2089 Tycobbian Union Final Standings
RED CAPS DOMINATE IN TU NORTH RUNAWAY
It's been 16 long years since the Oxford Red Caps graced the IPA postseason playoffs, but they returned with a bang. The Red Caps roared past all comers and won going away by 12 games. Runner-up and defending division champion Hartsdale tried hard to hang in the race, but slowly slipped further behind with each passing month. Oxford already had a 5-game lead by June 1. The Red Caps dominated the Tycobbian North with a high-powered attack and average pitching. They tied with powerhouse Forest City for the IPA lead with 101 victories. The baseball pundits had predicted a wide-open 6-team race in the preseason poll. Last year's pennant winner Hartsdale was forecast to defeat Oxford in a tense tussle with Fairfax, White River and Blue Lake not far behind. Nope. It didn't happen that way. The Red Caps won easily.
SUNSETS SURVIVE CLOSE CALL BY SUN SOX IN SEPTEMBER
'Twas a three-team affair in the Tycobbian South this year. Summerland, Southport and Arroyo Grande skirmished until August when the Suns (12-14) tanked it and sank back into the pack, ending up 9 games behind in third place. The Sunsets nudged the Sun Sox by 2 games in a race that went to the last week of the season to decide. Preseason prognostications had it to be a dogfight between defending champ Summerland, Southport and Colchester with no clear-cut favorite. The Elites only flirted with the leaders for one month and then quickly faded into oblivion. The Sunsets went on a 40-14 tear in July and August to move past the Sun Sox, who went 30-23. Summerland went into the final month of the season with a good 5-game lead and managed to hold off Southport's last minute late season drive. The two contenders were just about equal. The Sunsets might have had a little better pitching, while the Sun Sox might have been a scant better with the bats. Summerland reached the Pro Cup Finals last year and fell to IPA champion Belle Plaine in 5 games. The Sunsets have better pitching and better hitting this year. They may be a factor again in the postseason playoffs.
STALLIONS TALL IN THE SADDLE IN TU EAST STANDINGS
Defending Tycobbian East champion Ozarka got the blessing of the baseball experts in the preseason ratings, but by season's end it was the South Fork Stallions that stood tall in the saddle, winning the Tycobbian East by a solid 7 games. Runners-up Ozarka and Hillsboro gave chase but never seriously challenged the potent Stallions, who topped the division with a superior offense and good pitching. South Fork led the IPA with 180 roundtrippers. The Stallions will be a potent force this year for the Pro Cup Trophy. Heavy home-run power, combined with strong starters and an excellent bullpen are a pretty good formula for postseason success. However, South Fork has one deficiency --- defense. It could be a difference maker in the playoffs..
LA CLAIRE CLASS OF TU WEST 3RD YEAR IN A ROW
I do declare La Claire is again the best in the west. For the third year in a row the Lynx have won the Tycobbian West. They captured it and the IPA Pro Cup in '87 and repeated last season as division champ, winning by comfortable margins. La Claire did it again this year, taking the division crown by 9 games over the second place Rolling Hills Racers, 11 games better than the third place Denton City Redbirds and 14 up on the fourth place Bayview Vikings. All of the challengers fell to the wayside with June swoons and the Lynx took command with a 20-7 mark for the month. They topped the TU West standings by nearly double digits the rest of the way. La Claire has a superlative young staff of pitchers. That is the key to their success. Offensively they are subpar batting average-wise, but they somehow did lead the TU West in scoring. La Claire won the IPA title two years ago, but they had good solid pitching and coupled it with a good solid offense. Though the mound staff is excellent, it is not likely the Lynx can nab another Pro Cup Trophy because of subpar hitting and lack of longball power. The 2087 championship team won their first Pro Cup because the team bats upped it to another level that year in the postseason. The entire lineup 1 to 8 contributed at one time or another in the playoffs. Can lightning strike again in La Claire? Nope.
2089 Final Tycobbian Union Standings.
