ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

[Eugene Church]

1ST PLACE

2062 Ruthlandian South Final Standings


STJ CRUSADERS NAB 3RD STRAIGHT RU SOUTH FLAG
After a slow start the St. John Crusaders got it going in the Ruthlandian South Division... by July they took over the top spot from Waleska and Valka... then the Westerners faded out of the picture and it was just St. John and Valka the rest of the way... the Crusaders staved off the Blackhawks in the stretch drive... no one else was in the race... early contenders Grand City and Claxton were gone by August.

St. John scores surprisingly well despite not having a lot of longball power... they do it with contact hitters... .277 BA (9th), 792 runs (3rd), 103 HRs... top hitters are Ozwaldo Romero, Matt Silverman and Freddie Woodruff... the Crusaders possess three quality starters in Mark Faber, Teddy de Grom and Smoke Early... solid pitching staff with 3.73 ERA (9th)... and play excellent defense with a .980 FA.

[Eugene Church]

2ND PLACE


Second place Valka (4 GB) has a fine starting rotation with All-Star Aavo Keskkula, Ilmar Olesk and Carlos Santa Ana... starters compiled excellent 3.37 ERA (1st)... but the Blackhawks are woefully weak at the plate with only 660 runs (28th) and just 72 roundtrippers (30th)… Freddie Civik and Jonas Kahn are the best of a so-so lot... defensively they are very good with a .980 FA... better hitting could upgrade Valka to the upper levels of the IPA... need more power and better bullpen.

[Eugene Church]

3RD PLACE


Third place Grand City (13 GB) is just an average ballclub... .269 BA (15th), 711 runs (16th), 101 HRs (20th)... paced by Boots Luckham, Lyndon Hazzard and Zippy Balencia... Glen Smitherman, Fred Barrow, Leonard Hamilton and Gil Lloyd are dependable starters... mound staff only average with a 4.04 ERA with weak bullpen... very good with the gloves with a .979 FA.

[Eugene Church]

4TH PLACE


The Waleska Westerners are a .500 ballclub, winding up in fourth place (14 GB)... they stayed near the top for the first half of the season and then slumped in the second half... offense is led by a couple of rock-solid bats in Ramiro Villegas and Boomer Barnes... Bitsy Boccabella is a fine RBI guy... just an average hitting team overall... not much power... pretty good pitching with a 3.54 ERA (3rd), led by Johnny Merriman, Rick Howzer, Kieran Roy and Rory Beecroft... bullpen is not very good... better-than-average in the field with a .977 FA.

[Eugene Church]

5TH PLACE


The fifth place Belair Beach Sunbirds (15 GB) have the offense that can do some damage, but they can't keep the opposing teams off the scoreboard at all... lousy pitching with a sky-high 4.69 ERA (28th) says it all... but the batters can light up the scoreboard with their .273 BA and 752 runs (6th)... not much on longball power though... just 88 hit out of the park this season... but they have a rock-solid core of hitters like All-Star RF Alfie Elborne, Dylan Lanier, Tyler O'Reilly, Casey Keats, Curtis Cochran and Deron Nelson... just average on the defense with .975 FA.

[Eugene Church]

6TH PLACE


The Claxton Diamonds came in second a year ago, just 5 games behind St. John... but fizzled this year, dropping to sixth in the standings and 18 games off the pace... started off well... only 4 games back at midseason... but they went into the tank in July and August... overall just a lackluster club... but they do have some quality bats in Fred Hahn, Dude Rafferty and Scoops Dunn... on the hill are a few reliable starters: Lennard Kruger, Eric Braun and Matt Goodrum... defense is lousy with a .973 FA.

[Eugene Church]

7TH PLACE


The sevenh place Crystal Lake Skippers did not play well at all in the first half, but improved some in the second half... they were dead last halfway through the season, 19 games under the .500 mark... they ended up 22 games back of division-winning Elnora... pitching is poor with a 4.73 ERA (29th)... but Crystal Lake can score... they put up 750 runs on the scoreboard this year with a .273 BA and 98 homers, sparked by Mel Brouwer, Zippy Coburn and Tommy Howell... Julio Cordova was the only fairly reliable starter... there was nothing in the bullpen... the Skippers can play defense with a .978 FA.

[Eugene Church]

8TH PLACE


The San Dimas Rancheros were mired near the bottom the entire season and finally settled there 28 games out... their only quality players are CF Quince Dustin and Gilberto Gallardo... the only decent hurler is starter Hernando Almora... San Dimas doesn't rank high in hardly anything... .258 BA (24th)... 666 runs (26th-tied)... 109 HRs (17th)... 4.28 ERA (20th)... a little better-than-average with the gloves (.977 FA).

[Eugene Church]

1st place

2062 Ruthlandian East Final Standings


CLIPPERS SMACK MACS IN RU EAST
Powerful Wynnamac got its comeuppance this year from the hard-hitting Elnora Clippers... they hit their way to the Ruthlandian East title and won it for the second time in six seasons and knocked the Macs off of their long-time pedestal... it was nip-and-tuck between the two rivals until August when Elnora got sizzling hot and pulled away the last six weeks... the Sundowners have dominated the RU East for the last 11 years, winning 7 pennants and one Pro Cup (2055).

