ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, June 22, 2021

2021 Tycobbian North Mid-Season Recap

WR Rascals 6 Games Up In TU North
The White River Rascals went out and got them a new manager and they are playing like a champion at the mid-year break... they were second two years ago and fifth last year... Former Rascal pitcher Mick Cronyn has them riding high in the Tycobbian North in his rookie season. White River has a 6-game edge over runners-up Luxora, Hartsdale and Oxford. the Rascals are the only team above .500 in the weak division. Three other clubs are a winning streak away from being in contention. Fairfax and Mahaska are tied for fifth and trail by 7 games, while Blue Lake is seventh and 8 games out. Last place North Hills is 10 games off the pace.

Cronyn replaced John Randison this season as the White River skipper and has been blessed with four .300 hitters... All-Star Marty Blake is the team leader with a .355 BA and 18 homers, but he has help from C Tom Hewlett (.311/12 HR), RF Hal Littleton (.329/4 HR) and 3B Sandy Thompson (.301/5 HR)... Cronyn pitched 15 seasons for the Rascals and retired in 2017 with 196-201 record and a 3.73 ERA... not bad for a team that only had 3 winning seasons during his tenure... Cronyn has improved the mound staff this year... the team ERA dropped from 4.72 last year to 4.04 this season... 42-year-old Joe Hudson leads the team with a 10-5 mark and a 3.60 ERA... closer Arnie Montel (1-2) has notched 14 saves and posted a 2.52 ERA... White River's offense should keep them ahead of everybody in the TU North... Cronyn has to be wary of defending TU west champion Luxora, who have won the four years.

The Luxora Zorros still have good pitching, but have a losing record, 3 games below the .500 mark and tied with Hartsdale and Oxford in second place... manager Cristo Viamonte just needs to perk up his offense to get back to the accustomed spot atop the TU West... RF Jon Stafford (.212/12 HR) and 2B Pablo Santa Cruz (.235/2 HR) are having dismal seasons and need to get back to their norm, which is about 50 points higher... team leaders are All-Star Jim Thorpe Chandler (.339/11 HR) and CF Francisco Ortega (.285/7 HR)... on the mound the great lefty Tiago Torres (5-7 2.47) has a fine ERA, but is struggling as far as his won-lost record... Vet Steve Aaron (8-8 3.30) and rookie Mike Boyce (7-10 3.34) give the Z's solid number two and three starters... in the bullpen is the standout closer All-Star Jay Brewer (4-1), who has saved 14 games and compiled an excellent 0.86 ERA... there's a chance Luxora will still make the race a lot closer in the second half of the season.

The Hartsdale Hellcats are tied with Luxora for the second spot in the TU North, but are not the club they were last year... manager Zim Donner won 90 games in 2020, but it's very unlikely he will approach that this year... the Hellcats have seen their bats fall off 20 points and the team ERA skyrocket from 3.34 to 4.02 (16th)... Donner still has a good starting four with Bobo Boisseau (8-6 3.49), Don Weill (.7-4 3.84), Jim Starks (7-7 3.99) and Ronnie Jernigan (5-8 3.70)... youngster 1B Johnny Scott (.338/7 HR) and vet 3B Kendry Moulton (.274/15 HR) are the only able bats... as a team Hartsdale is hitting only .247 and is ranked 27th in the league.

Mack Spencer, who played outfield for the Oxford Red Caps for 15 years, is the new man in town, replacing Campy Roy... Roy graciously retired after missing the playoffs for 13 years and finishing in the second-division for the last 5 seasons... Spencer has the Red Caps within 6 games of first place, but the club is no threat to win the flag... Oxford just doesn't have the talent except for Rick Hunt (3-2 2.22), a top-notch closer... Frankie Douglas (11-7 4.06) is Spencer's best starter... at the plate Oxford's best hitters are 2B Ricky Mullen (.311/7 HR), C Bryan Lewis (.305/1 HR) and RF Mario Marquis (.307/5 HR)... but they have little power... the Red Caps have gone deep only 40 times, next-to-last in the league.

Long-time skipper Harry Buckley stepped down and turned the Fairfax Frogs over to playing manager Dane Wesner... the Frogs have not made the Pro Cup playoffs for 7 years... this year should make it 8 straight... Fairfax and Mahaska are 7 games behind in the race and deadlocked for 5th... the Frogs sport a .250 batting average (24th) and a 3.97 ERA (14th) with little home-run power (21st)... Wesner's top performer is pitcher Ken Hill (12-6 3.22), a fine hurler in his 12th season... Hill has a lifetime 212-154 mark with an outstanding 2.87 ERA, a great record considering Fairfax is just basically a .500 team over the years... LF Wesner (.299/8 HR), rookie CF Johnny Eichhorn (.310/12 HR) and aging vet 1B Chancey Quibedeaux (.273/9 HR) are the Frogs most reliable bats... prior to a shoulder injury in 2014, Wesner was just about the best player in the IPA... a future Hall-of-Famer Wesner has won 2 Golden Bat awards, 2 batting titles, a Triple Crown, 7 Gold Gloves and made the All-Star team 6 times... he is a career .320 hitter with over 400 homers and 1300 RBIs.

The Mahaska Haymakers are skippered by Rusty Tanussa, now in his 21st season... the Haymakers are not postseason material with a .260 team batting average (16th), 52 homers (24th) and a 4.26 team ERA (25th)... Johnny Picou (7-10 2.42) is Mahaska's top moundsman... top regulars are C Bucky O'Brian (.312/9 HR) and 1B Ross Burke (.296/15 HR).

Seventh in the TU North are the Blue Lake Blue Sox... manager Cobb Tyson's team is 7 games off the pace, but not likely to challenge this year because of poor hitting... the Blue Sox are batting only .244 (29th) with only 46 roundtrippers (29th)... however, Tyson has quality pitching with a 3.75 team ERA (9th)... Nick Walker (9-6 3.12) and Ron Quade (7-10 2.91) are tough customers on the hill... closer Irv Kuykendall (1-2 3.18) has chalked up 17 saves this year, second best in the league... LF Chet Alexander (.266/10 HR) is the only decent threat in the line-up.

Despite getting a new manager, the North Hills Hawks are in the TU North cellar again, for the fourth time in the last five seasons... the new skipper Masaichi Okawa, a former Hawk favorite and journeyman first sacker with good power (.273 BA/272 HR/1014 RBI), who played 11 years in the IPA, 6 with North Hills... he replaced Hub Carlson, who retired after 20 years with little success, only 2 playoff appearances... starter Ivan Glick (6-8 2.40) and closer Ben Garland (3-2 2.10) with 14 saves are the Hawks best hurlers... Okawa's best bats belong to LF Nicky Makovsky (.319/2 HR), 3B Rod Haynes (.313/9 HR) and 1B Lou Hooper (.276/10 HR)... it looks last place again for the Hawks.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, June 22, 2021

2021 Tycobbian South Mid-Season Recap

AG Suns In 6-team Battle In TU South
There's a real good race on going down south in the Tycobbian South with six clubs in the swing of things, all playing over .500 baseball and all within 6 games of each other. Defending champ Arroyo Grande has a one-game lead over second place Southport at the All-Star game. Turon and revitalized San Alejo are two games back and tied for third. The Ginza Ninjas are a close fifth and only 3 games off the pace. Colchester is sixth and 6 games out.

Offense and firepower are fueling the first place Arroyo Grande Suns as usual and manager Cyclone Cobb has sufficient pitching to keep the club high in the standings... the Suns are 9th with a .265 BA, 5th in scoring and 2nd with 101 home runs... on the hill they are 15th with a 4.02 team ERA... keep in mind Capet Stadium is quite short down the lines and in the power alleys... All-Star pitcher Sixto Zamora (13-5 2.71) is the ace of the staff and is enjoying a remarkable season... closer Jason Patrick (0-3 2.95) has posted 16 saves thus far... Cobb's eyes light up when does the line-up card with the likes of All-Star Andy Pearson (.339/16 HR), All-Star C Gary Troxell (.298/20 HR), RF Buddy Bechtel (.289/17 HR), LF Eduardo Villanueva (.284/9 HR) and CF Johnny Whittier (.249/16 HR)... the Suns need good second halves from veteran starters Ernie Matthews (9-6 4.29) and Earl O'Reilly (7-7 4.34)... 27-year-old rookie Cesar De Leon has just been signed and will take over the number four slot in the rotation... De Leon comes highly-regarded by the scouts and could be another vital element in the pennant equation... if one of these pitcher step it up and help Zamora, the Suns will win in a breeze.

This is the year the Southport Sun Sox fans have been waiting almost 20 years for - a year where the Sun Sox are in serious contention for the TU South... they last made the Pro Cup playoffs in 2002... skipper Charley Oscar has good pitching with a 3.46 team ERA (4th) and good power with 88 roundtrippers (5th), average hitting with a .261 BA (15th) and fairly good scoring (11th-tied)... 22-year-old Al Laclair (10-6 2.71) and 36-year-old Bob Montgomery (7-5 2.77) give him two aces on the mound... and Southport has a good man in the bullpen in 24-year-old Rob Ricks (3-5 2.89), who has saved 10 games... the Sun Sox need improved second halves out of the other two starters 40-year-old Keith Callahan (5-1 4.22) and Tippy Ridgeway (7-6 4.14) to overtake Arroyo Grande... top bats are RF Wayne Rutledge (.302/15 HR), 2B Skippy Jones (.284/15 HR) and CF Mickey Little (.326/9 HR).

Whitey Richburn's Turon Typhoons are showing signs of aging, but they still can compete... they are tied with surprising San Alejo for third place and are just two games out of first place... Turon is a well-balance club with a 3.81 team ERA (10th) and a .264 team BA (10th)... the Typhoons have hit 77 homers (7th-tied) and are 7th in scoring... Heading up Richburn's rotation is superstar Nicky Engstrom (12-5 1.95), who made the All-Stars for the 8th time in his 11-year career and passed the 250-win milestone... the 32-year right-hander is now 251-107 lifetime in the IPA with an outrageously-low 2.20 ERA... vets Shane Farmer (4-9 4.54) and Ted Farentino (7-5 5.53) will have to be much better in the second half for Turon to overcome Arroyo Grande and Southport... at the plate Richburn relies on 1B Clyde Kingsford (.292/21 HR), RF Dominick DiCaprio (.278/14 HR), CF Mac McCurnan (.258/10 HR) and SS Alan Hansen (.335/0 HR)... Kingsford, DiCaprio and McCurnan are all 35, while Hansen is 40.

One of the best stories in the IPA this year is the revamped San Alejo Montaneros, who for the last 7 years have dwelt deep in the TU South dungeon - the cellar... however, a new manager Alberto Herrera and an infusion of youth has paid off with a sizzling season at the halfway mark... Herrera took over for Marcellino Zunigo this season... Herrera labored for 17 years on the hill for the Montaneros, finishing his career with a 203-250 record, but with a fine 3.30 ERA... He sparked San Alejo to two back-to-back pennants in 2002 and 2003 and retired in 2018... the Montaneros have not made the postseason for the last 14 years... San Alejo has fine pitching with a 3.45 team ERA (3rd)... its bullpen is the best in the league with a 2.14 ERA, led by closer Florencio Cortez (0-2) with 13 saves and a superlative 1.27 ERA... Herrera's top starters are Trini Corona (9-4 3.05) and rookie Jaime Miranda (10-6 4.17)... Cesar Valdes (5-1 2.70) has looked especially good since taking over the number four spot in May... the San Alejo bats have been productive, too... RF Lou Browning (.312/10 HR), LF Warren Love (.260/18 HR), 2B Tom Patton (.292/8 HR) and 1B Zach Kallis (.314/4 HR) are capable of putting runs on the scoreboard... We don't expect to see the Montaneros fade in the second half... they look like the real McCoy, a solid pennant contender.

