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The Islandian Times
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Around the Town in the IPA
MAHASKA HAYMAKERS
Owner/GM: Rickey Branch
Assistant GM: Rick Branch, Jr.
Manager: Rusty Tanussa
Mahaska, a township of 67,000 nestled on the banks of the White River in the west central plains of Tycobbia, is part of the nation’s breadbasket and heartland with vast fields of wheat, corn, oats and other grains. Grain elevators, storage silos and processing plants are its main industry, along with cereal factories and beef, chicken and pork meat processing plants. The Mahaska townspeople have a strong work ethic and live a nice middle-class existence. Church and family are of prime importance in their lives. Shady streets and quiet subdivisions best describe life in Mahaska.
Mahaska was settled in the 1850s by immigrants from Iowa in the United States. They were hearty farm people well-versed in all aspects of agriculture. The transplanted Iowans named their town after the Iowa county where most of them lived. Mahaska was named after a famous Iowa indian chief. Around 1900 the town got an influx of emigres from the Ukraine, who fit in real well with their expert knowledge of growing wheat and grains. The Ukraine is the breadbasket of Russia.The new additions to Mahaska quickly were assimilated into the town culture and even picked up the game of baseball, which was rapidly becoming the National Pastime in Tycobbia.
Mahaska is also home of the Haymakers baseball team who play at the new Heartland Stadium, where the best barbecue in Tycobbia is served along with delicious, melt-in-your-mouth hamburgers. Traditional ballpark food and soft drinks are available in abundance, too. Musical entertainment during games is provided by the Mahaska Sym-Phony, a group of musically-inclined fans. They entertain during games and highstep around the field in celebration after every Haymaker victory...it's the only symphony in Mahaska.
The team is family-owned and family-operated; no high-powered corporation or millionaire runs it. Rickey Branch is one of the most knowledgeable baseball administrators in Tycobbia and is the sole owner of the team. He is also one of the league founders. His son, Rick Branch, Junior, is the assistant GM and is a fine baseball man in his own right; the team will be passed down to him when his dad retires. The Branches are well-respected members of the Mahaska community and active in civic activities. Team manager Rusty Tanussa was a journeyman outfielder in the company leagues, but was a top-notch and very successful industrial league manager.
Heartland Stadium (2000)
Capacity: 7,935
Dimensions:
LF Line 340
LF 365
LCF 390
CF 425
RCF 390
RF 365
RF Line 340
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