Friday, November 17, 2062
ROLLING HILLS STAR STONICH WINS 2ND TU MVP
It was a glorious season for the 2062 Tycobbian Union Most Valuable Player, Teddy Stonich, the brilliant third sacker for the IPA Pro Cup champion Rolling Hills Racers... the Racers have captured the overall IPA crown twice in the past three seasons... the six-year star put up massive numbers this season, leading the league in home runs, hits and RBIs and ranking second in runs scored... Stonich batted .345 in 151 games with 219 hits, 34 doubles, 1 triple, 31 home runs, 134 RBIs and 123 runs... he won his second Golden Bat and led the Racers to a third straight Tycobbian West division title... Stonich also was named the Pro Cup MVP this year... Stonich started off his IPA career with a bang... he was the TU Rookie of the Year in 2057... lifetime Stonich is hitting at a .335 clip with 209 homers and has won one batting title in 2059... three times he has made the All-Star squad... this is the second time Stonich has been selected the Tycobbian Most Valuable Player... he also took the honor in 2060.
The runner-up for the TU MVP was a most worthy competitor, Oxford's splendid first baseman Buddy Blackford... since he joined the Red Caps in 2057, the team has won the Tycobbian West 5 out of the previous 6 seasons, the last 3 years in a row... they also copped the IPA Pro Cup in 2061... this year Blackford led the league for the third time in longballs... it was his first time to top the league in runs scored... and he came in second in RBIs... a 6-year veteran at age 26, he posted a .323 BA with 49 homers, 127 RBIs, 127 runs, while participating in 154 games... 4 times Blackford has made the Tycobbian All-Star team and 3 times been award the Golden Glove... he also snagged the Tycobbian MVP trophy and Golden Bat in 2058.
The Islandian Times selected Blackford's Oxford teammate as the third-best votegetter for Tycobbian MVP...Rico Alessi is a 25-year-old right-hander, who has been acclaimed the Tycobbian Golden Arm in two of the past three years... he won the trophy in 2060 and this season... Alessi led the league in victories in those seasons... with him the Red Caps have won pennants in four of his five seasons, the last four in a row... Alessi was also part of the 2061 Pro Cup championship team, going 3-0 in 5 starts with a superb 1.55 ERA... this year he stood out with a 19-7 record, 2.60 ERA in 30 starts, 3 shutouts and 14 complete games... Alessi worked 228 innings and made the All-Star team... overall in he has compiled a 65-23 mark with a fine 2.83 ERA.
Finishing fourth and fifth in the TU MVP voting were two fine hurlers for the up-and-coming High Mesa Mustangs, Weldon Herrington and Robby Numbers... the two workhorses led the club from fourth place to first place in the TU East this season... Herrington is in his sixth IPA season... the 26-year-old right-hander was picked for the All-Star Game and came in second in the Golden Arm poll... he finished 18-7 with a strong 2.27 ERA, second best in the league... also came in second with 265 innings pitched and 6 shutouts... Herrington made 32 starts... lifetime he is 100-58 with an excellent 2.74 ERA... High Mesa has won the TU East title twice in his time with the club.
Numbers blossomed this year in his sixth season... at age 26, the tough portsider made 31 starts with a 19-9 record in 263 innings with a stout 2.29 ERA... tied for the most wins in the Tycobbian Union... wound up third in ERA and Innings Pitched... Numbers fired 4 shutouts, completed 17 games and made 27 quality starts (87.1%)... he also was chosen for the All-Star team and ended up third in the Golden Arm balloting.