This has been a remarkable season for Huroko Uchiyama's Ginza Ninjas... they have been without the heart-and-soul of the team, the superb C Crash Davis, who went down with a back injury late last year and will miss almost all of this year... Davis is an 8-time All-Star with a .330 career BA and has averaged 30 homers and 100 RBIs a year... Davis could be back in September... yet, the Ninjas have hung in the race, trailing by only 3 games in fifth place... Home-run power and two quality starters are the reason... Ginza is 4th with 89 home runs and 9th in scoring, paced by CF Augie Vitanza (.302/20 HR), All-Star RF Jack Vorland (.313/11 HR), SS Ralph Hart (.262/13 HR) and 1B Johnny O'Rourke (.313/10 HR)... the team ERA is only 4.25 (24th), but starters Joji Azuma (13-5 2.94) and Julian Gilcrist (10-5 3.94) are doing quite well... the bullpen has been horrible this season... newly-signed closer Yutaka Yoshida will try to turn things around in the second half... fifth place may be the best the Ninjas can do this year without Davis... Ginza has too many question marks to challenge this season... Boy, what a difference Davis would have made.

The sixth place Colchester Elites under manager Uncle Robbie Wilbertson are 3 games over .500 and are still within striking distance of first, only 6 games back... however, the Elites are playing above their talent and will not be a threat to take the TU South this year... Colchester pitching is pretty fair with a 3.65 ERA (7th), but they are only average in the offensive department with a .257 BA (20th) with only 62 homers (18th)... Wilbertson's best arms belong to Jess Carpenter (11-6 3.57) and Tommy Tuckman (7-3 3.79)... his best performers in the batter's box are RF Robby Purdom (.308/9 HR), 2B George Alford (.292/12 HR), 1B James McCall (.320/6 HR) and LF Douglas Tilford (.319/5 HR).

Seventh place belongs to the Summerland Sunsets... Will Hackett's club is 14 games behind Arroyo Grande... the Sunsets hit well for average with a .270 team BA (5th), but have difficulty scoring (16th-tied) with only 42 long-balls (30th)... starting pitching is bad with a 4.64 ERA, but quite good in the bullpen with a 3.10 (7th)... 41-year-old Denny Coulon (10-5 3.54) and Sparky DeWey (9-9 3.66) lead the starters and Leon Mullin (1-2 1.74) is the best of the relievers... Coulon is 323-294 in 20 years in the IPA and has put up an excellent 2.87 ERA lifetime... 2B Stefan De Graaf (.330/2 HR) heads up the hitters, along with RF Brady Gilbert (.309/4 HR), LF Claus Kaas (.291/8 HR) and SS Ed Demming (.290/3 HR).

For the fifth year in a row, once powerful Cape Coral is bound for another second-division finish... the Hurricanes are in last place and 17 games behind... Huggy Miller has horrible hitting (.228 BA) and bad pitching (4.44 ERA)... in fact, it's the worst in the team's history... the all-time IPA leader in victories Cody Burg is only 8-8 this season with a mediocre 4.36, but he is the team's best... overall in 20 seasons Burg is 358-257 with a great 2.77 ERA... CF Derek Ryckman tops the team, but only has 9 homers and a .252 batting average.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, June 22, 2021

2021 Tycobbian East Mid-Season Recap

Ozarka Still Owns TU East, Up by 7 Games
Nobody dominates in the IPA like the Ozarka Naturals. They are going for an eighth straight Tycobbian East pennant and 10th title in 12 years and the Nats have a good shot at it with a 7-game lead at mid-season. Last season Ozarka had to beat off four challengers, but not this year. Only second place Red Bluff poses any threat to them. Midway is third, but a distant 13 games back, while High Mesa is fourth and 16 out.

What a ball club Joe Mac Carney has in Ozarka... 6 All-Stars... number one with a .294 team batting average, number two in scoring with 426 runs, number three in homers with 90 and number one in pitching with a 3.00 team ERA... the Nats are on a pace to crack the all-time IPA record for wins... they are 53-20 at the All-Star game... Colfax set the record with a 107-47 mark in 2010... leading the mound corps are starters Eddie Roberts (14-1 2.59), Howard Hutch (8-2 2.25), Benny Osterman (10-5 3.02) and Yuka Nawajuk (10-6 3.59)... Roberts, Hutch and Osterman all made the All-Star team... top man in the pen is closer Josh Carpenter (0-2) with 14 saves and a minuscule 1.33 ERA... Carney has an awesome batting order with All-Stars 3B Andre Dumas (.323/25 HR), 1B Benny Rousseau (.342/20 HR) and SS James Couch (.342/8 HR)... plus RF Ken Mayberry (.323/2 HR), LF Jose Ordonez (.319/3 HR), CF Tony Genassi (.310/6 HR), CF Ryoma Nakayama (.296/4 HR) and C Frank Kiffin (.276/10 HR)... look for Ozarka to again be one of the favorites for the IPA Pro Cup... the Naturals have lost in the finals the last two years... five times they have been to the championship round and have come home empty-handed each time... this year could be the year... it is one of Carney's best teams.

Manager Bucky Frizzell has a pretty good ball team in Red Bluff, they just happen to be in the same division as Ozarka... the Red Sox are having their best season in 15 years... the Red Bluff bats can compete with the Nats, but not on the hill... they are hitting .288 (2nd), have scored 408 runs (3rd) and compiled a 3.42 team ERA (2nd)... but still are 7 games out of first... the Red Bluff batting order contains three All-Stars and seven .300 hitters: All-Star 3B and the IPA's leading hitter Jose Aguilar (.365/10 HR), All-Star C Jim Schubert (.323/7 HR), All-Star 2B James Mack (.321/19 HR), LF Ron van Riebe (.314/3 HR), 1B Scotty Zasloff (.305/11 HR), CF Terry Harrison (.302/1 HR) and SS Jerry Richardson (.301/5 HR)... even the eighth regular RF Don Montagne (.291/3 HR) is close to the .300 mark... Frizzell has one strong starter in Eddie Lance (11-3 2.93) and three quality starters in Grady Daggs (10-5 3.90), rookie Kris Kazlauskas (9-8 3.46) and Paul Nelson (8-7 3.93)... the Red Sox bullpen is also one of the best with closer Rod Westfall (1-2), who has 13 saves and a standout 2.10 ERA... Red Bluff is good, but not quite the class of Ozarka.

The Midway Wolves, piloted by Cochise Chandler, are 7 games over .500, but trail Ozarka by 13 games... pitching is the name of the game in Midway with three capable starters: Motega Wolf (9-7 2.77), Joe Wolf Warner (11-5 3.16) and Dakota Dyami (7-5 3.20)... the top hitters are All-Star 2B Rob Gigler (.362/12 HR) and All-Star CF Johnny Lee (.299/9 HR)... the Wolves are one level below Red Bluff and two below Ozarka.

The fourth place High Mesa Cowboys are 16 games off the pace, but a game above .500... Frisky Franks' Cowpokes can score a lot of runs, but so can the opposition... High Mesa is batting .268 (6th), has scored 389 times (4th) and tops the TU with 121 homers, but the team 4.78 ERA (30th) is horrific... the legendary All-Star 1B Jack Elliott (.357/32 HR) is in his 9th remarkable season and has yet to slack off... Elliott is on a pace to break the all-time IPA HR record this year... he set it in 2013 with 61... All-Star RF Jack Brown (.301/16 HR) and LF Dusty Tarleton (.311/16 HR) lend him support at the plate... Koichi Ishikawa (11-6 4.97) and Ronald Ward (7-6 3.27) pace the pitchers.

Fifth place belongs to the Hillsboro Blazers... Rawhide Marshall's crew is 17 games behind and out of the pennant race... Pat Buettner (7-4 2.67) is the ace of the mound staff... 1B Andy Jefferson (.288/15 HR), C Gil Giroux (.314/12 HR) and RF Paul Green (.281/10 HR) lead the batsmen... the Blazers pushed Ozarka last year when they finished third and 2 games back.

The Tuckanarra Blue Jays are 20 games back and in sixth place under skipper Carlton "Lefty" Stevens... Kenny Cox (7-4 3.79) is his number one pitcher and RF Danny Redd (.329/10 HR) and LF Vince Di Lazzaro (.300/11 HR) head up the hitters.

Duroche "Lips" Leon is in charge in South Fork... his Stallions are in the seventh spot in the standings behind by 22 games... 12-year vet Blackie Terranova (8-8 2.30) is the ace of the mound staff, but has no help on the hill... Leon has some good batsmen in LF Patric Giles (.285/19 HR), 1B Joe Peters (.329/15 HR) and SS Teddy Nixon (.303/5 HR).

And for the 10th time in the last 12 years, the hapless East Point Panthers are last in the TU East... it has not been a good first year for new skipper Jesse Goodwin... Bingo Long (8-7 3.90) is the top starter, along with closer Rob Mackowiak (2-3) with 16 saves and a very strong 1.61 ERA... at the plate 1B Bill McCann (.328/21 HR) is having a fine year... LF Ted Dupre (.302/12 HR) has also provided some offense.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, June 22, 2021

2021 Tycobbian West Mid-Season Recap

Bucs Breezin' In Weak TU West, 10-Game Lead
The high-scoring Bay St. Clair Buccaneers are the scourge of the the weak Tycobbian West this season. The Bucs are sailing along with a huge 10-game lead at the halfway mark. Rolling Hills is in the runner-up spot, followed by third place Kenwood 11 games back and fourth place Denton Denton City 14 games behind. Last year's winner, the Arlon Champions, have withered and aged this season and slumped to seventh place.

Bay St. Clair is blistering the ball at a .285 clip (3rd) and lead the league with 437 runs scored, but only has modest power with 69 roundtrippers (14th-tied)... Guy Rondre's rotation is only average with a 3.95 team ERA (12th)... defensively the Buccaneers are a little better than average with a .975 FA (4th-tied)... All-Stars 2B Bud Walker (.344/6 HR), CF Bill Howell (.335/0 HR) and 1B Jerry Todd (.306/18 HR) lead the way with their gloves and bats... Bay St. Clair is loaded with good hitters... other productive performers are 3B Les Bradley (.307/3 HR), RF Don Smithers (.299/9 HR), C/OF Justin Kucks (.290/7 HR) and LF Florent Schoonmaker (.269/11 HR)... vets Bobby Joe Belvin (12-4 3.10) and Don Yaden (9-6 3.77) top the starters... closer Benson O'Brian (1-1) have been terrific with 16 saves and a 1.54 ERA... if things stay as they are now, the Buccaneers will quickly find out how good they are in the playoffs... they will probably play Ozarka in the first round games... the Nats have the best record in the IPA with a 53-20 mark and Bay St. Clair is number two with a 48-25 record... it should be quite a shootout.

After the Buccaneers, the rest of the clubs are lackluster... the TU West is one of the weaker divisions in the league, along with the TU North... Matty Christianson's Rolling Hills Reds get by with a steady starting rotation consisting of All-Star Sal Jordan (9-6 2.13), Errol Gaudet (8-5 3.39), John Ryck (7-6 3.55) and J. R. Beresford (5-2 4.08)... they have chalked up a 3.41 ERA (2nd) as a group... the bullpen and bats are hurting the Reds... both could stand a lot of improvement... LF Donnie Lewis (.301/6 HR) is Christianson's only reliable hitter.

