Tuesday, November 5, 2063
SUPER SKIPPERS NAMED IN IPA
Just because your ballclub wins more games than anyone else doesn't always mean you will be cited and acclaimed the Manager of the Year in the Islandian Pro Alliance... but it happened this year... Rolling Hills skipper Billy Christianson topped the Tycobbian Union with 106 victories and Johnny Rodgers led his LaGrange Gators to 96 wins in the Ruthlandian Union... Christianson was named the Tycobbian Union Manager of the Year for 2063 and Rodgers was honored at the Ruthlandian Union Manager of the Year... this is the unprecedented third year in a row that Christianson has captured the award... his grandfather, the legendary Matty Christianson won the award three times many years ago at the helm of the Rolling Hills Reds... this was the first time Rodgers has received it.
Tycobbian Union
For the last four seasons the Rolling Hills Racers have gotten better and better... manager Billy Christianson had led them to four pennants in a row... they have gone from 93 wins to 99 wins to 102 wins and this year they skied to 106 victories and almost tied the Islandian Pro Alliance all-time wins mark held by Colfax and North Hills with 107... so, it's no wonder Christianson was named the Tycobbian Union Manager of the Year... he beat out Hartsdale's Mark Markis, Summerland's Antonio Vasques and South Fork's Jay Murphy in the balloting.
The number two votegetter, Mark Markis, has done a sensational job in Hartsdale... he has turned the Hellcats around quickly... in his rookie year in '62 the club improved, but it was still a lackluster sixth-place team under .500 with a 75-79 record... but they flourished with abandon this year, upsetting powerful Oxford and winning the TU North pennant... Hartsdale upped its record to 88-67 this year and eked past the Red Caps, beating them in a sudden-death playoff game... in quite a surprise the Hellcats went on to win the IPA Pro Cup this year, beating Colfax in the Finals... postseason play is not considered in picking the awards, only the regular season... otherwise, Markis would have run away with the vote.
Third place in the TU Manager of the Year was Antonio Vasques of the Summerland Sunsets... his club rose from third place with an 87-67 mark in '62 to 95-59 and the TU South title this year... his Sunsets had the third-best record in the IPA, trailing only Rolling Hills (106) and LaGrange (96).
Coming in fourth in the top skipper poll was Jay Murphy... his South Fork Stallions won the TU East with an 88-66 record... in 2062 they came in third with an 89-65 record.
Ruthlandian Union
John Rodgers, the 2063 Ruthlandian Union Manager of the Year, finished a close third the previous year at 82-72... this year the LaGrange Gators ramped it up to a vastly better 96-58 and won the RU North title... his Gators have improved greatly since Rodgers took the reins in 2058.
Rodgers just barely beat out Colfax skipper Garry August for the top manager honor... August had a brilliant year with the Black Sox, going from sixth place and 73-81 and rising up to first place and 91-63.
Also getting quite a few votes was Abe Schiffman of the Claxton Diamonds, who wound up third in the polling... his Diamonds were 73-81 in 2062 and did an about face, improving to 85-69 this year and winning the Ruthlandian South crown... Claxton went from sixth place in the standings to the top spot.