ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

[Eugene Church]

Thursday, October 15, 2071

SUNBIRDS SOCK IT TO TURON AND MULROY IN PRO CUP SERIES OPENING GAME
The slight underdog Belair Beach Sunbirds busted loose late in the game and belted the favored Turon Typhoons and their ace pitcher Skippy Mulroy 7-3 in the Pro Cup Series opener at Typhoon Stadium... the Sunbirds now have a 1-0 margin in the best-of-five affair... Belair Beach is looking for its first Pro Cup, while Turon is seeking its 5th trophy.

2071 IPA Stars of the Day


2071 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 1

[Eugene Church]

2071 IPA Pro Cup Series Game 2 Starters

[Eugene Church]

Saturday, October 17, 2071

TYPHOONS TOP SUNBIRDS WITH HR POWER... PRO CUP SERIES TIED AT ONE GAME EACH
The Turon Typhoons are mostly known for their strong pitching staff and not some much as a bunch of longballers... but in game two of the Islandian Pro Alliance it was power guys that won the day with some great help from the pitchers, too... Turon evened the IPA Pro Cup Series at one game each with a 5-1 victory over the Belair Beach Sunbirds.

IPA Pro Cup Series Stars of the Day


2071 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 2



IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 3 Pitchers

[Eugene Church]

Saturday, October 17, 2071

TYPHOONS BLOW LEAD IN 9TH, SUNBIRDS SOAR INTO PRO CUP SERIES LEAD 2-1
Turon took a 2-run lead into the last of the 9th, but couldn't hold off a determined bunch of Belair Beach Sunbirds, who took a two games to one lead in the best-of-five Pro Cup Series... Belair Beach is one victory away from its very first Pro Cup Trophy... for the last 71 years the Sunbirds have been on an annual quest for the highly-sought after trophy and now lo and behold, it is within their grasp.

2071 IPA Pro Cup Series Stars of the Day


2071 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 3

[Eugene Church]

Sunday, October 18, 2071

IPA PRO CUP GAME 5... WINNER-TAKE-ALL GAME BETWEEN TYPHOONS AND SUNBIRDS
The 2071 Islandian Pro Alliance season will come to a close with the 5th game of the Pro Cup Series set for Sunday afternoon at Typhoon Stadium in Turon... the homestanding Typhoons will be seeking their 5th Pro Cup Trophy in the team's history, while the Sunbirds are going for their very first overall IPA championship.

Turon forced a 5th and final game by trimming Belair Beach on their home diamond in game four yesterday afternoon 6-1... that victory tied the series at two games each in the best-of-five Pro Cup Series.

2071 IPA Pro Cup Series Stars of the Day


2071 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 4

[Eugene Church]

Deleted.

[Eugene Church]

Monday, October 19, 2071

SUNBIRDS ARE FLYING HIGH OVER THE ISLANDS WITH THEIR VERY FIRST PRO CUP TROPHY
"Good things comes to those who wait" -- just ask the Belair Beach Sunbirds, who waited 71 years to enjoy their very first Pro Cup title -- the Sunbirds flew higher than ever this season by capturing their first-ever Islandian Pro Alliance Pro Cup Trophy... Belair Beach bested the Turon Typhoons in 14 tense innings 7-6 to win the IPA Pro Cup Series 3 games to 2.

2071 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 5

[jg2977]

Another team clinches on the road, just like in real life!

[Eugene Church]

Tuesday, October 20, 2071

BELAIR BEACH OUTFIELDER ACCLAIMED IPA POSTSEASON MVP... ELBOURNE EDGES OUT CLOSER EDGEWORTH IN POLL
The two most important players on the Pro Cup champion Belair Beach Sunbirds were center fielder Alfie Elbourne and closer Rick Edgeworth... both were invaluable in bringing home to Belair Beach the first-ever Pro Cup Trophy... it was a very tight vote -- maybe the best thing to do was to declare them co-MVPs -- but the Islandian Baseball Writers and Sportscasters did their thing and split hairs... By a very narrow margin Elbourne is the 2071 Islandian Pro Alliance Postseason Most Valuable Player.

Elbourne led the Sunbirds with a .297 BA in 13 games... he had 7 doubles, 1 triple and 1 home run... the 32-year-old center fielder drove in 14 runs and scored 6 times... during the regular season he batted .327 in 114 games... he missed 6 weeks of the season in April and May with a shoulder injury... still he finished with 14 homers, 81 RBIs, 77 runs and 27 stolen bases... Elbourne is a 14-year veteran with the Sunbirds.

