ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

[Eugene Church]

Saturday, October 26, 2086

Game 4 of the 2086 Pro Cup Series

[Eugene Church]

Sunday, October 27, 2086

20-YEAR-OLD BELAIR BEACH ROOKIE COLUMBUS COPS PRO CUP MVP TROPHY
Fresh out of the cradle at the age of 20 Belair Beach's superlative closer Orval Columbus topped off a fantastic rookie season by sparking the Sunbirds to the 2086 IPA Pro Cup title. Columbus had an outstanding postseason with 7 saves in 12 appearances, winding up with a 2-1 record and a microscopic 1.93 ERA. Running a pretty close second and third place in the Pro Cup Most Valuable Player Poll were his pitching cohorts, Gardiner Palmquist (4-0/1.35 ERA/5 starts) and Georgie Adams (3-0/1.26 ERA/4 starts). No one else received any votes in the MVP Poll.

Columbus has a strong regular season, too. In 78 relief appearances he posted a 9-3 mark with a 2.70 ERA in 78 innings and 117 innings with 28 saves. In the playoffs Columbus was even better and so were his primary rivals for the Pro Cup MVP trophy. Palmquist stood out in the season with an 18-7 record with a 3.09 ERA in 32 starts and 227 innings pitched. Adams also excelled with a 16-6 record in 28 starts and a 3.47 ERA in 184 innings. Palmquist is a 24 and a southpaw, while Adams is 33 and a right-hander.

[jg2977]

Belair Beach is a new mini dynasty, congrats to the Sunbirds! A sweep is impressive, although I wish the series went six or seven games.

[Eugene Church]

Thanks for following the IPA, jg2977.
I'll post your player stats from this season in CD's graphics thread.
I will also post the uniforms, too, because it is a Graphics Forum thread.
I want to follow forum protocols.

[jg2977]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

Thanks for following the IPA, jg2977.
I'll post your player stats from this season in CD's graphics thread.
I will also post the uniforms, too, because it is a Graphics Forum thread.
I want to follow forum protocols.

Thanks, glad to support your league!

[Eugene Church]

Wednesday, October 30, 2086

AWARDS GALORE GIVEN OUT BY IPA
The Islandian Pro Alliance gave out its prestigious awards, accolades and honors for the 2086 season today. Players and managers were presented trophies for being the best in 6 categories including the top batters, pitchers, rookies, most valuable, defenders and skippers.

RUTHLANDIAN UNION AWARDS FOR 2086
In the Ruthlandian Union the 2086 Golden Bat went to right fielder Dutch Van Donk of the Belair Beach Sunbird. Second in the balloting was his teammate shortstop Dirk MacIntyre and third place went to right fielder Tony Nobles of the Rocky Rapids Snappers.

The RU Golden Arm Award was presented to right-hander Barney Brayton of the Waleska Westerners. Belair Beach southpaw Gardiner Palmquist wound up in second place and third place was righty Monty Maples of the Claxton Diamonds.

The top rookie in the Ruthlandian Union was center fielder Ben Acheson of the Stoner Stars. Coming in a distant second was Elnora's third baseman Barry Brigman. In the third spot for best rookie poll was right-hander Shannon Slate of the Forest City Firebirds.

The 2086 Ruthlandian Union Most Valuable Player Award went to this year's Golden Bat honoree, right fielder Dutch Van Donk of Belair Beach. Second in the voting was Rocky Rapids right fielder Tony Nobles. In the third position was another right fielder, Hank Allardice of the Ancona Jumbos.

The 2086 Ruthlandian Union Manager of the Year was given to a first-time honoree Rocky Rapids skipper Rian Noland. He edged out Damien D'Amboise of the Marston Nine and Brock Josephson of the Belair Beach Sunbirds. The Snappers went from 6th place (13 GB) in the RU West and captured the division flag this season. D'Amboise improved his Marston club from 5th place (11 GB) to the top spot in the RU East and Josephson copped his 5th straight pennant in the RU South. The baseball scribes indicated that the top two nominees did the better jobs than Josephson, who was blessed with a better team. And they may be right. However, it is not an easy job to win the pennant year after year after year.

