ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

[Eugene Church]

Season 20 coming up.

I'll get busy on new roster additions.

[Eugene Church]

The votes are tallied and the players have been chosen -- all that's left is to "Play Ball"! It's time once again for the mid-year classic where the league's premier performers come together to show their skill and talent. The All-Stars from the Ruthlandian Union and the Tycobbian Union are set to tangle to determine which league is the best. The game will be played tomorrow afternoon at Snapper Stadium, home of the defending Pro Cup champion Rocky Rapids.

* = Years Made All-Star Team

The roster for the Ruthlandian Union is:

SP Billy Ray (Beachwood) 12-6 2.13 ***
SP Clete Dukas (Ancona) 13-4 2.44 *
SP Benny McConnell (Sugar Valley) 14-5 3.15 *
SP Ralph McCullough (Crystal Lake) 13-5 3.08 *
SP Anthony Zinacola (Taranto) 12-6 3.79 *
SP Marty Panko (Beechwood) 8-1 2.26 *
SP Don Chaney (Rocky Rapids) 9-6 2.97 *****
SP Les Patterson (Sligo) 10-6 2.85 ***
CL Neil Walton (Ranford) 3-2 0.89 16 saves *
CL Jeff Lyons (Beechwood) 2-1 1.95 16 saves *
C Hal Stevenson (Sugar Valley) .296 BA 17 HR ***** ***** **
C Leon Carter (Elnora) .310 BA 14 HR ***** **
C Denny Radke (Taranto) .314 BA 9 HR *
1B Phil Gravelli (Crystal Lake) .367 BA 13 HR ***** ***** **
1B Allan Stewart (Middlefield) .311 BA 21 HR *
1B Danny Sommers (Belair Beach) .326 BA 15 HR *
2B Paul Shelton (Rocky Rapids) .269 BA 24 HR ****
2B Gerry Garner (Eastshore) .296 BA 16 HR ***
3B Don Nichols (Far Mountain) .337 BA 13 HR ***** ***** *
3B Vic Scalzi (Ranford) .324 BA 19 HR ***
3B Todd Nasso (Ancona) .324 BA 15 HR **
SS Slick Hammill (Belle Plaine) .338 BA 8 HR ***
SS Grant Betzer (Waleska) .351 BA 8 HR **
LF Kenny Willard (Ancona) .306 BA 14 HR ***
LF Jim Beauregard (Belle Plaine) .347 BA 14 HR **
CF Vic Valenti (Beechwood) .327 BA 18 HR *****
CF Roy Hobbs (Waleska) .328 BA 15 HR ***** *
CF Joe DeLucca (Volusia) . 327 BA 14 HR ***** **
RF Vic Ivarsson (Middlefield) .379 BA 7 HR **
RF Ricky Rich (Grand City) .310 BA 10 HR ***
RF Norm Owens (San Dimas) .306 BA 12 HR **

The roster for the Tycobbian Union is:

SP Earl O'Reilly (Arroyo Grande) 13-5 2.14 *
SP Tiago Torres (Luxora) 13-4 1.58 ***
SP Nicky Engstrom (Turon) 9-4 2.04 ***** **
SP Benny Osterman (Ozarka) 10-6 2.31 *****
SP Chris Dean (Hillsboro) 10-4 2.54 *
SP Joji Azuma (Ginza) 10-4 2.85 ***
SP Sal Jordan (Rolling Hills) 11-7 2.83 *
SP Erroll Gaudet (Rolling Hills) 7-3 2.51 **
CL Ed Galliano (High Mesa) 2-0 0.76 13 saves *
CL Jason Patrick (Arroyo Grande) 4-0 0.00 13 saves **
C Jim Schubert (Red Bluff) .335 BA 3 HR **
C Crash Davis (Ginza) .312 BA 20 HR ***** ***
C Gary Troxell (Arroyo Grande) .361 BA 14 HR **
1B Jack Elliott (High Mesa) .357 BA 22 HR ***** ***
1B Jerry Todd (Bay St. Clair) .373 BA 20 HR *
1B Marty Blake (White River) .332 BA 21 HR ****
2B James Mack (Red Bluff) .285 BA 27 HR *
2B Kenny Rivers (High Mesa) .335 BA 5 HR *
3B Kendry Moulton (Hartsdale) .328 BA 16 HR ***** *
3B Flash Devlin (LaClaire) .308 BA 14 HR ***** *
3B Jose Aguilar (Red Bluff) .338 BA 8 HR *****
SS Stephen Andrews (High Mesa) .260 BA 10 HR **
SS Andy Pearson (Arroyo Grande) .338 BA 15 HR ***** *
LF Rocco Belasario (Arlon) .332 BA 17 HR ***** ****
LF Warren Love (San Alejo) .296 BA 26 HR *
CF Donnie Lewis (Rolling Hills) .333 BA 0 HR ***
CF Augie Vitanza (Ginza) .313 BA 21 HR *
RF Danny Redd (Tuckanarra) .397 BA 9 HR *****
RF Justin Kucks (Bay St. Clair) .387 BA 19 HR **
RF Ken Mayberry (Ozarka) .351 BA 3 HR *
RF Billy Potter (Hartsdale) .318 BA 10 HR *

