[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Friday, October 30, 2025

Bayview Vikings History
No one has dominated the Tycobbian West, the weakest division in the Islandian Pro Alliance. The 8 clubs in the division have only one Pro Cup crown between them. They have qualified for the Finals on 4 occasions and only the Kenwood Wildcats came away with a trophy in 2014 with a win over Belair Beach of the Ruthlandian Union.

Over the years the Bayview Vikings have had the best record in the TU West with a .523 winning percentage, tied for 11th in the IPA with a record of 1924-1774... The Vikings have made the postseason 6 times with 4 division crowns. Most of the success came in the early years... the Viks made the playoffs 5 times in the first 7 seasons... the last pennant came in 2016... Bayview has been pretty competitive in the playoffs, losing out to the eventual champion 4 times... the Vikings are still looking for their first Pro Cup trophy.

Bayview Playoff Snapshot:
2002 - lost to Bay St. Clair 2-1 in First Round
2003 - lost to Pro Cup champ Turon 2-0 in Elite 8 (third round)
2004 - lost to Pro Cup champ Red Bluff 3-1 in Elite 8 (third round)
2006 - lost to Pro Cup champ Turon 3-1 in Final 4 (third round)
2007 - lost to Pro Cup champ Ozford 4-3 in Final 4 (second round)
2016 - lost to Ozarka 4-2 in Elite 8 (first round)...Nats swept in Pro Cup Finals by Eastshore

Since Downtown Plaza Stadium is a hitter's haven with its small dimensions (310 down the lines and only 380 in center), it's the Bayview batters that stand out statistically... it's tough for the pitchers at the Plaza... all-time IPA great 2B Alan Hansen (2001-2006) only played 6 seasons for the Vikings, but they were quite productive... he has the best team career batting average with .323... Hansen was a 3-time All-Star and won one of his two Gold Gloves with Bayview... He took the TU Golden Bat and batting crown in 2001 with a .371 BA... Hansen averaged 100 runs and 100 walks with the Vikings... lifetime for Bayview and Turon, Hansen batted .296 over 23 seasons with 530 doubles (17th), 149 triples (5th-tied), 2262 runs scored (1st), 2351 walks (2nd) and stole 725 bases (5th) in 3287 games (4th) and a was 4-time All-Star... 7-time All-Star OF Davey Krueger (2013-2025) has been outstanding for the Vikings in his 1683 games (4th), batting .278 with 1532 hits (4th), 1067 runs (4th), 282 doubles (4th), 53 triples (5th), 438 homers (1st) and 1180 RBIs (3rd)... SS Karl Benson (2001-2021) was a 4-time All-Star and in his 21 years with the club and hold most of the team records... Benson batted .301 (5th) in 2225 games (1st) with 2507 hits (1st), 353 doubles (1st), 61 triples (2nd), 437 home runs (2nd), 1442 RBIs (1st) and 1285 runs (1st)... OF Tommy Riddle (2006-2021) was 4-time All-Star, won the Golden Bat and TU MVP in 2009... also was a Golden Glover one year... Riddle has played 1996 games (2nd) in his career, batted .284 with 2070 hits (3rd), 288 doubles (3rd), 54 triples (5th), 421 homers (3rd), 1198 runs (3rd) and 1350 RBIs (2nd).

C Hank Bethel (2001-2007), 1B Chancey Quibedeaux (2001-2007) and CF Phil Kanaan (2001-2006) starred in the glory years for Bayview... Playing with 4 teams, IPA icon Bethel is a 12-time All-Star, still in the league at age 42 with a .289 lifetime average in 3161 games (8th) with 525 doubles (19th), 494 homers (11th), 1972 RBIs (2nd), 1798 runs (13th) and 1738 walks (10th)... in his 6 years with the Vikings he was a 4-time All-Star, batted .299 (7th) and stood out with 196 homers (5th), 586 RBIs and 587 runs scored... Quibedeaux had a very good career, was a fancy dan at first base with 5 Gold Gloves and a 3-time All-Star... He played 21 years with 2 teams (2001-2021), the last 14 with Fairfax... Quibedeaux was in 2997 games (14th), compiled a .284 BA with 3198 hits (16th), 609 doubles (6th), 107 triples, 383 HR, 1636 RBIs (17th) and scored 1862 runs (11th) and walked 1674 times (11th)... Quibedeaux hit .307 (3rd) in his years with the Viks with 149 homers (9th)... Kanaan played 12 seasons with 5 teams overall, but his best years were with Bayview... a fine fielder, Kanaan batted .289 (10th) with 86 homers and 174 stolen bases (4th)... He made the All-Star squad twice with the Vikings... 3-time All-Star SS-2B Tommy Shore (2013-2025) has been a rock-solid star year-after-year with 3 Gold Gloves... in 1898 games (3rd) Shore is hitting .290 (9th) with 2160 hits (2nd), 1248 runs (2nd), 304 doubles (2nd), 62 triples (1st), 162 homers (8th), 803 RBIs (4th) and 202 SB (3rd)... 2-time All-Star 1B Stan Haddix (2002-2022) played for 4 teams in his career with a .301 average, 278 homers and 1346 RBIs, but his best seasons were with Bayview... Haddix batted .311 (2nd) with 1443 hits (5th), 193 HRs (6th) and 746 RBIs (6th)... LF Kelton Carpenter (2005-2014) had 9 good years with the Vikings, batting .301 (4th) with 178 homers (7th).

Harald Turi (2016-2025) is the all-time ace of the Bayview Vikings with a 176-141 record and a remarkable 3.16 ERA, considering the small bandbox he pitched in... Turi retired at the end of this season... Turi had a legendary first year in the IPA... he went 26-4 with a marvelous 2.19 ERA and was the Tycobbian Rookie of the Year, the Golden Arm winner and also the league MVP in 2016, an unbelievable accomplishment... Bayview went 95-59 that year, but was eliminated in the Elite 8 by Ozarka, which went to the Pro Cup Finals and lost to champ Eastshore... still it was a great season... Rick Pritchard (2012-2025) is Bayview's all-time wins leader with a 211-196 mark (1st) with a 3.75 ERA (4th)... at 34 Prichard has tailed off the last few years... other reliable starters were 2-time All-Star Norm Roy (2005-2020) with a 198-189 record (2nd) and a 3.65 ERA (2nd) and Georgie Fambreau (2004-2020) with a 195-165 record (3rd) and a 4.16 ERA (10th)... all four of these pitchers were prime players in the fine 2016 season.