TYCOBBIAN UNION AWARDS FOR 2086
The 2086 Tycobbian Union Golden Bat Award recipient was Turon's talented right fielder Smoke Busby. He outpolled Ginza left fielder Kazz Yamazaki, who wound up in the second spot and third-place finisher, Mahaska first baseman Byron Bennigan came in third in the best batter balloting.

The top hurler in the Tycobbian Union was three-year veteran Arjen Rijkaard of the South Fork Stallions. He was selected the TU Golden Arm for this season. The second-highest votegetter in the poll was rookie Cees De Groot of the Summerland Sunsets. Third place went to another freshmen Willie Ditchburn of the Hartsdale Hellcats.

The 2086 Tycobbian Union Rookie of the Year Trophy was presented to Summerland's standout Cees De Groot. Hartsdale's Willie Ditchburn was his biggest competition, followed by Ozarka's Banger Barnhill in third place.

South Fork's superb Smoke Busby took home two of the top IPA prizes this year. Not only did he win the Golden Bat, but he was also awarded the 2086 Tycobbian Union Most Valuable Player honor. His main rivals were two teammates on the Ginza Ninjas, Kazz Yamazaki and Muzuki Hoshino.

Vic Carnaggio led the Ginza Ninjas to a magnificent season and was acclaimed the 2086 Tycobbian Union Manager of the Year. He edged out three other capable rivals, Rolling Hills' Hugo Sutton, Mahaska's Pip Cordice and South Fork's Jay Murphy. Carnaggio won the first pennant for the Ninjas since 2060. His club upped its season record from 83-71 and third place to 92-62 in the highly-competitive TU South. This was the first time Carnaggio snagged the best skipper prize. Sutton's Racers jumped from 81-73 to 92-62 in the TU West. Cordice's Haymakers beat out the Hartsdale Hellcats that had won the TU North the four previous seasons. Mahaska went from 86-68 to 94-61 to take the division flag. Winding up a close fourth in the best manager poll was Jay Murphy, who saw his South Fork Stallion surge from 82-72 to 92-62 in the TU East.





2086 Ruthlandian Union Most Valuable Player

[Eugene Church]

2086 Tycobbian Union Most Valuable Player

[Eugene Church]

The final report for the 2086 season will be the Golden Glove Awards.
I will do it soon and post it.

[Eugene Church]

Wednesday, January 1, 2087

MUSKIES ANDRE LEMOINE MAKES IPA HALL OF FAME
All-time he played in 2507 games, batted .299 with 381 home runs, 2421 base hits, 1394 RBIs and 1439 runs scored -- stats great enough to be acclaimed a baseball immortal.
Lemoine won the 2069 Ruthlandian Union Golden Bat Award in 2069. He finished in the top 3 on 2 other occasions.

Andre Lemoine was officially inducted into the Islandian Pro Alliance Hall of Fame today. This was his 2nd time on the ballot, where he was elected with 81.0% of the vote.

At his Hall of Fame induction, the superstar second baseman told the audience the secret of his success: "I was born to be a ballplayer... I also practiced a lot. Sunup to sundown in the summertime my brothers and I would be on the ballfield. We did it every minute we could. Boy, I loved to play baseball. Still do, and still would, if I could. I always got a special kick on opening day, no matter how many you went through. I looked forward to it like a birthday party when you're a kid. You think something wonderful is going to happen."

One of his managers summed up his career very well: "You saw him standing out there on the diamond and you knew you had a darn good chance to win the baseball game."

Lemoine retired from baseball in 2082, when he was 40. He wore a Belle Plaine Musketeers hat at his induction ceremony.

The ballots are counted and the results are in. One player was enshrined this year: Andre Lemoine will now see his plaque mounted beside the other greats from the game.

The full voting results are included here. Players require 75% of ballots cast to be elected to the Hall, may stay on the ballot for up to 10 years if they receive at least 5% of the votes. Players must be retired for 3 years before they are eligible for induction to the Hall of Fame.

