Attachment 928085
Monday, September 27, 2077
HARTSDALE IS SURPRISE WINNER... SEPTEMBER LEADERS KILKENNY, VALKA, ELNORA, FORT BENTON, SOUTH FORK, TURON AND LA CLAIRE SURVIVE SEPTEMBER... OXFORD FALLS
7 Division leaders survived September and copped the division crowns, but the Oxford Red Caps fell to the fast-closing Hartsdale Hellcats in a late-season swoon... Kilkenny, Valka, Elnora and Fort Benton will represent the Ruthlandian Union in the postseason playoffs, while it will be La Claire, Turon, South Fork and the red-hot Hellcats for the Tycobbian Union... on first look, the prime choices for Pro Cup champion this year seems to be the Turon Typhoons (97-57) and the Kilkenny Cats (93-61)... they were the only teams to win 90 or more games... parity is rampant in the IPA.
Perusing the playoff history of the other IPA postseason participants... potent Turon is far in front with 26 appearances... Hartsdale a distant second with 14... Elnora 12 times... South Fork has made it 10 times... Valka 9 and La Claire only on 5 occasions... tt was a great story and season for the lowly Kilkenny Cats in the Ruthlandian North... the Cats are going to the postseason for the first time since 2042 -- 36 longsuffering seasons -- this will be only the second trip for them to the IPA playoffs... yep, Kilkenny is the darling of the IPA, along with perennial also-ran in the RU West, the Fort Benton Defenders... it's been a wonderful year for them, too... they haven't made the playoffs since 2057... it will be just their second postseason appearance... and the Elnora Clippers might be a sentimental favorite, too... the last pennant came in 2064... however, the Clippers have been to the IPA playoffs 12 times in their history and they have won a Pro Cup, back in 2033.
Here's how the teams stand as far as Pro Cups... Turon is tops there, too, with 5 trophies, South Fork has 3, Hartsdale 2 and Elnora 1... that's it... the other 4 clubs have never won a Pro Cup.
Let's do a quick recap of the 2077 season... scoring was down... homers dropped off, too... probably caused by better pitching... 37 teams played .500 or better... Valka won its third straight RU South flag... Turon nabbed its 6th in the last 8 years... and South Fork took it 2nd pennant over the last 5 seasons... Valka was the only repeat winner this year in the Islandian Pro Alliance.
AROUND THE IPA AT A GLANCE
Ruthlandian North Division
WHEW!... KILKENNY FINALLY MADE IT AGAIN AFTER 36 LONG, LONG SEASONS
For the first time since 2042 won the RU North and is headed for the IPA playoffs!
Kilkenny started slowly and trailed Glasco in April, but caught them by May and won going away... they led by 13 games in August... first place
Kilkenny (93-61) dominated the Ruthlandian North with its strong pitching, the best in the IPA with a 3.04 ERA... top players were pitchers All-Star Jethro Firestone (20-10/2.37), All-Star Mervin Breckenridge (17-10/2.82 ERA) and Dante Steelman (16-11/3.37 ERA)... not a lot of offense, but it was adequate... the Cats hit with good home-run power (139 HR)... best bats were LF Errol Paxton (.271 BA/27 HR/91 RBI), RF Claude Millican (.262/20 HR/78 RBI) and 3B Wayne Winston (.267 BA/16 HR/78 RBI)... the Cats have an excellent bullpen led by Jeff Kennon (13-16/2.58 ERA/55 games/8 saves) and Linus Wright (12-3/3.08 ERA/55 games/13 saves)... Kilkenny plays defense very well with a .980 FA, tops in the Ruthlandian Union... the Cats should be a strong contender for the IPA Pro Cup Trophy... only two pennants in its history... no Pro Cups.
The runner-up
Ranford Bulls (84-70) could score runs, but lacked the pitching of Kilkenny... the Bulls were 9 games behind the Cats... standouts at the plate were All-Star 1B Christopher Jung (.326 BA/30 HR/108 RBI), 3B Gerry Brian (.285 BA/22 HR/97 RBI) and RF Tommy Clements (.285 BA/23 HR/81 RBI)... Ranford had two solid starters in All-Star Dayton Stansbury and Eric Connor ... the relief corps did not do their job as well as Kilkenny... a bad July cost Ranford the pennant... they were only 7-18 that month... the Cats were 18-7... Ranford has won 9 pennants and 1 Pro Cup (2040)
The
Valmara Vipers (83-71) were the preseason pick in the RU North, but they finished third in the standings, 10 GB... the Vips could hit and score, but only had average pitching (4.07 ERA)... they played steady ball the entire season, but were out of the race at midyear... Valmara top player is All-Star SS Ozzie Santiago (.317 BA/8 HR/81 RBI/87 R/10 SB), along with 1B Stefan Szymanski (.287 BA/13 HR/57 RBI/52 R/26 SB)... the Vipers have a couple of reliable starters in veterans Jaromir Kaminski (18-14/4.06 ERA) and Milosz Mazur (19-12/3.62 ERA)... Valmara has won 30 pennants and 4 Pro Cups (2026, 2043, 2049, 2050).