Rick Edgeworth is a 28-year-old right-hander... he has been with Belair Beach for the past 3 seasons... Edgeworth began his career with Mahaska and played his first two seasons there... Edgeworth had a standout postseason this year... in 9 relief appearances he hurled 18 innings, was 2-0 with 2 saves and posted an excellent 1.02 ERA... teams only batted .221 against him... in the regular season Edgeworth was 10-9 with 13 saves and a 3.66 ERA in 56 games... he made 17 starts and was 5-8 with a 4.57 ERA... switched to the bullpen he thrived with a 5-1 mark and a 2.36 ERA in 30 appearances... in his career Edgeworth is only 49-48 with a modest 3.56 ERA.

Winding up a distant third in the IPA Postseason MVP poll was Turon's ace pitcher Skippy Mulroy... he was one of the prime performers in the playoffs with a 3-1 mark in 5 starts... Mulroy compiled a 3.23 ERA in 39 innings of work... one of his victories was in game 4 of the Pro Cup Series over champion Belair Beach 6-1... his only playoff loss was to the Sunbirds in the opening game 7-3... at age 28 left-hander Mulroy has been superb in his 3 seasons with a 52-15 record and a strong 2.57 ERA.

[Eugene Church]

Sunday, October 25, 2071

RU GOLDEN SWINGER TROPHY GOES TO DE JONKER OF BELAIR BEACH
It's a delemma every year for the sportswriters and broadcasters that choose the IPA Award winners... should it be the guy with the lofty batting average that scores a lot of runs, but doesn't hit with a lot of power and drive in a big bunch of runs?... should it be a high-average contact hitter or the guy with all the homers and RBIs and sometimes a relatively low batting average?... this year the Ruthlandian Union Golden Bat trophy goes to Belair Beach's Andrianus De Jonker, a splendid hitter that drives in lots of runs and rarely strikeouts... De Jonker beat out Wilmer Blanton of the Grand City Cybercats and Stefan Skarzynski of the Valmara Vipers for the prestigious honor.

It was a marvelous year for the Belair Beach Sunbirds (100-54)... not only did De Jonker win the 2071 RU Golden Bat, the 28-year-old right fielder sparked them to the RU South Division flag, he led them to the biggest prize of all -- the IPA Pro Cup... De Jonker played in 142 games, led the league with a .347 BA and 199 hits... he doubled 33 times, tripled 10 times, homered 13 times, drove in 126 runs, 2nd highest total in the league and scored 91 runs... in his 6 years with the Sunbirds, De Jonker is batting .334... he is 28 years of age.

A similar-style hitter, left fielder Wilmer Blanton of the Grand City Cybercats, age 26, gave De Jonker the most competition in the poll... Blanton hit .343, ranking second to De Jonker for the batting crown, with 186 base hits in 133 games and a league-leading 42 doubles, 7 triples, 23 roundtrippers, 96 RBIs and scored 103 runs... Blanton also stole 24 bases... however, Grand City only came in tied for the 4th spot in the RU South standings with a 75-79 mark, 25 games back of the Sunbirds... Blanton is a 6-year veteran with the Cybercats with a lifetime .329 BA.

An up-and-coming powerhitter Stefan Skarzynski wound up number three in the RU Golden Bat poll... he played in all 154 games this year for the Valmara Vipers (101-53) and paced them to the Ruthlandian North pennant... the 22-year-old first baseman excelled in his second season with a .306 BA, 32 homers, 111 RBIs and 103 runs scored... he also stole 14 bases... Skarzynski also stood out on defense... so far the youngster sports a .297 BA overall.

[ILoveTheBaseBall]

I'm enjoying this post, thank you for all the hard work! Fascinating stuff. I'm hoping that once the new game comes out I can maybe do something like this!

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by ILoveTheBaseBall

I'm enjoying this post, thank you for all the hard work! Fascinating stuff. I'm hoping that once the new game comes out I can maybe do something like this!

Thank you for the nice words.

I hope to see your league next year here on the dynasty forum.

Writing a dynasty report on the OOTP Dynasty Forum will really increase your enjoyment of your league... it is worth the work.

Good luck.

[jg2977]

Andrianus De Jonker - what a great name! I wonder what country he is from?

Reminds me of a player I had in my IPA - Aloysius Devadander Abercrombie. I borrowed the name from a song by Primus called "My Name is Mud."

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by jg2977

Andrianus De Jonker - what a great name! I wonder what country he is from?

Reminds me of a player I had in my IPA - Aloysius Devadander Abercrombie. I borrowed the name from a song by Primus called "My Name is Mud."

