Volusia Vigilantes Home Page
VOLUSIA VIGILANTES
Owner: Tierra Wools Consolidated
President/GM: Joaquin De la Hoya
Manager: Tubby Tarkanian
Volusia is a town of 99,000 on the banks of the Silver River in the rugged foothills of the Silver Mountains in west central Ruthlandia. In the early years Volusia was a gold and silver mining community. It was first settled by Spanish and English emigres, who after the gold ran out, became sheepherders and farmers. Now the area is known for fine woolen clothing and textiles. Timber and paper products are also produced.
The Spanish settlers were some of the earliest baseball enthusiasts in Ruthlandia and they organized the third amateur team in the country. Marston was the first, followed by La Grange. Because of the cultural tradition of "siestas", the Spanish played their games during this time of day, usually from 3 pm to 7 pm. Commerce and business would shut down. This custom and practice soon spread to the rest of the Ruthlandian townships and eventually to Tycobbia. The "siesta" in the Islands has come to mean quality time with family... and baseball fits this perfectly.
Many Volusians are bilingual, speaking Spanish and English. Volusia is a member of the IPA's Ruthlandian Union and plays in the West Division. It is the home of the Vigilantes, so named for the citizen-lawmen, who brought law and order to the lawless wild, wild west in the Gold Rush days. Officially the Vigilantes play at Silver River Stadium, overlooking the beautiful Silver River, but it is often referred to as "The Jail House" by the locals. Part of the old terracotta-colored jail can be seen in right field. The inmates get a good view of the V's games and "cheap" season tickets, too. The team is affectionately called "The Jail House Gang".
The lovely old ballpark, constructed in 1919, is located right across the street from the police station, which wraps around the stadium on one side. The massive live oak trees that still dominate the city park landscape were used many times in Volusia's early history for vigilante frontier justice. Over the beautiful brick arches and center field wall, the fans get a great view of the Silver River and the downtown area, just across the river from the stadium.
A wonderful Tex-Mex band provides great music during the games. The V's fans bring their sombreros and during the seventh inning stretch, they do a Mexican hat dance. Concessions are unique, too. Tantalizing tacos, fantastic flans (custard) and scruptious fried ice cream are among the culinary delicacies at Silver River Stadium. Frozen daiquiries and margaritas are house specialities. Hot dogs, cokes and beer are available, too.
The Volusia Vigilantes are owned by Tierra Wools, a farm cooperative for sheep owners, weavers and spinners to market their products. Joaquin De la Hoya was the first president and general manager of the club. The first manager was Alfonso Feliz (2001-2033), who was greatly successful at first, making the playoffs his first six seasons and capturing the very first Pro Cup Trophy in 2001. Feliz never won another pennant and gave way to Jojo DeLucca in 2033. DeLucca was Hall of Fame center fielder for the Vigilantes from 2013 to 2032. He was inducted into the IPA Hall of Fame in 2039 with a career .304 BA and 384 homers. DeLucca was a 7-time All-Star and 4-time Golden Glove. He skippered the V's from 2033 to 2054 with some success, 3 pennants. Tubby Tarkanian took over in 2055 as the field manager. Tarkanian was a good defensive catcher and modest hitter, who played 16 seasons with the V's, retired in '54. Tarkanian batted .262 in his career with 166 roundtrippers and 800 RBIs. Volusia copped 6 pennants in his tenure with him being honored as the Ruthlandian Manager of the Year twice, 2058 and 2070. Tarkanian's teams were usually competitive.
Former star pitcher Lonny Rinehart is the current skipper, taking charge in 2075. He played from 2055 to 2071, posting an impressive 262-171 mark with a 3.15 ERA. He is the all-time IPA leader with a 31-7 record in 2058. It was a great season for him, winning the Ruthlandian Golden Arm and the Ruthlandian MVP trophy. Rinehart retired in 2071 and was inducted into the IPA Hall of Fame in 2076. So far, progress has been slow in his regime with only 3 winning seasons. This year 2082 was the first division crown in 10 years.
Volusia won the inaugural IPA Pro Cup in 2001, sweeping the Ginza Ninjas of the Tycobbian Union in four games. The Vigilantes had finished second in the regular season to the Far Mountain Redhawks in the Ruthlandian North Division... in the early years the IPA had wild card teams in the postseason.
Silver River Stadium (1919)
Capacity: 10,250
Left Field Line - 325
Left Field - 375
Left Center - 410
Center Field - 400
Right Center - 410
Right Field - 375
Right Field Line - 325
