|
THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 16, 2047
RED SOX WIN 4TH STRAIGHT TU EAST
For the fourth year in a row the Red Bluff Red Sox (95-59) hoisted the Tycobbian East pennant over Red Bluff Park. Most of the time they have won it in easy fashion, but not this season. The tough Tuckanarra Blue Jays (92-62) stayed in the race until the final 10 days of the regular season before losing out by three games. High Mesa (86-68) was third in the race, nine games behind. The South Fork Stallions (77-77) finished 18 games back in fourth place. Red Bluff had the third highest win total in the IPA, topped only by Far Mountain with 101 victories and Marston with 96, both in the Ruthlandian Union.
The Red Sox coupled fine pitching with super firepower to stave off the Tucks... they led the Tycobbian Union with a 3.07 team ERA (1st), 250 homers (1st) and ranked fifth in runs with 753... the Red Sox lost a seven-game series in the Tycobbian LCS last year to Pro Cup champion Hartsdale... Red Bluff will be among the favorites this year with three strong starters: Jud Cox (22-8/1.76), George Reynolds (20-12/3.08) and Mickey Rosen (19-14/3.10)... in the bullpen Sonny Wheat had 17 saves and an impressive 2.36 ERA, but posted a poor 4-9 record... Cox had the third best ERA in the IPA behind Eastshore's Jody Friday (15-3/1.56) and San Alejo's Matt Bell (22-6/1.71)... in addition the Red Sox boast a plethora of power hitters like superstar All-Star David Kelso (.302/50/109/96), who was fourth in the IPA with 50 homers... only High Mesa's Johnny Tallis (68), Bayview's Jerry Culpepper (60) and Denton City's Wayman Stetson (54) hit more... the other Red Sox sluggers included 3B Fran Blanchard (.262/43/108/94), 1B Josh Stevens (.268/38/83/89), CF Ike Sweetwater (.298/26/80/75) , SS Leemon O'Donovan (.283/19/56/72) and LF Jesse Shaw (.279/18/58/61).
Second place Tuckanarra didn't have the power of Red Bluff with only 125 homers (26th), but they did score well (757 runs-4th) and hit well (.272 BA-2nd)... they were solid as a rock on the mound with a 3.25 team ERA (6th)... the starting four were good with Ozzie Leslie (21-10/2.90), Yarran Nawajuk (20-14/3.44), Dickie Pittman (14-12/3.07) and 35-year-old rookie Gary Oliver (11-6/3.24/2 saves)... the bullpen standout was Jack Rogers (13-4/2.26/19 saves)... Rogers tied for fourth in the IPA in saves... All-Star 1B Rodger Parsons had a terrific year with a .347 BA, 34 doubles, 22 HRs, 110 RBIs, 101 runs and 114 walks... only three batters in the IPA posted a better batting average: Kenwood's Country Crowder (.389), Cape Coral's Stan Ferguson (.374) and Middlefield's Johnny McDonald (.351)... Rodgers was the prime offensive threat and led the club in almost everything... he had some help from 3B Niles Tasby (.302/16/72/59), LF Jimmy Markovich (.266/15/56/99) and RF Frank Mason (.278/11/49/77).
The High Mesa Cowboys started slowly at 10-18 and fell 10 games back in April... after the poor start they did well, but just couldn't make up that big of a deficit, ending up nine games off the pace in third place... the Cowpokes feature very good pitching with a 3.08 ERA... they don't hit well with a .238 BA (30th), but do pack some punch with 203 HRs (5th)... Lucius Quarles (22-9/2.08) and rookie Lloyd Armstrong (18-12) are top-notch starters... Tee Bo Templet (10-5/3.36/2 saves) was also a quality starter and reliever... closer William Morris (6-5/2.47/15 saves) did a fine job, too... super slugger 1B Johnny Tallis had a year he will never forget... the late-blossoming 34-year-old Tallis (.275 BA) established new IPA records with 68 homers and 178 RBIs... the old record holders were Jerry Culpepper with 66 HRs for Bayview in 2040 and Adam Zitek with 170 RBIs in 2005 for High Mesa... SS Clifford Coleman (.237/38/101/70) and 2B Randy Sweetland (.294/8/59/96) were the only other productive bats.
The South Fork Stallions broke even for the season at 77-77... just an average ball club... Jay Murphy (19-10/2.58), Chris Sorensen (19-17/3.55) and Jonas Clay (16-15/3.73) led the staff... the top performers at the plate were rookie sensation CF Jack Boswell (.321/32/85/89), SS Pete Arnold (.303/10/69/97), 1B Paul Sexson (.276/25/64/69) and RF Rick Carlton (.254/18/83/58).
The fifth place Hillsboro Blazers had decent pitching, but no offense... Jamie Lee Bradley (17-12/2.84) and Steve Cooper (17-18/2.94) were strong starters, but suffered from no run support... Robby Lee Stillwell (18-18/4.12) also gave the Blazers some quality starts... LF Jurrien Bellini was the offenseive leader... he hit 49 homers, drove in 92 runs and scored 112, but batted only .241... C Harry McGuire pitched in with a .279 BA, 16 homers and 88 RBIs... and 1B Ernie Moxley slammed 25 out of the park, batted in 75 runs, but hit only .234 for average.
The Midway Wolves were sixth in the standings... the team's best performers were Charlie Chase (23-12/3.09) on the hill... and at the plate LF Justin Morrison (.340/20/89/88), CF Hector Pena (.291/14/67/106), 1B Jerry Kennison (.257/13/88/62), 2B Rusty Wilson (.293/6/64/82) and RF Alfie Kincade (.252/21/74/72).
For the seventh consecutive year the East Point Panthers were mired deep in the second division of the TU East... the Panthers wound up seventh... they don't have much to brag or boast about except for closer Kenneth Lawson (10-3/2.28/5 saves), who had a fine season... Barney Bennett (14-18/4.75) had the most wins in the staff, but the most effective was Ralph Wallace (13-17/3.21)... not much in the way of bats... 1B Jack Gorham (.273/31/71/56) had the most homers with 31... 2B Kelly Walsh (.273/19/69/89) scored the most runs with 89... LF Thomas Woodson (.236/22/74/49) led with 74 RBIs... LF Augie Elizondo (.271/24/60/62) added 25 home runs and C Kenny Bailey (.274/15/46/53) topped the team with a .274 BA.
The last place team was the Ozarka Naturals... Billy Hill (12-17/4.07) and Jerald Kidman (12-20/4.09) tied for the most victories on the staff with 12... however the best pitchers were relievers Gene White (3-2/2.50/12 saves) and Jim Greene (8-7/2.74/12 saves)... SS William Clark (.285/3/44/75) had the most hits with 175, the best BA among the regulars at .285 and scored the most runs with 75... 3B Artie Clayton (.252/36/88/73) had the most homers with 36 and most RBIs with 88... parttimer 2B Jimmy Woods (.319/11/50/35) was the most consistent hitter on the squad with a .319 BA.
2047 TYCOBBIAN EAST FINAL STANDINGS
|