2B Andre Lemoine 81.0 (2nd year) Inducted HOF
3B Cooter Eldridge 64.9 (10th year) Dropped
SS Yazzy Ricks 60.7 (6th year)
SP William Pike 57.7 (4th year)
RF Ernie Friedricks 56.0 (2nd year)
2B Nat Kenner 31.2 (2nd year)
RP Henry Youngman 31.2 (2nd year)
SP Mick Flanders 29.5 (2nd year)
SS Junior Evans 29.2 (5th year)
3B Misha Makowski 28.9 (2nd year)
LF Dolph Gordon 28.6 (2nd year)
SS Andy Zahn 25.0 (2nd year)
SS Ollie Daggs 22.3 (2nd year)
CF Eliott Carleton 21.7 (2nd year)
1B Bralen Josephson 18.2 (10th year) Dropped
1B Virgil Welsh 17.6 (2nd year)
2B Jimmy Czarnecki 17.0 (2nd year)
SP Milosz Mazur 12.5 (2nd year)
SP Nobuo Ojima 12.5 (2nd year)
SP Russell Krohn 12.2 (5th year)
SP Bubby Dancer 11.0 (2nd year)
SP Billy Lake 8.6 (3rd year)
RP Brownie Ashmore 8.6 (8th year)
SP Lando Vargas 8.0 (2nd year)
SP Jethro Firestone 4.8 (1st year) Dropped
SP Andre Zajac 4.5 (3rd year) Dropped
RP Jason Irons 4.2 (3rd year) Dropped
LF Jeff Setser 2.1 (1st year) Dropped
2B Oliver Mackay 0.9 (1st year) Dropped
SP Matthew Pless 0.6 (1st year) Dropped
2B Philip Bliss 0.3 (1st year) Dropped
SP Herb Adamson 0.3 (1st year) Dropped
RP Kent Ryan 0.0 (1st year) Dropped
CF Alec Lauricella 0.0 (1st year) Dropped

[Eugene Church]

Friday, March 7, 2087

Opening Day 2087 is just about a month away for the Islandian Pro Alliance. Spring Training games begin today for the 64 clubs. The regular season will start on April 4. The reigning king of the IPA is Pro Cup champion Belair Beach. The Sunbirds rocked and routed the Rolling Hills Racers for the Pro Cup Trophy last season, topping them in a 4-game sweep.

Back defending their Ruthlandian Union division titles are Ancona Jumbos, Marston Nine and Rocky Rapids Snappers. Four clubs are raring to go in the Tycobbian Union. Last year's flag winners were the Mahaska Haymakers, Ginza Ninjas, South Fork Stallions and Rolling Hills Racers.

The diamond boys are back in business starting today. Springtime has sprung in all its radiant beauty in the Islands.

[Eugene Church]

My radio show has on Sound Radio in Baton Rouge has expanded from just Sunday afternoon 1 pm to 3 pm to three more times a week 6 am to 7:30 am Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

This requires a lot of my time and take it away from OOTP.

I have played Spring Training in the Islandian Pro Alliance... I need to update the 64 team rosters and fixed the weird names on the team rosters. This is a time-consuming process and may take a week of so. But it won't be long. I will soon post the Preseason Predictions and do a Preseason Report.

[jg2977]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

Attachment 1036948
Friday, March 7, 2087

Opening Day 2087 is just about a month away for the Islandian Pro Alliance. Spring Training games begin today for the 64 clubs. The regular season will start on April 4. The reigning king of the IPA is Pro Cup champion Belair Beach. The Sunbirds rocked and routed the Rolling Hills Racers for the Pro Cup Trophy last season, topping them in a 4-game sweep.

Back defending their Ruthlandian Union division titles are Ancona Jumbos, Marston Nine and Rocky Rapids Snappers. Four clubs are raring to go in the Tycobbian Union. Last year's flag winners were the Mahaska Haymakers, Ginza Ninjas, South Fork Stallions and Rolling Hills Racers.

The diamond boys are back in business starting today. Springtime has sprung in all its radiant beauty in the Islands.

Attachment 1036949

Wow, 2087. I hope to see Belair Beach and Rolling Hills back in the playoffs. Let the dynasties continue! And I hope Ginza gets back too.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by jg2977

Wow, 2087. I hope to see Belair Beach and Rolling Hills back in the playoffs. Let the dynasties continue! And I hope Ginza gets back too.

I'm with you, jg2977. I like those teams, too.

[Eugene Church]

I completed the 32 teams in the Ruthlandian Union. I fixed any unrealistic name combinations. Names like Pablo Karamazov, Tonto Goldstein, Ichiro Jones.