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Wednesday, June 24, 2020

2020 IPA All-Star Game In Rocky Rapids

RU Stars No-Hit TU Stars 2-0
Can you believe it? A no-hit game in the IPA All-Star Game? At Snapper Stadium in Rocky Rapids, the Tycobbian Stars got only one runner on base and that was on an error in the seventh inning. The RU Stars only got 5 hits, but it was enough to come away with a 2-0 triumph in the 20th All-Star clash. This was only the sixth victory for Ruthlandia in the series. The winning runs came in the last of the eighth, when Gerry Garner (Eastshore) doubled to lead off the inning and went to third on a deep fly out. Danny Sommers (Belair Beach) singled in the eventual game-winner. The RU Stars added another run when Joe DeLucca (Volusia) got on base on a fielder's choice, then stole second and third and easily rode in on Slick Hammill's (Belle Plaine) base hit. Les Patterson (Sligo) got the win and Neil Walton (Ranford) got the save. Joji Azuma (Ginza) allowed both scores and 3 hits for the loss. Starter Billy Ray and Sommers were selected co-MVPs. Ray worked two perfect innings and fanned two batters.

[Eugene Church]

2020 IPA Mid-Season Standings

[Eugene Church]

2020 Ruthlandian Union Mid-Season Batting Statistics

[Eugene Church]

2020 Ruthlandian Union Mid-Season Pitching Statistics

[Eugene Church]

2020 Tycobbian Union Mid-Season Batting Statistics

[Eugene Church]

2020 Tycobbian Union Mid-Season Pitching Statistics

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 21, 2020

Grand City Star Captures RU Bat Crown
When it came to hitting in the Ruthlandian Union this season, none did it better than Nick Baldini of the Grand City Cybercats. He surpassed all his peers with a .350 average to take the 2020 batting crown. The 26-year-old center fielder had 150 hits, including 31 doubles, 4 triples and 3 home runs. Baldini participated in 116 games and also chipped in 70 RBIs and scored 73 times. It was the first batting title for the 26-year-old Baldini. He missed the final month of the season with a fractured wrist.

Rounding out the top 5 were Roy Hobbes of Waleska at .347, Phil Gravelli of Crystal Lake at .345, Vic Ivarsson of Middlefield at .344 and Vic Valenti of Beechwood at .342.

Danny Redd Claims TU Batting Title
The 2020 Tycobbian Union batting champion is Danny Redd of the Tuckanarra Blue Jays. He just closed out an impressive season with a .371 average. His consistency at the plate was a prime reason the 26-year-old right fielder beat out the competition. A slump was a rare occurence for him. Playing in 123 games, Redd contributed 177 hits, 19 home runs and 81 RBIs to the Blue Jays attack. Redd is a first-time winner of the award.

Bay St. Clair rookie Jerry Todd was a second with a .363 mark, followed by Marty Blake of White River .341, Rocco Belasario of Arlon .335 and Jack Elliott of High Mesa and Gary Troxell of Arroyo Grande both finished with a .333 batting average. Elliott had topped the Tycobbian hitters for the last five seasons.

[Eugene Church]

2020 Ruthlandian North Final Standings and Team Batting Statistics

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 21, 2020

2020 Ruthlandian North Final Recap

Ancona Back On Top In RU North
After a year absence the Ancona Red Elephants have returned atop the Ruthlandian North, replacing the Taranto Tars, who fell down sixth this year. Ancona fought Valmara, Ranford and Far Mountain most of the year, finally beating the Vipers by 4 games, the resurging Bulls by 6 games and the Redhawks by 9.

Ancona manager Manny Mickens got improved pitching and solid batting, led on the hill by ace Clete Dukas (22-10 2.69), rookie standout Spiros Zodiates (17-12 3.82) and closer Lynwood Marshall (4-3 2.61 30 saves) and at the plate by 3B Todd Nasso (.317/33/112/125), LF Kenny Willard (.287/26/110/106), CF Ken Rutledge (.320/14/94/81), RF Louis DiMucci (.306/20/66/105) and 1B Alekos Kotas (.289/28/85/106)... the Red Elephants went to the Pro Cup finals two years ago... they are ready to compete again.

The Valmara Vipers jumped from sixth to second with better pitching... Jet Kazmarek has a quality rotation with Kolya Romanov (20-7 3.26), Vanya Vasylenko (15-12 3.12), Clem Carmouche (16-16 3.01) and Tad Janicki (16-8 4.15)... Kazmarek could use stronger bats... LF Miron Burczyk (.264/29/95/101), 2B Ron Freiberg (.264/27/94/98) and CF Bobby Novikov (.276/27/68/101) all hit with good power, but not enough for average.

Rick Fargnoli brought the Ranford Bulls into the first division for the first time in 11 years as they moved up from fifth to third... the Bulls had solid pitching (4th) and good power (5th) in their line-up... Ranford also could use more contact hitters (21st)... the mound corps was paced by starters Craig DeWitt (24-10 3.67), Archie Young (14-14 3.26), Scotty Simmons (13-14 3.29) and closer Neil Walton (4-6 1.86 32 saves)... 3B Vic Scalzi (.297/35/115/103) and CF Tyee Maska (.238/32/100/78) were the only two reliable run producers.

