Third Baseman: Teddy Stonich (Rolling Hills) (2057-2069)
One of the all-time greats in the IPA... 9-time TU All-Star, 3-time TU Most Valuable Player (2059, 2060, 2068), 3-time TU Golden Bat (2060, 2062, 2064), 2057 TU Rookie of the Year... 13 years in a row he has driven in over 100 runs... lifetime .328 BA, 411 HRs, 1624 RBIs and 1406 runs... Stonich has been amazing in the playoffs with a .322 mark in 156 games, 200 hits, 45 doubles, 4 triples, 28 homers, 110 RBIs and 112 runs scored... his Racers have won 4 Pro Cups (2060, 2062, 2067, 2069) and lost twice in the Pro Cup Finals (2064, 2068)... Rolling Hills has won the last 10 Tycobbian West Division titles.
There was another really fine third baseman in the Islandian Pro Alliance in the last decade... his name is Kagetoki Miyazaki of the High Mesa Mustangs (2052-2069)... in fact, Miyazaki was honored as the top third sacker for the IPA 6th All-Decade Team and came in second to Stonich on the IPA 7th All-Decade Team... he ranks 7th all-time with 717 home runs... 1770 RBIs... career .274 BA... 6-time TU All-Star... 4-time Gold Glove (.953 FA)... retired this season at age 36... inducted into the IPA Hall of Fame.
Shortstop: Jameson Mulbert (Rolling Hills) (2054-2069)
Mulbert is still a standout player at age 38, now in his 17th season... he is a strong defender with 2 Golden Gloves (.975 FA)... 8-time TU All-Star... strong contact hitter with a career .315 BA... 1456 runs scored, 979 RBIs, 155 SBs, 1145 BBs (.398 OBP)... led the Racers to 10 postseason appearances in a row... 4 Pro Cups (2060, 2062, 2067, 2069) and 2 Pro Cup Finals (2064, 2068)... stood out in the playoffs with a .321 BA in 156 games with 201 hits, 34 doubles, 4 triples, 4 homers, 64 RBIs and 90 runs scored.
Mulbert's only competition came from Vince McCloud of Denton City (2049-2067) and Walt Ivy of Hartsdale (2057-2069)... but McCloud only played 6 years in the decade... McCloud had much better power than Mulbert with 383 HRs... but he was not as strong with the glove (.943 FA) and never won a Golden Glove... McCloud only batted .230 in 2 postseasons, but he did hit a solid .297 in the regular season with 1527 RBIs, 1779 runs, 1380 BBs (.374 OBP) and 163 SBs.
Walt Ivy had a very good decade... he has a lifetime .293 BA with 190 homers, 982 RBIs, 1246 runs and 394 SBs... he is a 3-time TU All-Star and a good glove man with a .957 FA... Ivy stood out in 3 playoffs with a .311 BA in 28 games, 6 homers, 16 RBIs, 14 runs and 17 walks (.397 OBP)... Ivy sparked the Hellcats to the 2063 IPA Pro Cup title... they also made playoffs in 2065, but lost to IPA Pro Cup champion Southport in 5 games in round one.
Left Fielder: Showboat Lynn (Oxford) (2058-2069)
Lynn is still going strong at age 33... hit .292 this past season with 54 homers and 135 RBIs, scored 110 times and stole 8 bases... strong arm and plays like a Gold Glove in the outfield... in fact, it may be his defense that got him this spot on the All-Decade Team... Lynn is a 5-time TU All-Star... 1-time Gold Glove Award... won TU Golden Bat in 2059... career .293 BA, 466 HRs, 1287 RBIs, 1257 runs and 146 SBs... has good postseason numbers: .288 BA in 54 games, 5 HRs, 21 RBIs, 32 runs, 5 SBs... led his Oxford Red Caps to 6 pennants and the 2061 IPA Pro Cup crown, a triumph in 6 games over Volusia... Oxford had to whip Rolling Hills in the TU Finals in 7 games to get there... Lynn and first baseman Buddy Blackford carried the Red Caps for the last 10 years or so... they would have been a dynasty team like Rolling Hills if they had had more support from the other players... Lynn and Bradford has to do it all themselves.
Lynn got some steep competition from Rolling Hills' Jean-Luc Roubique (2055-2069), Elnora's Donald Ray Mooney (2052-2069) and Belle Plaine's Eliot Marcum (2058-2069)... Lynn's good all-round play made the difference... Roubique is a 3-time TU All-Star with a .302 lifetime BA, 343 HRs, 1427 RBIs, 1325 runs and 80 SBs... feasted on playoff pitching with a .287 BA in 156 games with 18 HRs, 95 RBIs and 88 runs... still can do the job at age 34, but is on the decline... Roubique has been a vital part of the Rolling Hills 10 straight pennants and 4 Pro Cup trophies (2060, 2062, 2067, 2069) and 2 Pro Cup Finals (2064, 2068).
Mooney retired this year at age 36 and still performed well last year with a .268 BA, 26 HRs and 76 RBIs... 6-time RU All-Star... RU Most Valuable Player in 2062... 1-time Gold Glover... retired with a career .305 BA, 427 HRs, 1632 RBIs and 1470 runs scored... in the playoffs Mooney batted .262 in 22 games with 3 HRs, 13 RBIs and 10 runs... Elnora made the postseason playoffs 3 times during his years with the club.
Poor Eliot Marcum has labored in anonymity for the perennial loser Belle Plaine, but he has nabbed the Ruthlandian Union Most Valuable Player Award one time (2063)... Marcum has never made the playoffs, but is a 3-time RU All-Star... he retired this season at age 33... batted a lifetime low of .256 last year, but hit 32 out of the park and drove in 104 runs... in Marcum's career he hit .299 with 396 HRs and 1204 RBIs.