I will do the other 32 teams in the Tycobbian Union in the next day or so.
I have to record my Sunday Radio show tomorrow.

My good friend, CD, sent me a message that I had not posted the Golden Glove Teams for 2086.
I'll post them tomorrow.

CD is a very good editor. I appreciate his valuable help and assistance.

[Eugene Church]

Thursday, October 31, 2086

IPA PRESENTS 2086 GOLDEN GLOVE AWARDS
The top defenders in the Islandian Pro Alliance were honored and presented Golden Glove trophies, representing the best gloveman at each position. There was not a lot of repeat winners this year. In the Ruthlandian Union first baseman Matty Cardona of the Valmara Vipers was named to the elite squad for the third time. Third sacker Gary O'Steen of the Waleska Westerners picked up his second trophy. In the Tycobbian Union the only multiple award winners were third basemen Gordy Hebron of the Tuckanarra Blue Jays, a 3-time recipient and the shortstop of the North Hills Hawks Tommy Johnson, who claimed his second trophy.

Ruthlandian Union Golden Glove Team


Tycobbian Union Golden Glove Team

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

Thursday, April 3, 2087

NO SURPRISES IN IPA - BEST TEAMS STILL PICKED TO WIN DIVISION FLAGS
According to the Islandian Pro Alliance preseason prophets there will no shockers this season. Once again this season the best teams last year will do the best this season in most cases. There will be no major surprises.

Here is a quick preseason perusal of the 8 divisions in the IPA. The baseball experts are giving their blessings to Ancona, current Pro Cup champion Belair Beach, Belle Plaine and Forest City in the Ruthlandian Union races. Hartsdale, Ginza, South Fork and Rolling Hills are favored to hoist pennant flags this season. The Pro Cup participants look like the Belair Beach Sunbirds in the parity-ridden Ruthlandian Union. Actually none of the teams really stand out. The Tycobbian Union will be a rat race between all four division winners. The Hartsdale Hellcats and the Ginza Ninjas stand out above the crowd because of their batting prowess, longball power and solid pitching.

In the RU North current champ Ancona gets a very slight nod over the Ranford Bulls and the LaGrange Gators. Belair Beach is the favorite in the RU South, but it will be a close 3-team race with Grand City and Claxton. In the RU East Belle Plaine will prevail in a tight race with the Wynnamac Sundowners. The Eastshore Cotton Kings and Beechwood Blues are rated long shots, along with current title holder, the Marston Nine. It seems the RU West is always hotly contested. Preseason choice Forest City will be challenged by the Stoner Silver Sox, Volusia Vigilantes and last year's winner, the Rocky Rapids Snappers.

The Tycobbian Union doesn't seem to have as many contenders as the Ruthlandian Union. In the TU North only favored Hartsdale and the second-rated Fairfax Frogs seem to have a chance. The rest of the TU North are also-rans and don't impress the baseball pundits. Last year the Ginza Ninjas won the TU South rather easily and will likely do likewise again this year. No other challengers can match their offense and pitching. Ditto the South Fork Stallions in the TU East. The Hosses are predicted to take the division crown fairly easily again this year. In the TU West perpetual powerhouse Rolling Hills is forecast to win out over the runner-up La Claire Lynx in a close and tense race. The Bayview Vikings and Chicopee Braves will be lurking in the shadows at a distance.

[Eugene Church]

Today I will begin work on recapping the entire 2087 IPA season month-by-month.

I hope you like the new method of covering the league.

I finished updating the names of the new players on all 64 rosters. Sometimes they AI's choices of names is not realistic.
Just my preference, but Humberto Jones, Vladimir Smith and Abdul Fonzarelli just don't have a good ring to them.
Yep, EC is set in his way. So you won't see many name combinations like that in the IPA.

[Eugene Church]

Thursday, May 1, 2087

ALSO-RANS DOING WELL IN IPA OPENING MONTH
"Hope springs eternal" every season in the Islandian Pro Alliance. Several low-rated clubs have flourished in the month of April and sit atop of the division standings. Waleska and Wynnamac have blossomed in the early going in the Ruthlandian Union, while San Alejo, Colchester, Hillsboro and Bayview all had good first months in the Tycobbian Union. How long they can prosper is another story. Time will tell.

