Sunday, November 11, 2074
CRYSTAL LAKE'S DILLON AND OXFORD'S HARTWIG ARE RIDING HIGH TODAY... NAMED IPA SKIPPERS OF THE YEAR
"HIred to be Fired" -- no matter how successful they are -- that is the fate of Islandian Pro Alliance managers... the wise ones quit while they are ahead.
Crystal Lake's Paul Dillon and Oxford's Dennis Hartwig are on top of the heap this season riding a huge wave of success... they are the IPA 2074 Managers of the Year... it was the first time for Dillon... Hartwig also won it in 2060... Dillon is the 2074 Ruthlandian Union Manager of the Year and Hartwig is the 2074 Tycobbian Union Manager of the Year.
Dillon guided his Skippers to a great season, not only winning the Ruthlandian South pennant, but also finishing off the season in the grandest of style -- Crystal Lake is the 2074 Islandian Pro Alliance Pro Cup champion -- nope, it don't get any better than that in the Islands... Dillon really perked up the Skippers this season... a year ago they came in second to the Valka Blackhawks, 10 games behind... Crystal Lake jumped from 85-69 to 97-57 , the second-best mark in the IPA this season... only Oxford was superior at 100-54... a Pro Cup can give a skipper a little bit of security for a little bit more time... Dillon replaced Duncan Welch in 1963... he has put up 9 winning seasons in his 12-year tenure... and yep, Dillon will be back in 2075.
Hartwig was quite successful as the Red Caps skipper, winning 9 pennants in his 23 years with the club... he also captured the Pro Cup in 2061, the second time in the team history... Oxford won it the first time in 2007... Hartwig retired after at the end of the 2074 season at age 72... his last few years ended up below the .500 mark, but his managerial career did end on a happy note... the Red Caps under Hartwig went out with quite a bang... they won 100 games in his last season... Maury Statler, his pitching coach, will replace Hartwig in 2075... Statler starred for Oxford from 2054 to 2067 with a career 219-141 record and a solid 3.39 ERA in his 14 seasons.
Dillon outpolled several other other managers for this year's best manager honor... Billy Chapel led Stoner to a fine rebirth, guiding them to the Ruthlandian West title with an 88-66 mark... the Silver Sox had finished 6th the year before with a 71-83 record, 18 GB champion Volusia... third in the voting was Cold Creek skipper Sammy Wright, who sparked his team from 7th place to 3rd place in the Ruthlandian East race... they were only 64-90 the previous year, 32 GB champion Eastshore... the Raccoons improved to 83-71 this season, 10 games behind pennant-winning Eastshore.
In the Tycobbian Union Hartwig bested two outstanding skippers, Chicopee's Ryan Ledbetter and Summerland's Jayson Hallstrom... Ledbetter was the runner-up... his Braves climbed up from the 3rd spot in the standings to first place, going from 87-67 to 95-59... Hallstrom finished third in the best manager voting... his Sunsets jumped from 6th place and 71-83 to taking the TU South title with an 88-66 mark... Hallstrom also took the Sunsets to the Pro Cup Finals this year where Dillon beat him in an exciting 7-game series... this would have been the Sunsets' first-ever Pro Cup... nope, it sadly didn't happen... yep, that's real life for you, huh?