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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 22, 2037
WALESKA WALTZES AWAY WITH THE RU SOUTH
A huge surge in July and August by the Waleska Westerners made life miserable for the other contenders in the Ruthlandian South Division... the Westerners only led by two games at the All-Star break, then took charge with a 39-19 run in the summer months to waltz away with the pennant by 14 games over second-place Claxton... San Dimas came in third, 18 games out and Belair Beach finished fourth and 19 games back... this was the Westerners' second division title in three years and fourth RU South flag in the club's history... Waleska won its only Pro Cup in 2028, defeating Tuckanarra of the Tycobbian Union in a great seven-game series.
Heading up manager Roy Hobbs' rotation were Terry Richards (22-11/2.77), Craig Nash (20-10/3.58) and Tony Haskell (19-12/3.77)... leading the Westerners' attack were CF Jon Lassiter (.311/13/56/106), 2B Joey Harris (.283/14/85/92), 3B Monty McMurtry (.285/10/76/82), RF Niles Gregory (.237/26/94/79) and 1B Shayn Lambert (.280/14/83/72)... the Westerners lost one of the all-time IPA greats when outfielder Loco Dillinger retired in June at age 37 after 15 years... disappointed with his lack of playing time, Dillinger said it was time to make way for younger players... Dillinger was a nine-time All-Star, won the Golden Bat five times, twice was named the league's MVP in 2028 and 2029, selected as the Rookie of the Year in 2023, and batted .316 lifetime with 479 homers and 1551 RBIs... he earned one Pro Cup ring in 2028, batting .385 with 6 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, 13 RBIs and 16 runs scored in 18 games... the Westerners beat Tuckanarra in an exciting and tense seven-game series... Dillinger finished second to Roy Hobbs in the Pro Cup MVP voting.
Dixie Baker's Claxton Diamonds were the only other team in the RU South to have a winning season... they were just an average team that stayed in the race until midseason, but were blitzed away by Waleska in the second half... the Diamonds had good power with LF Foxy Fuchs (.319/34/112/114), 1B Jojo DeLucca (.311/34/108/111) and 2B Gary Colton (.291/22/113/91)... all three of them drove in over 100 runs apiece... but the Diamonds suffered on the hill... Art Reese (17-14/4.05) and Stan Yudesh (12-6/4.04) were the best of a lackluster staff.
Skipper Wesley Pate brought the San Dimas Rancheros in third with just a decent club... top performers at the plate were 3B Leonard Purkey (.304/18/90/69), RF Denny Hendrix (.321/27/74/88), 1B Klaus Stordahl (.300/22/77/99) and Herbie Goetz (.287/6/77/68)... on the mound it was Seth Dawson (15-8/3.85), Carroll Cain (17-16/3.68) and Gil Arnaud (14-13/3.42).
In the fourth spot in the standings were the Belair Beach Sunbirds, managed by Hall-of-Famer Phil Gravelli, one of the greatest sluggers in IPA history... the Sunbirds went deep well and were paced by CF Bobby Meusel (.303/27/85/97), 2B Jackie Jackson (.315/18/68/100), 3B Jason Butler (.308/31/92/81) and RF Larry Cole (.291/24/81/83)... in the pitching department they were led by Calvin Carmichael (18-13/3.84) and Stefan Zeeman (13-12/3.55).
For the first time in seven years the St. John Crusaders dipped into the second division of the RU South, falling to a fifth-place tie with Crystal Lake, trailing Waleska by 24 games... the Crusaders were Pro Cup finalist last season and won two flags in the last four seasons... skipper Clayton Luck's pitchers went into the tank this year... only ace Jeremy Kirk (22-14/2.83) had a good season... in the batter's box only RF Nicky Farrugia (.308/31/113/95), 3B Marty Blankenship (.262/32/96/92) and CF Art Kelley (.288/25/77/82) stood out.
Baby George and his Crystal Lake Crushers won the pennant in 2034, but it's been all downhill since with three successive second-division finishes... pitching has gone into the pits and the bats are not as potent as they once were... top gun Arnie Cason (20-13/3.360 is still solid at age 33, but doesn't have any help... the best run producers are RF Paul Dillon (.329/7/62/94), C Stan Stanek (.290/23/79/76) and 1B Johnny Gentry (.281/22/91/62)... 2B Morten Jonassen (.322/4/47/53) also sparkled with the bat.
Seventh place Valka could score, but didn't have much pitching... manager Kurt Jankauskas' Blackhawks were sparked by 1B Bobby Scott (.345/41/113/119), who had an outstanding season... other contributors were RF Kenny Mitzusaka (.312/15/67/86), 3B Bill Bradford (.285/15/70/64) and LF Gilberto Duarte (.285/16/73/71)... Dave Gronkowski (18-16/4.40) led the starters in wins, while closer Julien Rouse (4-2/0.89/15 saves) was the bullpen ace... Valka has been mired in the second division for the last nine years... the last time the Blackhawks won the pennant was in 2017.
Jug Slavin's Grand City Cybercats have been stuck in the second division the last four years... the last time they made the postseason was in 2030... in his second season at the helm the Cybercats came in last, 28 games out of first... Slavin has some reliable bats in SS Teddy Grantham (.295/31/99/86), 3B Mickey Etheridge (.275/19/68/82), 1B Reed Gremillion (.320/9/57/71), LF Junior Baldini (.276/13/60/83), 2B Mitch Coleman (.298/6/47/67), RF Bull Durham (.285/20/62/58) and CF Thomas Hall (.267/18/67/64), but really needs some pitching... rookie Kenny Morrow (13-10/3.67) was the only pitcher under the 4.00 ERA mark.
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