It is a Dutch surname... could be I created it... I often change the names of free agents... too often for my taste, the AI comes up with some strange names... sometimes some stupid names... so I fix them.

I create the names of all the ethnically-based teams like Valmara (Polish), Valka (Estonian), San Alejo (Hispanic), Belle Plaine and LaGrange (French)... Tuckanarra and Wynnamac are Australian-based... I include aboriginal names on the Tucks and the Macs... Far Mountain is German... Kilkenny is Scotch... Glasco is Irish... Taranto is Italian.

I search on the internet for the most common ethnic first names and surnames... it is time-consuming to do, but I think it gives the IPA more personality.

[jg2977]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

It is a Dutch surname... could be I created it... I often change the names of free agents... too often for my taste, the AI comes up with some strange names... sometimes some stupid names... so I fix them.

I create the names of all the ethnically-based teams like Valmara (Polish), Valka (Estonian), San Alejo (Hispanic), Belle Plaine and LaGrange (French)... Tuckanarra and Wynnamac are Australian-based... I include aboriginal names on the Tucks and the Macs... Far Mountain is German... Kilkenny is Scotch... Glasco is Irish... Taranto is Italian.

I search on the internet for the most common ethnic first names and surnames... it is time-consuming to do, but I think it gives the IPA more personality.

I did create start creating players for my IPA, but the problem is that I made them too good. Some were batting .450 with 80 home runs. With 3 or 4 of them on the same team, I wound up with super teams. It got a little boring because it was too predictable in terms of who would win. So I retired every created player. I think I'll go ahead and do it again starting next season and create players based on expected statistics instead of ratings. If I create some players who will bat about .275 with 20-25 home runs, that should be good.

I like the idea of certain teams being based off of various ethnicities. It really does give the league more flavor.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by jg2977

I did create start creating players for my IPA, but the problem is that I made them too good. Some were batting .450 with 80 home runs. With 3 or 4 of them on the same team, I wound up with super teams. It got a little boring because it was too predictable in terms of who would win. So I retired every created player. I think I'll go ahead and do it again starting next season and create players based on expected statistics instead of ratings. If I create some players who will bat about .275 with 20-25 home runs, that should be good.

I like the idea of certain teams being based off of various ethnicities. It really does give the league more flavor.

For the most part I let the AI create the player ratings... I did create some players taken from movies and books... Jack Elliott, Roy Hobbs, Crash Davis... they all did well in the IPA... Elliott was too good... I overdid it there... but Hobbs and Davis were realistic... I also took fictional players from Duane Decker's Blue Sox anthology book series...about 15 of them and put them in the league... their stats were based on how they performed in the books... they came out realistically, too.

I messed up when I put myself in the IPA... I played too long and did much too well offensively... I put realistic ratings in at the beginning, but the AI developed me too much.

I also put myself in the North Island League as an average player at the plate... .275 BA with no power... good baserunner... good eye... and pretty good on defense at shortstop... pitching-wise, I was just fair-to-middling... good control, but no fastball... good curve ball... yep, I got hit regularly... my ERA was about 4.00... I thought my stats were fairly reasonable and realistic.

[Eugene Church]

Monday, October 26, 2071

HIGH MESA'S ROBERTS WINS 4TH TYCOBBIAN GOLD BAT
High Mesa's high-octane slugger Roy Roberts is on a torrid pace... for the last 3 years the 32-year-old first baseman has amazingly topped the Tycobbian Union in home runs, RBIs and runs scored... Roberts has also won the TU Golden Bat Award the last 3 years... the 2071 Golden Bat trophy is the 4th time in his illustrious career he has been honored... Roberts won it the first time in 2066.

Superstar Jack Elliott has amassed the most Golden Bats in IPA history with an unbelievable 11 trophies won in consecutive seasons, which far outdistances his peers... Norishige Ito (Arroyo Grande/Midway) and Roy Hobbs (Waleska) nabbed the award 6 times apiece and Jerry Culpepper (Bayview) did it on 5 occasions.

Roberts had another banner season in High Mesa with a .284 BA in 154 games, 61 homers, 136 RBIs and 127 runs scored... his Mustangs finished with a winning season at 80-74, good for 5th place in the tough TU East Division... in his career has hammered 634 roundtrippers and driven in 1467 runs... and he is still going strong... currently he is ranked 13th in IPA history in home runs... Roberts will likely wind up in the top 10 of all-time.