Alex Groveland in Far Mountain is still missing the strong pitching that helped the fourth-place Redhawks dominate the IPA from 2009 to 2016 with 7 pennants and 3 straight Pro Cups... Woody Crawford (22-12 3.16), Bryan Frazier (19-13 3.62) and Bobby Snow (19-13 3.45) give Groveland a capable set of starters, but not enough to dominate... Redhawk batters are also not as good as the "glory years"... 39-year-old SS Don Nichols (.312/21/107/114) still gets the job done very well, but needs more help... other contributors are RF Tony Tanaka (.278/19/80/125) and rookie C John Armstrong (.315/18/107/70).

The rest of the teams in the RU North are in the mediocre class... The LaGrange Sports got out of the cellar and improved to fifth place, but trailed by 19 games... closer Julian Buisson (5-6 2.93/29 saves) is Otto Kronvath's best arm... his starters Phil Bijeaux (17-14 3.90), Andre DeRouen (16-15 3.63) and Gabe Thomas (13-15 4.00) are only average at best... 42-year-old LF Quincy Peterson (.302/21/73/96) still handles the bat well, but has little else in the batting order to back him up.

Taranto's Tommaso Lazzorda rises and falls with his pitching... this year it was down, along with a drop in offense, so the defending RU North champ took a bad plunge down to sixth place, 20 games off the pace... Lazzorda's long-time ace Anthony Zinacola (22-14 3.78) seems to be getting better with age... Zinacola had his finest season at age 42... the remaining hurlers ranged from mediocre to bad... Tar scoring was off by a run a game... superstar RF Augie Marshall (.291/21/73/64) missed one-third of the season with a back injury... several others 3B Aron Aiello (.251/13/82) and SS Ed Miles (.270/18/81) had sub-par seasons... only CF Phil Buckner (.299/13/56/125) and LF Arnie Kennedy (.311/29/116/102) hit well... C Denny Radke hit .316, but fell off from 101 RBIs to just 55... and it's time for Wayne Pounders to retire... the 41-year-old 3B lost his spot in the line-up and hit only .223 with 6 homers in a back-up role... ditto for 40-year-old 1B Pietro Skrmetta, who lost his spot to poorly-performing rookie Bubby Harris (.238/18/62)... Lazzorda has a lot of rebuilding to do in Taranto.

For the fifth year in a row the Glasco Athletics played poorly... so manager Ike Plunkett got the axe and was replaced by former pitching star Charles Darby, an 18-year IPA veteran with a career 241-226 record... Darby starred for the A's from 2001 to 2006 and led them to their only pennant and some of the best years they have had... he finished up his career winning 20 games twice with the Sugar Valley Rattlers... Glasco still wound up 23 games back and in seventh place... Davy McAdams (19-10 3.53) is Darby's only quality pitcher... and SS Lee Sullivan (.301/17/76/95) is his only quality bat.

After a year of prosperity, a 4th-place finish in 2019, the Kilkenny Cats returned to form and finished last this year under first-year skipper Kevin MacPhail, a playing manager... the Cats were 24 games out of first... MacPhail does have some quality players in pitchers Sidney McFarland (18-15 3.30), Rodger Wright (18-15 3.94), closer Jack Hatcher (1-4 2.47 27 saves), RF Jay Roche (.301/20/89/110) and SS Johnny Madigan (.307/5/44/109)... LF MacPhail (.297/2/67/66) at age 37 played decently.

[Eugene Church]

2020 Ruthlandian South Final Standings and Team Batting Statistics

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 21, 2020

2020 Ruthlandian South Final Recap

2-Team Battle In RU South, Crushers Nip Cybercats
After three straight heart-rendering second-place finishes in the Ruthlandian South, the Crystal Lake Crushers finally pulled in a pennant with a 2-game victory over the Grand City Cybercats. The first-half leader, the Valka Blackhawks, folded badly in the second half and wound up in third place 11 games off the pace. The San Dimas Rancheros also peaked at mid-season and dropped back. The Rancheros were fourth, just 4 games behind at the All-Star break, but ended up 12 games out. The Claxton Diamonds, who won the RU South the previous two seasons, took a sudden turn for the worst and fell into oblivion and into sixth place,trailing by 15 games.

Skipper Herman "Baby" George gives most of the credit to Crystal Lake's starting threesome and strong defense (.977 FA-2nd) for ending 19 years of frustration... this was the Crushers first RU flag in history... George featured two 20-game winners in his rotation led by Duncan Welch (24-12 2.00) and Ralph McCullough (23-11 3.16)... his number three Vic Bauer (18-13 3.45) was also solid... barring injury they should be around quite a while... Bauer is only 22 and Welch and McCullough are just 26... it was a tough win for Crystal Lake because of its pathetic .248 BA (30th)... all-time great 1B Phil Gravelli (.345/22/94/91) was just about the only offensive force... 36-year-old Gravelli, a .320 lifetime batter, is the IPA career home-run hitter with 652 and also tops with 2173 RBIs, 3619 hits and 2987 games... It will be difficult for the Crushers in the postseason facing clubs that have both pitching and hitting.

