ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

[Eugene Church]

The East Point Panthers (82-72) had basically the same team that won the TU East last year, but the pitching was down a bit... however the talented trio of All-Star Dixie Brooks (19-13/2.21), Jack Bolden (15-8/2.59) and Frank Blair (17-12/3.01) still did their jobs well... it was the bullpen that let manager Karol Zodoka down with a poor 4.06 ERA (26th)... the Panthers didn't hit much for average, but did go deep with 185 homers, second-best in the league... they were just average in scoring runs (14th)... star 2B Tetsu Tanaka led the team's attack with a .302 BA, 34 home runs, 93 RBIs and 96 runs... Tanaka has over 200 homers in his seven seasons... rookie C Jason Charles (.252) made an impact with 20 roundtrippers and 76 RBIs... LF Kenko Aoki (.213) had 23 homers and rookie CF Sean Flynn (.253) added 20 more... the Panthers were just average on defense with a .971 FA.

[Eugene Church]

Three years ago the Ozarka Naturals (81-73) hit their way to the division title, but the batters have tailed off each year since and the Nats have slipped a little in the standings... skipper Frank Kiffen's squad wound up fourth this year, just 5 and a half games out... in its history Ozarka has accounted for 12 pennants and 14 postseason appearances, but has never won the Pro Cup in its five tries... the Nats have trouble scoring runs (25th) and don't have much power with 103 homers (27th)... star SS and 8-time All-Star James Couch (.302) was the best bat in the Ozarka arsenal with 19 homers, 79 RBIs and 81 runs scored... Couch is a .310 career hitter in his 18 seasons with a good shot at the IPA Hall of Fame... LF Lonnie Gillespie (.297) was also a decent hitter with 63 RBIs and 60 runs scored... RF Byron Glenn led the club with 21 home runs, but hit only .205 for average... Marty Lane (18-13/3.42), rookie Glen Jenkins (13-6/2.84) and Stan Carey (16-16/3.58) led the pitching staff.

[Eugene Church]

The South Fork Stallions (80-74) and the Hillsboro Blazers tied for fifth place in the TU East... they were 6 and half games behind division winner Tuckanarra... the Stallions won the 2025 Pro Cup, but finished under .500 twice since... they have only made the postseason on three occasions in the team's history... manager Deroche "Lips" Leon has average pitching (14th) and poor batting, ranking 31st with a .241 team BA, but with pretty fair power... South Fork smacked 123 out of the park (18th-tied)... CF Corbett Brooks (.271) with 25 homers, 87 RBIs and 78 runs and RF Leon Bourque (.272) with 17 home runs and 68 RBIs led the club offensively... on the hill the top starters have been Sam Dunbar (16-13/2.97) and young Christopher Ewing (10-6/2.48)... closer Al Thompson (8-7) had stood out with 16 saves and a superb 1.78 ERA in 53 games.

[Eugene Church]

After 31 frustrating season, the Hillsboro Blazers (80-74) are still looking for a spot in the Pro Cup playoffs... the best the Blazers have ever done was to finish 2 games behind the division champ in 2020... otherwise it has been mostly the second division... the previous two seasons the club came in 7th and 8th, climbing up to a tie for 5th this year... skipper Andy Jefferson got better mound work this season... his starters were especially effective with a 3.10 ERA, sparked by Gregg Hughes (19-11/1.96), who led the IPA in ERA... Russell McIntosh (14-12/2.90) and Duke Mahoney (15-19/3.10) also did well... poor bullpen work hurt the team... the relievers chalked up a 4.27 ERA (28th)... the best run producer on the club was CF Chris Blanton with 34 homers and 72 RBIs, but he batted only .255... after being traded by Oxford 1B Phil Stafford became a regular in August and posted a .341 BA with 7 homers and 34 RBIs... for the season the 34-year-old Stafford batted .344 with 54 RBIs and 11 homers.