Center Fielder: Hugo Sutton (Rolling Hills) (2062-2069)
Sutton has had a fabled career with the Racers... 8 pennants in 8 years... Pro Cup Trophies in 2062, 2067 and 2069... also lost in the Pro Cup Finals twice, in 2064 and 2068... 6-time TU All-Star... 2 TU Most Valuable Player Award (2063, 2069)... 2 TU Golden Bats (2063, 2065)... overall in his career the 29-year-old Sutton possesses a .325 BA, averaging over 200 hits a year, 120 RBIs, 124 runs scored and 20 stolen bases... he has totaled 207 HRs, 874 RBIs, scored 898 runs and stolen 152 bases in his 8 seasons... in the IPA playoffs Sutton is batting .321 in 126 games with 24 HRs, 84 RBIs and 85 runs.
Sutton did have 3 talented challengers in the All-Decade poll: Steve Schueler of Blue Lake (2057-2069), Alfie Elbourne of Belair Beach (2058-2069) and Marcus Dillaway of Ancona (2061-2069).
So far Schueler is a 1-time TU All-Star, 1-time Golden Glove for the Blue Caps... career .317 BA with 53 HRs, 788 RBIs, 1251 runs and 304 stolen bases... only made the postseason playoffs once... in the playoffs this season Schueler batted .278 with 2 RBIs and 3 runs scored in 5 games... Blue Lake had to play strong Southport in the first round and lost in 5 games... Schueler is just 29 and in his prime.
Thus far at age 31, Elbourne has made the TU All-Stars 3 times and has snagged 1 Golden Glove (.980 FA)... solid, good all-round player with a .300 lifetime BA, 247 HRs, 1029 RBIs, 1096 runs and 310 SBs... but his Sunbirds have never made the IPA playoffs.
Dillaway a good, all-round performer for the Ancona Jumbos... at 28 he is in his prime and can do it all... run, throw, hit with power and play defense... Dillaway is a .291 career hitter with 233 HRs, 717 RBIs, 780 runs and 111 stolen bases... he was the RU Rookie of the Year in 2062... twice a RU All-Star... can go get 'em in the outfield (.983 FA) and handle the bat... but Dillaway has never won a pennant and played in the playoffs.
Right Fielder: Snooky Bartels (Wynnamac) (2055-2069)
Bartels must be good... he had to be to garner the right field spot on the IPA 7th All-Decade Team... he beat out 4 outstanding superstud players... the Sundowner superstar is a 9-time RU All-Star, 2-time Golden Bat (2061, 2068)... a lifetime .346 BA, 339 HRs, 1351 RBIs, 1320 runs... the Macs have won 7 pennants with Bartels... he is hitting .328 in the playoffs with 9 HRs, 30 RBIs and 32 runs in 53 games.
All the other right fielders are standouts, too... South Fork's Bob Purkey (2055-2069), Rolling Hills' Jimmy Brandini (2060-2069), Colfax's Lanny Waldrep (2057-2069) and Kenwood's Gabriel Macedo (2057-2069)... Purkey retired as the end of last season with a .315 career BA, 413 HRs, 1351 RBIs, 1297 runs and 96 SBs... 3 times he paced the Stallions to the pennant and the postseason, batting .306 in 26 games with 3 HRs, 14 RBIs and 16 runs... at 36 Purkey hit .307 his final year with 14 HRs and 68 RBIs... he was a 6-time TU All-Star.
At age 35 and after 10 seasons in the IPA, Brandini decided to call it a career after last season... for the last decade Brandini has been one of the cogs in the huge success of the Rolling Hills Racers... he has helped them win 10 pennants in a row in the TU West Division, plus 4 Pro Cups (2060, 2062, 2067, 2069)... twice in 2064 and 2068 the Racers also made the Pro Cup Finals, but were defeated in hotly-contested series... Brandini was a 3-time TU All-Star, a solid defender (.983 FA) and a solid bat... in his career he posted a .322 BA with 107 homers, 705 RBIs, 960 runs scored and stole 231 bases... he was a prime-time leadoff man... in the playoffs Brandini batted .302 in 148 games with 79 runs scored, 59 ribbies, 22 stolen bases, 26 doubles, 9 triples and 4 homers.
At 31, Lanny Waldrep is still doing damage in the IPA for the Colfax Black Sox... he is a 6-time RU All-Star, 4-time Gold Glove, 2-time RU Golden Bat (2059, 2066), RU Most Valuable Player in 2066... Waldrep is a career .314 hitter with 386 homers, 1273 RBIs, 1254 runs and 1310 BBs... he has an extraordinary .425 OBP... twice he has led the Black Sox to the Pro Cup Finals in 2063 and 2065, but they were beaten out by the Hartsdale Hellcats in 6 games and the Southport Sun Sox in 5 games... Waldrep did well with a .273 BA, 7 HRs, 24 RBIs and 18 runs in 35 games.
Last, but certainly not least in the right fielder poll, is Gabriel Macedo of the Kenwood Wildcats... at age 36 he is still wreaking havoc in IPA circles with his bat... 66 homers and 166 RBIs in 2067... 55 roundtrippers and 139 RBIs in 2068... and 56 HRs and 153 RBIs in 2069... Macedo said he will try it one more year and then probably retire... "I'm slow in the field, but I can still help the club by driving in runs... I'm still pretty darn good at that."... Macedo is a 3-time TU All-Star, TU Golden Bat winner in 2067 and 2068 and the TU Most Valuable Player Award winner in 2067... since he plays in the same TU West Division as Rolling Hills, Macedo has never made the postseason playoffs, but he has made the Racers sweat out the pennant on several occasions and worn out the Racers pitchers for the last 13 seasons.