The Kenwood Wildcats are in third place... Aaron Hankins is in his 20th year as manager... this is his best year since 2014 when the Wildcats surprised everybody by winning the Pro Cup... since then Kenwood has just been a mediocre ball club, usually finishing 5th or 6th in the pennant chase... this season Hankins has an excellent bullpen sparked by All-Star closer Scott Bohn (2-1), who has notched 19 saves and a terrific 1.30 ERA... overall the Wildcat relievers have compiled a superb 2.39 ERA (2nd)... Hankins has only one capable starter in Steve Reeves (9-6 3.49)... at the plate Kenwood is poor with a .252 BA (23rd) and not a lot of firepower with only 61 homers (20th)... 1B Pat Farris (.301/2 HR) is Hankins' best with not too much after him.

The Denton City Redbirds have been the dregs of the division with last-place finishes in four of the last five years... this season they are fourth in the TU West... Ford Whiteman doesn't have much to brag about... Mila Mohoski (8-5 3.79) is still a solid pitcher at age 41, but way past his prime... overall the IPA icon is 347-260 in his 19th season... only Cody Burg (358-257) of Cape Coral has more victories... Ron Futrell (2-2) has done a fine job as closer with a 1.96 ERA and 8 saves since taking over that spot... the Redbirds play good defense with a .975 FA (4th-tied)... but don't score very well (22nd) or have much power (58 HR- 23rd)... All-Star RF Todd Bryant (.301/13 HR) and 3B Mike Mackowiak (.275/17 HR) supply most of the offense.

The Bayview Vikings with Walter Johanssen at the helm are in fifth place and trail by 16 games... the Viks have a solid core of hitters with a .271 team BA (4th)... at the top of the list are All-Star CF Davey Krueger (.337/19 HR), 1B Stan Haddix (.305/14 HR), All-Star LF Hakon Landsvik (.314/8 HR) and SS Tommy Shore (.344/9 HR)...the mound staff is only mediocre with a 4.22 team ERA... only standout is closer Ivar Bergmann (1-1) with 12 saves and a very impressive 1.04 ERA.

The La Claire Lynx are in sixth place, 17 games off the pace... Rip Calkin is gone as manager after 20 years in the La Claire job... Calkin only had three first-division finishes and never made the playoffs... his successor is Maka Bardinda, who was a good catcher for 14 years with Tuckanarra, Red Bluff and La Claire... Bardinda inherited a club that hits well with a .266 BA (8th), scores well with 355 runs (11-tied) and has fair power with 77 home runs (7th-tied), but is woeful on the hill with a horrendous 4.78 ERA, the worst in the league... All-Star 2B Flash Devlin (.346/17 HR) and superstar LF Zeppy Deshotel (.336/4 HR) carry the Lynx offensively... Deshotel is a 9-time All-Star nearing the end of his career at age 37, but he still can hit for average and cover the ground in the outfield... Deshotel is a career .314 batter with 464 home runs, 1635 RBIs and 1654 runs scored in 2403 games... he could reach 3000 hits this year... Deshotel currently stands at 2967 and needs only 33 more... the Lynx best pitcher is Paul Newman (9-7 4.15).

After winning the flag in a very close race last year, the Arlon Champions are having a rocky season... they have slumped to seventh place and are 18 games out of first place... bad hitting and bad starters are the problems for skipper Gary Louis... the Champs are batting only .231 (30th), have scored just 281 runs (31st) and have very little punch with 51 homers (25th-tied)... the starting rotation has combined for a pathetic 4.57 ERA (27th)... his best talents are veteran standouts CF Chucky Gilton (.304/7 HR) and LF Rocco Belasario (.278/6 HR), who may be showing their age at 35... Arlon's only pitcher of note is 24-year-old closer Mac Jackson, who is 4-1 with 9 saves and a splendid 0.75 ERA.

The Chicopee Braves also took a huge fall this season, dropping from second place last year to rock bottom this year... manager Harry Fleetwood's bats have fallen flat... the Braves are batting only .225 (32nd), the absolute worst hitting in the IPA... they are also last with 36 homers and 274 runs... 1B Jose Duran (.304/0 HR) is the only decent hitter... the rest are .257 and below... Fleetwood's pitching is so-so with a 4.17 ERA (20th)... James Beckworth (8-7 3.17) is his best hurler.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 20, 2021

2021 IPA Ruthlandian Union Final Standings

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 20, 2021

2021 IPA Tycobbian Union Final Standings

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 20, 2021

Hobbs Leads RU Hitters
With another season in the books, the 2021 Ruthlandian Union batting title has been awarded to Waleska center fielder Roy Hobbs. This is the second time in his 9-year career that he won the batting crown. Hobbs has been runner-up four times. He put up a .347 batting average, recording 214 hits in 616 at-bats. His numbers included 40 doubles, 8 triples, 40 home runs, 114 RBIs and 109 runs scored. This year's batting champ appeared in 149 games. Lifetime Hobbs is a .355 hitter.

Hobbs outhit Todd Nasso of Ancona, who batted at a .341 pace. Taranto's Arnie Kennedy was number three with a .338 average, followed by Slick Hammill of Belle Plaine at .337 and Travis Glass of Elnora, who hit for a .335 BA.

Triple Crown Year for Elliott
2021 will be forever etched into fans minds as Tycobbian Union star Jack Elliott won the 4th Triple Crown in IPA history. It was the second time in his illustrious career that he accomplished the historic feat. Elliott also broke the IPA all-time home run mark with 65 homers, snapping his own record of 61 in 2013. The 28-year-old High Mesa first baseman shined all year long, batting .380 with 65 home runs and 156 RBIs, topping the league in all three categories. Elliott has a lofty .356 career average. Karol Zodoka of East Point was the first triple crown winner back in 2002. Dane Wesner of Fairfax did it in 2010 and Elliott in 2017.

This was the sixth time in seven seasons that Elliott won the TU batting title. He really had no competition - La Claire's Flash Devlin was 27 points behind with a .353 BA, Andy Pearson of Arroyo Grande came in third with a .346 mark, James Mack of Red Bluff was fourth with a .343 average and White River's Hal Littleton and Ozarka's Benny Rousseau came in fifth with a .342 BA.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 20, 2021

2021 Ruthlandian North Final Recap

Ancona Sweeps RU North With September Surge
The Ancona Red Elephants took their second Ruthlandian North flag in a row with a September surge that swept past the Ranford Bulls. It was Ancona third title in four seasons. Ranford went into the final two weeks of the season with a 5-game lead, but slumped badly and were beaten by the Red Elephants. The Bulls were 7-11 in September, while Ancona was a sizzling 15-3. The Red Elephants closed out the regular season by winning the last 8 games. The Taranto Tars and the Valmara Vipers wound up 9 games out and in a third-place tie. Far Mountain was a very distant fifth and 21 games off the pace.

Manny Mickens had another fine year in Ancona... his club features top-notch hitting, solid pitching and good defense... elements that should take them deep into the IPA Pro Cup playoffs... the Red Elephants are led at the plate by five fine hitters: 1B Alekos Kotas (.308/31 HR/128 RBI), 3B Todd Nasso (.341/34 HR/112 RBI/119 R), LF Kenny Willard (.290/22 HR/91 RBI/102 R), CF Ken Rutledge (.315/19 HR/71 RBI/96 R) and RF Louie DiMucci (.294/19 HR/56 RBI/97 R)... on the hill it's Clete Dukas (25-7 2.61), Bud Garner (6-3 2.76), Nikon Maragos (10-5 3.46) and Spiros Zodiates (16-11 3.93).

It was a super season for Rick Fargnoli and his Ranford Bulls, except for the late-season collapse... pitchers Archie Young (24-8 2.50), Scotty Simmons (18-13 2.89) and Jimmy Travis (18-17 3.59) almost knocked off Ancona with the some help from hitters like 3B Vic Scalzi (.286/28 HR/91 RBI/107 R) and CF Tyee Maska (.268/25 HR/90 RBI/103 R).

As per usual Taranto had the offense, but not the pitching... Tommaso Lazzorda's Tars led the RU with a .278 BA, were third with 160 homers and first with 843 runs... the big bats were RF Augie Marshall (.297/33 HR/120 RBI/98 R), LF Arnie Kennedy (.338/17 HR/90 RBI/93 R), CF Phil Buckner (.301/9 HR/63 RBI/118 R) and 1B Denny Zaffino (.330/20 HR/83 RBI/76 R)... however on the hill, it was another story... Taranto was ranked 31st with a poor 4.48 ERA... Jay Cervini (11-6 4.02) was Lazzorda's top arm... anytime Taranto pitchers can keep the team ERA down around the 4.00 mark, they are serious contenders for the pennant... it's always tough to pitch in the tiny Palazzo di Sport, but delightful to hit there.

Valmara slipped slightly from second place to a tie for third this season... skipper Jet Kazmarek has the pitching with Clem Carmouche (16-16 2.55) and Kolya Romanov (18-15 3.40) in his starting rotation, along with a strong closer Frank Favazzo (6-4), who closed out 27 wins and posted a 2.42 ERA... the Vipers just didn't have the offense to contend... 2B Ron Freiberg (.302/21 HR/97 RBI/96 R) and SS Tyler Ferguson (.328/7 HR/55 RBI/79 R) put up the best numbers on the team.

For the first time in 12 years, the Far Mountain Redhawks fell out of the first division to fifth place and 21 games out... Alex Groveland is not used to that... the dynasty days are over for the Redhawks... Woody Crawford (23-13 2.48) is the only holdover from the glory days when the club was winning pennant after pennant and three straight Pro Cups... it was the sixth time in his career that Crawford has won 20 games... the only offense is provided by 3B Mackie McAllister (.262/29 HR/98 RBI/83 R) and 40-year-old fading superstar SS Don Nichols (.290/13 HR/70 RBI/90 R).

There's not much to shout about in Kilkenny... the Cats wound up in sixth place, 29 games behind Ancona... playing manager and CF Kevin McPhail just doesn't have a lot of talent... Sidney McFarland (15-20 3.88) and Rodger Wright (12-20 3.50) are capable pitchers, but need run support... Kilkenny only a few decent bats... its leaders are 3B Rusty Denicola (.266/23 HR/97 RBI), CF Jay Roche (.307/14 HR/59 RBI/81 R) and SS Johnny Madigan (.274/5 HR/44 RBI/102 R)... McPhail (.270/4 HR/69 RBI/69 R) is still in the line-up at 38.

Charles Darby in Glasco has poor hitting and lousy pitching... Results? - the Athletics ended up 30 games out of the race and in seventh place in the RU North with a .248 team BA (24th) and a 4.90 team ERA (32nd)... Darby only has one quality pitcher and that's his closer Jack Mayer (2-2), who saved 26 games and chalked up a great 1.69 ERA... the A's have one standout bat in 1B Wayne Harris (.278/28 HR/110 RBI/100 R) and a fair bat in SS Lee Sullivan (.261/14 HR/62 RBI/102 R).