[Eugene Church]

The Red Bluff Red Sox (54-100) and the High Mesa Cowboys both had terrible 100-loss seasons... the worst seasons each club has ever experienced... coming in tied for last place, 32 and a half game away from first place Tuckanarra... the Red Sox made the postseason playoffs 4 times in its initial 8 years in the IPA... in their inaugural season in 2002 Red Bluff won the cherished Pro Cup... it was truly a disappointing year for manager Jim Schubert... much was expected this year after they came in second last year... Raul Hidalgo (9-23/4.75) and Trini Corona (2-13/7.51) had terrible seasons and Tony DeFazio, a 21-game winner last year, fell off to a 15-19 mark this year... DeFazio still compiled a good 3.29 ERA... overall the team ranked 30th with a 4.20 ERA, up from 3.64 last season... hitting fell off appreciably, too... the Red Sox batted only .244 (29th) and ranked 28th in scoring runs, but did rip 144 home runs (11th)... 3B Pat Ellis led the club with a .308 BA and 69 runs... Ellis had 14 homers and drove in 44 runs... 1B Garris Aiken topped the team with 23 home runs and 67 RBIs, but hit only 232... rookie Gene Bates (.252) showed potential with 22 roundtrippers and 60 runs batted in in 110 games.

[Eugene Church]

The High Mesa Cowboys (54-100) have a long history of failure and frustration after winning the Pro Cup in the team's first year in 2002... the Cowpokes also made the playoffs in the second season, but never since... this is the sixth successive season the team has been mired in the second division... skipper Rolf Kellgren, who played shortstop for the 2002 team, has very little talent on his club... the Cowboys ranked near the bottom in hitting, pitching and fielding... Emil Kaltenborn is a fine pitcher and went 13-19 with a 3.16 ERA... the only other pitcher of note on the High Mesa staff was reliever Billy Statler, who was 5-3 in 41 games with 5 saves and a terrific 1.87 ERA... at the plate LF Randy Williams paced the team with 30 homers, drove in 60 runs and hit .251 for average... rookie RF Matt Marsh collected 19 home runs and led the team with 62 RBIs and a .269 BA.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 22, 2032

2032 Tycobbian West Final Recap

RH Reds Roll To 3rd TU West Flag in 4 Years
Matty Christianson and his powerful Pro Cup champion Rolling Hills Reds just keep right on rolling along, capturing their 8th Tycobbian West pennant in the last 14 years... the Reds are ready to defend their Pro Cup crown again this season, giving them two in the last three years... they also took the IPA title in 2029.

It was a tough task this season as Rolling Hills had to fend off quite a few challengers... they trailed Arlon by 3 games and La Claire by 2 at the All-Star break... at season's end they finally outlasted the La Claire Lynx and the surging Chicopee Braves by 4 games... Bay St. Clair wound up fourth, 7 games off the pace and Arlon faltered to the fifth spot in the TU West and 8 games out after a fine first half.

Rolling Hills (83-71) didn't have a great record this season, just like when they won the IPA in 2029... Volusia holds the mark for the poorest record by a Pro Cup champ, when the Vigilantes were 78-72 in 2001, the IPA's first season... the Colfax Blasters with an IPA-record 107 wins in 2010 chalked up the best season mark of any Pro Cup winner... Matty Christianson's club has solid hitting with a .285 BA (2nd), topped the TU in scoring and ranked OK with 120 home runs (20th), his pitching is suspect with a 3.81 team ERA... the starters are decent with a 3.62 (20th), but poor in the bullpen with an awful 4.83 ERA (32nd)... but don't count them out of the running just yet... some analysts like the Reds Pro Cup chances.

The Rolling Hills feature some strong sticks like 2B Derek Kristensen with a .343 BA, 73 runs and 44 RBIs... RF Matt Sundberg with a .312 mark and 57 RBIs, 34-year-old rookie SS Freddy Ball with a .311 average and 52 RBIs... and All-Star 3B Billy Christianson with a .311 BA, 13 HRs, 71 RBIs and an IPA-leading 123 runs, along with All-Star C Tony Brinkerhoff with a .280 average, 15 homers and 91 runs batted in... LF Scotty Yiska paced the team with 23 home runs, while batting .288 and driving in 79 runs... Christianson has some experienced starters in Buck Myers (20-6/3.11), Bobby Morris (18-10/3.47), Maury Cantrell (16-14/3.65) and all-time IPA great 38-year-old Errol Gaudet (15-16/3.93), who has registered a sparkling 258-155 record in 14 seasons with a sterling 2.89 lifetime ERA.

