[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 18, 2023

2023 Ruthlandian Union Final Recap

Valmara RU North Champs
The Valmara Vipers played well throughout the Ruthlandian North season and nabbed the division crown by 5 games over the Far Mountain Redhawks. Ancona, which had won the past three years, fell to third 10 games behind the Vipers. Kilkenny had a good second half and wound up in fourth place, trailing by 11. Mid-season leading Glasco flopped badly and tumbled to seventh place by season's end, 19 games off the pace.

Manager Jet Kazmarek's Valmara Vipers (90-64) gained their fourth RU North flag, the first since 2017... Billy Ray (20-11 2.21) and Clem Carmouche (18-12 2.87) led them to the title... rookie CF Teddy Szymanski (.287 BA/22 HR/88 RBI/80 R) and veteran 2B Ron Freiberg (.287 BA/56 RBI/94 R) paced the average Viper offense... Szymanski is the son of former Viper star CF Jan Szymanski, who starred for the Vipers from 2001 to 2004 and led them to two pennants and three playoffs... Jeff Cooper (25-12 2.07) almost single-handledly lifted the runner-up Far Mountain Redhawks (85-69) from fifth place last year... LF Ryan Mizell (.305 BA/13 HR/83 RBI/78 R), 1B Johnny Becker (.296 BA/11 HR/81 RBI/92 R) and RF Dan Hudson (.293 BA/15 HR/83 RBI/70 R) topped the batting order for skipper Alex Groveland... The Ancona Red Elephants (80-74), champs in four of the last six years, dropped down to third mainly because of the pitching... 1B Alekos Kotas (.299 BA/24 HR/122 RBI/81 R), LF Kenny Willard (.286 BA/23 HR/93 RBI/103 R) and 3B Todd Nasso (.304 BA/27 HR/105 RBI/106 R) provided the offense, while Spiros Zodiaes (19-15 3.47), Pete Krohn (18-14 3.84) and rookie Ken Rokas (9-6 3.12) led the pitching corps... the fourth-place Kilkenny Cats (79-75) moved back into the first division for the first time in four years... manager Kevin McPhail's top players were standout closer Cuzz Grandberry (4-2), who saved 32 games and posted a brilliant 0.66 ERA, rookie Dave Whitaker (22-13 2.84) and veteran Ken Wheeler (18-13 3.69)... the Cats weren't much at the plate with 3B Rusty Denicola (.279 BA/14 HR/84 RBI), SS Johnny Madigan (.264 BA/5 HR/59 RBI/86 R) and LF Michael Winter (.247 B/16/HR/85 RBI) the most dependable... Otto Kronvath got his LaGrange Sports (75-79) up to fifth after 2 long years in the cellar with improved pitching led by rookie Mike York (19-17 3.10) and vet Gabe Thomas (18-12 3.37)... the Sports were 15 games behind first place Valmara... 1B Eric Townsend topped the hitters with a .288 mark, 29 homers and 107 RBIs... C Roger Simone (.256 BA) added 27 roundtrippers and 89 runs batted in... it was a poor season for Tommaso Lazzorda in Taranto (72-82)... the Tars came in sixth, 18 games back... Taranto no longer has the big bats it used to have, yet the Tars finished second in the RU in scoring, but only hit .259 (9th) with just 113 homers (16th).... they topped the league in walks... they used to top it in homers... top performers were 2B Greg Murphy (.314 BA/15 HR/65 RBI/86 R), CF Phil Buckner (.272 BA/6 HR/52 RBI/98 R/64 SB) and pitcher Johnny Sakelaris (16-13 3.13)... Buckner led the IPA in stolen bases with 64... skipper Charles Darby and the Glasco A's (71-83) had a great first half and led the division at the All-Star break, looking like the team-to-win, but it didn't happen as the bottom fell out and the Athletics plunged to seventh-place tie with Ranford, 19 games off the pace, going 26-45 in the latter half of the year... son 3B Eddie Darby led the club with a .312 BA, 12 home runs, 85 RBIs and 84 runs scored... 1B Garris Aiken added a .281 BA, 27 homers and 93 RBIs... Gary Bradley (16-15 3.28) was the best pitcher... Ranford Bulls (71-83) with Rick Fargnoli at the helm only had one solid performer... Scotty Simmons (10-14) deserved a better record with his impressive 2.86 ERA.

Crushers Win Again In RU South, 3rd Time In 4 Years
Defending IPA Pro Cup champions Crystal Lake cruised to its second straight Ruthlandian South pennant and third one in four seasons... the Crushers won in a breeze by 13 games over second place Waleska and Grand City. San Dimas outlasted Claxton and Valka for the fourth spot. The Rancheros were 16 games back, Diamonds 17 and Blackhawks were 19 games behind.