Elnora is a powerhouse at the plate with a .292 BA, 900 runs (1st) and 161 home runs (3rd)... the lineup is deadly with three All-Stars, LF Donald Ray Mooney, 2B Mickey Wilbur and CF Robin Staroff... and they are just the tip of the iceberg... Kuro Ishihara, Gus Abreu and Lee Carnahan can handle the bats very well, too... fielding-wise Elnora is outstanding with a .981 FA... but the Clippers come up far short on the mound... ranking 19th in the RU with a 4.26 ERA... the only dependable starter is Matthew Minder... luckily they have super closer Stevie Tucker in the bullpen to save the day.

[Eugene Church]

2nd place


Runner-up Wynnamac is no slouch when it comes to scoring runs... the Sundowners feature three stars that drove in over 100 runs each, RF Snooky Bartels, 1B Manny Sendejas and rookie CF Nikki Inkanara... still the Macs wound up 10 games behind pennant-winning Elnora, but they were right up there with the Clippers offensively, batting .292 (1st), scoring 869 runs (2nd) and slamming 142 out of the park (7th-tied)... unlike previous seasons, the Wynnamac pitching corps ballooned to a 4.31 ERA this year... only Luc Ogburn and Billy Skidmore gave them many quality starts... defensively the Sundowners were a little above average with a .977 FA.

[Eugene Church]

3rd Place


The third place Marston Nine (11 GB) don't have the firepower of the two RU East elites, Elnora and Wynnamac, but they do have a well-balanced club... they batted .283 (4th), scored well with 789 runs (4th), but were woeful in homers with only 67 (31st)... on the hill they compiled a 3.68 ERA (7th)... with the gloves the Nine were just average (.976 FA)... top run producers were Damien D'Amboise, Harv Beauchamp, Gino Mastroianni and Luke Crenshaw.... on the hill Jerome Kincade and Vince Boscarino had excellent years... Garrett Stanfield and Lance McElveen gave them two more dependable starters... outfielder Luke Crenshaw also showed his stuff as a reliever with 9 saves and a terrific 1.25 ERA in 20 appearances.

[Eugene Church]

4th Place


Cold Creek was just a pretty good club this season, never really contending and ending up in fourth place, 18 games behind Elnora... the Raccoons could hit well with a .278 BA, scored well with 751 runs (7th) and go deep with 142 roundtrippers (7th-tied), but they were pretty bad on the hill with a 4.30 ERA (21st)... average fielding with a .977 FA... leading the offense was budding superstar Vince Norberg, up-and-coming Floyd Constable and veteran John Gaddison... Lenny Toscano was the best of the starters... they got a few quality starts out of Bobo Troy and Jake Fischer... and in the bullpen Zeke Dial did his job well.

[Eugene Church]

5th Place


The Sugar Valley Rattlers were a middle-of-the-pack club most of the year, never really challenging the top three clubs, Elnora, Wynnamac and Marston... the Rattlers came in fifth, 19 games out in the race... they didn't hit well for average... .251 BA (29th), but topped the RU East with 182 home runs (1st)... pitching was pretty good considering the small ballpark with a 3.62 ERA (6th)... defense was fine with a .977 FA... the top gun on the team was All-Star shortstop Dino Lazzeri... he's not much for average, but he has some punch... almost anybody in the starting lineup can hit it out of the park, but none of them can hit for much of an average... Bret Massey is the ace and had a sensational season... Elvis Bonham, Claudio Quezada and Harland Claunce gave them some quality starts... need some help in bullpen... no solid closer.

[Eugene Church]

6th Place


Just another bad year for the hapless Belle Plaine Musketeers... it's been eight years since they had a winning season (2055)... only one time, way back in 2009, have they won the RU East pennant... sixth this year, a whopping 32 GB... however, this year was far better than last year's cellar-dwelling season (45-109)... offense is pretty good with a .267 BA (19th), 721 runs (15th) and 142 HRs (7th-tied)... but lordy mercy, the team ERA was an awful 5.25... the Muskies do have some talented bats in Eliot Marcum, Jed McIntosh, Julien Brodnax and Cody Losby... Ike Alister (14-12, 4.36) was the best of the worst staff in the IPA... only three of the hurlers on the staff had ERAs under 5.00... defense was adequate with a .977 FA.

[Eugene Church]

7th Place


You have to go back 17 years since the Beechwood Jackrabbits had a winning season (2047)... with only three postseason appearances ('20, '26,'27)... nary a Pro Cup... this year the Jacks only came close to a winning record in one month... 12-13 in July... finished seventh in the RU East standings, 38 GB... can't score... can't pitch... but has good defense with a .978 FA... team has some good ballplayers in the lineup like budding star Marcos Cienfuegos and Kellen Dunne... the best player, by far, is the fine closer Luis Villavaso.