[Eugene Church]

Manager Zeppy Deshotel moved his La Claire Lynx (79-75) up in the standings on the strength of better pitching... the Lynx were 11 games out last year in fourth place... this season they improved to second place and lost out by only 4 games, tied with Chicopee... a bad 8-18 June and 7-11 in September cost them dearly in the pennant race... sharp pitching with a 3.05 team ERA (4th) and 188 roundtrippers (8th) did the job... Pat Kovacs (18-11/2.14) and Rance Raymond (18-14/2.79) were the aces of the staff... leading the La Claire attack were the trio of All-Star SS Jarred O'Neal, who hit .327 with 32 homers, 108 RBIs and 89 runs... All-Star RF Carroll Candy with a .322 BA, 22 home runs, 69 RBIs and 90 runs scored... and LF Kelly Chamberlain with 18 homers, 85 runs batted in and 79 scored, while batting .270.

[Certain Valor]

Eugene, I wanted to say thanks so much for making the IPA. You've inspired me to create a world of my own. I've been playing catch up and reading through your league history for the past few weeks. I'm hooked!

I also loved the profile of your league on The Classical some half a year back.

[Eugene Church]

The Chicopee Braves (79-75) had a very good year under skipper Ivan Burkholder, rising up from the second division the past two season and finishing in a tie for second place... the Braves have never in history made the playoffs, though they came within 2 games of the pennant in 2013, 2015, 2020 and recently in 2029... marked improvement at the plate and on the hill got Chicopee in the hunt this year... a red-hot 45-29 second-half run almost pulled it out for them... the Braves were in last place at mid-season, 8 games back of Arlon and 10 games under .500... Chicopee was second in scoring runs, fourth in batting with a .278 team BA and fourth in longballs with 179... the 3.86 ERA (26th) wasn't anything special, but it was far better than 4.53 and 4.44 of the last two years.

The Braves had some booming bats with 3B Kurt Gustavsen (.322/21/90/98), rookie LF Charley Kota (.317/26/93/89), CF Charlie Jensen (.285/28/87/88), 1B Pierre Giguere (.339/19/64/64) and SS Tom Humphrey (.258/24/73/70)... rookie hurler Heyoka Chaska (20-16/3.78), Dave Carnera (15-10/3.94) and rookie Ben Ituha (17-17/3.79) led the staff... veteran closer Matt Reeves (7-5/3.27) did a credible job in 58 appearances with 14 saves.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by Certain Valor

Eugene, I wanted to say thanks so much for making the IPA. You've inspired me to create a world of my own. I've been playing catch up and reading through your league history for the past few weeks. I'm hooked!

I also loved the profile of your league on The Classical some half a year back.

Thanks, my man, for the wonderful compliments. You have made my day! Good luck with your league and your dynasty.

They asked me to contribute another piece for the OOTPB Forum again this year. You can read it at this link:

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...-alliance.html

[Eugene Church]

The Bay St. Clair Buccaneers (76-78) squeezed into the fourth spot in the TU West standings with a pretty fair offense (7th) and average pitching... the Bucs finished 7 games behind Rolling Hills... a weak first half hurt them... the Buccos were in 7th place at the All-Star game... it was a disappointing year for manager Denny Coulon... Bay St. Clair copped the division flag in 2030 and were second last season... the Bucs have appeared in the postseason 9 times and never have won the Pro Cup... the closest they came was in 2015 when the lost to Taranto in 5 games... in a magnificent season superstar and All-Star CF Cotton Cornwall carried the club offensively with a .360 BA, 44 HRs and 126 RBIs... Cornwall almost won the Triple Crown... he led the Tycobbian Union in BA and RBIs, but fell one homer short of Jim Lewellan of the Colchester Elites... Jim McBride (16-11/3.27) and John Karlsen (17-14/3.30) topped the starters and Don Sawyer (8-6/2.42/16 saves) was the best in the bullpen.