Manager Baby George made it look easy again with a double-digit 13-game victory... Crystal Lake (94-60) again topped the RU with a sparking 2.92 team ERA, second-best in the IPA behind Southport (2.90 ERA) in the Tycobbian South... the Crushers don't hit well, but with pitchers like ace Duncan Welch (24-11 1.92) and Dennis Taylor (22-13 2.53), they don't have to score many runs... only veterans 1B Phil Gravelli (.267 BA/24 HR/73 RBI) and RF Augie Marshall (.248 BA/21 HR/81 RBI) offer much in the way of offense... Crystal Lake is tied for 4th in fielding with a .975 mark... the Waleska Westerners (81-73) under McGraw Johnson again came in second, this time tied with Grand City... Waleska features strong hitting (.272 BA-1st) and solid pitching (3.35 ERA-7th)... superstar CF Roy Hobbs (.323 BA/28 HR/104 RBI/108 R) is the top gun... this year he had help from splendid rookie Loco Dillinger (.326 BA/28 HR/108 RBI)... Doug Watts (20-11 3.83) and Chet McNeil (17-12 3.79) paced the pitching staff... rookie closer Jarred Laclair (7-7 1.98) had an impressive debut with 21 saves... he is the younger brother of Southport talented hurler Al Laclair... the Grand City Cybercats (81-73), skippered by Wade Joslin, were sparked by bullpen ace Ralph Teague (9-5), who saved 25 games with a 9-5 record and a super-low 1.49 ERA, and at the plate by veterans RF Nick Baldini (.331 BA/12 HR/61 RBI/92 R) and LF Ricky Rich (.315 BA/9 HR/93 RBI)... fourth place San Dimas (78-76) does better on the hill than at the plate... manager Ron Armstrong relies on starters rookie Gary Price (17-10 2.96) and vet Shannon White (16-13 3.44), along with closer supreme Raul Marroquin (9-6 1.83), who put up 31 saves... CF Ray Ford (.321 BA/22 HR/88 RBI/103 R) was the Rancheros top hitter... Stacy Engel's Claxton Diamonds (77-77) broke even this year, winding up in the fifth spot in the RU South 17 games out of first... vet Sam Ervin (17-14 3.36) and rookie Max Jung (17-9 3.58) led the mound staff and the hitters were headed by LF George McKay (.329 BA/33 HR/90 RBI/110 R) and RF K. C. Moerdijk (.218 BA/22 HR/60 RBI/111 R/34 SB), who never hits for average, but is nonetheless quite productive... Valka (75-79) was sixth, trailing by 19... Andrei Kokk doesn't have a lot of talent except for 37-year-old closer Vinko Markovic, who chalked up a 9-2 record with 27 saves and a 2.30 ERA in his 13th season... two rookies also blossomed this year... SP Adam Aru went 21-16 with a very strong 2.42 ERA and new 2B Olari Ojastu batted .298 with 20 homers, 81 RBIs and scored 90 runs... C Don Pontros (.308 BA/10 HR/56 RBI/71 R) was voted to the All-Star team in his fourth season... Skinny Kisecawchuk and his St. John Crusaders (62-92) again languished near the bottom in seventh place, 32 games back... on the mound Jeremy Vincent (20-10 2.26) had a superb season... but no else on the team had any numbers to brag about... the Belair Beach Sunbirds (61-93) suffered a terrible season and fell all the way to the basement and 33 games out of the running... but manager Marty Pedroza got good performances out of two rookies: his son, Jaime Pedroza (11-14 2.93) and 1B Kees Draeger (.298 BA/33 HR/106 RBI).

