79 and 6th place to nabbing the RU West title with an 86-68... Fort Benton survived a tight 5-team tussle this season... Gregory was hired by GM Robbie Brooks back in 2062... Gregory was a very successful college coach with quite a few national championships... he never played professional baseball, but starred in college.

Third place in the balloting went to Enos Conrad, who starred for the Elnora All-Stars for 16 seasons (2036- 2051)... he was a prolific hitter, batting .333 in his career with 190 homers, 911 RBIs and 1153 runs... Conrad was the RU Golden Bat in 2041 and a 5-time All-Star... he took the reins as skipper in 2068 from Stan Kivas... success finally came in recent years... 2 years ago the Clippers came in second place with an 86-68 record... this year they won the RU East with the same record, beating out the Marston Nine and the Wynnamac Sundowners in a dogfight.

All Matvey Kazak does in Valka is win the RU South pennant... he took over in 2068... 5 of the last 6 years the Blackhawks have been the best in the division... Kazak won the RU Skipper of the Year in 2074, but has come up short since then, despite his success... he came in 4th place this year... as a general rule, powerhouse managers get short shrifted when it come to managerial honors... in actually, it's tough in the IPA to win pennants year after year... Valka has been successful under his reign with a winning record each year... a 4th-place finish his first season... 2nd place 4 times... and 5 pennants... Kazak was a pretty fair pitcher for a bad ball team... from 2041 to 2054, the Blackhawks only had 5 winning seasons... Kazak won 170 games, lost 145 and posted a good 3.42 ERA... Kazak won has won 86 to 96 games each year since he took over the team... he was 78-76 his first year.

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2077 TOP PERFORMERS IN THE TYCOBBIAN UNION
The Islandian Pro Alliance presented its rewards for the 2077 season... league officials announced the Tycobbian Union Golden Bat for the top batter, the Golden Arm for the best pitcher, the Rookie of the Year for the standout newcomer, the Most Valuable Player for the one who contributed the most to the team's success, the finest defenders, the Golden Glove team and the Manager of the Year.

2077 Tycobbian Union Golden Bat Award

Cape Coral's star first baseman Wade McClure is used to winning accolades... he was the TU Rookie of the Year in 2075... now McClure has added the prestigious Tycobbian Union Golden Bat Award to his resume in 2077... in 151 games the 29-year-old standout topped the league with 211 hits... McClure batted .356 with 20 homers, 101 RBIs and 111 runs... this is the first time he has been honored as the best batter... McClure triumphed over two accomplished performers, Kirk Guilbeau of the Summerland Sunsets and Matty Cardona of the San Alejo Montaneros... this is McClure's third season in the IPA... it was a tough year for him as Cape Coral came in last in the TU South with a pathetic 53-101 mark.

Batter extraordinaire and rock-solid gloveman Kirk Guilbeau paced his Summerland Sunsets to a third-place finish in the TU South with 88 victories and 66 defeats... the Sunsets were beaten out by powerful Turon by 9 games... he was a close second to McClure for the Golden Bat Award... just 23 years old Guilbeau sizzled at the plate with a .343 batting average in 146 games... he totaled 192 hits with 33 doubles, league-leading 17 triples, 20 roundtrippers, 100 ribbies, 107 runs and 30 stolen bases... Guilbeau is a Gold Glover and is a 3-year veteran with Summerland.

The third highest votegetter was San Alejo's superb first baseman Matty Cardona... he was the 2074 TU Rookie of the Year... what a productive year he had this season with 31 homers, 118 RBIs, 110 runs and 41 SBs, while batting .315... the Golden Glover did it all for the Monties this season... however they only managed a 70-84 record and wound up way back in 7th place in the standings and trailed by 27 games in the TU South.

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MY LIFE IN 2023
EC's Life's Is Filled with Glee in '23

"Wit, Quips and Quotes from the Diamond Minds"

Just finished "The Baseball 100" by Joe Posnanski... it's a wonderful book, well-written and well-researched.