For the third time in the last five years the LaGrange Sports found themselves in the cellar and 31 games back... the Sports are a terrible team with a .231 BA (32nd) and a 4.41 ERA (29th)... manager Otto Kronvath needs are many... looking at the players stats, it all goes downhill quickly after RF Jules Nicolet, who is hitting only .278 with 14 homers and 64 RBIs... second-best average is SS Marv Marjoe with a .250 mark, 14 home runs and 84 RBIs... closer Julian Buisson (5-8) is Kronvath best pitcher with 24 saves and a 2.60 ERA... all the starters have ERAs 4.00 and higher.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 20, 2021

2021 Ruthlandian South Final Recap

Cybercats Dethrone Pro Cup Crushers
The defending Pro Cup champs won't be back this year. The Grand City Cybercats made sure of that when they took the Ruthlandian South crown. The Cybercats only had a narrow one-game lead over the Crystal Lake Crushers at mid-season and two-game ahead of the amazing St. John Crusaders, who were in the division basement last year... Grand City gradually pulled away in the second half. St. John wound up in second place, beaten by 8 games. Crystal Lake came in 10 games back in third place, deadlocked with the Valka Blackhawks. They were the only clubs over the .500 mark in the division.

Grand City has steadily improved in recent years, going from fourth in 2018 to third, second and now first place in the RU South this year... Grand City was the best-hitting and top-scoring team in the division with a .265 BA (4th) and 755 runs (6th)... this was the key to victory... coupled with a better-than-average 3.59 team ERA (13th), it enabled Wade Joslin's Cybercats to beat out St. John and Crystal Lake, who had superior pitching, but no bats... leading the way were RF Nick Baldini (.302/15 HR/79 RBI/105 R), 3B Jug Slavin (.278/11 HR/57 RBI/102 R) and 2B Jim Mellencamp (.281/4 HR/61 RBI/82 R)... LF Gene Bridges (.249) paced them with 84 RBIs and C Woodrow Mason (.255) topped the club in homers with 20... 25-year-old rookie southpaw Clint Brewer (21-9 2.66) had a brilliant first season and was the team's MVP... Brent Sturgis (15-8 3.88), Randy Andrews (14-13 3.86) and Jimbo Stearns (14-17 3.27) gave Joslin quite a few quality starts this year... and closer Ralph Teague (3-5) saved 27 games and put up a solid 2.64 ERA... Grand City heads into the Pro Cup playoffs underdogs to the other three division champions, but don't count them out too quickly... it was just a year ago that the unheralded Crystal Lake Crushers won the IPA title.

The St. John Crusaders stunned Islandians when they came out of nowhere to finish second this season... new skipper Skinny Kisecawchuk improved them dramatically from a dismal 59-95 record to an 82-72 mark, a 23-game turnaround... the Crusaders ranked 8th in pitching with a 3.40 team ERA, led by Pat Long (19-14 2.76), Teddy Garson (21-11 3.71) and Andre Haglund (16-16 3.17)... rookie closer Jeremy Vincent (5-5) played a huge role in the division title with 30 saves and a 2.31 ERA... at the plate they were ranked lowly in most offensive categories... they batted only .252 (21st) and hit just 88 roundtrippers (31st)... there are no stars in the line-up, just a bunch of journeymen batters like 3B Vinny Sardisco (.275/13 HR/85 RBI) and SS Vinny Teicher (.276/19 HR/77 RBI)... rookie LF Connor Mitchell (.250) tied Teicher with 19 homers and topped the team with 90 runs.

Last year was a marvelous season for Baby George and his Crystal Lake Crushers when they surprisingly captured the Pro Cup as a sixth seed... Lack of offense caused the Crushers to dip down to a tie for third this year... Crystal Lake will not get a chance to defend its Pro Cup crown... George has outstanding pitching with a 3.04 team ERA (2nd), but his club just doesn't have much offense with a poor .247 BA (26th)... Duncan Welch (19-15 2.52) and Ralph McCollough (15-10 2.05) should never have lost 25 games between them, especially with their strong ERAs... number three and four starters Vic Bauer (13-13 3.67) and Johnny Sakelaris (15-16 3.78) deserved better, too... former starter Roger Bishop (12-6) turned in a yeoman's job in the bullpen with a 2.69 ERA and 18 saves... 1B Phil Gravelli (.308/20 HR/93 RBI/83 R) and 2B Greg Murphy (.286/13 HR/83 RBI/65 R) shouldered most of the offensive production, but they didn't have much help at all.

The Valka Blackhawks are skippered by Andrei Kokk and they were tied with Crystal Lake for third place in the standings, 10 games out... it's the sixth successive first-division finish for them... the Blackhawks have quality pitching with a 3.50 team ERA, pretty good power with 135 homers (14th), but not much when it comes to hitting... Kokk's crew posted a poor .246 team BA (28th) and had difficulty scoring runs (23rd)... Everyone in the starting rotation were solid performers... Arno Vainmaa (16-13 3.19) and Eddie Lasky (16-12 3.55) headed up the list with dependable help from Richie Jost (15-17 3.05) and Kaupo Vershik (11-12 3.29)... Robby Riley (4-7) was the closer... he saved 26 games and registered a 2.32 ERA... CF Tomi Viikberg (.299/22/92/82) was the club most prolific batter... RF Glen Nance led in homers with 28, but batted only .211 with 78 RBIs and scored 84 runs.

After winning two straight RU South flags in 2018 and 2019, the Claxton Diamonds have floundered in the second division the last two years... this season manager Stacy Engel's Diamonds were fifth, 16 games off the pace... bad pitching is holding Claxton down... they rank 30th with a 4.43 team ERA... offensively the Diamonds hold their own with a .261 BA (10th), 718 runs (13th) and 158 home runs (4th)... LF George McKay hit .290 with 20 home runs, 77 RBIs and 94 runs scored... RF K. C. Moerdijk topped the team with 33 roundtrippers, 77 RBIs and 105 runs, but batted only .217... C Allen Lemay chipped in with a .285 BA, 25 dingers, 76 RBIs and scored 80 times... 3B Chris Cummings contributed a .305 average, 14 home runs, 67 RBIs and 62 runs and 1B Mike Luzzatti led the club with a .318 BA and 14 homers... on the hill 41-year-old Kaz Hayagawa led with a 15-14 mark, but compiled a high 4.42 ERA... closer Tony Haverkamp was a strong closer with a 7-4 record, 21 saves and a fine 1.79 ERA.

For the fifth year in a row Marty Pedroza's Belair Beach Sunbirds found themselves perched in the second division 16 games behind and in sixth place... The Birds are not much with the bats (.244 BA/29th), but decent on the mound with a 3.65 team ERA (14th), sparked by the phenomenal rookie left-hander Dan Marconi (22-13 3.29) and veteran Denny Whitaker (15-15 2.98)... number three starter Rik Flippen did well with a solid 3.22 ERA, but wound up with a 14-17 record... RF Carlos Gomez (.289/25 HR/89 RBI/84 R) and LF Ray Pelligrini (.264/28/81/68 R) were the Sunbirds most productive position players.

McGraw Johnson suffered another poor year in Waleska with a seventh-place finish... the Westerners were 27 games in back of winning Grand City... they hit for a decent average (.265-5th), but didn't score well (20th-tied)... in the pitching department Waleska is only average with a 3.77 team ERA (18th)... two players pretty much are the whole offense... superb CF Roy Hobbs (.347/40/114/109) had another great season and won his second batting crown... 1B Grant Betzer (.300/8 HR/79 RBI/83 R) had a pretty good year... Chet McNeil (13-15 3.97), Sammy Grimaldi (13-18 3.70) and Doug Watts (9-27 3.61) are quality arms that go deep in the game, but get poor run support... Marv Cook (6-6) does well in the closing spot with 21 saves and a 2.84 ERA.

Ron Armstrong had a tough time in his rookie year as manager of the San Dimas Rancheros... they plunged from fourth last year to out of sight into the RU South division basement this season, trailing by 31 games... the Rancheros ranked lowly with a .240 BA (31st), 31st in scoring, 29th in homers and 28th with a 4.39 team ERA... Shannon White (16-17 2.93) was a fine starter and vet bullpen ace Raul Marroquin (4-5) did his job with 26 saves and a 1.70 ERA... 1B Jimmy Kuhn (.268/12 HR/60 RBI/90 R) and CF Andre Drexel (.278/15 HR/72 RBI/62 R) were the best bats.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 20, 2021

2021 Ruthlandian East Final Recap

Sugar Valley Snags RU East, Edges Out Eastshore
The Sugar Valley Rattlers survived a seesaw season-long struggle with powerful Eastshore and snatched the Ruthlandian East title by one game. Nobody else contended in the second half of the season as all the challengers faded out after the All-Star game. The Marston Nine came in third with a strong finish and were 12 games off the pace, while the defending division champ Beechwood Bobcats rebounded in the second half after a poor start and wound up fourth in the standings and trailed by 13 games... the Bobcats were tied with Belle Plaine for the fourth spot.

Sugar Valley moved up from fourth place last year to the top spot under long-time skipper Gibby Bobkins... powerful hitting and strong pitching did it and enabled the Rattlers to fight off and overcome the Eastshore Elegants... Benny McConnell (26-11 2.43) and Nick Moore (19-6 3.08) had outstanding seasons to spark them to the RU East title... closer Fernando Vargas (5-6) also played a big part with 32 saves and a 2.63 ERA... as a team the Rattlers rang up a 3.68 ERA (16th)... Sugar Valley had a vaunted attack with 203 homers, first in the RU, and third in scoring with 780 runs... CF Randall Hawson (.299/57 HR/123 RBI/105 R) had an awesome year with 57 homers, a new RU mark... Tommy Klegg of Eastshore set the record with 53 in 2013... Hawson had plenty of help from RF Terry Goudeau (.244/27 HR/98 RBI/96 R), 2B Glenn Christian (.291/26 HR/85 RBI/83 R), C Hal Stevenson (.249/25 HR/74 RBI/66 R) and SS Jack Sanderson (.287/20 HR/70 RBI/101 R)... As good as they are the Rattlers must face a club that won 100 games this season in the RU Elite 8 Series... the Sligo Rovers were tops in pitching (.290 ERA) and number two in scoring (798 runs)... the Rovers had four 20-game winners... it should be a whale of a series... Ancona and Grand City should be a dilly, too.

Manager Killer Brewster has lost two tough pennant races the last two years by a grand total of just 3 games... his Eastshore Elegants have a well-rounded attack with a .272 team BA (2nd), 756 runs (5th), 139 homers (12th) and a 3.28 ERA (4th)... the Elegants also handle the gloves very well with a .976 FA, tied for second in the RU... two 20-game winners Melvin Key (21-11 2.94) and Danny Siegfried (20-13 2.94) led the way, along with the fine closer Milt Campbell (3-5), who notched 29 saves and composed a brilliant 1.11 ERA... Brewster's top bats were 2B Gerry Garner (.329/36 HR/117 RBI/110 R), RF Stan Cuccinello (.291/30 HR/110 RBI/93 R) and LF Tony Romanczuk (.302/7 HR/70 RBI/91 R)... Sugar Valley's firepower made the difference.

The third-place Marston Nine got healthy in the second half of the season and rode the arms of Wayne Taylor (23-12 3.27) and closer John Wilson (3-5), who saved 27 games and posted a 2.32 ERA... Anson Thomas (17-20 3.11) certainly pitched better than his won-loss record... Thomas registered 20 complete games... poor run support cost him dearly... manager Johnny Walters only decent bats were superstar CF Russ Woodward (.325/37 HR/121 RBI/103 R) and 1B Mel Hawkins (.253/24 HR/90 RBI/76 R).