Last year's pennant winner
Glasco (81-73) slidded to fourth place this season, 12 games off the pace... the Foxhounds ran a good race early, but went into the doldums in May and June (19-35) and faded out of sight... they hit well, but lack pitching... the main runs producers are 3B Benny Hazzard (.274 BA/25 HR/109 RBI/88 R) and first baseman Gayle Henley (.303 BA/17 HR/83 RBI) and RF P.J. Tivis (.276 BA/14 HR/77 RBI/92 R/31 SB)... Glasco had only one reliable starter... that was Jason Alberts (17-10/3.57 ERA), last year's RU Rookie of the Year... Moonie Somers (15-17/3.31 ERA/87 games/20 saves) handled the closing role well, working in 89 games... the Foxhounds have only captured 4 division flags and has never won a Pro Cup.
For the third year in a row
Taranto (79-75) has been nestled in the bottom half of the RU North... they finished fifth and trailed by 14 games... Taranto never challenged in the pennant race... the Tars (79-75) have pretty good home-run power (158 HR), courtesy of the Palazzo di Sport, a home-run haven... pitching is average... top performers were All-Star catcher Manny Russo (.295 BA/21 HR/66 RBI) and All-Star right fielder Harland Schiffman (.302 BA/28 HR/101 RBI)... David Murla (21-10/3.65 ERA sparked a good set of starters... Jimmy Key (15-15/3.63 ERA) and Kim Madison (10-7/3.49 ERA) also contributed... the Tars possess 10 division crowns and only one Pro Cup (2015).
The
Far Mountain Redhawks (76-78) had a lackluster season winding up 17 games behind in sixth place... lack any kind of an offense... speed merchant LF Ernie Friedricks (.287 BA/4 HR/45 RBI/85 R/57 SB) is a solid ballplayer, but has little help... 3B Val McCullagh (.293 BA/11 HR/76 RBI) and 1B Jurgen Brenner (.294 BA/13 HR/65 RBI) are the best of the rest... mound staff is poor... Cliff Densmore (13-11/3.80 ERA) and Cookie Culpepper (8-5/3.91 ERA) are just decent starters... not much in the bullpen, either... 17 times the Redhawks have been the best team in the RU North... 3 times they won the Pro Cup... amazingly in back-to-back-to-back seasons (2011, 2012, 2013.
The
LaGrange Gators (61-93) were last in 2076 and did worst this year at least record-wise... they don't do very much well, but they do go deep pretty well, mainly because of the bigtime bat of 1B Tory Swinneton (.294 BA/39 HR/101 RBI/98 R), who led the RU with 39 homers... that is the 4th straight season he had done it... you are in trouble when your best starter Desmond Craft is 12-15 with a 4.47 ERA... not a lot of talent in LaGrange... the Gators have copped 9 pennants, but have never won a Pro Cup.
The poor
Ancona Jumbos (59-95) are an awful franchise... no pennants since 2022... yep, that is kee-rect... since 2022... 10 consecutive losing seasons... they came in 34 games out in the pennant race... but the Jumbos do have two solid players in CF Marcellus Dillaway (.276 BA/25 HR/95 RBI/90 R/23 SB) and 1B Rueben Vadillo (.281 BA/22 HR/99 RBI/75 R/7 SB)... Dillaway is a 3-time All-Star with 468 homers in his 17 long, long seasons in Ancona... Dillaway is doing well at age 35... he has not slowed down in the field or at the plate... the pitching is atrocious... Ray Richards is the only decent starter and he is just average league-wise with a 12-11 mark and a 3.84 ERA... you feel sorry for the baseball fans that live and die a lot in Ancona... years ago on 5 occasions the Jumbos made the postseason playoffs, but they have never won the Pro Cup.
2077 Ruthlandian Union North Division Final Standings
Attachment 928086
Attachment 928087