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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, April 6, 2054
Islandian Pro Alliance Fifth All-Decade Team (2041-2050)
LF: Bobby Gamble (2033-2049)
Heading up the outfielders on the 40's All-Decade Team is Sugar Valley's superb Bobby Gamble, who excelled over 17 seasons, finally retiring in 2049 at age 35... he is the current Rattler manager... Gamble captured 4 Ruthlandian Most Valuable Player Awards ('35, '38, '43, '44)... 5 Golden Bat trophies ('35, '36, '37, '38, '43)... was an 11-time All-Star... and twice a Golden Glover... in his fabulous career Gamble paced Sugar Valley to 6 Ruthlandian East Division titles and a Pro Cup in 2045... in a fabled career he batted .315 with 530 roundtrippers, 1735 RBIs, scored 1864 times and stole 453 bases... in the playoffs Gamble stood out with a .315 BA in 45 games with 13 HRs, 26 RBIs and 33 runs.
Gamble got some stiff competition from Adam Thurgood, North Hills' sensational outfielder in the 30's and 40's (2033-2048)... Thurgood was a prime ingredient in the Hawks' 4 Pro Cups and 11 Tycobbian North Division championships... he was an All-Star on 9 occasions... TU Rookie of the Year in 2033... a Golden Bat winner in 2038... lifetime Thurgood batted .311 with 506 home runs, 1613 RBIs and 1338 runs scored... his postseason numbers were impressive, too, with 154 hits, 30 homers, 79 RBIs, 82 runs and a .294 BA in 123 games... Thurgood called it a career in 2048 at age 37.
A distant third in the 40's All-Decade poll was outfielder Rikki Van Dalen, an elite player for Cape Coral and La Claire (2036-2052)... Van Dalen was a 5-time Tycobbian All-Star... in '42 he was honored with the TU Most Valuable Player Award and the Golden Bat... overall in the IPA Van Dalen hit at a .316 clip with 405 homers, 1380 RBIs, 1547 runs and 236 stolen bases... he did well in limited playoff exposure with a .316 BA, 2 RBIs and 2 runs in 5 games.... Van Dalen retired in '52 at age 36.
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