Monday, September 29, 2064
PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING, 5 IPA PRESEASON PICKS PREVAIL
I suppose the baseball gurus are pretty darn good at picking winners... they nailed 5 of the division champions... looking back I think I only picked 2 of the 8 correctly... Rolling Hills and Oxford... the preseason prognosticators missed out on the Valmara Vipers in the Ruthlandian North, Sligo Rovers in the Ruthlandian West and the Tuckanarra Tiger Cats in the Tycobbian East... those three unlikely division champions were joined by the Claxton Diamonds, Wynnamac Sundowners, Rolling Hills Racers, Oxford Red Caps and San Alejo Montaneros, who, as forecast, captured their respectives league flags.
Valmara trailed Ranford going into the final month of the season... in a last-minute super September surge the Valmara Vipers came from fourth place and 4 and a half games back to edge out the preseason favorite Glasco Foxhounds in the Ruthlandian North by 2 games... the Vipers went 16-8 down the stretch, while Glasco was 13-11... the Bulls slumped to 9-15 and finished third, while last year's champ LaGrange could only manage 10-13 and ended up in fourth place.
In the Ruthlandian South, the Claxton Diamonds sparkled brilliantly and totally dominated the division, winning it by 14 games over the Valka Blackhawks... this was the second successive season the Diamonds reigned supreme in the RU South.
The Wynnamac Sundowners had a very good year in the Ruthlandian East and won it for the third time in the past five seasons... the Macs staved off the rejuvenated Sugar Valley Rattlers by 2 games and whipped the champion for the past two years, the Elnora Clippers, by 8 games.
After three straight second-place finishes in the Ruthlandian West, the Sligo Rovers finally came through and captured their third pennant in six seasons... and they did it in very convincing fashion, winning by 14 games over runner-up Fort Benton... preseason pick, Rocky Rapids, came in a very distant third... defending division champ, Colfax, was a very disappointing fourth... the Black Sox reached the IPA Pro Cup Finals last year and lost to Pro Cup champion Hartsdale.
Over in the Tycobbian Union in the TU North Division preseason favorite Oxford poured it on in the September stretch drive and pulled away from the pack... the Red Caps posted a 16-9 mark and toppled Blue Lake by 6 games, North Hills by 7 and Mahaska by 8... last year Tycobbian North champion was Hartsdale, who flopped this year and came in fifth, 14 games off the pace... the Hellcats won it all last year, taking the IPA Pro Cup trophy.
The Tycobbian South race went as expected... preseason favored San Alejo won it by 7 games over the second-place Summerland Sunsets and the Southport Sun Sox with Cape Coral coming in fourth... the Sunsets won the title in '63 and the Sun Sox in '62.
According to the IPA baseball analysts, the South Fork Stallions, last year's Tycobbian East titlist, were supposed to lose out in a close race to the preseason pick, the High Mesa Mustangs, the Red Bluff Red Sox and the Tuckanarra Tiger Cats... however, the Tucks spoiled the party and came away with the pennant... the Tiger Cats took charge in August and won it handily... the resurgent Midway Wolves closed strongly, but still wound up 6 games back in the second spot in the standings... High Mesa finished third, trailing by 7 games... Ozarka was fourth and 9 games back... and defending champ South Fork was fifth and 11 games behind... Red Bluff was never in the race, spending the whole season near the bottom of the league.
The mighty Rolling Hills Racers put everybody away in the Tycobbian West... heading into the final month the Racers were being heavily pressed and pushed hard by the La Claire Lynx and the Kenwood Wildcats... Rolling Hills took control with a marvelous 18-6 record to defeat La Claire by 4 games and Kenwood by 8 games... the Racers won the last 12 games in the regular season... the Lynx did well with a 15-10 mark, while the Wildcats crumbled with 10-14 down the stretch.
Ruthlandian Union Final Standings