A bad August (11-17) cost the second-place Grand City Cybercats the pennant... Wade Joslin's crew hits well for average with a .269 batting average, but has little power (27th) and little scoring ability (17th)... but has a good group of decent starters in Jimbo Sterns (17-10 3.42), Brent Sturgis (.18-12 3.97), Luis Perez (14-13 3.46) and Randy Andrews (13-17 3.42)... the Cypercats also have a great bullpen led by Ralph Teague (6-4) with an extraordinary 1.31 ERA and 21 saves... most of the offense is provided by RF Ricky Rich (.338/26/113/92) and 3B Jug Slavin (.313/16/61/100).

Andrei Kokk in Valka can match Crystal Lake and Grand City on the hill as far as starting pitchers, but not in the bullpen... the third-place Blackhawks have four competent starters with Richie Jost (18-15 3.27), Arno Vainmaa (18-15 3.60), Eddie Lasky (14-14 3.67) and Ivo Jaanson (14-12 3.04)... Valka doesn't have a potent attack with a .262 BA (13th), much power with 119 homers (20th) and is 24th in scoring... rookie CF Tomi Viikberg topped the team with a .316 BA, 75 RBIs and 92 runs... no others were close to his stats.

The San Dimas Rancheros made progress this season under Paco Banderos, moving up from seventh to fourth... however, the Rancheros are far from a pennant contender... the only talented hurler is closer Raul Marroquin, who was 9-3 with 24 saves and a super-low 1.82 ERA... at the plate All-Star and Gold Glover Norm Owens (.284/23/97/100) and fine-fielding CF Andre Drexel (.293/22/101/85) supply most of the scoring.

The Belair Beach Sunbirds with Marty Pedroza at the helm came in a disappointing fifth for the fifth year in a row, 15 games behind... the Sunbird fans are not happy... from 2011 to 2016 Pedroza wound up in first place three times and in second place 3 times... poor hitting is the main culprit... but this year pitching was off, too... Pedroza's only two reliable pitchers are Rik Flippen (16-12 3.42) and Denny Whitaker (16-17 3.32)... in the batter's box the only dependable hitter was 1B Danny Sommers, a great trade acquision from Turon in the Tycobbian Union... the 26-year-old Sommers blossomed in his first chance at starting with 29 homers and 102 runs batted in and a .274 BA... He was being wasted on the bench in Turon behind future HOF-er Clyde Kingsford... 27-year-old RF Jim White also shows promise with a .312 season and 15 roundtrippers.

The "Old Perfesser" Stacy Engel really took a tumble this season... his Claxton Diamonds had two great pennant-winning years in 2018-19, but dipped to sixth place and 15 games behind Crystal Lake... Terrible pitching cost the Diamonds... Claxton was 31st with a sky-high 4.63 team ERA and the offense fell off decidedly from last year... Only star LF George McKay (.314/34/104/103) and all-time IPA superstud 1B Mike Luzzatti (.306/24/99/82) performed well... RF K. C. Moerdijk rapped 40 homers, scored 128 runs, batted in 79, but batted only .257 for average... most of Engel's starters and bullpen had 4.25 or worse ERAs.

McGraw Johnson could be in trouble in Waleska... his Westerners have been near the bottom of the RU South for four successive seasons and this does not sit well with its owner J. R. Ewing... After winding up seventh this year and 20 games in back of first place Crystal Lake, Johnson has been given blunt notice it is time to turn things around... the only talent the Westerners have is the brilliant CF Roy Hobbs, who has single-handedly carried the club since he joined them as a rookie in 2013... Hobbs led the team with a .347 average, 25 homers, 95 RBIs and 97 runs... and even his numbers are down from a career-average 35 homers, 120 RBIs and 115 runs per season... the 27-year-old Hobbs is still as good as ever, but the cast of players is down in quality... only SS Grant Betzer gives much help with a .310 BA, 16 home runs, 85 RBIs and 87 runs scored... 22-year-old closer Marv Cook is the only decent pitcher... Cook posted a 6-8 record with 30 saves and a 3.08 ERA.

The last-place St. John Crusaders are one of the worst teams in the IPA with terrible hitting (.238 BA) and average pitching (3.91 ERA)... for the second year in a row Dickie Billings' bunch has been doomed to the basement... Pat Long (14-17 3.34) was the Crusaders only quality starter and closer Will Baxter (8-7) did a very good job with a 2.98 ERA and 17 saves... 11-year vet 3B Vinny Sardisco continues to do a fine job season-after-season, but with no help at all in the line-up... Sardisco had one of his best years with a .333 BA, 43 doubles, 21 home runs and 79 RBIs.