Elnora Surprises, Wins RU East
Elnora came out of nowhere and won the Ruthlandian East by 5 games over runner-up Beechwood, third place Sugar Valley by 13 and fourth place Eastshore by 16 games... last year's division winner Wynnamac dipped to fifth, 23 games behind... Sam Malone's Elnora All-Stars (98-56) won more games than anyone in the IPA and rose up from seventh in 2022 with firepower and plenty of pitching prowess... his youthful starting rotation was headed up by 26-year-old Mario Colon (25-11 3.29), rookies Will Hamilton (18-10 2.86), Lucien Vachon (17-8 2.95) and Hal Wilkinson (16-14 3.14)... in the bullpen another first-year man Bud Foster was excellent with a 6-5 record, 31 saves and a 2.21 ERA... RF Travis Glass paced the batters with 32 homers, 92 RBIs, 98 runs and a .313 BA, helped out by rookie 1B Benny Cortazzo with 24 HRs, 99 RBIs and a .264 BA... Bret George brought his Beechwood Bobcats (93-61) in number two with a fine all-around team... his top performers were the gifted CF and future HOF-er Vic Valenti (.343 BA/36 HR/122 RBI/116 R), RF Jojo Davis (.360 BA/7 HR/56 RBI/93 R), rookie 1B Skipper Smith (.320 BA/16 HR/83 RBI/101 R) and 2B Stan Tipton (.292 BA/17 HR/70 RBI/97 R)... Beechwood also had a fine foursome in starting roles: Frank Mullins (25-9 2.68), Marty Panko (20-11 3.57), Ken DeGraw (18-15 3.12) and Bill McBride (14-8 3.74)... third place Sugar Valley (85-69) makes great use of the longball, but needs some improvement on the hill to take the division... the Rattlers ripped 190 out of the park (2nd) this season, led by 1B Dean Woods (.318 BA/41 HR/104 RBI), rookie LF Marty Beckett (.284 BA/33 HR/109 RBI) and CF Randall Hawson (.257 BA/37 HR/91 RBI)... rookie 2B Jan Kessinger topped the team with a .329 BA and scored 94 runs... Gibby Bobkins's best pitchers were vet Benny McConnell (15-18 2.87), Duane Jenkins (18-8 3.57) and closer Dallas Casey (3-2) with 22 saves and a 1.76 ERA... Killer Brewster over in Eastshore (82-72) has the hurlers, he just doesn't have the bats like he used to have when they were winning pennants and Pro Cups... the fourth place Elegants [/B] are sparked by rookie Randy Boone (20-13 2.70), tough-luck Melvin Key (13-18 2.92) and vet closer Milt Campbell, who posted 36 saves with a 4-3 mark and a sterling 2.09 ERA... only veteran LF Larry Lowe (.314 BA/7 HR/43 RBI/83 R) and RF Ivan Borkowski (.254 BA/29 HR/91 RBI) pose much of a threat at the plate... defending TU titleholder Wynnamac's (75-79) bats went flat this year, falling from .263 to .245 in batting average and down to fifth in the standings... however Matt Donnelly's mound corps was still the second best in the RU with a fine 3.16 team ERA... topping the twirlers were vets Lon Marshall (19-15 2.64) and Jerry Meeks (14-20 2.93)... lack of run support hurt both of them, especially Meeks... the Sundowners also got good efforts from 22-year-old Dean Barber (15-11 3.31) and Meeks' son, rookie Jason Meeks (7-5 3.95)... 2B Liam Cadbury (.293 BA/14 HR/71 RBI) was the most reliable bat... two rookies 3B Dorak Aranda (.276 BA/22 HR/93 RBI) and CF Nathan Cockroft (.273 BA/17 HR/59 RBI/84 R) showed good promise... for the ninth successive season the sixth place Belle Plaine Musketeers (73-81) were a second-division club, trailing by 25 games... manager Dave Torregrossa has some talent... 26-year-old Johnny Davenport had a great season with a 20-13 record and a fine 2.89 ERA... at the plate CF Noel Norbert (.294 BA/9 HR/55 RBI/106 R), SS Slick Hammill (.309 BA/9 HR/71 RBI/79 R), C Derek Roman (.306 BA/17 HR/62 RBI) and rookie Leon Bourque (.295 BA/15 HR/89 RBI) were the best sticks... the seventh place Marston Nine (68-86) were 30 games off the pace... skipper Johnny Walters has no offense except for his super CF Russ Woodward (.324 BA/29 HR/92 RBI/104 R)... on the hill Ronald Schmitt (15-14 2.75) and 32-year-old vet Anson Thomas (14-19 3.31) are his prime starters... After a year in fourth place, the Cold Creek Catamounts (61-93) are back at the bottom in last place, 37 games behind in the pennant race... skipper Trip Holmes has minimal talent... RF Carl Glick leads the hitters with a .271 BA with 12 homers and 66 RBIs and 1B Pete Blackwell has 21 homers and 88 RBIs, but is hitting only .245.

Roosters Reign Supreme In RU West
After 16 years of failure the Middlefield Roosters finally won another Ruthlandian West pennant. They outpaced the second place Volusia Vigilantes by 5 games, third place Forest City by 10 and fourth place Rocky Rapids by 13. This was Middlefield's third title and first since 2006. Sligo, the winner for the past two years, wound up fifth, 19 games behind in the race.

