ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, March 1, 2032

IPA Picks 4 New HOF-ers, Hobbs, Elliott Top List
No surprise here - recent retirees Roy Hobbs and Jack Elliott have found a new home - the Islandian Pro Alliance Hall of Fame. The two magnificent sluggers were named along with IPA pitching greats Motega Wolf and Benny Osterman. All of the new inductees will be officially installed at the All-Star Game in June at Rolling Hills.

Roy Hobbs stood out for the Waleska Westerners from 2013 to 2031, finally calling it a career at age 38. Hobbs was a splendid center fielder with a .345 lifetime batting average, second-best in history, topped only by Valmara's Jet Kazmarek, who posted a .350 career average. Hobbs was a 15-time All-Star, won 7 Golden Bats, 2 Golden Gloves and 2 MVP Awards. He collected 3793 hits, 587 homers and 2037 RBIs. Hobbs led the Ruthlandian Union 4 times in batting and hits 10 times.

Jack Elliott had a colossal career with the High Mesa Cowboys, starring from 2013 to 2031. Elliott topped the Tycobbian Union in homers on 9 occasions and won 7 batting crowns. He retired at age 38 after winning 3 MVP Awards, 12 Golden Bats and 5 Golden Gloves, making the All-Star teams 13 times and setting the all-time home run mark at 848. Elliott also holds the league record for 65 homers in a season.

Motega Wolf was the ace of the Midway Wolves from 2012 to 2030, winning 20 or more games 8 times and finishing up with 310 victories and 246 defeats with a fine 3.17 ERA. Wolf retired at age 40 two years ago.

Benny Osterman was one of the primary architects for the success of the Ozarka Naturals when they won 7 straight pennants from 2015 to 2021. Osterman won 20 games in 7 of his 11 years with the Nats. He retired at age 28 with 203 wins and 113 losses with a scintillating 2.79 ERA. Arm and knee ailments forced an early retirement.

[Eugene Church]

Getting rosters ready for the 2032 season is taking awhile... I need to make sure I am getting enough good rookies into the league... so I'm creating them myself.

The last few seasons haven't had many rookies making the teams' rosters.

[Eugene Church]

Creating good rookies is going slowly.

I have done 19 of the 64 teams.

I should play the 2032 season in about two weeks.

Does anyone know how to get the game to create enough good rookies?

The regular draft just creates a lot of useless players.

I don't play the minor leagues... I just use the reserve rosters.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Eugene Church]

I have finished 22 of the 64 teams.

It's going very slowly.

I only had about 10 rookies that played well last season. It would be good to have about 30 competitive rookies each year.

I will post on the Main 2012 Forum to see the best way to insure a good supply of new rookies each season. Maybe I can get some help there.

[Eugene Church]

Have completed 28 teams so far.

Should be a week or so before I get the season 2032 started.

[Eugene Church]

Have completed 32 of the 64 teams.

[Eugene Church]

37 of 64 team rosters have been completed.

[Eugene Church]

42 of 64 teams have been done.

About another week before I will play the 2032 season.

[Eugene Church]

47 of 64 rosters completed.

[Eugene Church]

57 of the 64 rosters have been completed.

IPA season 2032 will start sometimes this coming week.

[Eugene Church]

Sorry, I have been a bit lazy.

Season 2032 should be very soon... Tuesday maybe.

Need to do 4 more team rosters.

[Eugene Church]

Completed the team rosters for season 2032.

I will report on the first month of the season early this week.

[Eugene Church]

RU Mid-Season Standings
Sunday, June 20, 2032

New Leaders In RU At Mid-Year
There's new blood in the Ruthlandian Union as several teams have surprised and forged ahead at the halfway point in the Ruthlandian Union. In the RU North perennial pennant winner Valmara has dipped under .500 and has fallen down to a tie for fourth place in the standings and trails first place LaGrange by 10 games... San Dimas, the defending champ in the RU South, is still in the race, second to Claxton and 3 games off the pace... the powerful Elnora All-Stars, last season's titleholder, are 5 games up in the RU East with rejuvenated Cold Creek in the runner-up spot... last year's RU West division winner Sligo has slipped badly and plunged into the cellar, 19 games out... it looks like a two-team battle between leader Colfax and second place Rocky Rapids... the Snappers are 3 games in back of the Blasters.

[Eugene Church]

RU Mid-Season Team Batting

[Stromson]

The sheer longevity of this league is astounding. The Kilkenny Cats look to need a few new fans, so count me among them! :thumb:

[Eugene Church]

2032 RU Mid-Season Team Pitching
June 20, 2032

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by Stromson

The sheer longevity of this league is astounding. The Kilkenny Cats look to need a few new fans, so count me among them! :thumb:

Thanks for checking in. I hope to play a few more seasons and then start a completely new league with OOTP13. I am still using OOTP12.

