|
THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, October 16, 2045
BEECHWOOD'S HERMAN TOP RU HURLER
Beechwood's chubby right-hander Jimmy Herman had a season to remember. The 30-year-old posted a superlative 26-9 record, which was good enough to win him his first Ruthlandian Golden Arm Arm, given to the best pitcher in the league. Herman had some strong competitors in James Long of the Middlefield Roosters and Jamie Taylor of the Rocky Rapids Snappers.
Herman has played for 11 years for the Bobcats with three 20-game seasons. This year he led them to a second place finish. Herman completed 30 of his 39 starts with a 2.72 ERA and 268 strikeouts in 330 innings. He led the IPA in wins with 26 and was sixth in strikeouts. Career-wise Herman is 175-124 with a 3.34 ERA.
James Long of Middlefield was the runner-up in the Golden Arm voting. He compiled a 23-13 record with 2.12 ERA, 6 shutouts and 212 Ks in 309 innings. Long paced the Roosters to the RU West Division pennant. He ranked second in ERA in the Ruthlandian Union and led the entire IPA with 6 shutouts.
Jamie Taylor of Rocky Rapids was third in the poll. He led the RU with a splendid 2.00 ERA, while chalking up a 21-14 mark, 29 complete games and 5 shutouts. The Snappers wound up second to Middlefield in the pennant race.
SA'S BELL TOP TU TWIRLER
The 2045 Tycobbian Union Golden Arm Award went to San Alejo's Matt Bell. a first time winner. Second in the vote was Benton McCall of Cape Coral with Frankie Quinn of the Blue Lake Blue Sox coming in third.
The 26-year-old Bell is a seven-year veteran with the Montaneros, who came in third this season in the TU South. Bell ranked second in the IPA in victories with a 25-9 mark. His super low 1.87 ERA placed him third in the IPA. Overall Bell has won 20 games five times in his career, piling up 145-86 record with a terrific 2.49 ERA. He throws in the upper 90's and was number two in the IPA with 284 strikeouts in 332 innings. Bell ranked second to James Long of Middlefield with 6 shutouts.
Number two in the Golden Arm balloting was Benton McCall of the Cape Coral Hurricanes. At age 30 he really blossomed with a 25-9 record and a 2.74 ERA. McCall accomplished very little in his first seven seasons with the 'Canes, but has taken off in the last five and has become a solid starter. This year McCall helped the Hurricanes to a fourth place finish in the TU South.
Getting better with age is 39-year-old Frankie Quinn, the third best votegetter. For the last four seasons he has registered 20 or more wins. Quinn had a 23-9 record with a standout 2.10 ERA for the Blue Sox, who were third in the TU North standings this season. In his famed 19-year career Quinn has won 20 games on 13 occasions, totaling a fantastic 366-263 mark with a great 2.93 ERA. He is now number four on the all-time wins list, topped only by Hall-of-Famers Nicky Engstrom (387-218) and Cody Burg (369-264) and the recently retired Augie Marquis (368-300) of the Fort Benton Defenders.
|