OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

Eugene Church · 05-15-2011, 05:55 PM

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 18, 2023

2023 Tycobbian North Final Recap

Rascals Romp In TU North
The White River Rascals beat the odds and ran away with the Tycobbian North. The Rascals romped to a 10-game victory over runners-up Mahaska and Hartsdale. Both teams had been favored by baseball pros to finish higher than White River in a mid-season poll. The Rascals trailed first-half leader Mahaska by a game. The North Hills Hawks came in fourth, 17 games out of first place. Defending division champ Luxora had a disastrous season with 105 losses and ended up in the cellar. The Zorros had won five pennants in the last seven seasons.

White River (93-61) got exactly what manager Mick Cronyn needed to prevail in the TU North - improved pitching... rookie Jon French (16-6 1.99), twin brother Don French (18-8 4.17) and Ron Hendrix (16-14 3.49) led a great second-half run to the pennant... sadly, Jon French was lost for the season in August with an elbow injury and won't be available for the Pro Cup playoffs... however, his replacement in the rotation Paul Sardini (7-2 2.83) took over and didn't miss a beat... Pete Frank (17-15 4.37) also gave Cronyn some good starts... What a potent force White River would be in the playoffs if Jon French was healthy... the Rascals feature a high-octane attack that rocked the TU with a .274 BA (1st), was second in scoring with 809 runs and 9th in homers with 144, led by superstar 1B Marty Blake (.309 BA/30 HR/91 RBI/110 R), CF Hal Littleton (.316 BA/12 HR/80 RBI/79 R), rookie LF Jim Abrams (.285 BA/21 HR/100 RBI) and RF Kenneth Kent (.309 BA/23 HR/93 RBI)... all the Rascal regulars sport a .276 or better batting average... Rusty Tanussa's Mahaska Haymakers (83-71) pitching fell off in the last half and couldn't keep up with the Rascals... but vet Arno Vainmaa (22-12 2.94) had a great second half and a fine year... rookie closer Victor Stravinsky (8-7 2.40) also had a fine freshman year with 30 saves... star C Bucky O'Brian (.284 BA/20 HR/108 RBI) and rookie RF Travis Tuttle (.309 BA/28 HR/95 RBI) stood out at the plate... the Hartsdale Hellcats (83-71) couldn't match the pace of White River, either... Zim Donner's top pitchers were 35-year-old Jim Starks (23-5 2.91) and 24-year-old Dell Samuels ((15-8 3.01)... top batters were 1B Johnny Scott (.308 BA/20 HR/77 RBI/109 R) and C Derek Yurek (.290 BA/26 HR/90 RBI)... fourth place North Hills (76-78) was never really in the race, winding up 17 games back... Masaichi Okawa's best performers were CF Steve Valverde (.316 BA/9 HR/81 RBI/78 R), RF Al Bowden (.297 BA/19 HR/79 RBI/93 R), Lenny Danforth (18-15 3.40) and rookie Valeri Kalinnikov (15-16 2.94)... fifth place Fairfax (75-79) wound up 18 games off the pace... Frogs manager Chancey Quibedeaux's best players were 33-year-old veteran hurler Ken Hill (16-14 3.55), who has a shot at 300 career victories with a 248-195 record and a 2.45 lifetime ERA, rookie Kevin Meeks (4-5 2.17), who saved 30 games, but will be a starter next year, LF Sean Lawson (.298 BA/26 HR/94 RBI/75 R) and CF Alton Dale (.295 BA/10 HR/45 RBI/109 R)... Mack Spencer, skipper of the sixth place Oxford Red Caps (70-84), failed to make the first division for the eighth year in a row, ending up 23 games behind the leader... but phenomenal rookie LF Dennis Hartwig (.372 BA/29 HR/90 RBI/138 R) really excelled by leading the entire IPA with a .372 batting average and with 138 runs scored... it was quite a feat for the 21-year-old freshman... second-year 1B Pat Bartz (.264 BA/19 HR/115 RBI) also shows good promise... Tyson Cobb and his seventh place Blue Lake Blue Sox (64-90) had little to cheer about after finishing 29 games out except for 27-year-old LF Gil Willis (.294 BA/19 HR/87 RBI/88 R) and rookie RF Steven Morris (.293 BA/20 HR/87 RBI/70 R)... this was an abysmal season for the Luxora Zorros (49-105) and manager Cristo Viaconte... never in the IPA history has a good team changed so drastically with basically the same players... the Z's offense totally collapsed... they were the worst team in the IPA with a .228 BA and only 567 runs... hence, the Zorros dropped from first in the TU North to last, 44 games behind White River... in 2021 Luxora did almost the same thing, they went from winning the pennant one year to seventh place the next... bad hitting was the culprit then, too... the talented Tiago Torres and two-time MVP had to endure an 11-18 year in spite of his very good 2.81 ERA... 3-time All-Star C Jim Thorpe Chandler (.297 BA/18 HR/85 RBI) was the Z's only reliable hitter.