[Eugene Church]

2020 Ruthlandian East Final Standings and Team Batting Statistics

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 21, 2020

2020 Ruthlandian East Final Recap

Bobcats Upset Elegants In RU East
Beechwood ended 19 long frustrating years of failure and finally captured its first Ruthlandian East flag, but it didn't come easy. To do it the Bobcats had to beat out of of the best teams in the IPA, the powerful Eastshore Elegants, who had ruled the division with an iron fist with 4 consecutive titles. Beechwood always played second fiddle to the Elegants, at least in the last 4 seasons, when the Bobcats finished second or third. Beechwood took a close race by 2 games over Eastshore. The Bobcats also had to fight off the revitalized Wynnamac Sundowners, who closed out the season playing their best ball and came up 3 games short in third place, after trailing by 7 games at mid-year. The Sugar Valley Rattlers were fourth and wound up 9 games back.

Beechwood relied on strong pitching (6th) to subdue the Elegants, led by two standout starters in Billy Ray (19-13 2.96) and rookie Marty Panko (17-10 2.96)... Bret George's number three was no slouch either... Stephen Ladd was 18-10 with a fine 3.37 ERA... number four starter Kevin Timms did well at times with a 12-8 mark and a decent 4.06 ERA... closer Jeff Lyons (3-5) was outstanding with 34 saves and a 2.59 ERA in 51 appearances... offense was adequate with a .265 BA (6th)... the Bobcats bats were 11th with 148 homers, but did not score well (19th)... star CF Vic Valenti again led the club with a .342 BA, 39 home runs, 122 RBIs and 118 runs... LF Ryan Ray (.292/34/93/78) and RF Freddie Baxter (.287/10/84/79) chipped in some power and run production... If strong pitching can win the Pro Cup, the Bobcats have a shot... George really needs a little more firepower to get past the current Pro Cup holder, the Rocky Rapids Snappers... the Snappers possess a balanced attack, but are not as strong as they have been over the past four years when the won the division crown... if Beechwood can get by Rocky Rapids, they will likely encounter another club with good pitching and good bats, the talented Ancona Red Elephants... Ancona is favored to whip Crystal Lake in the RU Elite 8.

Runner-up Eastshore was the same good team it has been for the past 5 years, they just had better competition... Killer Brewster had the best pitching in the RU (3.18 ERA), led by veterans Melvin Key (22-9 2.71), Bix Hansen (17-10 3.53) and Al Froelich (18-11 3.73)... ace Danny Siegfried suffered from a lack of runs and finished with a 13-21 record, but with an impressive 22 complete games and a 2.55 ERA... the Elegants came up short at the plate this season... only LF Stan Cuccinello (.273/30/106/94) and 2B Gerry Garner (.274/35/103/96) had good years... the rest of the line-up let Brewster down.

The third-place Wynnamac Sundowners under manager Matt Donnelly rose up from sixth place to contend quite well, just 3 games off the pace... Donnelly has not had a good team since the pennant-winning 2013 season... the Sundowners have been deep in the second-division for the last 5 seasons... but not this year... improvement on the hill and at the plate made a big difference... 34-year-old starter Jerry Meeks and 26-year-old closer Jim Horton carried the club this year... Meeks crossed the 200-win milestone with an excellent 24-10 season and a 2.44 ERA... this was the sixth time he has won 20 or more games, quite an accomplishment when you are playing for a perennial also-ran... Horton racked up 31 saves with a 3-5 mark and a fine 2.60 ERA... Wynnamac's hitting was better this year, but not where it needs to be to be a strong challenger... the Sundowners hit only 118 homers (24th), but batted .265 (7th) and scored well (7th)... 1B Pete Simmons (.324/15/80/80) and LF Joey Eaton (.304/16/77/76) and rookie Ian Holmes (.306/2/60/101) furnished most of the offense.

The Sugar Vally Rattlers edged out Elnora and Marston for fourth place, ending up 9 games off the pace... The Rattlers strong points were the long ball and defense... they topped the entire IPA with 202 roundtrippers and led the RU with a .978 FA... other than that Smitty Michaels has only a fair ball club... rookie sensation CF Randell Hawson (.286) led the team with 41 home runs and 100 RBIs, followed by star C Hal Stevenson (.295) with 31 homers and 96 RBIs and RF Terry Goudeau (.254) with 32 homers and 90 RBIs... on the mound the Rattlers had two fine pitchers in young Benny McConnell, who was 25-12 with a 2.90 ERA in his second season at age 23... and 24-year-old Fernando Vargas, who took over the closer role and excelled with a 7-3 record, 23 saves and a microscopic 0.90 ERA in 50 games.

The Elnora All-Stars were fifth for the third season in a row, winding up 10 games out... Skipper Sam Malone had no real standouts... Lou Horn was the best pitcher with a 19-14 mark and a 3.90 ERA... veteran star C Leon Carter had a down year, hitting only .274 with 22 home runs and just 76 RBIs... 2B Michael Griffin paced the All-Stars with 24 homers, 99 RBIs and 92 runs, but hit only .245.

In just two seasons the Marston Nine has slipped from a fine ball club to a mediocre one... Johnny Walters has seen his team drop from a strong second in 2018 to a weak fourth in 2019 to the sixth spot in 2020, but only 12 games behind... Marston only has one standout player... 26-year-old CF Russ Woodward is one of the IPA elite players... Woodward hit .330 with 38 roundtrippers, 109 RBIs and 90 runs, but missed a month in the season with a bad knee... He went out in July, but returned and had good months in August and September, looking completely healed... 24-year-old starter Ronnie Flynn led the Nine on the hill with an 18-18 record and a 3.64 ERA.

