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OZARKA NATURALS
Owner: J. R. Ewing Oil Company
GM: Frank Kiffin
Manager: Glen Jenkins
Ozarka, a Silver Mountains resort town of 73,000, is located in south central Tycobbia and near the Caledonia River, which flows southward through Hillsboro, then westward and comes to an end at Turon on the southwest coast. Nestled among scenic forests and outdoor hot springs, Ozarka is host to tourists who come for snow skiing during the winter and boating, swimming, fishing, camping, hiking and hunting the rest of the year. Big time developers have made this a mecca for the rich and famous with luxury hotels and nightclubs that attend to every possible need: hot spring spas and bathhouses, superstar entertainers, magnificent golf courses, gourmet food, art galleries and gift shops. Ozarka is a retirement center, too.
It is also home to the Ozarka Naturals. J. R. Ewing’s father, Jock Ewing, got tired of the incessant sibling quarrels over the operation of the family-owned Waleska Westerners in the Ruthlandian Amateur Association, so he bought the squabbling and combative brothers and club vice-presidents, J. R. and Bobby, their own teams in the IPA. Bobby owns the South Fork Stallions and J. R. has Ozarka, where he is a prime real estate developer. Bobby named his brand new stadium after his dad. Not to be outdone, J. R. named his brand new stadium after his mom, Miss Ellie. So the sibling rivalry continued on and off the field for years. Ellie Ewing Stadium is one of the few parks in baseball that still has a live organ player at each game, which adds a nice nostalgic touch, especially during the seventh inning stretch. Marston, Kenwood and Hillsboro are the other teams that feature a live organist. And at the concessions stands is a succulent gourmet buffet fit for the rich and famous. You will also find all of the traditional baseball fare at a Naturals game.
J. R. Ewing spares no expense when it comes to impressing people and paying his ballplayers. He likes to get his way. He even got the all-time winningest manager in company league history to come out of retirement and take over his team. Joe Mac Carney was the first GM and manager of the Naturals. And he was very well paid, too. And well worth it. Mac Carney made the playoffs 13 times in his 28 seasons, but he never won the Pro Cup. 5 times the Nats lost in the Pro Cup Finals. However, Mac Carney was voted the Tycobbian Union Manager of the Year twice in back-to-back seasons, 2015 and 2016.
The Nats' manager from 2029 to 2052 was Frank Kiffen, who was a fine catcher for Ozarka from 2015 to 2021. Kiffen hit .310 during his IPA career. He was a Ewing family favorite as he married one of the spoiled Ewing offspring. The Kiffen years were mediocre for Ozarka with only 2 pennants, 2030 and 2040. His successor was former star catcher Jaak Pajukivi, who played 9 years for the Naturals from 2036 to 2044. He was a top-notch Gold Glove defender with a .255 lifetime batting average and 200 roundtrippers. His overall career spanned 20 seasons with 3 teams. Pajukivi led the Nats from 2053 to 2061 with only one winning season. He gave way to Glen Jenkins, a crackerjack hurler for the Nats from 2032 to 2047. Jenkins posted a record of 256-198 in his 16 years with an impressive 3.28 ERA. 4 times Jenkins totaled 20 wins. He also married into the Ewing family. During his time as skipper Ozarka has been just a mediocre ballclub. But in the last decade the Naturals have been serious contenders in the TU East. His first division pennant came this year.
Ellie Ewing Stadium (2001)
Capacity: 11,750
Dimensions:
LF Line 350
LF 370
LCF 390
CF 375
RCF 390
RF 370
RF Line 350
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