It was a pathetic first half for last year's RU East titleholder, the Beechwood Bobcats, as they sunk to seventh place at the All-Star break... however Bret George's club got its hitting in order and they played 13 games over .500 in the second half with a 44-31 mark to wind up in the fourth spot in the RU East, tied with Belle Plaine... gifted CF Vic Valenti (.303/23 HR/84 RBI/96 R), 3B Maury Charles (.301/13 HR/93 RBI/54 R) and LF Ryan Ray (.283/25 HR/89 RBI/85 R) led the team's offensive resurgence... Valenti had to hit .330 in the second half, Charles .350 and Ray over .320 to end up with good seasons... the Bobcats had wonderful pitching with a 3.27 team ERA (3rd), paced by rookie Ken DeGraw (10-5 2.12), who joined the club in late June... Billy Ray (16-14 3.01), Marty Panko (16-14 3.30) and Stephen Ladd (16-15 3.51) also gave Beechwood three more steady starters... closer Jeff Lyons had a rough year with a 4-9 record, but he did save 30 games and chalked up an impressive 2.24 ERA.

For the last six years the Belle Plaine Musketeers have been stuck at the bottom of the division, finishing seventh or eighth each season, but not this year... at the halfway point rookie manager Dave Torregrossa's Muskies were third and only 3 games back of leading Eastshore... but it didn't last as Belle Plaine slipped back to a tie for fourth, ending up 80-74 and 13 games back... still it was a great season for them... Torregrossa's top performers at the plate were SS Slick Hammill (.337/27 HR/100 RBI/102 R) and RF Jim Beauregard (.263/26 HR/101 RBI/84 R)... the pitching corps was sparked by terrific closer Fabian Moreau (10-4) with 35 saves and a super-low 1.84 ERA... Lucien Record (15-9 3.50) and Frankie Walsh (15-17 3.37) were consistently good on the hill, while Rick Lafleur (17-14 4.24) had the most wins.

The sixth place Elnora All-Stars under the direction of Sam Malone came in 16 games back in the race, but they compiled a 77-77 record... homers (154/6th) and reliable pitching (3.97 ERA/21st) propelled the All-Stars... 42-year-old Taylor Gibbs (12-12 3.80) and rookie Mario Colon (8-4 3.65) were Malone top twirlers... Gibbs is now 288-235 overall in his 20 seasons... closer Paul Gray (2-1 2.83) was also effective with 14 saves... topping the offense were RF Travis Glass (.335/35 HR/90 RBI/98 R), C Leon Carter (.292/26 HR/70 RBI/106 R) and 1B Michael Griffin (.221/29 HR/100 RBI/79 R)... CF Floyd Roberts added 26 homers and 76 RBIs, but batted only .216.

After a surprising third-place run last year - they finished just 3 games behind - the Wynnamac Sundowners came down-to-earth this year and ended up next-to-last in the RU East, but did come within a game of a .500 season, coming in 17 games off the pace of pennant-winning Sugar Valley... Matt Donnelly had pretty fair pitching last season and it got even better this year, improving to a 3.37 ERA (7th), but he saw his bats slump severely to just .246 (27th), a drop from .265 in 2020... hence the downward spiral in the standings... Jerry Meeks (16-17 2.94), Johnny Price (14-13 2.69) and rookie Lon Marshall (5-11 3.32) stood out on the hill, but suffered badly from a lack of runs... closer Jim Horton (8-4) had a solid year with 20 saves and a 2.31 ERA... 2B Liam Cadbury (.276/23 HR/93 RBI/66 R) and 1B Pete Simmons (.315/12 HR/82 RBI/88 R) provided what little offense the Sundowners had.

Trip Holmes doesn't have much talent in Cold Creek, where the Catamounts wound up in the cellar for the second time in three seasons, 35 games behind in the race... on the mound young 21-year-old Mike Butler (14-18 3.55) and 27-year-old Lou Hillman (11-17 3.93) showed some promise, but it tough to win when the team is near bottom in all offensive categories... last in runs (584) and last in homers (82) and hitting only .247 (25th)... you can't compete when your best hitters SS Lynn Seymour and 3B Dick Tabor hit only .270 and .282 respectively... Seymour had 10 homers and 74 RBIs and Tabor 12 homers and 61 RBIs.

[stevebydac]

You are so thorough Eugene. Nice to see someone putting so much love into their hobby.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by stevebydac

You are so thorough Eugene. Nice to see someone putting so much love into their hobby.

Thank you. That is nice of you to post that. I appreciate it.

Actually, without you guys that visit here regularly, I wouldn't have a reason to post. So I should say a special thanks to all of you regulars.

I especially thank all of you for checking out the IPA. It is you that keep it going.

I'm just one of many that love OOTPB. Markus' wonderful creation has made my dream come true. In 1954 I played APBA with cards, boards and dice and wished for the day when you wouldn't have to keep score yourself and figure all of the batting averages and ERAs... It was just wishful thinking, never believing it was possible... 50 years later when I retired I found OOTPB and my dream came true.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 20, 2021

2021 Ruthlandian West Final Recap

Rovers Romp In RU West
The Sligo Rovers ran away with the Ruthlandian West in the opening half of the year and just kept right on running away with it, winning in a romp by 14 games over second place Middlefield. Defending champ Rocky Rapids rebounded with a better second half and wound up a very, very distant third, 21 games to the rear. The Stoner Stars came in fourth and trailed Sligo by 24 games.

Eddie Keys has a juggernaut in Sligo with 100 wins on the year, second best in the IPA to Ozarka's 106... the Rovers have sensational pitching with a 2.90 ERA (1st)... all four starters won 20 games, led by Les Patterson (23-8 2.03), Sam Tate (21-9 2.77), Ralph Okakota (20-10 2.98) and Luka Abromowitz (21-7 3.35)... this is the best rotation in the IPA... the bullpen is good, too, with closer Lenny Ciaccio (9-7 2.97) saving 26 games... Keys has quite a batting order, too... Sligo hit .265 (6th) with 148 homers (8th) and 798 runs (2nd)... leading the list were 1B Johnny Lee Harder (.298/26 HR/103 RBI/100 R), LF Biff Blauer (.301/19/94 RBI/94 R), RF Clell Renshaw (.301/13 HR/74 RBI/96 R), 3B Manny Alou (.279/23 HR/97 RBI/80 R), CF Chris Michel (.289/14 HR/67 RBI/98 R) and SS Vic Carlin (.243/20 HR/103 RBI/71 R)... the Rovers drew powerful Sugar Valley in first round playoff action... the only weakness the Rovers have is defense with a very poor .966 FA... Sligo went 14-1 against the other division winners in the regular season... Look for the Rovers to be in the Pro Cup finals, probably against the Ozarka Naturals, who blitzed through the Tycobbian Union.

It's not easy to go from the basement to second place in just one year, but Bailey Norcross and his Middlefield Roosters did it... however, they were no match for Sligo... Plenty of power and plenty of pitching did it for the Roosters... they were second in homers with 191, sixth in pitching with a 3.36 ERA and ninth in scoring with 744 runs... Frank Dean (24-9 2.37), rookie Norm Phillips (14-7 2.68) and Dicky Damato (17-15 3.22) paced the mound staff with help from closer Ken Crawford (3-5 2.39), who posted 21 saves... at the plate the leaders were 1B Allan Stewart (.304/42 HR/128 RBI/92 R), RF Chuck Larkin (.299/34 HR/82 RBI/117 R) and CF Tom Daniels (.262/34 HR/94 RBI/108 R).

Ryan Noland and the Rocky Rapids Snappers had their four-year string of division flags marred and snapped this season... the Snappers rallied in the second half and moved up to third at season's end, after falling back to fifth at mid-year... pitching is down and batting is off from the title years... Don Chaney (18-13 2.74) is the only standout on the hill... Junior Noland (11-18 3.03), Joe Anderson (15-14 4.60) and Norrie Wickham (13-11 4.58) had off-seasons... even closer Milt Baker (7-11) saw his ERA shoot upward to 3.81, despite saving 33 games... CF Tiger Noland (.333/18 HR/71 RBI/91 R) and 3B Paul Shelton (.254/32 HR/89 RBI/73 R) were the offensive leaders... overall Snappers hitting and pitching are in decline compared to the pennant years.

Benny Stern has a modest ball club in Stoner and his Stars were just a so-so club finishing up under the .500 mark by one game... ace Billy Chapel (19-14 3.10) had another standout season with help from Charley Norton (16-13 3.33)... rookie closer Lou Neuman (4-2 1.83) was strong after taking over the slot at mid-season... Neuman picked up 9 saves... the Stars best hitters were 1B Robert Dunbar (.330/29 HR/121 RBI/99 R), CF Kevin Fisher (.291/7HR/61 RBI/93 R), 3B Kendall Smith (.317/6 HR/60 RBI/62 R) and LF Mike Jaffe (.305/12/60 RBI/56 R)... Jaffe missed the first half of the year with an injury.

The Colfax Blasters and the Volusia Vigilantes deadlocked for fifth place in the RU West and were 25 games off the pace... Colfax's top hurler was the legendary Ilya Szabo (18-17 3.76)... after making the All-Stars with a very good first half, Szabo tired in the second half and slipped into a slump... closer Matt Pedersen (1-2 2.05) handled his chores well with 26 saves... 1B Doug Kirkwood (.311/17 HR/89 RBI/87 R), C Joe Alexander (.273/23 HR/81 RBI/79 R), 3B Mike Janocko (.279/19 HR/72 RBI/46 R), SS Clint Coates (.254/8 HR/53 RBI/101 R) and RF Mike Glaviano (.274//15 HR/62 RBI/85 R) did the most damage for the team.

Alfonso Feliz saw his once-proud and once-potent Volusia Vigilantes fall in the standings, mainly due to a loss of hitting... CF Joe DeLucca (.318/22/72 RBI/106 R) put up the team's best offensive numbers... LF Carlos Quintana (.277/20 HR/88 RBI/80 R) and C Ismael Gomez (.285/22 HR/83 RBI/78 R), both former Rookies of the Year, only had average seasons... Sixto Moreno (16-16 2.94) and Billy Blair (10-10 3.14) pitched well, but needed better run support.

Seventh place belonged to the Forest City Lumberjacks, who were 10 games under .500 with Rob Jackson in charge of the team and 28 games back of first place Sligo... Jackson only has average bats and mediocre pitching... leading the way offensively were 3B Rusty Hood (.303/23 HR/105 RBI/68 R), CF Luc St. Germain (.301/12 HR/74 RBI/105 R), LF Joe Judlin (.277/16 HR/64 RBI/93 R) and 1B Andy Doiron (.281/13 HR/78 RBI/88 R)... second-year man Stephen Phillips (19-11 3.38) and 11-year vet Tommy Zenon (19-13 3.60) topped the mound staff, along with closer Andy Velasco (4-7 2.28), who totaled 20 saves.

A drop in pitching has had its effects on Robby Brooks and the Fort Benton Defenders, who have tumbled down to last place in the RU West... the Defenders were 31 games behind in the pennant race... Brooks still has some quality pitchers in vets Vic Kessler (15-15 3.48) and Cal Walger (16-15 3.36), but just doesn't have enough of them... Mark Jenkins (4-5) did well in the closer slot after taking it over at the halfway point with a 2.40 ERA and 12 saves... CF Ryan Smith (.293/13 HR/66 RBI/97 R) and 1B Zach Vidrine (.280/14 HR/66 RBI/58 R) led the lackluster line-up.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 20, 2021

2021 Tycobbian North Final Recap

WR Rascals Hold Off BL Blue Sox In TU North
For the first time in its 20-year history the White River Rascals have finally made the IPA Pro Cup playoffs. The Rascals ran up a good lead in the first half of the campaign and then had to hold on against the Blue Lake Blue Sox, who played poorly until the All-Star game and then turned its season around. At mid-year White River held an 8-game lead over the seventh-place Blue Sox. By September, Blue Lake had tied the Rascals for first place in a second-half surge. Nonetheless, White River managed to take the Tycobbian North title by one game, in spite of playing sub-.500 ball the last half of the year. No other teams were in contention. The Hartsdale Hellcats came in third and 9 games out, while North Hills finished fourth and 11 back. The Luxora Zorros, who won the division the last four years, slumped badly and fell to seventh place. Not much is expected of White River in the postseason. The TU North is the weakest division in the IPA.

