Saturday, November 3, 2063
BEST RUTHLANDIAN AND TYCOBBIAN ROOKIES
The pickin's were sparse in the Islandian Pro Alliance for freshmen players... it was really tough for the new blood in the league to gain much of a foothold... however, there was enough new talent to name the 2063 IPA Rookies of the Year... both of the winners were pitchers... the Ruthlandian Union Rookie of the Year Award went to Claxton right-hander Russell Krohn and the Tycobbian Union Rookie of the Year was Billy Lake of the Ozarka Naturals.
24-year-old Russell Krohn was a mainstay hurler in the Claxton rotation that garnered the Ruthlandian South crown... Krohn excelled in his first season in the IPA with a 15-10 record and a 3.15 ERA... in 32 starts he worked 220 innings, struck out 102 batters, walked only 67 and made 21 quality starts.
The Tycobbian top rookie was Billy Lake, age 21... he had the best ERA among the outstanding Ozarka starting five and the 10th best in the league... Lake compiled a 10-6 record with a strong 2.37 ERA and sparked the Naturals to a close second place in the TU East race... the Nats finished only 4 games out of first place, beaten out by the talented South Fork Stallions... in 22 starting assignments Lake worked 199 innings, only allowed 157 hits, fanned 109 batters and walked only 69... opposing batters only hit .218 against him.
Krohn and Lake beat out several very capable rookie performers to get the best newcomer trophies... in the Ruthlandian Rookie of the Year Krohn outpolled second-place finisher Chris Talbert, who played played third base for the Stoner Silver Sox... Talbert, only 20 years old, had a fine freshman year with a .299 BA, 30 doubles, 8 triples, 16 homers, 55 RBIs and 59 runs in 128 games... in addition to his batting prowess, Talbert played a solid third base, too.
Coming in third in the RU Rookie of the Year balloting was Alex Wilcox of the Ranford Bulls... Wilcox was one of the few highlights to an otherwise poor season... the Bulls came in seventh in the Ruthlandian North, but Wilcox stood out as their best starter... he wound up 12-11, but his 2.78 ERA was by far the best on the staff... Wilcox made 28 starts, tossed 184 innings, only gave up 154 hits, walked 44 batters and struck out 104... he held hitters to a weak .227 BA... Wilcox made 22 quality starts.
The number two votegetter in the TU Rookie of the Year poll was Lucien McElhinney of the Turon Typhoons... in his initial IPA season he posted a superlative 15-4 mark with a 3.26 ERA... teams only hit .234 against him... McElhinney only permitted 157 hits in his 176 innings... Turon came in third in the TU South race, beaten out by Summerland and Southport.
Last, but certainly not least, was Hartsdale's fine rookie second sacker Maury Donatello, who ended up third in the TU Rookie of the Year voting... Donatello sported a .319 BA in 119 games with 23 doubles, 3 triples, 9 home runs, 69 RBIs and 63 runs... Donatello also played very good defense... he played an important part of the Hellcats success this season... Hartsdale won the division crown in the Tycobbian North Division.