[Eugene Church]

The perennial also-ran Arlon Champions (75-79) have only won three pennants in their IPA history (2006, 2012 and 2020)... and the Champs didn't fare very well even when they made the postseason - they were quickly eliminated each year... this season Arlon really made some noise by surprisingly leading the TU West into July, but a severe 26-36 summer drought to its toll as the team crumbled and tumbled into the second division... Arlon came out fifth this year, which was far better than being in the basement for two years in a row... the Champions finished 8 games out of first... Raydon Burks (12-9/3.25) and Lacy Dalton (16-13/3.42) were the most effective starters with the bullpen led by Alex Sakarian (5-5/2.14/15 saves) and Buddy Palmer (6-3/2.20/10 saves)... in the batter's box it was All-Stars 1B Emile Francois (.290/14/69/59) and CF Del Carpenter (.292/11/56/74) leading the way... RF Carlos Quintana (.242/18/74/58) and 3B Ryan Hicks (.256/14/66/66) also contributed.

[Eugene Church]

The Denton City Redbirds (74-80) were one of the early powerhouses in the IPA, winning 6 division crowns and appearing in the playoffs on 8 occasions in the club's first 13 seasons... the Redbirds made the Pro Cup Finals twice, but lost each time... DC was beaten by the Middlefield Roosters in 2005 and by the Wynnamac Sundowners in 2008... the Redbirds have settled into being a second-class citizen now in the IPA with only 3 fourth-place finishes in the last 20 seasons... Denton City was sixth this year and trailed Rolling Hills by 9 games... Trevor Tomlinson is the Redbird skipper... he was a fine SS during their glory years... Tomlinson won 5 Golden Gloves and was an All-Star one season... he batted .272 and scored 1170 runs in his 15 seasons (2002-2016)... his most talented performers at the plate were LF Alden Evans (.325/21/63/68), 2B Gerry Delphin (.275/20/89/72) and CF Sam Carson (.263/19/90/84)... on the mound it was All-Star Ralph Elmore with a very impressive 18-8 mark and 2.46 ERA... Elmore was lost for the season in late August with a bone spur... he will take about 5 months to recover... Francisco Salcido (9-9/2.65) and Curt Corbin (10-8/2.86) are also quality pitchers.

[Eugene Church]

Aaron Hankins' Kenwood Wildcats (70-84) were one of the better teams in TU West the last couple of years, winding up in second place and just losing the pennant by a game to the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers in 2030... and finishing third in 2031 behind Rolling Hills and Bay St. Clair... this season his Wildcats dropped down to seventh place, 13 games off the pace... Kenwood has only 3 postseason appearances to show for 31 years in the IPA... Hankins most successful season was in 2014, when the Wildcats copped the IPA Pro Cup trophy by whipping the Belair Beach Sunbirds in an exciting 7-game series... since then Kenwood has won only one division crown, that was in 2024.

Kenwood had the best team batting average in the TU with a strong .287 mark, topped only by the Elnora All-Stars of the Ruthlandian Union... Elnora batted a lofty .292 this year... but the Wildcats were subpar with a 3.86 team ERA (27th)... Hankins has two sons playing for his Wildcats and they are good ones... 26-year-old Matthew Hankins chalked up a .349 BA with 8 homers and 70 RBIs, while his 29-year-old brother batted .320 with 13 HRs, 95 RBIs and 92 runs... 2B Jeff Lang, SS Randy Towns and CF Alonzo Venacio also stood out with the bats... Lang hit .351 with 9 HRs, 52 RBIs and 77 runs... Towns batted .325 with 2 HRs, 59 RBIs and 93 runs... and Venacio slugged 18 HRs, drove in 86 runs and scored 89 times, while batting .268... Kenwood's most reliable pitchers were few... the best were Milt Flanagan (16-13/3.86) and Trigger Rogers (14-19/2.83).