The Cold Creek Catamounts had another dismal season under Trip Holmes with a seventh-place finish, but just 14 games behind Beechwood, much better than 2019 when the Catamounts were last and out of the running by 32 games... only 36-year-old closer Shannon Robinson and 2B Keith Hull had decent years... Robinson was 10-2 with 29 saves and a 3.02 ERA, while Hull batted .300 and scored 102 runs.

For the sixth successive season the Belle Plaine Musketeers have been either last or next-to-last in the RU East... this year manager Lou Dozier finished deep in the cellar, 32 games out... the only thing Musketeer fans had to cheer about were closer Fabian Moreau, who chalked up 21 saves with an excellent 2.03 ERA in 47 games, while posting a 3-4 record... and two talented position players: SS Slick Hammill (.321/22/103/106) and LF Jim Beauregard (.314/21/102/70), who both had good years.

[Eugene Church]

2020 Ruthlandian West Final Standings and Team Batting Statistics

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 21, 2020

2020 Ruthlandian West Final Recap

Snappers Win 4th Straight RU West
The reigning Pro Cup champion Rocky Rapids racked up its fourth Ruthlandian West crown in a row, but didn't do it in a snap this year. The Volusia Vigilantes almost stole it with a late-season rush that fell 2 games short. The Sligo Rovers hung close most of the season and came in third in the race, just 5 games back of the Snappers. The Stoner Stars surged in the second half and finished fourth, trailing by 11 games.

Ryan Noland's Rocky Rapids Snappers head into the postseason with excellent power and scoring, good hitting and adequate pitching - a pretty good combination for winning another Pro Cup... the Snappers slugged 184 homers (3rd), ranked 4th in scoring, 9th in batting and 12th in pitching... Noland's top bats are 2B Paul Shelton (.286/40/138/94), who led the RU for the fourth straight year with 138 RBIs, CF Carl Johnson (.296/27/69/92), 1B Don Timmons (.272/25/73/66) and LF Rob Barton (.335/14/84/102)... on the hill the Snappers were paced by Don Chaney (20-12 2.62)... Joe Anderson (14-16 3.78) and Junior Noland (17-16 4.07), who usually ring up 20 wins, had lackluster years... Milt Baker (4-6) did a nice job again as closer with a strong 2.52 ERA and 22 saves... pitching may be Rocky Rapids Achilles' heel this season... All the other RU division champs appear to be stronger in that department than the Snappers... Noland is hoping he can hold his own on the mound and win with offense.

Alfonso Feliz had a good blend of offense and pitching in Volusia... the second-place V's came close to knocking off the defending Pro Cup winner this season... rookie Billy Blair (20-12 3.59) really stood out, along with 41-year-old veteran Gerry Hersh (17-14 2.94)... Hersh can still get it done on the hill and won his 200th game the last week of the season... Sixto Moreno (13-17 3.61) and Kent Elam (14-7 3.76) gave Feliz solid three and four starters... another sensational rookie LF Carlos Quintana (.313/26/121/100) and veterans CF Joe DeLucca (.321/30/91/120), SS Vince Wilson (.288/25/92/88) and 1B Rafael Garza (.322/16/64/95) sparked the Vigilantes at the plate.

The third-place Sligo Rovers just can't get past the more powerful Snappers and Vigilantes... Eddie Keys' club can more than match them on the mound, but can't score as well... the Rovers are number two in the RU in ERA (3.29) with the starting foursome of Les Patterson (22-13 2.56), Ralph Odakota (19-11 3.35), Sam Tate (16-14 2.58) and Luka Abromowitz (14-11 3.84), all quality hurlers... but the bullpen is suspect (21st)... the Sligo hitters are rated 13th in the RU and don't have a big RBI man or power hitter... 1B Johnny Lee Harder, obtained in a pre-season trade with Ancona, led the club with a .335 batting average and 88 RBIs, while going deep 18 times... LF Tony Ellis had 26 home runs, 76 RBIs and a .291 BA... CF Chris Michel (.277/12/56/107) and RF Clell Renshaw (.286/14/79/100) also helped out offensively... third-year C Sherman Albert (.291/20/83/64) also had a productive season.

The fourth-place Stoner Stars wound up 11 games off the pace... Benny Stern depends on strong pitching... his Stars posted a 3.31 team ERA (3rd), but were ranked 15th in batting and an even worse 22nd in scoring and 26th with only 107 homers... Billy Chapel (17-14 2.96) was the ace... Charley Norton had a terrible 12-24 record, but a rock-solid 2.96 ERA... poor run support doomed him... the Stars number three and four starters Iggy Cobos 917-13 3.44) and Don Patterson (17-13 3.31) gave Stern one of the best rotations in the IPA... but Stoner falls short at the plate... only LF Mike Jaffe (.309/22/101/88) and 1B Robert Dunbar (.298/25/84/90) are serious threats.