Two Rolling Hills stars came in 2nd and 3rd in the TU Golden Bat poll... 23-year-old right fielder Kit Clemmons gave Roberts a run for the trophy... only in his 2nd season with the Racers, Clemmons put up some lofty figures... in 149 games he topped the TU with a .335 BA and 209 hits... Clemmons rapped 35 doubles, 4 triples, 21 homers, drove in 114 runs and scored 112 times... he helped Rolling Hills win its record-setting 12th straight TU West title.

Winding up in the 3rd spot was Rolling Hills talented center fielder Hugo Sutton... the 31-year-old had another super season with a .317 BA in 152 games with 180 hits, 34 two-baggers, 10 triples, 24 homers, 110 RBIs, 123 runs and 24 stolen bases.

[jg2977]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

For the most part I let the AI create the player ratings... I did create some players taken from movies and books... Jack Elliott, Roy Hobbs, Crash Davis... they all did well in the IPA... Elliott was too good... I overdid it there... but Hobbs and Davis were realistic... I also took fictional players from Duane Decker's Blue Sox anthology book series...about 15 of them and put them in the league... their stats were based on how they performed in the books... they came out realistically, too.

I messed up when I put myself in the IPA... I played too long and did much too well offensively... I put realistic ratings in at the beginning, but the AI developed me too much.

I also put myself in the North Island League as an average player at the plate... .275 BA with no power... good baserunner... good eye... and pretty good on defense at shortstop... pitching-wise, I was just fair-to-middling... good control, but no fastball... good curve ball... yep, I got hit regularly... my ERA was about 4.00... I thought my stats were fairly reasonable and realistic.

That's really cool. I put in players from the Major League movies - Willie Mayes Hayes, Ricky Vaughn, Jake Taylor, Roger Dorn, Pedro Cerrano. But they were all super players. In another league in the past I put my brothers and some friends in the game too, that was fun.

I'll do it starting in my 1961 season but will make their projected stats more realistic.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by jg2977

That's really cool. I put in players from the Major League movies - Willie Mayes Hayes, Ricky Vaughn, Jake Taylor, Roger Dorn, Pedro Cerrano. But they were all super players. In another league in the past I put my brothers and some friends in the game too, that was fun.

I'll do it starting in my 1961 season but will make their projected stats more realistic.

Agree... the stats should be realistic... the Freemans in my IPA will be set up by the AI... I may change them so they can be on the active rosters, but they will be superstars only if the AI makes them that way.

I have been putting all my college buddies in my leagues... but I give them ratings based on their skill levels... so far, they have played pretty much like they played in real life... most of us were just good "intramural" players... nothing more... but we won both the intramural league and the fraternity league for about 2 years in a row... we were the Hurricanes and didn't lose for those two seasons... we did have a tie game in the intramurals, but beat the team 10-0 in the playoff game.

[Eugene Church]

Tuesday, October 27, 2071

VALMARA LEFTY KAMINSKI RU TOP TWIRLER OF THE YEAR
The 2071 Ruthlandian Union pitcher of the year is Valmara left-hander Jaromir Kaminski... he is the recipient of this season Golden Arm Award... Kaminski edged Nicky Mosley of the Wynnamac Sundowners in a vote of the Islandian Baseball Writers and Broadcasters... third in the poll was Eric Connor of the Ranford Bulls.

Kaminski compiled a 21-7 record in 31 starts, tallied 182 strikeouts in 239 innings with a 2.19 ERA... other clubs only hit .226 against him... the 24-year-old southpaw tossed 4 shutouts, completed 8 games and made 28 quality starts... he paced Valmara (101-53) to the RU North pennant... Kaminski led the Ruthlandian Union in victories and was 4th in ERA... he has been outstanding in his 3 seasons with the Vipers, posting a 54-25 mark with a very impressive 2.46 ERA... Kaminski was the RU Rookie of the Year in 2069... he went 16-13 with a 2.70 ERA in 38 starts.

Only 25 years old Nicky Mosley also has been a stalwart for the Macs in his 3 seasons, chalking up a 55-26 record with an overall 2.97 ERA... this season was his best with a standout 19-6 mark and an IPA-leading 1.98 ERA... Mosley was also tops with 8 shutouts... he was one of the prime ingredients in the Sundowners (103-51) winning the RU East Division.

Third place in the Ruthlandian Golden Arm balloting was 29-year-old Ranford left-hander Eric Connor... due to his fine performance the Bulls (89-65) came in 3rd in the RU North pennant race... Connor is an 8-year veteran... this was his top season with a 17-8 record, 5 shutouts, 27 quality starts and a very strong 2.23 ERA in 32 starts and 238 innings... career-wise Connor is 108-80 with a fine 2.85 ERA.