Middlefield Roosters manager Bailey Norcross has a host of longball hitters that topped the RU with 197 homers... 9 players had 11 or more home runs... first place Middlefield (92-62) also got some top-notch pitching from rookie Glenn Tackett (22-8 3.42), Frank Dean (18-9 3.36) and Dicky Damato (18-16 3.56)... those ERA's are real good considering they have to pitch in such a small ball park... Norcross' best bats belong to 1B Allan Stewart (.328 BA/42 HR/119 RBI/112 R), RF Vic Ivarsson (.323 BA/11 HR/77 RBI/76 R), CF Tom Daniels (.274 BA/22 HR/80 RBI/110 R/44 SB) and rookie LF Floyd McClellan (.298 BA/22 HR/66 RBI/67 R)... runner-up Volusia (85-69) boast pretty good bats, but only average pitching... leading the V's attack were CF Joe DeLucca (.313 BA/20 HR/97 RBI/101 R), 3B Bobby Carpenter (.301 BA/18 HR/79 RBI) and C Ismael Gomez (.291 BA/22 Hr/87 RBI)... 6-year vet Sixto Moreno (18-14 3.17) led the mound staff with help form rookie Roman Clemente (20-10 3.64)... for the third straight season the third place Forest City Lumberjacks (82-72) moved up in the standings... manager Rob Jackson got solid work from starters Stephen Phillips (22-11 2.89), Tommy Zenon (18-17 3.67), Norm Dawson (11-7 3.07) and Ryan McGhee (15-14 3.85), but not a lot of offense... the Lumberjacks make contact, but lack punch... they hit .260 (8th), but went deep only 104 times (21st-tied)... veterans LF Ryan Ray (.273 BA/20 HR/89 RBI/76 R) and 1B Andy Doiron (.285 BA/7 HR/51 R/78 R) were the most productive bats... it was another tough season for Ryan Noland in Rocky Rapids (79-75), who finished fourth... just recently Noland has engineered four pennants in a row, but since 2020 the Snappers have fallen from their first-place pedestal... Rocky Rapids no longer has the strong pitching, nor the good, solid hitting... Wilcy Lord (17-16 3.56) leads the staff starters, while in the bullpen closer Cal Crawford (5-4) had a good year with 23 saves and an impressive 1.88 ERA... vets 2B Paul Shelton (.280 BA/33 HR/118 RBI/91 R), LF Rob Barton (.314 BA/13 HR/62 RI/76 R) and CF Tiger Noland (.274 BA/13 HR/77 RBI/83 R) paced the offense... the Sligo Rovers (73-81) looked like they were beginning a dynasty with pennants in back-to-back years 2021-2022, but Eddie Keys's powerful pitching corps went into the pits and the club flopped down to fifth, trailing by 19 games... the Rovers still have the same starters and they do well, but not great as in the previous two seasons... Sam Tate (18-13 2.83) was Keys' best, although Les Patterson did quite well with a 3.10 ERA, but suffered with a 12-20 record...Ralph Odakota (18-17 3.46) and Luka Abromowitz (12-7 3.65) tailed off this season, too... lack of a strong closer hampered Sligo... Glenn Pipton was hit-and-miss in his rookie season... Pipton registered 25 saves, but was 3-11 with a 3.26 ERA... the Rover bats also slumped some, too... no one had a standout season... longtime star 1B Johnny Lee Harder (.313 BA/15 HR/64 RBI/96 R) was the team leader at age 38... CF Chris Michel (.293 BA/13 HR/51 RBI/100 R) and 2B Garlin Delk (.279 BA/17 HR/87 RBI) were also productive at the plate... the Stoner Stars (71-83) were number six in the RU West, 21 games behind leading Middlefield... Benny Stern's best players were starter Bily Chapel (16-16 3.79) and closer Lou Neuman (8-5) with 24 saves and a strong 2.08 ERA... RF Kevin Fisher (.296 BA/9 HR/55 RBI/102 R) led the Stars offensively... Clem Rogers has a bad ball club in Colfax (60-94)... the Blasters ended up 32 games out and in seventh place... James Elliott (18-13 3.80) is one of Rogers' few dependable starters... RF Glen Smith (.325 BA/11 HR/96 RBI) is an up-and-coming talent, along with 1B Doug Kirkwood (.280 BA/17 HR/95 RBI)... for the third dismal year the Fort Benton Defenders are in the division dungeon with a lousy 55-99 mark, 37 games back... skipper Robbie Brooks has terrible hitting (.233 BA-32nd), but decent pitching with a 3.59 team ERA (12th)... Cal Walger (12-18 2.82) is a very capable starter and leads the staff... SS Ronny Frick (.254 BA/22 HR/98 RBI) is Fort Benton lone productive bat.