Once-powerful Colfax ended up in the second division for the fourth year in a row, but did climb up two rungs to fifth place... the Blasters were 12 games behind champ Rocky Rapids... if they had played the first half like the second half, Clem Rogers' crew could have been in the thick of the flag chase... the Blasters were 44-37 after mid-season and rose up from last place... Colfax used to do it with great pitching in its heydays of 2008 to 2016 when Rogers' club won 7 pennants and one Pro Cup... now it wins with the bats... the Blasters hit .269 (2nd), clouted 162 out of the park (6th) and were 9th in runs scored, led by 3B Mike Janocko (.306/33/85/89), LF Billy Garrett (.341/29/99/86), C Joe Alexander (.274/21/88/85) and CF Mike Glaviano (.279/19/81/89)... Sadly Colfax is 22nd with a 4.10 team ERA... Cliff James (16-11 3.83), James Elliott (15-13 4.07) and George Erwin are Rogers' best hurlers... long-time IPA star, legend and certain Hall-of-Fame inductee Ilya Szabo is still around at age 41, but finished 12-17 with a 3.87 ERA... but he did surpass the 300-victory milestone and now has a 309-193 record and a brilliant 2.50 ERA in his 18 seasons with Colfax.

The Forest City Lumberjacks and Fort Benton Defenders deadlocked for the sixth spot in the RU West standings, finishing 16 games back in the pack... Forest City manager Rob Jackson has two talented twirlers in starter Tommy Zenon (18-13 3.10) and closer Andy Velasco (7-6), who saved 27 games and registered an excellent 2.03 ERA... The Lumberjacks are led at the plate by 2B Stan Tipton (.329/19/68/100), 16-year star LF Joe Judlin (.299/24/96/89) and CF Luc St. Germain (.295/12/66/103).

After three properous seasons in the first division, Fort Benton stumbled back to a tie for sixth this year... skipper Robbie Brooks just didn't have the talent this season... vets Cal Walger (15-18 3.76) and Tucker Dawes (16-14 4.16) were the Defenders best arms... the offense was almost non-existent... 38-year-old journeyman RF Joe Darwell was the most productive batter, but only had 17 homers, 78 RBIs and a .271 BA.

For the third time in the last four seasons, the Middlefield Roosters have nothing to crow about... they once again wound up in the basement of the RU West and 25 games off the pace... As bad as their record was, manager Smitty Michaels does have some gifted players... 20-year-old rookie phenom 1B Allan Stewart slammed 45 home runs, drove in 108 runs and scored 102 times en route to a .297 BA... Stewart led the RU in homers... LF Vic Ivarsson missed about 20 games with injury, but still logged a .344 BA with 22 homers, 95 RBIs and scored 81 runs... and SS Stu Butterfield supplied 31 roundtrippers and 89 runs batted in, but hit only .252... 24-year-old starter Joe Schneider topped the staff with a 3.25 ERA and a 14-20 mark... Schneider won the RU Golden Arm Award in 2018 with a 22-8 record and a 2.19 ERA.

[Eugene Church]

2020 Tycobbian North Final Standings and Team Batting Statistics

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 21, 2020

2020 Tycobbian North Final Recap

Z's Zip To 4th TU North In A Row
The Luxora Zorros logged their fourth Tycobbian North title in a row by nipping the Hartsdale Hellcats by 3 games. But it was a little close for comfort. Going into the last two weeks the Hellcats had a slight edge. Luxora really had no other challengers. Luxora and Hartsdale were the only two teams in the division to have winning records. Third place Blue Lake wound up 20 games behind and fourth place Fairfax was 23 games off the pace.

Luxora won again because of two talented pitchers... starter Tiago Torres (25-10 2.06) and closer Jay Brewer (12-5) pretty much carried the load... Torres led the TU with a 2.06 ERA and the IPA with 8 shutouts and 23 complete games... Brewer saved 21 games with a 2.67 ERA... manager Cristo Viamonte didn't have much offense... 3B Pablo Santa Cruz (.283/6/61/102), C Jim Thorpe Chandler (.277/23/87/84) and RF Jon Stafford (.264/24/86/97) put up most of the team's modest offense... it will be tough for Luxora to get very far in the postseason... the Z's just don't have the talent of other playoff teams... the only reason they get into the playoffs is because they play in one of the weakest divisions in the IPA.

The second-place Hartsdale Hellcats really revved it up this year on the mound and in the batter's box and almost snatched the flag from Luxora... it took a superb September by the Zorros to whip the Hellcats... skipper Zim Donner had a fine starting rotation in Bobo Boisseau (22-9 3.61), 40-year-old Don Weill (19-15 2.70) and Jim Starks (19-15 3.31)... closer Virgil Bowden (4-8 3.42) was unsteady at times and gave up a lot of runs, but posted 38 saves... the Hellcats could handle the bats well, too... top batters were long-time star 3B 37-year-old Kendry Moulton (.325/29/107/93), who seems to get better with age...RF Billy Potter (.302/26/102/96) and CF Alec Unruh (.302/23/56/102) also enjoyed good seasons.

