Third Baseman: Kogetoki Miyazaki (High Mesa) (2052-2069)
Easily the top third baseman for the 2050s... in his career drove in 100 runs 13 straight seasons... 6-time All-Star... 4-time Golden Glove... 717 homers, 1770 RBIs with a .274 BA... Miyazaki ranks 6th all-time in the IPA in home runs.
Miyazaki's biggest challenger was Teddy Stonich of Rolling Hills, but he began his career 2057 in the IPA and only played 3 seasons in the 2050s... Cold Creek's Joe Cochrane (2041-2059) was his only real competition for third base... Cochrane was a 9-time All-Star... 2-time Golden Glove... he batted .303 with 325 roundtrippers, 1414 RBI, 1513 runs and 1506 walks (.395 OBP) with a fair .934 FA.
Shortstop: Vincent McCloud (Denton City) (2049-2067)
McCloud's high-powered bat set him apart from his contempories at shortstop... 383 homers, 487 doubles, 108 triples and 1527 RBI... he also stole 163 bases and walked 1380 times (.374 OBP)... 8-time All-Star... but McCloud struggled in the postseason... batted only .230 with 1 home run, 8 RBIs and 6 runs scored in 21 games.
Ginza's Kazuki Tamura (2047-2062) was a 4-time All-Star and twice a Golden Glover... Tamura sported a .296 career BA with 425 doubles, 111 triples, 199 homers, 1184 RBIs, 1327 runs and stole 240 bases... also walked 1100 times (.380 OBP)... he was a good defender with a .970 FA.
Third place in the 2050 All-Decade shortstop poll went to Middlefield's rock-solid Stan Radzikowski (2052-2062)... 4-time All-Star... 3-time Golden Glove (.972 FA)... pretty good power with 274 HR, 1000 RBIs and 1584 runs scored... Radzikowski hit .269 for lifetime average... consistently drove in nearly 100 runs and scored nearly 100 runs year-after-year... and was a fine defender.
Left Fielder: Norishige Ito (Midway) (2047-2064)
Far-and-away the top left fielder in the IPA in the 2050s... Ito made the All-Star Team 9 times... won 3 Gold Gloves... 6 times Tycobbian Union MVP and Golden Bat ('52, '53, '54, '55, '57, '61)... with a .313 BA, 654 HR, 1853 RBI, 1769 R, 134 SB and 1480 walks (.384 OBP)... Ito was solid in the outfield with a .985 FA... sparked the Midway Wolves to 2 Pro Cup titles in 2053 and 2054.
It was Elnora's Donald Ray Mooney (2052-2069) that gave Ito the stiffest race... still active at age 35... he carries a .305 BA with 427 home runs, 1632 RBI, 1470 runs and 1067 walks (.379 OBP)... Mooney is a 6-time All-Star and 1-time Gold Glove (.980 FA).
Winding up a distant third and fourth in the battle for the left field spot were Middlefield's Trip Agarn (2052-2062) and Crystal Lake's Zippy Coburn (2051-2065)... Agarn had a short career, but a very good one with the Roosters... he batted .283 with 358 HR, 1144 RBI with a .975 FA... won 2061 Gold Glove at 1B (.994 FA)... 2-time Ruthlandian Union MVP (2055, 2056)... Coburn stood out for the Clippers with a .309 career BA, 285 HR, 1131 RBI... 2-time All-Star... 1-time Golden Glove with a lifetime .979 FA.
Center Fielder: Johnny Wyatt (Middlefield) (2049-2062)
Wyatt was a 3-time Ruthlandian Union MVP (2049, 2050, 2053)... 2-time All-Star... 1-time Gold Glove... 2049 RU Rookie of the Year... Wyatt hit .273 with 492 HR and 1418 RBIs... he also did damage in the playoffs, hitting 17 roundtrippers in 71 games with 56 ribbies, but only hit .217 for average... fine defender with a very good arm... made the Gold Glove Team 2 times and wound up with an excellent career .990 FA.
It was a tight vote in center field for the 2050s All-Decade Team... there were four other capable contenders: St. John's Freddie Woodruff (2047-2069), Turon's Maxie Mullinax (2052-2069), Far Mountain's Ox Gless (2052-2066) and White River's Pudge Tate (2048-2062).
Woodruff retired at the end of the season last year... an excellent all-around player, really fine defender and a very productive bat... didn't win a lot of awards... just made the All-Star Team 1 time... but got 5 Golden Gloves (.985 FA)... Woodruff batted .294 with 3392 hits, 634 doubles, 116 triples and only 116 homers, but drove in 1794 runs and stole 247 bases... also walked 1767 times and posted a .390 OBP.
Turon's Maxie Mullinax had a fine career with a .280 BA, 443 doubles, 182 triples, 160 homers, 1074 RBIs, 1575 runs, 441 SBs and 1541 walks (.385 OBP)... 3-time All-Star... 2-time Golden Glover... could really cover ground in center with a strong arm (.980 FA).
Far Mountain's Ox Gless did everything well... 3-time All-Star... 2-time Golden Glove with a very strong arm (.985 FA)... .288 BA, 405 doubles, 67 triples, 330 HR, 1342 RBI, 1266 R and 124 SB.
Winding up the center field challengers was another good one... Pudge Tate of the White River Rascals... 3-time All-Star... 1-time Golden Glover... batted .276 with 370 HR and 1164 RBIs... stole 151 bases and walked 1219 times for a .372 OBP... Tate was a standout defender with a very strong arm and good speed... posted a very impressive .987 FA in his career.
Right Fielder: Daryl Vale (Midway) (2052-2064)
Vale was 7-time All-Star... 3-time Golden Glove... won the 2056 Tycobbian Union MVP and Golden Bat Awards... Vale was a teammate of Norishige Ito and also was a vital part of Midway's 2 Pro Cup Trophies in 2053 and 2054... Vale tore up the postseason pitchers with a .322 BA in 62 games with 11 homers, 27 RBIs and 45 runs... he also stole 13 bases... overall in his career Vale batted .292 with 368 homers and 1235 ribbies... the Midway Wolves won 6 pennants and 2 Pro Cups during his stint with them.
Only one other player received much support in the voting for the right field spot... that was Red Bluff outfielder Toni Kolkov (2048-2062)... he was a 4-time All-Star and power hitter with 452 home runs and 1143 RBIs... Kolkov paced the Red Sox to the 2057 Pro Cup crown... he didn't hit a lot for average, only .250, but he belted 5 home runs and drove in 14 runs and scored 12 in the 18-game run... Kolkov was just an adequate defender with a decent arm (.976 FA)... but he was a very steady RBI guy in the 2050s... one of the most reliable run makers... Kolkov averaged about 35 homers and 100 runs batted in each season for the decade.