Thursday, October 28, 2066
IPA GOLDEN ARMS AGAIN GO TO SOUTHPORT'S LITTRELL AND CLAXTON'S MEISNER
Winning Golden Arms is nothing new to the 2066 IPA Golden Arm recipients in the Islandian Pro Alliance... Southport's Roman Littrell just won it for the third straight season and Claxton's Mark Meisner bagged it for the second consecutive year... Littrell was honored as the Tycobbian Union Golden Arm and Meisner got the Ruthlandian Union Golden Arm trophy.
3 GOLDEN ARMS IN A ROW FOR LITTRELL OF THE SUN SOX
"Hey, I got plenty of room in my trophy case... if they keep giving them to me, I will be more than glad to store them at my house."... that was Roman Littrell's comments to the press yesterday when he heard the news.
Littrell has really gone to another level the last three seasons, getting a little bit better each year and has been rewarded each time as the best pitcher in the Tycobbian Union... 2066 was his best-season ever with a 19-3 record and a 2.04 ERA in 33 starts for the Southport Sun Sox... Littrell posted the most victories in the TU, tied for the most shutouts with 3, was first with a .206 opponents BA, second with 153 strikeouts and a 2.04 ERA... the 27-year-old right-hander came in fifth in innings pitched with 229... Littrell led the Sun Sox to their second straight TU South pennant and their second successive Pro Cup title... a 7-year veteran Littrell has chalked up a 108-54 record and posted a standout 2.58 ERA.
Littrell won out in a close vote with Red Bluff's Dontrelle Gilbreath, who led the Tycobbian Union with a sparkling 1.88 ERA... this was the second year in a row that the 32-year-old righty has topped the league in ERA... Gilbreath was 14-7 in 29 starts and paced the Red Sox to the TU East title this season... the last division crown came 9 years ago.
San Alejo's Jimmy Doak was the number-three votegetter for the Tycobbian Golden Arm Award... the 26-year right-hander finished fourth with an impressive 2.23 ERA... record-wise Doak was 16-7... he wound up second in innings pitched with 234 in 32 starting assignments... Doak played a key role in the Montaneros winding up a close second to Southport in the RU South... the Sun Sox came in 3 games ahead of the Monties in the pennant chase.
DIAMONDS' MEISNER SNARES BACK-TO-BACK RUTHLANDIAN GOLDEN ARMS
"You never get tired of winning Pro Cups, pennants and Golden Arms."
So said the 2066 Ruthlandian Union Golden Arm winner, Mark Meisner of the Claxton Diamonds... "2 out of 3 ain't bad... I'll take it, but it sure would have been nice to have gotten another Pro Cup trophy, too."
Meisner was one of the important elements in Claxton winning its fourth consecutive Ruthlandian South flag... the 30-year-old southpaw stood out with a brilliant 21-2 mark this season, working 208 innings in 32 starts with a 2.42 ERA.
For his first 6 seasons Meisner excelled in the Claxton bullpen with an 18-14 mark and 145 saves with an exceptional 1.96 ERA, but in 2063 he moved into the starting rotation and has continue to flourish... overall he is 88-41with a 2.28 ERA in his 10-year career... Meisner helped the Diamonds capture their only Pro Cup trophy in 2064 when they upset powerhouse Rolling Hills.
33-year-old Lonny Rinehart of the Volusia Vigilantes was the runner-up to Meisner in the RU Golden Arm poll... this year he topped the IPA with 22 wins and sparked the V's to a second-place finish to the Sligo Rovers in the Ruthlandian West Division... Rinehart was 22-5 with a solid 2.75 ERA (6th) in 32 starts and 239 innings (2nd)... he tied for the league lead with 3 shutouts... Rinehart hold the IPA record for most victories in a season... he was a remarkable 31-6 in 2058 with an outstanding 1.96 ERA... Rinehart won the iconic Golden Arm Award that same season.
Claxton had another standout hurler this season... Russell Krohn was almost as good as teammate Mark Meisner with a 21-3 record and a 2.41 ERA... Krohn wound up in third place in the RU Golden Bat balloting... not only is Krohn a top-notch pitcher, he also is a two-way player... in 4 seasons Krohn is batting .289 with 18 homers and 29 runs batted in... he plays about 25 games per year at second base and has shown some good power in his bat and is decent with the glove... Krohn comes in handy as a pinchhitter, too.