Cobb Tyson's Blue Lake Blue Sox were within striking distance halfway through the season and trailed by only 6 games, but quickly fizzled and faded in the second half, ending up in third place and 20 games behind the leader... which was much improved over seventh the year before... it has been 5 years since the Blue Sox were in the first division... Blue Lake had fairly good pitching and were led by Randy Eldridge (19-16 3.12) and closer Irv Kuykendall (4-2), who racked up 28 saves and posted a splendid 1.37 ERA... Tyson's team was woeful at the plate, ranking 31st in BA and in scoring... CF Bryan Miles was the best of the lot with a .287 BA, 19 homers, 82 RBIs and 81 runs scored.

The fourth-place Fairfax Frogs, guided by Harry Buckley, improved a little this season, going from sixth to fourth... The Frogs are just a so-so club without a lot of talent... Not a lot of pitching or hitting... Buckley does have a fine pitcher in 30-year-old Ken Hill, who just reached a major milestone... Hill is 200-148 in 11 seasons with an outstanding 2.85 career ERA... Hill has never played for anything but a .500 ball club... this year he was 17-16 with a 3.27 ERA... Fairfax's best batter is RF Dane Wesner, who hit .318 with 27 homers and 97 RBIs...Wesner topped the 400-mark in homers this season... prior to 2014 Wesner was just about the best hitter in the IPA, but a shoulder injury put him out an entire season and he has never been the same... Wesner won the Golden Bat and MVP Award in back-to-back years, 2010 and 2011.

The White River Rascals with John Grandison at the helm came in fifth in the TU North, 25 games behind champ Luxora... the Rascals are a one-man gang... superstar 1B Marty Blake shoulders the whole team with his marvelous bat... in another great season, the 26-year-old Blake batted .341 with 50 home runs, 128 RBIs and 106 runs... 23-year-old closer Arnie Montel (5-2) is also a gifted performer... Montel chalked up 28 saves and compiled a fine 2.68 ERA.

Campy Roy's Oxford Red Caps were sixth this season, 30 games out of first... terrible hitting and bad pitching will do it every time... Tony Mack was the Red Caps only decent starter with a 17-15 mark and a 3.80 ERA... LF Ron Berry was the only halfway decent bat with a .278 BA, 59 RBIs and 78 runs scored... Oxford ranked last with a .242 BA and in runs scored... on the hill the starters put up a 4.28 ERA (24th).

After two second-place finishes in 2017 and 2018, The Mahaska Haymakers had another bad year, falling from fourth to the seventh spot in the standings... Rusty Tanussa's team wound up 34 games out... the Haymakers are heading in the wrong direction with no hitting (26th), no power (26th) and no pitching (29th)... Mahaska's only players of note are star C Bucky O'Brian (.299/30/93/78) and capable closer Ivan Belakov (2-3) with 21 saves and a very strong 2.15 ERA.

For the third year in four, the North Hills Hawks are basement dwellers... Hub Carlson's Hawks were 35 games back... ranking 24th at the plate and 31st on the mound... North Hills has an abundance of average to poor players... 1B Lou Hooper (.302/13/70/72) led the team in batting, 3B Rod Haynes (.290/17/79/69) in homers and RBIs and RF Al Bowden (.281/10/52/100) in runs scored... Ben Garland (2-6) was the only pitcher to have a good year with 25 saves and a 2.36 ERA.

[edog23]

[QUOTE=Eugene Church;3084955]The Islandian Times
Monday, September 21, 2020

2020 Ruthlandian South Final Recap

2-Team Battle In RU South, Crushers Nip Cybercats
After three straight heart-rendering second-place finishes in the Ruthlandian South, the Crystal Lake Crushers finally pulled in a pennant with a 2-game victory over the Grand City Cybercats. The first-half leader, the Valka Blackhawks, folded badly in the second half and wound up in third place 11 games off the pace. The San Dimas Rancheros also peaked at mid-season and dropped back. The Rancheros were fourth, just 4 games behind at the All-Star break, but ended up 12 games out. The Claxton Diamonds, who won the RU South the previous two seasons, took a sudden turn for the worst and fell into oblivion and into sixth place,trailing by 15 games.

Skipper Herman "Baby" George gives most of the credit to Crystal Lake's starting threesome and strong defense (.977 FA-2nd) for ending 19 years of frustration... this was the Crushers first RU flag in history... George featured two 20-game winners in his rotation led by Duncan Welch (24-12 2.00) and Ralph McCullough (23-11 3.16)... his number three Vic Bauer (18-13 3.45) was also solid... barring injury they should be around quite a while... Bauer is only 22 and Welch and McCullough are just 26... it was a tough win for Crystal Lake because of its pathetic .248 BA (30th)... all-time great 1B Phil Gravelli (.345/22/94/91) was just about the only offensive force... 36-year-old Gravelli, a .320 lifetime batter, is the IPA career home-run hitter with 652 and also tops with 2173 RBIs, 3619 hits and 2987 games... It will be difficult for the Crushers in the postseason facing clubs that have both pitching and hitting.

Now I can say it...finally! A first place finish for the Crushers after coming up short for the last few years. It's a small step forward and maybe they can make it further in the playoffs. Good stuff!

Erik