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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, October 15, 2052
CASTLE AND WAGNER BEST IPA ROOKS
2052 was a very, very good year for rookies in the Islandian Pro Alliance... there was an abundance of talented freshmen around the league... the best of them was Phil Castle, a super talented twirler for the Taranto Tars, and hard-hitting Oxford outfielder, Dwayne Wagner... Castle was selected the 2052 Ruthlandian Union Rookie of the Year and Wagner was named the 2052 Tycobbian Union Rookie of the Year.
It was a tremendous year for Castle... not only did he receive the rookie trophy, he was also voted the Golden Arm Award for being the pitcher of the year... in his first year in the IPA Castle, a 23-year-old southpaw, posted a sensational 23-3 mark and led the IPA with a 1.83 ERA... he was a near-unanimous victor in the best rookie poll... due to his efforts Taranto won its first pennant in nearly 50 years.
Runner-up in the best rookie race was Elnora's switch-hitting outfielder, Robb Norwood, who won the batting title with a lofty .367 average... in 115 games, he hit 37 doubles, 4 triples, 12 homers, drove in 71 runs and scored 97... Norwood was an important part of the All-Stars 3rd place finish in the RU East Division... Far Mountain center fielder Ox Gless put up some fine stats, too... in 143 games Gless batted .301, had 30 doubles, 5 triples, 23 roundtrippers, 97 RBIs and scored 99 runs... despite his hitting heroics, the Redhawks wound up 6th in the RU North standings.
The race for the best rookie was tighter in the Tycobbian Union... taking the TU Rookie of the Year honor was Oxford's Dwayne Wagner... he edged out Arlon's shortstop Art Catlin and Turon's third baseman Joel Guidry... Wagner was one of the main ingredients in the Red Caps' first pennant since 2007... the young center fielder played in 147 games, hit .287 with 28 homers, 125 ribbies and scored 101 runs... Catlin participated in 141 contests, compiled a .302 BA with 27 HRs, 110 RBIs and scored 94 runs... however, his Champions fell a game short of winning the Tycobbian West Division... Guidry was instrumental in Turon taking its first flag in over a decade... he batted .295 in 142 games with 26 homers, 91 RBIs and tallied 101 runs.
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