Saturday, October 29, 2067
ZAHARIAS AND BELLINI ARE SKIPPERS OF THE YEAR IN THE ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE
The Beechwood Jackrabbits raise a lot of eyebrows last year when they hired a female college softball coach as GM and manager, but it has really paid off for them... for turning around the Jackrabbits Didi Zaharias has been named the 2067 Ruthlandian Union Manager of the Year... over in the Tycobbian Union they went the traditional way and picked one of the good old boys, Jurrien Bellini, who performed miracles for the Hillsboro Blazers this season.
A super successful stint at Ruthlandian State University won her the Beechwood job in the Islandian Pro Alliance... it only took Zaharias two short years to turn the long-suffering team around... the Jacks were 70-84 in 2066, her first season, ending up in 7th place 14 GB... this year Beechwood improved to 86-68, winding up in second place, just 4 games behind the pennant-winning Marston Nine in the RU East.
Zaharias just barely beat out Far Mountain's skipper Benjy Donahue for the best manager honor... Donahue had an excellent season, too... his Redhawks went from 7th place and 19 GB with a 69-85 mark to an 88-67 record and the RU North pennant... Donahue has skippered the team for 10 seasons... no other Ruthlandian managers received any votes in the poll.
The competition was just as spirited in the Tycobbian Union with three contenders... the 2067 TU Manager of the Year was Jurien Bellini... he bested Alain Cheval of La Claire and Marty Blake of White River... Bellini, a former star slugger for the Blazers, jumped the Hillsboro Blazers from 7th place to 1st place in the TU East, upping the team record from 73-81 to 88-66... Bellini was appointed manager in 2062.
Cheval had the best improvement in the IPA when he took his La Claire Lynx (59-95) from 7th place and 52 GB in the TU West to a second-place finish (87-67), 13 games behind the Rolling Hills Racers... Cheval was a utility infielder for 13 years with a .245 BA and 42 homers for Cold Creek and La Claire... Cheval has been at the helm of the Lynx for 7 seasons.
Third in the top skipper poll was Marty Blake... he saw his Rascals jump from 76-78 to 91-63... from 4th place and 11 GB to the TU North title... Blake is an IPA HOF player with 711 homers (6th), 2125 RBIs (4th) and a .312 BA in his 23 years... he has been skipper for 2 years.