05-15-2011, 05:55 PM	#2515
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,923	*The Islandian Times* Monday, September 18, 2023 2023 Tycobbian North Final Recap Rascals Romp In TU North The White River Rascals beat the odds and ran away with the Tycobbian North. The Rascals romped to a 10-game victory over runners-up Mahaska and Hartsdale. Both teams had been favored by baseball pros to finish higher than White River in a mid-season poll. The Rascals trailed first-half leader Mahaska by a game. The North Hills Hawks came in fourth, 17 games out of first place. Defending division champ Luxora had a disastrous season with 105 losses and ended up in the cellar. The Zorros had won five pennants in the last seven seasons. White River (93-61) got exactly what manager Mick Cronyn needed to prevail in the TU North - improved pitching... rookie Jon French (16-6 1.99), twin brother Don French (18-8 4.17) and Ron Hendrix (16-14 3.49) led a great second-half run to the pennant... sadly, Jon French was lost for the season in August with an elbow injury and won't be available for the Pro Cup playoffs... however, his replacement in the rotation Paul Sardini (7-2 2.83) took over and didn't miss a beat... Pete Frank (17-15 4.37) also gave Cronyn some good starts... What a potent force White River would be in the playoffs if Jon French was healthy... the Rascals feature a high-octane attack that rocked the TU with a .274 BA (1st), was second in scoring with 809 runs and 9th in homers with 144, led by superstar 1B Marty Blake (.309 BA/30 HR/91 RBI/110 R), CF Hal Littleton (.316 BA/12 HR/80 RBI/79 R), rookie LF Jim Abrams (.285 BA/21 HR/100 RBI) and RF Kenneth Kent (.309 BA/23 HR/93 RBI)... all the Rascal regulars sport a .276 or better batting average... Rusty Tanussa's Mahaska Haymakers (83-71) pitching fell off in the last half and couldn't keep up with the Rascals... but vet Arno Vainmaa (22-12 2.94) had a great second half and a fine year... rookie closer Victor Stravinsky (8-7 2.40) also had a fine freshman year with 30 saves... star C Bucky O'Brian (.284 BA/20 HR/108 RBI) and rookie RF Travis Tuttle (.309 BA/28 HR/95 RBI) stood out at the plate... the Hartsdale Hellcats (83-71) couldn't match the pace of White River, either... Zim Donner's top pitchers were 35-year-old Jim Starks (23-5 2.91) and 24-year-old Dell Samuels ((15-8 3.01)... top batters were 1B Johnny Scott (.308 BA/20 HR/77 RBI/109 R) and C Derek Yurek (.290 BA/26 HR/90 RBI)... fourth place North Hills (76-78) was never really in the race, winding up 17 games back... Masaichi Okawa's best performers were CF Steve Valverde (.316 BA/9 HR/81 RBI/78 R), RF Al Bowden (.297 BA/19 HR/79 RBI/93 R), Lenny Danforth (18-15 3.40) and rookie Valeri Kalinnikov (15-16 2.94)... fifth place Fairfax (75-79) wound up 18 games off the pace... Frogs manager Chancey Quibedeaux's best players were 33-year-old veteran hurler Ken Hill (16-14 3.55), who has a shot at 300 career victories with a 248-195 record and a 2.45 lifetime ERA, rookie Kevin Meeks (4-5 2.17), who saved 30 games, but will be a starter next year, LF Sean Lawson (.298 BA/26 HR/94 RBI/75 R) and CF Alton Dale (.295 BA/10 HR/45 RBI/109 R)... Mack Spencer, skipper of the sixth place Oxford Red Caps (70-84), failed to make the first division for the eighth year in a row, ending up 23 games behind the leader... but phenomenal rookie LF Dennis Hartwig (.372 BA/29 HR/90 RBI/138 R) really excelled by leading the entire IPA with a .372 batting average and with 138 runs scored... it was quite a feat for the 21-year-old freshman... second-year 1B Pat Bartz (.264 BA/19 HR/115 RBI) also shows good promise... Tyson Cobb and his seventh place Blue Lake Blue Sox (64-90) had little to cheer about after finishing 29 games out except for 27-year-old LF Gil Willis (.294 BA/19 HR/87 RBI/88 R) and rookie RF Steven Morris (.293 BA/20 HR/87 RBI/70 R)... this was an abysmal season for the Luxora Zorros (49-105) and manager Cristo Viaconte... never in the IPA history has a good team changed so drastically with basically the same players... the Z's offense totally collapsed... they were the worst team in the IPA with a .228 BA and only 567 runs... hence, the Zorros dropped from first in the TU North to last, 44 games behind White River... in 2021 Luxora did almost the same thing, they went from winning the pennant one year to seventh place the next... bad hitting was the culprit then, too... the talented Tiago Torres and two-time MVP had to endure an 11-18 year in spite of his very good 2.81 ERA... 3-time All-Star C Jim Thorpe Chandler (.297 BA/18 HR/85 RBI) was the Z's only reliable hitter. Last edited by Eugene Church; 05-16-2011 at 08:11 PM.