Wednesday, November 1, 2084
BB'S PALMQUIST NAMED IPA PRO CUP MVP IN CLOSE POLL WITH 5 OTHERS
To the victors go the spoils. Belair Beach won the 2084 Pro Cup and rightly so one of its players was honored as the Islandian Pro Alliance postseason Most Valuable Player. It could have been any one of the four Sunbirds. Belair Beach ace hurler Gardiner Palmquist corralled the most votes in a very tight race with three of his teammates and 2 Rolling Hills Racers. Palmquist prevailed with 3-1 record in 5 playoff starts and a 2.72 ERA. Teams only managed a .198 BA in his 36 innings. During the regular season the 22-year-old portsider posted an 18-7 mark with an impressive 2.85 ERA in 30 starts. In his two seasons with the Sunbirds Palmquist is 33-16 with a 3.01 ERA.
Palmquist just barely beat out right fielder Dutch Van Donk for the MVP trophy. Also a youngster, just 21 years old, he batted .288 in 16 postseason games with 11 RBIs and 11 runs scored. Van Donk was a steady contributor in the playoffs with 3 roundtrippers and 14 walks. In his 3 seasons in the IPA Van Donk sports a .293 BA with 51 roundtrippers, 297 runs scored and 227 RBIs.
Third in the MVP balloting was Belair Beach righty Delmer Keel, who was 2-0 in the playoffs in 4 starting assignments. The Sunbirds were victorious in all 4 games. Keel is just 21. He has stood out in his 2 seasons with Belair Beach with 28 wins and 19 defeats with a 3.32 ERA. this season he went 12-10 and a 3.61 ERA in 236 innings and 30 strarting assignments.
The fourth spot also belonged to another Sunbird, an old-timer in left field, Bruno Lutz. The 11-year veteran led his club with 14 ribbies and 4 homers in the playoffs, while batting only .222. At age 30 Lutz led the IPA with 144 RBIs. He also topped the IPA last year with 149 RBIs. Lutz is a .282 hitter with 296 roundtrippers and 1139 runs batted in. Yeah, buddy, he is an RBI machine.
Rolling Hills had their stars, too. If they had won the Pro Cup, they would have probably finished one-two in the MVP poll. Skeets Kazlauskas came in 5th in the voting with a perfect 4-0 record in 4 starts. He chalked up a 1.85 ERA in 34 innings. Teams only hit .198 against him. In his 11th year at age 34, Kazlauskas was 17-7 this year with a 3.69 ERA. Overall in his career he is 168-93 with a 3.32 ERA.
Shortstop Emmett Spangler also excelled for the Racers, batting .388 in the playoffs with 26 hits in 67 at bats. He homered twice, has 6 doubles, scored 16 times and drove in 13 runs. Spangler is also up in age at 35. In his 10-year career he is hitting .293. He is a 7-time All-Star. Spangler finished sixth in the Pro Cup MVP poll.