[Eugene Church]

8th Place


The Eastshore Cotton Kings last won the RU East Division in 2056... in '61 they came in a distant third... this year they hit bottom... that's right, the very bottom... last place in the division and 40 games behind first place Elnora... the offense is mediocre with a .260 BA (23rd), 675 runs (24th) and 100 homers (21st-tied)... and the mound staff is terrible... 4.83 ERA (31st)... the fielding is bad, too, with a .971 FA... only vets Sam Carmon and Bebe Kinney are reliable starters... but they do have a couple of good potential stars in the batting order... that's their fine young third baseman Norbert Ruston and first sacker Dayle Killian... Ruston was the Ruthlandian Union Rookie of the Year in '59... Killian led the league with 143 ribbies last year... but he suffered the sophomore slump this year... his average dipped from .325... homers dropped from 30... and Killian only drove in half as many runs... just 74 this year.

[Eugene Church]

1st Place

2062 Ruthlandian West Division Final Standings

V'S VICTORIOUS AGAIN IN RU WEST
It took the Volusia Vigilantes a while to get it all together... they lacklusterly lagged in sixth place most of the Ruthlandian West first half, then bolted upward in the standings with an awesome August (23-4) and took charge of the pennant race and captured their second division title in a row... the V's overcame the Sligo Rovers by 3 games, Rocky Rapids Snappers by 4... and the Stoner Silver Sox by 6 games... Volusia has taken the RU West three times in the last five years.

Volusia will now get another crack at the IPA Pro Cup... they lost in last year's Finals in six games to IPA champion Oxford... the Vigilantes hit well with a .280 BA... top-to-bottom in the lineup there is a good, solid contact hitter... the V's don't have a lot of power... just 81 homers (28th), but they can score runs with 746 (9th-tied)... starting pitching is good with 3.91 ERA (13th)... defense is excellent with a .981 FA.

Top performers at the plate are Carlos Vaz, Bandy Barnwell, All-Star Carlos Silva and Ellie Hudgins... rookie shortstop Scoots Perez also made the All-Star squad... best hurlers are Dan Hunt, Lonny Rinehart, Reynaldo Medrano and Gustavo Clemente... the bullpen is weak except for closer Ron Beeman, who ran hot-and-cold with 18 wins and 18 saves, but a high 3.78 ERA.

[Eugene Church]

2nd Place

The Sligo Rovers are perennial bridesmaids... they have finished second in 8 of the last 10 years and won the RU West the other two seasons... losing ace Mickey Walsh (12-5/2.42) in July did not help them out in the stretch-drive battle with Volusia... they might have won it with him... the Rovers are just average with the bats... .263 BA (21st)... 688 runs (18th)... only 92 homers (25th)... with some good starters in the rotation with a 3.85 ERA (9th)… the bullpen is in bad need of help... defense is excellent (.982 FA)… slumps in June (10-17) and August (11-16) really cost them dearly in the race.

Dallas Patton and Reg French are just fair contact hitters... they are the best of a run-of-the-mill bunch of batters... top starters are Ayden Evans, Jacky Harshman and Judah Carmack.

[Eugene Church]

3rd Place

This was the third place Rocky Rapids Snappers' best chance at the playoffs since 2046... dropoffs in July (11-12) and September (11-12) did them in... the Snappers hit very well with a .280 BA (7th), were pretty fair at scoring runs with 729 (14th) and 123 longballs (13th-tied)... starting rotation was fairly good with a 3.95 ERA... bullpen was fine with a 2.52 ERA... only fair defensively with a .973 FA.

All-Star CF Corey McGee (.324 BA, 13 HR, 97 RBI, 99 R) and Jose Montanez (.342 BA, 2 HR, 49 RBI, 124 R) paced the attack with some solid help from Bernie Tillis (.296 BA, 13 HR, 64 RBI), Erv Vollmuth (.266 BA, 22 HR, 82 RBI) and Jamey Murton (.294 BA, 22 HR, 91 RBI)... top twirlers are All-Star Clay Callaghan, Lance Obermueller and Rian Noland... young closer Ricardo Cepeda had a standout season in the bullpen.

[Eugene Church]

4th Place

It has been eons and eons since Stoner won the RU West... the last pennant came in 2029... a better month in June (10-15) would have put the Silver Sox right up with pennant-winning Volusia this year... Stoner ended up in the fourth spot in the standings, just 6 games off the pace... they hit very well for average with a .281 BA (5th), scored well with 734 runs (13th), but the Silver Sox don't have a lot of punch... only 95 roundtrippers (24th)... pitching is just average with a 3.99 ERA (15th)... Stoner is solid with the gloves with a .978 FA.

The Silver Sox have some talented hitters in Al Dodge, All-Star first baseman Hector Francisco, Jean St. Julien, Steve Brunson, Tommy Boutwell and Tyler Stoddard... at 35 jouneyman pitcher Brad Squires had an outstanding season, a career year... he got some dependable help from Calvin Sturgeon and Nicky Sharman... but they didn't get a lot of help from the mediocre bullpen.