Monday, September 28, 2083
ONLY 3 PRESEASON PICKS MADE THE PRO CUP PLAYOFFS, WYNNAMAC, HARTSDALE, ROLLING HILLS
Four of the Islandian Pro Alliance division winners have not graced the postseason for a decade or even longer. In fact, Colchester last appeared in 2036, Far Mountain in 2067, Belair Beach in 2071 and Volusia in 2073. There's lots of new blood infusing the 2083 IPA Pro Cup playoffs this year, along with some of the recent regulars, Rolling Hills, Hartsdale, East Point and Wynnamac.
RUTHLANDIAN UNION FINAL SEASON WRAP
Every RU division champion won in unique fashion by 2 games.
FM REDHAWKS SNARE 1ST RU NORTH TITLE IN 18 YEARS
The Far Mountain Redhawks were the best team the final two months of the season, staving off the Taranto Tars, Ancona Jumbos, Kilkenny Cats and last year's division-winning and this year's preseason choice.LaGrange Gators. Down the stretch the Redhawks fended off the tough Tars in a very close race. Far Mountain bested Taranto by just 2 games. The Jumbos, Gators and Cats faded in September.
BELAIR BEACH HOLDS OFF VALKA IN BATTLE OF BIRDS IN RU SOUTH
It was just a two-team race in the Ruthlandian South most of the season between the Belair Beach Sunbirds and the preseason pick Valka Blackhawks. Defending division champion Crystal Lake contended for a little while at midyear, then fell out of the race and ended up in third place. The Sunbirds clinched by going 4-2 the last week, while the Blackhawks swooned to 2-4 when it finally counted.
MACS SURVIVED 5-TEAM FIGHT IN RU EAST
5 teams tangled season-long in the Ruthlandian East, where the Wynnamac Sundowners, the critic's choice, came home the winner. The Macs finished well with a strong last two months and skimmed past the Sugar Valley Rattlers by 2 games, the Eastshore Cotton Kings by 3 and last year's flag-winning Elnora Clippers and the Marston Nine by 6 games. The Rattlers also played well down-the-stretch, but the others faltered badly.
V'S CLOSE THE SEASON WITH 8 STRAIGHT WINS TO NAB RU WEST
4 clubs skirmished the entire season for the Ruthlandian West crown. Volusia took command in the final days of the year and won its final 8 games in a row to nab the pennant by a pair of games over Middlefield, 4 games over Colfax and 6 better than preseason-favored Sligo. Last year's victor Forest City never was in the race and winded up sixth, 20 GB.
TYCOBBIAN UNION FINAL SEASON RECAP
HELLCATS REIGN SUPREME IN TU NORTH
In the preseason poll Hartsdale was picked to run away with the Tycobbian North title and did in fact win it fairly easily by 8 games.
But there was one team that made it somewhat testy. Lightly-regarded Luxora made it interesting heading into the final month of the September. The Zorros cut the Hellcats' lead to just 2 games. Hartsdale then strutted its stuff and played its best ball of the season, going 17-6, while the Z's snoozed to 11-12 and lost out by 8 games. The Hellcats have won the TU North 6 times in the last 12 years. Look for them to be a big threat to win it all this year.
COLCHESTER CLASS OF TU SOUTH BY FAR
Cape Coral was forecast to repeat as the champion of the Tycobbian South in a close 3-club clash with Ginza and Turon. Instead, the long-suffering Colchester Elites easily turned out to be the class of the division and won it by a colossal 13 games. It was their first pennant since 2036. Colchester took charge in April and was never really challenged. The Elites slowly built up their league lead as the season progressed. The preseason pollsters placed Colchester a lowly fourth in the TU South this year.
PANTHERS ARE PREMIER TEAM IN TU EAST
Nobody gave much thought to the East Point Panthers in the Tycobbian East pennant race, despite the fact that the team won the crown in '80 and '81 and came close again in '82. In the preseason prognostications, the baseball scribblers showered praise on the South Fork Stallions and said East Point would be a losing ballclub and wind up in the 5th spot in the standings, far out of first place. Nope and au contraire. By August it was all East Point with few contenders in sight. The Panthers' lead bulged to 11 games. The Ozarka Naturals ranked the third-best team in the preseason, did pose a mild threat in September, finally reaching within 4 games at season's end. Most of the second half of the year the Nats trailed the Panthers by 10 or more games and never really challenged them.
RACERS WIN IN A 3-TEAM PHOTO FINISH IN TU WEST
It was supposed to be 4-team chase in the Tycobbian West this year. Rolling Hills was favored to beat out defending IPA Pro Cup champion Kenwood, Denton City and Bayview in a close contest. Yeah, buddy, that is pretty much what happened. The pundits were spot on. The Racers edged out the Bayview Vikings by one game and the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers by just 3 games. Kenwood wound up in the 5th spot in the standings, trailing by 9 games. Rolling Hills struggled in September and almost was overtaken by the Vikings and the Bucs, who might have been the better ball teams at year's end. A great August saved the pennant for the Racers.
2083 Ruthlandian Union Final Standings