I have included town info about Kilkenny. I will also post the Cats' IPA history.

KILKENNY CATS

Owner: Smithwick's Brewing Company
GM: Kieran McKenna
Manager: Rusty Denicola

The town of Kilkenny has a population of 65,000 and is situated inland about 10 miles south of the Kelnyck Ocean in the northern part of Valdar Island. Irish immigrants settled here in the 1850s, the time of the Great Famine in Ireland. With an exquisite coastline that ranges from rolling green hills to low, craggy bluffs and hills, Kilkenny offers a relaxed pace of life and scenic beauty. It hasn't changed much in the last hundred years.

The people of Kilkenny love to laugh, sing and drink, so it seems logical that the brewing business would be primary here. It is the home of Smithwick's Brewery, which was established in Kilkenny's namesake in Ireland in 1710. Smithwick's (pronounced "Smithicks"...the "w" is silent) produces its famous ale along with Kilkenny Cream Ale.

Visitors can sample great ale, good food and experience Irish music in its traditional pubs. The pub lies at the heart of cultural, social and musical life in Kilkenny. Belly bustin' comedy can be enjoyed each weekend at Smithwick's The Cat Laughs Comedy Club, which features the best of Irish comedians, both native and imported. Smithwick's also owns the local IPA baseball franchise, the Kilkenny Cats. Prior to entry into professional baseball, the brewery had sponsored amateur and company leagues since the early 1900s.

Another important industry to the Kilkenny economy is marble. The "Black Quarry" is the source of fine black marble, which is one of Valdar Islands biggest exports. Many of the buildings in the town are constructed with the black marble. In fact, Smithwick's Stadium, the home of the Kilkenny Cats, is almost totally built with the marble. It is an old ballpark, built in 1968.

It is often said that the Irish do not have good food. This is not true. They just say that their food is not good so you won't get any of it! In addition to hot dogs, hamburgers, peanuts and crackerjacks, you can get Irish delicacies at Smithwick's...authentic Irish ales, Irish stew, Irish coffee, apple cakes and whiskey cakes...for the ladies they have tea and scones. To entertain the fans there is the team's mascot, the Kilkenny Cat and his Leprecaun friends. Standing on top of the dugouts or roaming throught the stands, they lead cheers and songs and dance Irish jigs throughout the ballgame.

During the seventh inning stretch, it is tradition at Smithwick's Stadium to stand and sing the Irish classic, "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling".

Chorus
When Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, 'tis like the morn in Spring.
In the lilt of Irish laughter
You can hear the angels sing.
When Irish hearts are happy,
All the world seems bright and gay.
And when Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, they steal your heart away.

They also sing it after every Kilkenny Cats victory, too.

The Valdar Island towns have never really cooperated with one another and don't really get along very well. Relations have always beened strained and competition is intense. The Kilkennyans are a boisterous bunch at the ballgame and can be quite rowdy and vocal. It's a blue-collar town and they can be agressive toward the other teams and their fans. There have been many brawls at the ballpark and after the game as well. Management now takes great measures to keep the peace with increased security. Visiting fans are housed in their own section for their safety. And they stop beer sales after the seventh inning.

To head up the Kilkenny foray into professional baseball, Smithwick's Brewery hired Kieran McKenna to head up the club as general manager. He has been active as a player, coach, manager in the Valdar Baseball League since the 1970's and is well-respected in Valdar Island baseball circles. The current manager is Rusty Denicola, a journeyman infielder, who played 16 years for the Cats (2016-2031) and had a modest .266 batting average with 147 homers and 753 RBIs.

Smithwick Stadium (1968)

Capacity: 7,650

Dimensions:

LF Line 330
LF 350
LCF 372
CF 397
RCF 372
RF 350
RF Line 330

[Eugene Church]

Kilkenny Cats Team History

The Cats have one of the poorer records in the IPA. They have never made the playoffs.

[Stromson]

Bravo sir, the history of the town is perfect (far better than I could have expected). I love the blue collar rough and tumble crowd, and that would make for a pretty awesome ballpark atmosphere. Of course the ready supply of traditional Irish brews surely doesn't hurt...

Based on what I've read thus far, I'm not surprised to see we've never made the playoffs. Still, everyone loves a good underdog and I'm hopeful we'll at least make a playoff appearance before you move on to OOTP13. Thanks for all the info, it's really appreciated!

[Eugene Church]

2032 RU Mid-Season Player Batting Stats