[Eugene Church]

The second division has been the home of the Bayview Vikings (64-90) for the last decade... four times they have been cellar-dwellers... manager Chancey Quibedeaux's Viks were last this year, 19 games out of the race... Bayview hasn't won the TU West since 2016... and they have never won the Pro Cup, but were very successful with 5 postseason appearances in its first 7 years in the IPA... four times in those years they lost to the eventual Pro Cup winner in the Tycobbian Finals - Turon eliminated them in 2003 and 2006, Red Bluff in 2004 and Oxford in 2007.

Bayview had an average attack with fairly good power with 153 homers (9th), but was very much lacking on the mound with a sky-high 4.42 team ERA (31st)... All-Star rookie 3B Marius Lokken was the offensive sparkplug with 26 homers, 87 RBIs, 73 runs and a fair .267 BA... LF Roy Ricks hit 23 home runs, batted in 73 and scored 72 times, but only posted a .256 BA... RF Johan Binger totaled 22 roundtrippers and 52 RBIs, while batting .267... the Vikings most effective hurler was Norm Dawson with a 17-17 record and a respectable 3.43 ERA.

[Eugene Church]

Get set for the 2032 Pro Cup Preview and Predictions.

It won't be long until the Pro Cup begins play.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 22, 2032

Elnora Pro Cup Favorite Over Colfax, Fairfax, Rolling Hills
Most of the money is on the Ruthlandian Union this year in the IPA Pro Cup. The oddsmakers are going with the Elnora All-Stars and the Colfax Blasters to take this year's Islands crown. The two Ruthlandian powers shape up as the strongest clubs in the IPA. The Fairfax Frogs and the San Alejo Montaneros are the picks in the Tycobbian Union, but don't look like they can contend with the All-Stars and Blasters. The IPA title is expected to go Elnora, the winner of 105 games this season. According to the baseball prognosticators, the best ballclubs will tangle in the first round. Elnora takes on Colfax in the RU Elite 8 Series, while Fairfax and San Alejo have to go against each other in the TU Elite 8. In the others series it will be LaGrange playing Claxton in the RU and Tuckanarra battling the defending Pro Cup champion Rolling Hills. The Reds have the worst record of any of the postseason clubs at 83-71. But don't count the low-rated teams out. Lower seeds have done well in the Pro Cup down through the seasons.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES PRO CUP POLL
1. Elnora All-Stars (105-49)... Elnora seems to have it all and is poised to captured its first Pro Cup, only Colfax stands in the way
2. Colfax Blasters (98-56)... Blasters could give the All-Stars a real test... they won 98 games this season with a fine offense
3. Fairfax Frogs (95-59)... best record in the TU... strong offense with good mound staff
4. San Alejo Montaneros (92-62)... pitching staff rated best in the IPA... the Monties can score, too
5. Rolling Hills Reds (83-71)... last year's Pro Cup champ... strong attack, but pitching not up to par this season
6. Tuckanarra Blue Jays (87-68)... experienced playoff team... well-balanced club... hitting may not be good enough to win
7. LaGrange Sports (92-62)... the Cinderella club... could give Elnora and Colfax a run for the money... deserved higher seed
8. Claxton Diamonds (85-69)... won weak division... hits well with average pitching

[Dark Horse]

i still enjoy popping in and seeing how they play ball in Islandia.

You do good work incorporating the changes/additions to the game in your reports.

Keep up the good work!

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by Dark Horse

i still enjoy popping in and seeing how they play ball in Islandia.

You do good work incorporating the changes/additions to the game in your reports.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks for the good words, Dark Horse.
Did they ever revive the wonderful Laseron Baseball Associaton?
It was a fantastic league that inspired me to make a feeble attempt to imitate it somewhat.
I loved the uniforms and team names... plus the mythical country and the exotic names of the players.
The Laseron and DreamTeams' Metro League were two of the great OOTPB Leagues.