New skipper Mick Cronyn turned a fifth-place team into a division winner... the White River offense put them over the top with good power and scoring... they batted .264 (8th) with 163 homers (6th) and scored 782 runs (7th-tied)... the Rascals was not very strong on the hill with a 4.17 team ERA (26th)... top hitters were superstar 1B Marty Blake with 40 homers, 115 RBIs, 112 runs and a .329 BA... C Tom Hewlett hit .295, drove in 93 runs and homered 18 times... and RF Hal Littleton added a .342 BA, 12 roundtrippers and 68 RBIs... Ron Hendrix (16-15 3.09) was Cronyn's top hurler... closer Arnie Montel (3-6) stood out with 28 saves and a fine 2.24 ERA.

Blue Lake depended on its pitching corps to get back in the race as the Blue Sox had trouble scoring... Cobb Tyson's club posted a pretty fair 3.68 team ERA (10th), while batting only .248 (24th) with 663 runs (23rd) and 98 home runs (28th)... the top starters were Nick Walker (18-12 3.30) and Phil Wilkerson (17-15 3.90)... the bullpen was led by Irv Kuykendall (5-3) with 34 saves and a 2.45 ERA.... only LF Chet Alexander managed decent stats with a .288 BA, 19 homers and 71 runs batted in.

Bobo Boisseau (17-15 3.20) topped Zim Donner's Hartsdale mound staff, while long-time standout 3B Kendry Moulton (.326/35 HR/121 RBI/95 R) had another excellent season at 38... 1B Johnny Scott also excelled with a .323 BA, 25 homers, 93 RBIs and 98 runs scored.

The North Hills Hawks made a healthy leap out of 8th place and climbed up into the first division in fourth place this year... Masaichi Okawa took over from Hub Carlson, who had guided the Hawks for 19 years... Okawa didn't have much in the way of hitting with a .246 team BA (29th) and only average pitching with a 3.83 team ERA (12th)... closer Ben Garland (3-4) was the Hawks MVP with 29 saves and a 2.75 ERA... Ivan Glick was the best starter with a 12-14 mark and a standout 2.71 ERA... 3B Rod Haynes (.302/24 HR/89 RBI/87 R) and 1B Lou Hooper (.280/19 HR/75 RBI/69 R) led North Hills at the plate.

The fifth-place Fairfax Frogs, under first-year playing manager Dane Wesner, had inferior hitting and ordinary pitching and wound up 12 games out of first... 31-year-old ace Ken Hill (20-15 3.20) continued to shine on the mound... in his 12 seasons Hill is 220-163 overall with a superb 2.88 ERA... RF Johnny Eichhorn was the top bat, but hit only .271 with 23 homers and 78 RBIs... 1B Chancey Quibedeaux had 19 roundtrippers and 74 RBIs, but batted only .256... LF Wesner could manage only a .269 BA with 12 home runs and 64 RBIs.

For the 14th year in a row the Oxford Red Caps missed the postseason... Mack Spencer replaced Campy Roy as skipper and he brought them in sixth, trailing by 15 games... not much talent in Oxford... Rick Vaughn (14-16 3.59) and Frankie Douglas (16-17 3.89) were the best pitchers, while 2B Ricky Mullen led the hitters with a .304 BA, 11 HR, 65 RBIs and 83 runs scored.

Everything seemed to go wrong for manager Cristo Viamonte and his Luxora Zorros this season... Viamonte had taken the pennant the last four years in a row, but the Z's dropped down to seventh place and wound up 16 games off the pace... poor offense was the major cause for the fall... one of the finest pitchers in the IPA, Tiago Torres, was 8-22 despite an impressive 2.87 ERA... rookie Mike Boyce had a good season with a pretty good 3.69 ERA, but was only 14-21 in the won-loss department... closer Jay Brewer (6-5) did his job well with 24 saves and a strong 2.48 ERA... C Jim Thorpe Chandler was the only decent hitter with a .285 BA, 22 HRs and 76 RBIs.

The last-place Mahaska Haymakers didn't do much of anything well except play good defense... the Haymakers were tied for second in the league with a .977 FA... long-time skipper Rudy Tanussa finished 28 games below .500 and 18 games behind first-place White River... 40-year-old Johnny Picou (16-19 3.05) was the only reliable pitcher and led the staff... C Bucky O'Brian paced the hitters with 21 homers and 79 RBIs, while batting .282... RF Ross Burke chipped in with 23 dingers and 72 RBIs, but hit only .260.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 20, 2021

2021 Tycobbian South Final Recap

Suns Shine In TU South, Win Flag Again
5 other teams put pressure on the defending TU South titleholder for awhile, but the Arroyo Grande Suns pulled away with a strong second half to win comfortably by 7 games over runner-up Southport, 8 games better than Turon and 10 ahead of San Alejo. The Suns have won the pennant the last two years. The TU South is the strongest division in the IPA as 6 teams wound up .545 or better... Fifth place Ginza was 85-69, 12 games off the pace and sixth place Colchester was 84-70, just 13 games behind in the race.

At mid-season manager Cyclone Cobb needed better pitching and he got it... veterans starters Ernie Matthews (22-10 3.71) and Earl O'Reilly (16-13 3.61) rallied from poor first-half performances and Arroyo Grande closed with a rush and left the rest of the league in the wake... ace Sixto Zamora (24-14 2.74) led the pitching staff with a strong season... closer Jason Patrick (4-4) put up good numbers with 31 saves and a 2.54 ERA... the Suns staff was 8th overall with a 3.63 ERA, which is unbelievably good in the small confines of Capet Stadium... homers come easy here... Cobb has a blockbuster line-up with C Gary Troxell (.300/39 HR/113 RBI/84 R), SS Andy Pearson (.346/27 HR/110 RBI/109 R), RF Buddy Bechtel (.323/31 HR/83 RBI/113 R) and LF Eduardo Villanueva (.296/25 HR/102 RBI/95 R)... Cobb is expecting much better things in the Pro Cup this year... last season they were one of the favorites, but got bumped off in the first round in an upset by Luxora... experts say the Suns have what it takes to win it all this year, but it will be a tough task with Ozarka in the Tycobbian Union and four fine teams from the Ruthlandian Union... Sligo, Sugar Valley, Ancona and Grand City all have talented teams.

A bad August funk cost the Southport Sun Sox the pennant... Charley Oscar's crew slipped to 12-16 that month, while Arroyo Grande went 20-8 and settled the issue... still it was the Sun Sox's best season ever with a second-place finish and a 90-64 mark... they were 3rd in pitching with a strong 3.37 team ERA, led by last year's Rookie of the Year Al Laclair (26-10 2.37), Tippy Ridgeway (17-14 4.00), Keith Callahan (12-8 4.28) and Bob Montgomery (13-16 3.25)... closer Rob Ricks (4-7) racked up 31 saves and compiled a superlative 2.08 ERA... in the offensive department Southport was better-than-average with a .260 mark (13th)and 726 runs (14th)... power-wise the Sun Sox socked 162 homers (7th-tied), paced by 2B Skippy Jones (.277/35 HR/89 RBI/84 R).

Manager Whitey Richburn still has a solid ball club in Turon, but the Typhoons are getting long in the tooth with aging, but still talented players... Turon had a 3.51 team ERA (5th), sparked by one of the IPA's best hurlers Nicky Engstrom (22-12 2.62) and 21-year-old Bobby Byrd (15-6 2.60), who missed 10 weeks of the season... Bryan Wilkerson (12-4 2.13) more than filled in for the injured Byrd... Wilkerson should be a great addition to the rotation next year... longtime stalwarts 40-year-old Ted Farentino (18-11 4.26) and 39-year-old Shane Farmer (8-21 4.57) are showing signs of age... the Typhoons can still tag the ball... they hit .261 (10th), scored 751 runs (10th-tied) and walloped 144 homers (16th)... Richburn's regulars are still quite productive... most of them are 35 or older... superstar 1B Clyde Kingsford (.304/47 HR/140 RBI/115 R) shows no signs of slowing down...RF Dominick DiCaprio (.293/26 HR/112 RBI/92 R) and CF Mac McCurnan (.286/23 HR/95 RBI/81 R) still get the job done... and 42-year-old SS/2B Alan Hansen (.308/3 HR/41 RBI/114 R) still gets on base and scores runs with a .308 BA and 128 walks... Hansen still plays good defense, too.

After many, many years of frustration the San Alejo Montaneros enjoyed a great season... it's been 14 years since the Monties finished in the first division of the TU South... and for the last 8 seasons they have languished in last place... however this year, rookie skipper Alberto Herrera improved the pitching and got some bats in the line-up... Voila! San Alejo jumped to fourth place... Herrera has solid pitching and hitting with a 3.65 team ERA (9th), 162 home runs (7th-tied) and 787 runs (6th)... San Alejo also has an excellent bullpen with a 2.87 ERA (6th)... closer Florencio Cortez (4-3) had a terrific season with 27 saves and a super 1.61 ERA... heading up the starters was Trini Corona (18-13 2.90) with help from Jaime Miranda (19-10 3.96) and Cesar Valdes (10-5 3.53)... at the plate LF Warren Love (.298/41 HR/112 RBI/110 R) and RF Lou Browning (.303/32 HR/90 RBI/106 R) were the most prolific... C Paul Bailey added some sock in the line-up with 19 homers and 96 RBIs, while batting at a .276 clip... the future looks good in San Alejo... Herrera can't wait until next year.

The Ginza Ninjas played well despite losing its superstud C Crash Davis for most of the season due to ruptured discs in his back... Davis played in only 39 games, most of them late in the year, batting .287 with 4 homers and 21 RBIs... but manager Huroko Uchiyama got good mileage out of 1B Johnny O'Rorke (.318/30 HR/78 RBI/89 R), SS Ralph Hart (.268/27 HR/96 RBI/85 R), CF Augie Vitanza (.262/33 HR/91 RBI/101 R), RF Jack Vorland (.272/22 HR/88 RBI/83 R) and late bloomer 2B Hiroshi Minoru, who at age 37 hit .311 with 12 homers, 57 RBIs and scored 85 runs... rookie 3B Yuko Mihashi (.271) showed good potential with 10 homers in 236 at-bats... Ginza signed a rookie left-hander Yutaka Yoshida at mid-season and he quickly developed into the ace of the mound corps with a 9-3 record and a 2.23 ERA... long-time ace Joji Azuma is still around and doing quite well with a 23-11 mark and a 3.49 ERA... Julian Gilcrist, the number-three man in the rotation, posted an 18-12 record with a 3.98 ERA... closer Kakuzo Harimoto was only 1-6, but saved 23 games and registered a fine 2.32 ERA.

The Colchester Elites had a fine year under Uncle Robbie Wilbertson... they wound up 14 games over .500, but still ended up in sixth place in the tough TU South... good pitching was the source of success... the Elites were 4th in the league with a 3.47 team ERA... heading up the staff was Brian Britt (18-13 2.66), Jess Carpenter (19-16 3.20) and Tommy Tuckman (14-8 3.79)... closer Don Richard saved 30 games, but was 3-7 with a 3.48 ERA... Colchester was a little less-than-average with the bats, hitting .253 (22nd), scoring 694 runs (18th-tied), but with decent power... the Elites went deep 142 times (17th)... 41-year-old LF Douglas Tilford topped the team with a .322 BA, while collecting 16 home runs, 82 RBIs and scoring 93 times... 1B James McCall led in roundtrippers with 23, along with 75 RBIs and 86 runs... CF Johnny Washington led the club in scoring with 96, but batted only .230 with 20 homers and 56 RBIs.

