Thursday, November 3, 2061
5 GREATS ACCLAIMED TO IPA HALL OF FAME
Four of the five stars named to the Islandian Pro Alliance Hall of Fame are recent retirees, however, one of them had to wait almost four decades to be elected to the legendary group... Emile Stosha retired in 2024 after a 22-year career... thankfully, Stosha is still alive and kicking and can enjoy the long-deserved honor.
Stosha told reporters at his press conference in Cold Creek, "The dream of the IPA Hall of Fame is one of the reasons I've lived this long."
Four other superstars got the IPA Hall of Fame call... joining Stosha at the induction ceremonies at next year's All-Star Game in Oxford will be Joe Cochrane, Sammy Hayes, C. C. Kingsford and Primo Sirak.
Emile Stosha stood out for the Cold Creek Catamounts, finishing up with a .295 BA, 2911 hits, 340 homers, 1497 RBI and 1780 runs in 2902 games... he also stole 577 bases and had a career .401 OBP... Stosha was a four-time All-Star outfielder... Stosha scored 100 or more runs 10 times in his fine career... sadly he stood out for a team that performed in lackluster fashion most of the years he was with them... Cold Creek was a contending club in his early seasons, but they were second-rate the rest of his years... Stosha was 44 when he retired in 2024... his rookie season was 2003.
Joe Cochrane also played for Cold Creek... his first season was 2041... he started off with the Catamounts, but ended up with the new brand, the Raccoons... Cochrane is a rare breed -- a playing manager -- he took over at Cold Creek in 2057 and is still a fixture at third base at age 39 with a .283 BA, 17 HR and 70 RBIs in 122 games... Cochrane was an All-Star and Gold Glove winner as recent as 2056... lifetime he sports a .303 batting average... Cochrane began his career in 2041... his ledger sheet shows 2995 hits in 2520 games with 476 doubles, 325 home runs, 1414 RBIs and 1506 runs scored... 9 times he made the All-Star team.
"Like father, like son"... Turon's gifted second sacker, C. C. Kingsford, joins his father, Clyde Kingsford, in the IPA Hall of Fame... his dad was in the HOF Class of 2029... C. C. starred for the Typhoons from 2034 to 2051, making the All-Star squad 8 times... in his 18 seasons Kingsford played in 2451 games with a .308 lifetime batting average... among his 3135 hits were 398 doubles, 55 triples and 432 home runs... he also scored 1480 runs and drove in 1577... Kingsford retired from baseball at the age of 38 in 2052...he has been the Turon skipper since 2051 and has won five pennants so far.
The elder Kingsford only played for 14 years, but put up some tremendous numbers from 2012 to 2025... he made the All-Stars 7 times and was voted the 2015 Tycobbian Most Valuable Player... Clyde Kingsford had a lifetime .319 BA with 2048 hits, 485 homers and 1523 runs batted in... the Typhoons captured 6 pennants and one Pro Cup (2013) during his career.
That takes care of the position players... two topnotch twirlers also were selected to the IPA Hall of Fame... Sammy Hayes of the Wynnamac Sundowners and Primo Sirak of the Valmara Vipers.
Hayes retired at 39 after 18 seasons with Wynnamac (2042-2059)... during his tenure the Macs won 8 pennants and one Pro Cup (2055)... in his illustrious career the super southpaw amassed 323 victories... overall Hayes was 323-244, posting 20 wins a total of 8 times... he fanned 3263 batters in 661 starts and 5147 innings and compiled a fine .2.95 ERA.
The fifth newcomer to the hallowed halls of the IPA is Primo Sirak, a little 5-foot-9 lefty, who stood mighty tall on the mound for the Valmara Vipers from 2042 to 2058... he had a splendid 272-147 record with an exceptional 2.80 career ERA... nine times he sparked the Vipers to pennants... they also won 3 Pro Cups (2043, 2049, 2050)... Sirak was even better in the postseason with a brilliant 13-6 mark and a spectacular 2.32 ERA in 23 starts... he was 38 when he called it a career.