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The Islandian Times
Monday, September 18, 2023
2023 Tycobbian South Final Recap
Ginza Easy Winner In TU South
The Ginza Ninjas took the lead halfway through the year by 5 games, doubled it by season's end and never looked back. Ginza easily whipped second place Southport by 10, third place Arroyo Grande by 11 and Colchester by a dozen games. Arroyo Grande was the defending division champion. The Suns won it the previous three years.
This was the first time Ginza (92-62) won the TU South in its 23-year history... it was Huroko Uchiyama's pitching corps that brought home the pennant... rookies Yuko Takata (20-9 3.55) and Harlan Wilson (21-11 4.22) both were 20-game winners, while veteran Yutaka Yoshida (13-13 2.84) was the ace and best pitcher... Yoshida just didn't get the run support of the others... closer Frank Beard (7-6) had an exceptional season with an IPA-leading 40 saves and a great 1.96 ERA in 59 game appearances... 1B Johnny O'Rorke (.319 BA/27 HR/95 RBI) and C Crash Davis (.299 BA/12 HR/67 RBI) provided what little offense the Ninjas had.
The Southport Sun Sox (82-72) led the IPA with a super 2.90 team ERA... Charley Oscar had a wealth of capable arms in veterans Al Laclair (21-13 2.15) and Bob Montgomery (18-14 2.64), plus a fine rookie Rod Bailey (24-12 2.32)... Rob Ricks (5-4) was valuable in the bullpen with 27 saves and a strong 2.11 ERA... hitting was an entirely different story... the Sun Sox were pathetic with a .233 BA (31st)... LF Amos Needham (.297 BA/15 HR/57 RBI) and 2B Jason Hinton (.286 BA/13 HR/75 RBI) were the best of the lot.
Arroyo Grande's (81-73) grand ride came to an end this year with a third place finish... the Suns were the division champs in 2020, 2021 and 2022... both the pitching and hitting suffered this year... the only starter to have a good season was Cesar De Leon (22-13 4.03)... closer Jason Patrick saved 32 games with a splendid 1.95 ERA, but was just 1-5 in the won-lost column... three stalwarts had solid stats: SS Andy Pearson (.337 BA/18 HR/90 RBI/96 R), 1B Rusty Vizcarra (.307 BA/45 HR/139 RBI/89 R) and LF Eduardo Villanueva (.312 BA/25 HR/78 RBI/121 R). but the rest of the Suns had down years... Vizcarra led the IPA in RBIs for the second successive season.
The fourth spot in the TU South standings went to Charley Oscar's Colchester Elites (78-76), which thrived on its mound staff... the Elites had the fourth-best team ERA (3.22), led by rookie Mac Flowers (18-16 3.57) and rookie closer Cholly Burdette (5-6), who posted 26 saves and an impressive 2.26 ERA... Colchester had very little offense with a .244 BA (26th) and 95 homers (30th)... 1B James McCall (.299 BA/18 HR/76 RBI/93 R) and CF Terry Thorsen (.285 BA/13 HR/58 RBI/90 R) were the club leaders.
Proud Turon (76-78) came in fifth this season and trailed by 16 games... it was the Typhoons worst season since 2004... Whitey Richburn's team has only fallen below .500 twice in its history... Turon is getting old...but it still possesses some pretty good pitchers... ace Nicky Engstrom won his 300th game in his last start of the season, but he was only 16-14 with a 2.64 ERA... only twice in his 14 years has he failed to win 20 games... overall the 34-year-old Engstrom is 300-137 with a fantastic 2.26 ERA... 42-year-old Ted Farentino has a fine 16-11 mark with a 3.18 ERA... in his 23 seasons Farentino is 337-236 with a 3.71 ERA... He has played for four teams, the last nine in Turon... rookie left-hander Don Allen (16-10 3.16) did a very good job in his first year... the Typhoons only offensive threat was 1B Michael Page (.312 BA/35 HR/90 RBI/84 R), who took over for the legendary Clyde Kingsford this year... at age 37 Kingsford may be ready to call it a great career after 12 years, 484 homers and a lifetime .320 BA... ditto for 44-year-old 2B Alan Hansen, who has batted .296 and scored 2262 runs in his 23 IPA seasons... Kingsford was used only as a pinchhitter and batted .254 with only 5 homers... Hansen hit .248 in limited action.
Coming in sixth 23 games behind Ginza were the San Alejo Montaneros (69-85)... manager Alberto Herrera only had a few talented players... his best are pitcher Trini Corona (19-16 3.72), LF Warren Love (.289 BA/38 HR/124 RBI) and 1B Zach Kallis (.336 BA/7 HR/43 RBI/57 R).
The Cape Coral Hurricanes (62-92) had a wonderful first half, but really fizzled in the second half of the season... Huggy Miller's Hurricanes were just 5 games behind Ginza at the All-Star Game, but then fell apart and wound up in seventh place for the seventh consecutive year, 30 games back... rookie Cory Burg (17-15 3.88) was the only reliable pitcher... at the plate Miller had nobody that was worthy of note.
For the 11th straight year the Summerland Sunsets (59-95) were a second division ball club... Will Hackett guided them to another poor season... the Sunsets were last for the third year in a row, 33 games off the pace... rookie closer Cary Snead and reliever Maury West were the only bright spots on the team... Snead (5-4) notched 28 saves and a microscopic 1.26 ERA, while West was 4-2 with a 2.99 ERA in 61 games.
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