Poor hitting (.237 BA-31st)) and so-so pitching (3.96-17th) is a good formula for a low finish in the IPA... the Cape Coral Hurricanes suffered a third consecutive seventh-place finish, 29 games behind the leader... the IPA's all-time wins leader Cody Burg is still Huggy Miller's top pitcher... this year Burg was 19-15 with a 3.84 ERA... Burg is closing in on 400 victories at age 39 with a career 369-264 record in his 21 seasons with a superb 2.79 ERA... closer Mike Rinaldi (4-6) had a strong year with a 2.16 ERA and 25 saves... RF Norman Rayfield (.287/17 HR/86 RBI/78 R) had the best batting average, but CF Derek Ryckman led with 19 home runs, 91 RBIs and 79 runs, while batting only .253 for average.

For the ninth successive season the Summerland Sunsets were a second-division club, ending up in the cellar, 34 games out of first... Will Hackett's best arms were 17-year vet Steve Aaron (18-16 2.97) and Sparky DeWey (17-16 3.58)... 20-year vet Denny Coulon (15-17 3.72) is still a capable pitcher at age 41... lifetime Coulon is 328-306 with a sparkling 2.90 ERA... the Sunsets are not very much in the batter's box... 2B Stefan De Graaf led the team with a .316 average, but only had 8 homers, 69 RBIs and 74 runs... RF Brady Gilbert also added a .274 average, 9 home runs, 75 RBIs and 76 runs to the offensive numbers... 1B John Reynaud topped the team with 77 RBIs and hit .253 with 10 dingers.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 20, 2021

2021 Tycobbian East Final Recap

Ozarka Owns TU East, 7 Years In A Row
Hope always springs eternal - except in the Tycobbian East. Nobody hardly ever wins the pennant except the mighty Ozarka Naturals. The Nats nabbed their seventh straight TU East flag and the 10th in the last 12 years. They easily beat second place Red Bluff by 11 games, third place Midway by 13 games and were a whopping 32 games better than fourth place High Mesa.

Manager Joe Mac Carney and his Ozarka Naturals won 106 games this season and have run the show in the TU East for the last decade... the Nats have it all - excellent pitching with a 2.95 team ERA and excellent hitting with a .285 batting average, 158 homers (10th) and 815 runs (4th)... plus a sparkling .976 FA (4th-tied)... Carney has four 20-game winners with Benny Osterman (25-9 2.33), Eddie Roberts (23-8 3.18), Howard Hutch (20-8 2.46) and Yuka Nawajuk (21-13 3.35)... Ozarka has a solid bullpen, too, led by Josh Carpenter (2-4) with 32 saves and a 3.20 ERA... the Naturals have four .300 hitters in the batting order: 1B Benny Rousseau (.343/36 HR/114 RBI/104 R), 3B Andre Dumas (.310/45 HR/140 RBI/126 R), RF Ken Mayberry (.302/6 HR/35 RBI/88 R) and C Frank Kiffin (.301/16 HR/76 RBI)... Carney has led Ozarka to the Pro Cup finals five times and always came up empty... He thinks this is his best team... the Nats almost tied the IPA record for the most victories in a season, but came up one game short of the Colfax record 107-47 set in 2010... Arroyo Grande will be the biggest barrier for them to get by in the Tycobbian Union... all of the Ruthlandian challengers will be very worthy opponents should Ozarka get to the Pro Cup for a record sixth time.

The Red Bluff Red Sox had a wonderful season with a 95-59 mark and would have won most of the IPA divisions... Skipper Bucky Frizzell could compete with Ozarka with a .280 BA (2nd), 825 runs (2nd) and 145 homers (15th)... and on defense with a .979 FA (1st), but not on the hill... the Red Sox's team ERA was 3.57 (6th), not bad at all, but not in the elite class of Ozarka... leading the Red Bluff hit parade were 2B James Mack (.343/33 HR/134 RBI/110 R), 3B Jose Aguilar (.337/20 HR/84 RBI/114 R) and 1B Scotty Zasloff (.277/20 HR/96 RBI/97 R)... Frizzell's top pitchers were rookie Kris Kazlauskas (22-10 3.53), Eddie Lance (19-11 3.66), Paul Nelson (19-13 3.95) and Grady Daggs (15-15 3.81)... in the bullpen Rod Westfall (7-4) stood out with 34 saves and a brilliant 1.60 ERA.

With a 93-61 record manager Cochise Chandler could have won half of the divisions in the IPA... it was a very good year for the third place Midway Wolves... Chandler relied on good hitting (.262 BA/9th) and good starting pitching (3.39 ERA-3rd)... his bullpen was the weak link (4.49 ERA-30th)... batting leaders were 3B Rob Gigler (.306/23 HR/83 RBI/96 R), rookie RF Kyle Rigney (.299/22 HR/82 RBI/103 R), CF Johnny Lee (.282/18 HR/84 RBI/78 R)... Motega Wolf (19-14 2.68) was the ace of the staff with lots of help from rookie Bobby Dorignac (14-4 2.84), Dakota Dyami (19-8 3.32) and Joe Wolf Warner (18-10 3.48)... veteran closer Dom Vilaggio saved 37 games, but was only 3-6 record-wise with a high 3.78 ERA.

The High Mesa Cowboys are a lackluster fourth-place club, but manager Frisky Franks does possess some very fine talent... the remarkable 1B Jack Elliott had an astounding season... he hit for the Triple Crown for the second time in the last four years... Elliott topped the IRA with an unbelievable 65 home runs, .380 batting average and 156 RBIs... he also led the TU with 132 runs... Elliott broke his own home-run mark of 61, established in 2013... offense prevails in the small Queen Ranch Stadium with its close fences all-around... LF Dusty Tarleton (.300/32 HR/82 RBI), RF Jack Brown (.278/26 HR/57 RBI/111 R) and SS Stephen Andrews (.293/15 HR/80 RBI/83 R) also enjoyed good years... Ronald Ward was 17-16, but pitched very well in the tiny ball park with a strong 3.19 ERA... closer Pete Woods (2-3) excelled with 27 saves and a 2.56 ERA.

Duroche "Lips" Leon and the South Fork Stallions wound up a distant 34 games behind Ozarka in fifth place in the TU East... Blackie Terranova (18-16 2.90) and Stan Fullerton (20-8 3.75) were steady and consistent starters... however, it was the hitters who carried the Ponies... veteran star 1B Joe Peters (.335/33 HR/108 RBI/96 R) had his usual outstanding year... 2B Norris Nettles (.279/27 HR/97 RBI/102 R), LF Patric Giles (.269/30 HR/96 RBI/90 R) and RF Robby Michel (.288/11 HR/57 RBI/107 R) also chipped quite capably.

The East Point Panthers got a new manager Jesse Goodwin and the club moved up in the standings, rising up to sixth place... the Panthers snapped a 5-year stretch of finishing last, but still wound up 35 games out... East Point is last with a 4.68 team ERA, but they can put runs on the scoreboard with 139 homers (18th) and 760 runs (9th)... Goodwin has a few good players... starter Bingo Long (19-14 3.81) and closer Rob Mackowiak (3-6) are solid pitchers... Mackowiak saved 34 games and posted an outstanding 1.60 ERA... at the plate 1B Bill McCann (.293/38 HR/117 RBI/99 R) topped the Panthers offense, aided by 3B Beauregard Lee (.229/24 HR/95 RBI/81 R) and CF Sozi Akiyama (.240/15 HR/59 RBI/114 R).

The Hillsboro Blazers dropped out of the first division for the first time in four years with a seventh place finish, 35 games back in the race... Rawhide Marshall's pitching corps let him down with a 4.24 ERA (28th), falling from a very good 3.40 last year... the Blazers still have good home-run power with 179 roundtrippers (4th), paced by CF Bob Graham (.276/34 HR/89 RBI/104 R), 1B Andy Jefferson (.319/27 HR/79 RBI), C Gil Giroux (.302/20 HR/72 RBI) and 1B Larry Guichard (.317/15 HR/50 RBI)... Pat Buettner (15-10 3.71) and Yank Yoland (16-14 3.62) were Hillsboro's top-producing pitchers... Hank Hellman (3-7) did a quality job in the closing role with 25 saves and a 2.74 ERA... Tom Edgar (14-20 4.03) and Chris Dean (15-16 4.75) suffered down years.

Carlton "Lefty" Stevens and his last place Tuckanarra Blue Jays had the team's worst record in history with a 61-93 record... RF Danny Redd (.328/17 HR/77 RBI/105 R) and closer Archie Desmond (7-6 2.12) with 23 saves are the Birds only top-notch performers... young SS Narra Gilyinju (.275/16 HR/78 RBI/77 R), LF Vince Di Lazzaro (.295/20 HR/78 RBI) and youthful 1B Mandu Purula (.286/15 HR/79 RBI) show good potential.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 20, 2021

2021 Tycobbian West Final Recap

BSC Bucs Blow Away All In TU West
Start to finish, it was no contest in the weak Tycobbian West this year... the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers sunk everybody in sight and easily captured the pennant by 11 games over second-place Rolling Hills... Kenwood trailed in third by 17 games, followed by fourth-place Bayview, 18 games out. Only the Bucs and the Reds finished above the .500 mark. Last year's champion Arlon tumbled down to seventh place, 24 games behind Bay St. Clair.

Bay St. Clair under the direction of long-time skipper Guy Rondre blasted its way to the division title with a high-octane attack... the youthful Bucs outscored everyone in the league with 885 runs (1st), batted a strong .273 (3rd) and knocked 150 out of the park (12th-tied)... the pitching was just good enough to get by with a 4.04 team ERA (19th)... defensively they are good with a fine .975 FA (7th-tied)... offensively the Buccaneers were sparked by RF Don Smithers (.303/29 HR/107 RBI/104 R), 1B Jerry Todd (.292/37 HR/107 RBI/94 R), 2B Bud Walker (.292/6 HR/67 RBI/96 R), Florent Schoonmaker (.275/23 HR/94 RBI/77 R), 3B Les Bradley (.300/5 HR/75 RBI/95 R) and CF Bill Howell (.309/0 HR/44 RBI/137 runs)... 17-year veteran Bobby Joe Belvin (20-13 3.38) went over the 200-win milestone this season... in his career Belvin is 202-185 with a 3.80 ERA... 23-year-old closer Benson O'Brian (3-5) chalked up an impressive 2.25 ERA and 24 saves... Rondre's relief corps registered a solid 3.03 ERA (8th)... 24-year-old middle reliever Marv Thomas had a fantastic year with a 12-0 mark and a 2.62 ERA in 41 appearances... the future looks bright for Bay St. Clair with its plethora of youth... most players are under 30 and range mainly between 21-28... most experts are giving the edge to Ozarka and Arroyo Grande in the TU Pro Cup playoffs... but history tells us the underdog Bucs KO'd the favored Naturals in 2015, 2017 and 2018... and this may be Rondre's best team in recent years.