RUTHLANDIAN UNION APRIL RECAP
In April in the Ruthlandian North, the LaGrange Gators (16-8) have a slight half-game edge over unsung Radford Bulls (16-9). Last year's champion and this year's favorite Ancona (12-13) is running in 4th place. Taranto and the Bulls are supposed to be the prime challengers this season in a red-hot three-team affair. In month one, the Tars (11-14) started slowly and trail by 5 and a half games in 6th place.

Rare contender Waleska (16-7) got out of the gate quickly and has a one and a half-game edge on Pro Cup champion Belair Beach (15-9) in the Ruthlandian South. Grand City (15-10) is clinging close in third place and Valka (13-12) is running fourth. The Sunbirds were the preseason choice to garner their 5th straight division crown. The Cybercats and Claxton Diamonds are forecast to be their main rivals in a pretty close race. Time will tell if the first-place Westerners have staying power in the race.

At the end of the first month of play in the Ruthlandian East the Wynnamac Sundowners (15-9) have a one-game margin over runners-up Belle Plaine (14-10) and Eastshore (14-10). Last year's division winner Marston (12-13) started slowly and is in 6th place thus far. In the preseason poll it was the Belle Plaine Musketeers that were favored to beat out the Macs, Cotton Kings and Beechwood Blues (12-11) in rather easy fashion.

The Rocky Rapids Snappers (16-9) had a fine season last year and captured the Ruthlandian West in a tough race with the Fort Benton Cannons. This year the Snappers shot to the top in the opening month. The Cannons (8-15) are struggling in last place this season. The Forest City Firebirds were the preseason pick by the pundits. Volusia (15-10) is just a game off the pace in second place, while the Firebirds (13-11) are in the third spot so far, trailing by 2 and a half games. The Stoner Silver Sox, the Vigilantes and the Snappers were forecast to be Forest City's biggest rivals this year. The Silver Sox (12-12) are hanging close in 5th place at the close of April.

TYCOBBIAN UNION APRIL RECAP
The Tycobbian North race was supposed to be just a two-team affair again between last season's titlist and this year's favorite Hartsdale and the Fairfax Frogs. Not so, so far. The Frogs (20-5) have totally dominated the race and already have built up a good, solid 5-game lead over the second place Mahaska Haymakers (15-10). The Hellcats (11-13) had a disappointing April and already are a whopping 8 and a half games off the pace. Fairfax is playing with a vengeance and possesses the best offense and the second-best mound corps in the Tycobbian Union. Last year they missed the playoffs by dropping a sudden-death playoff game to the TU North champ Hartsdale. Oxford (13-11) and Blue Lake (12-12) are running third and fourth in the standings in the first month of the season.

In the Tycobbian South, last year's runaway winner and this year's favored Ginza Ninjas (13-12) have staggered out of the gate, but fortunately they are just one and a half games behind in the fourth spot. Upstarts San Alejo (14-10), Colchester (14-10) and Arroyo Grande (14-11) have kicked off the new year in good fashion. However, time will tell if they can sustain this type of play the whole season. Ginza is forecast to win the TU South by a pretty fair margin this year with the Colchester Elites, Summerland Sunsets and San Alejo Montaneros as distant contenders. The Sunsets had a horrendous month, going 9-15 and falling to last place.

The South Fork Stallions ravaged the Tycobbian East last year and were picked to win going away again by the sports scribes. At least in the initial month of the season it looks like they may have some challengers this year. Hillsboro (17-8) blazed to the top of the standings, but they do have company. East Point (15-9) and South Fork (15-10) are right on their heels, just one and a half games and 2 games out. Red Bluff (12-12) and Tuckanarra (12-12) are lurking nearby in fourth place.

In the Tycobbian West the outlook was for Rolling Hills to win their fourth division flag in the last five seasons. The only real competition was expected to come from the La Claire Lynx with the Bayview Vikings and Chicopee Braves standing in the shadows, but well behind in the race. Thus far, the Racers (12-12) have slumbered back in a tie for fifth place with Chicopee (12-12). The Vikings (16-9) have leaped to the top spot, but they are being hard pressed by runner-up Denton City (15-9), followed closely by Bay St. Clair (13-11) and La Claire (12-11). Only Bayview and La Claire are expected to rival the Racers this season.

[Eugene Church]

Ruthlandian Union Standings on May 1, 2087