Who was the greatest baseball player? Tough to say... it got down to Willie Mays and the great Negro League star Oscar Charleston... both 5-tool players that could do it all.

I'll just leave it up to Joe Posnanski's book.
Posnanski also wrote a wonderful book about Buck O'Neal, Negro League player and manager, who endeared himself with all of us in Ken Burns' "Baseball" documentary.
Buck is a such a great guy... you fall in love with his positive outlook towards life, past, present and future. No matter the subject, Buck always ends the conversation on a high note with lots of smiles and sunshine..

Posnanski spent a year traveling with baseball's ambassador Buck O'Neal while writing "The Soul of Baseball", which was about Buck's life as a Negro League player and manager. Buck knew the Negro League players and he knew MLB players... he saw them play.

I just might take Buck's opinion on who the best baseball player was... He, Joe Posnanski and Willie Mays were taking a tour of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City... EC and my wife have been there... it was a real treat... just like the Motown Hall of Fame in Detroit... EC highly recommends both of them.

Willie was not in a good mood at the museum and not very talkative... Buck tried to get to get him talking about his baseball life and tell some stories... to get Willie going, Buck brought up the subject of "The Catch" Willie made in the 1954 World Series against Vic Wertz and the Cleveland Indians.

Excerpted from "The Baseball 100":

"Willie", Buck said in an effort to break through, "I saw the catch on television the other day."
The catch. Willie Mays made it on September 29, 1954. It was the first game of the World Series, the Polo Grounds, and he went back on a long fly ball hit by Vic Wertz, a fly ball that would have been a home run in almost every other ballpark. Mays turned his back so that anyone who was behind home plate clearly saw the number 24 on his jersey. He caught the ball over his shoulder and then whirled and threw it back to the infield.
"You saw that, Buck?" Mays said. He smiled a little.
"Only one other guy I ever saw could have made that catch," Buck said.
"Oscar Charleston", May said as he looked around the museum.
"He was you before you," O'Neil said.
O'Neil said that while Mays was the greatest major leaguer he ever saw, Charleston was the greatest ballplayer he ever saw.

'nuff said... that's good enough for EC.

i'm loving these inserts. :eatpop:

You've given me a couple of books to put on my B&N wishlist. :thumbup1:

And no spoilers this time. :D

Dark Horse, if you have some good thoughts on baseball, post them here.
EC needs the help.

Come up with a catchy name... like Dark Horse Dandies.

Or Remembrances of the Laseron Baseball Association.

MY LIFE IN 2023
EC's Life's Is Filled with Glee in '23

"Wit, Quips and Quotes from the Diamond Minds"
John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil Jr. (November 13, 1911 – October 6, 2006) was a first baseman and manager in the Negro American League, mostly with the Kansas City Monarchs. After his playing days, he worked as a scout and became the first African American coach in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs. He signed Lou Brock to play for the Cubs. In his later years he became a popular and renowned speaker and interview subject, helping to renew widespread interest in the Negro leagues, and played a major role in establishing the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. Sadly 16 years after his death, Buck was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022 as an executive.

O'Neil's life was documented in Joe Posnanski's 2007 book "The Soul of Baseball".

Quotes from Buck O'Neill:
"Don't shed any tears. You think about this, the grandson of a slave. And here the whole world was excited about whether or not I was going into the Hall of Fame or not. We've come a long ways."

"A lot about the game has changed, and thankfully, much of it has gotten better. There is still a lot of work to do, but today we have a Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, we have black owners, managers and executives of teams... and look what Nike has done. The Untold Truth Collection represents more a jersey or a pair of sneakers. It represents our lives, our story, our legacy."

The Nike Untold Truth Collection site features the different Negro League Baseball teams of the past that Nike is representing for their collection. Along with the collection that consists of the sneakers and the Untold Truth Baseball Jerseys, the site will also feature video episodes about Negro League Baseball and the Negro League Basebal Museum.