Good pitching carried the runner-up Rolling Hills Reds this year with a fine 3.37 team ERA (2nd)... heading up Matty Christianson's impressive staff were Errol Gaudet (19-12 2.90), Sal Jordan (14-17 2.94), rookie John Ryck (16-12 3.64) and rookie Alan Clay (7-4 2.27), who joined the club in late July... the Reds closer was Alfonso Gonzales (4-1), who saved 18 games and registered a ridiculously low 0.79 ERA... poor hitting hampered Rolling Hills... they batted only .250 (23rd), scored only 648 runs (26th-tied) and swatted just 95 dingers (29th)... 11-year vet LF Donnie Lewis (.297/10 HR/68 RBI/91 R) was the only reliable bat in the line-up... 1B Mickey Greene led in homers with 20 and in RBIs with 81, but hit only .263 for average.

Aaron Hankins' Kenwood Wildcats were in third place 4 games under .500 with a 75-79 record... this was the best year the club has had since the surprising and shocking Pro Cup triumph in 2014... since then the Wildcats have wallowed in the second division for six successive seasons... Hankins only has an average ball club... his only real talent is closer Scott Bohn (4-2), who compiled a great 1.17 ERA and picked up 28 saves... the rest of the roster is nothing to brag about.

The fourth-place Bayview Vikings have some quality bats and a few solid pitchers, but still had a losing record (74-80)... Walter Johanssen top bats were 1B Stan Haddix (.320/30 HR/121 RBI/81 R), CF Davey Krueger (.295/39 HR/108 RBI/91 R), 2B Tommy Shore (.317/20 HR/75 RBI/108 R) and LF Hakon Landsvik (.303/17 HR/71 RBI/87 R)... on the hill the Viks best starters were vets Harald Turi (16-18 3.17) and Rick Pritchard (16-14 3.60)... closer Ivar Bergmann (5-4) enjoyed his best season with 28 saves and a super 1.62 ERA.

The golden days are long gone in Denton City... Ford Whiteman had some fine teams 2004-2013 when he hoisted six TU West flags over Douglas Denton Field... this year the Redbirds came in fifth and were 19 games off the pace... not much stands out when you look at the roster... 42-year-old IPA legend Mila Mohoski, who anchored the pitching staff in the great years, is still around, but not the pitcher he used to be... Mohoski was 14-12 with a 3.94 ERA this season... lifetime he is number two in the IPA with 353 victories... Mohoski has lost 267 times and put up a fine 3.19 ERA in his 20 years in the league... Rich Hopkins (5-6) took over closer duties in August and did a good job with 7 saves and a good 2.25 ERA... 3B Mike Mackowiak paced the Redhawk attack with 30 homers and 111 runs batted in, while batting .275... RF Todd Bryant topped the team with 116 runs, hit .296 and collected 25 roundtrippers... LF Steven Lawrence led them with a .315 BA... Lawrence hit 15 homers, scored 80 times and drove in 61 runs.

Maka Bardinda took over for Rip Calkin in La Claire this year, but the club still finished in the second division for the 12th straight year, winding up sixth this season... the Lynx were 23 games back of Bay St. Clair... Bardinda has average offense with a .260 team BA, but does have some power with 159 home runs (9th)... on the hill the team ERA was a very poor 4.48 (30th)... superstud 2B Flash Devlin (.353/36 HR/110 RBI/118 R) had an excellent year and carried the club with some help from 38-year-old LF Zeppy Deshotel, who can still swing a good bat and play the field well... IPA icon Deshotel batted .318 with 11 homers, 52 RBIs and scored 91 runs, while stealing 27 bases... over his 17-year Hall-of-Fame career Deshotel sports a .314 BA with 467 HRs, 1663 RBIs and 1701 runs and over 500 stolen bases... C Stan Ladendorf showed good power this season with 31 roundtrippers and 79 RBIs, but hit only .247... two youthful 25-year-old pitchers stood out for the Lynx: Paul Newman (18-16 3.68) and Don Schmidt (19-15 3.85).

It was a difficult year for Gary Louis... his Arlon Champions won the TU West in 2020, but they plunged to seventh place this season, 24 games out of first... the Champs top performers with the bats were long-time stars CF Chucky Gilton (.311/26 HR/99 RBI/83 R) and LF Rocky Belasario (.284/21 HR/67 RBI/101 R)... on the mound rookie Rick Parks (17-14 3.21) stood out, along with closer Mac Jackson (6-8), who saved 25 games and chalked up a 2.75 ERA... Arlon's bullpen was one of the best in the IPA with a 2.52 ERA (2nd)... other than that the Champs were just a mediocre ball club.

The Chicopee Braves also flopped badly this season and fell into the basement after being the number-two team in 2021... Harry Fleetwood's Braves just can't hit... they batted only .228 (32nd), hit only 69 home runs (32nd) and scored only 572 runs (32nd)... no amount of pitching could overcome such lousy offense... on the mound Chicopee was just average with a 3.82 ERA (11th), anchored by 20-year-old rookie right-hander James Beckworth with a 14-13 record and a fine 3.04 ERA.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 20, 2021

2021 IPA Pro Cup Begins Tomorrow, Ozarka Favored
The mighty Ozarka Naturals of the Tycobbian Union have made the long, hard trip to the IPA Pro Cup Finals five times in its history and have never won one. This year the baseball experts are predicting that they will finally be victorious. The Nats won 106 games and lost only 48 this year, falling short of the all-time IPA mark by just one victory. Colfax of the RU won 107 games in 2010 and also copped the Pro Cup. Ruthlandia has prevailed 12 times in the Pro Cup, while Tycobbia has taken it on 8 occasions. Last year's champion Crystal Lake finished third to Grand City in the RU South and will not get a chance to repeat. The surprising Crushers won over heavily-favored Ozarka in 5 games last season.

The Sligo Rovers had a sensational season with a 100-54 record and they are favored to take the Ruthlandian Union and be matched up with powerful Ozarka in the Pro Cup Finals. The baseball prognosticators are slightly favoring Ozarka because they are better offensively than the Rovers and have superior defense. Both clubs have truly outstanding pitching.

From spring training to the last out of the regular season, it has been the goal of every GM, team, manager and player to reach the Islandian Pro Alliance playoffs. They all aspire to win baseball's Holy Grail, the Pro Cup Series title. Now, for the 8 division winners, the first step of that journey begins in earnest with the Elite 8 Series starting tomorrow afternoon. All postseason series are best-of-seven series.

In the Ruthlandian Union the Sligo Rovers will play host to the Sugar Valley Rattlers at Silver Mountain Park and the Grand City Cybercats will tangle with the Ancona Red Elephants at Jay Loman Park in Ancona. Over in the Tycobbian Union, the Ozarka Naturals will be at home at Ellie Ewing Stadium against the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers and the White River Rascals will be on the road at Capet Stadium, playing the Arroyo Grande Suns.

Tale of the Tape:

1. Ozarka Naturals (106-48) - TU
.285 BA (1st)
815 runs (4th)
158 HR (10th)
2.95 ERA (1st)
.976 FA (4th)
Home 53-24
Away 53-24

2. Sligo Rovers (100-54) - RU
.265 BA (6th)
798 runs (2nd)
148 HR (8th)
2.90 ERA (1st)
.970 FA (20th-tied)
Home 52-25
Away 48-29

3. Arroyo Grande Suns (97-57) - TU
.269 BA (4th)
818 runs (3rd)
200 HR (2nd)
3.63 ERA (8th)
.972 (12th)
Home 52-22
Away 42-35

4. Ancona Red Elephants (91-63) - RU
.269 BA (3rd)
779 runs (4th)
156 HR (5th)
3.51 ERA (12th)
.975 FA (5th)
Home 51-26
Away 40-37

5. Sugar Valley Rattlers (93-61) - RU
.258 BA (12th)
780 runs (3rd)
203 HR (1st)
3.68 ERA (16th)
.970 (20th-tied)
Home 47-30
Away 46-31

6. Bay St. Clair Buccaneers (92-62) - TU
.273 BA (3rd)
885 runs (1st)
150 HR (12th-tied)
4.04 ERA (19th)
.970 (20th-tied)
Home 46-31
Away 46-31

7. Grand City Cybercats (90-64) - RU
.265 BA (4th)
755 runs (6th)
101 HR (25th-tied)
3.59 ERA (13th)
.976 FA (2nd-tied)
Home 45-32
Away 45-32

8. White River Rascals (81-73) - TU
.264 BA (8th)
782 runs (7th-tied)
163 HR (6th)
4.17 ERA (26th)
.970 FA (24th-tied)
Home 39-38
Away 42-35

[Eugene Church]

Map of Islandian

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, September 21, 2012

Around the Town in the IPA

SUGAR VALLEY RATTLERS

Owner/GM: Manny Earl

Manager: Gibson Bobkins

Sugar Valley is an agricultural town of 84,000 in the Southern Lowlands on the banks of the great Green River, which splits Ruthlandia in half and runs from Far Mountain in the north near the Appian Mountains, all the way south to Belair Beach on Belair Bay and the Southern Sea.

Sugar Valley is famous as a lush farming region, that specializes in sugar cane, rice, citrus fruits and vegetables.

It is also the home of the Sugar Valley Rattlers, a team in the Ruthlandian Baseball Union (South Division) of the Islandian Pro Alliance. The Rattlers play at Farmers Memorial Stadium, named in honor of the area's most respected profession. They get their nickname from the ever-present cane rattlesnakes, commonly found in the Southern Lowlands.

It is a traditional for the Rattler fans, especially the kids, to try and rally the team with a chorus or two of the song "Sneaky Snake", led, of course, by the Sugar Valley mascot, Sneaky Snake:

Boys and girls take warning, if you go near the lake
Keep your eyes wide open, and look for sneaky snake
Now maybe you won’t see him, maybe you won’t hear
But he’ll sneak up behind you, and drink all your root beer.

And then sneaky snake goes dancin’, wigglin’ and a-hissin’
Sneaky snake goes dancin’, gigglin’ and a-kissin’
I don’t like old sneaky snake; he laughs too much you see
When he goes wigglin’ through the grass, it tickles his underneath.

(Thanks to Country Hall-of-Famer,Tom T. Hall, a wonderful country singer and songwriter for those lyrics)

The sound of mechanical rattlers and noisemakers are a tradition and also pervade the ballpark as Sugar Valley hardcore fans create quite a racket and try to ignite their team. They also do prolonged "hissing", whenever the Rattler opponents do something good or should the umpires make any decisions detrimental to their beloved ballclub.

At the concession stands you'll get the regular hot dogs, cokes and hamburgers, but also mouthwatering, made-from-scratch, country biscuits, topped with sugar cane molasses and "to die for" homemade ice cream.

The architect in charge of all of this is one of baseball's premier and most creative owners and general managers, Manny Earl. Nobody out promotes Manny Earl. He was an important cog in the IPA organization along with Jorge Trujillo of Belair Beach, Jock Ewing of Waleska, John Banson (league commissioner) and Rob Jackson of Forest City.

The Rattlers' manager is the very capable Gibson Bobkins. Gibby was one fierce competitor, when he was on the mound. He was one of the best righthanders ever in the industrial leagues and a good manager, too.

How fierce a competitor is Bobkins? He once answered a reporter this way: "I've played a couple of hundred games of tic-tac-toe with my little daughter and she hasn't beaten me yet. I've always had to win. I've got to win."

As a player Bobkins was often criticize in the press for his intense behavior and strong competitive spirit on the field. He fired back at his critics this way, "Why do I have to be an example for your kid? You be an example for your own kid."

Farmers Memorial Stadium (1967)

Capacity: 11,655

Dimensions:

Left Field Line - 310
Left Field - 340
Left Center - 370
Center Field - 385
Right Center - 370
Right Field - 340
Right Field Line - 310