Friday, November 3, 2078
STRATFORD AND SCOTTSDALE REPEAT AS IPA TOP SKIPPERS
Twice is nice is a common saying, but it doesn't occur a lot in the Islandian Pro Alliance... only 5 times in the IPA's long and illustrious history has a manager repeated as Manager of the Year... yep, it happened this season in both the Ruthlandian Union and the Tycobbian Union... in fact, this is the first time the repeat winners happened two seasons in a row in both the RU and the TU... Dave Stratford of the Kilkenny Cats and Nate Scottsdale were selected the 2077 IPA Managers of the Year and also repeated as the 2078 IPA Managers of the Year this year... this never occurred before... both Stratford and Scottsdale were easy winners in this season's best manager poll.
Dave Stratford piloted the Kilkenny Cats to their second straight Ruthlandian North flag this season and was rewarded with his second straight RU Manager of the Year trophy... the Cats wound up 90-64 this year and beat out the Ranford Bulls by 4 games for the pennant... Stratford was a workhorse hurler for Kilkenny... in 20 seasons 2034 to 2054 he twirled 207 victories and suffered 197 defeats with a respectable 3.65 ERA... Stratford took the reins in 2068, suffered through some dismal seasons until 2074... since then Kilkenny has been a solid contender in the RU North and has won the division the last two years.
Stratford handily outpolled runner-up Eliot Marcum of the Belle Plaine Musketeers, who guided his club to a fine season, winding up in the third spot in the RU East, just 4 games off the pace of division-winning Wynnamac... in '77 the Muskies were in 7th place at 70-84... they boosted their record to 80-74 this year... Marcum is only in his 3rd year as skipper... at age 32 he retired in 2070 after an 11-year career with Belle Plaine... he was an All-Star outfielder 3 times and won the RU Golden Bat Award in 2063 and 2064... in '64 Marcum also was the RU Most Valuable Player... from 2058 to 2069 he sported a .299 BA with 396 roundtrippers and 1204 ribbies... the Musketeers were a lousy club during that time.
Coming in a distant 3rd in the 2078 skipper of the year poll was Johnny Wyatt... he took over as manager in 2062 after a fine 14-year playing career with the Middlefield Roosters (2049-2062)... Wyatt has had only modest success as skipper... however, this season the Roosters went from 8th place (64-90) in the RU West to 3rd place (81-73), ending up only 5 and a half games back of first place Sligo (87-68)... as a player Wyatt is a near Hall-of-Fame performer... he sparked Middlefield to 8 pennants and 2 Pro Cups (2052, 2056) in his tenure, batting .273 with 492 homers and 1418 RBIs... Wyatt was the 2049 RU Rookie of the Year and also the MVP... he also was named MVP in '50, '53 and '54... and won one Gold Glove and was twice an All-Star.
Turon skipper Nate Scottsdale was chosen the 2078 Tycobbian Union Manager of the Year by a wide margin over second place Rusty Bradford of the Kenwood Wildcats and third place Jay Murphy of the South Fork Stallions... in his 11 seasons in charge his Typhoons have gathered in 7 division crowns and 2 Pro Cups (2072, 2078)... Turon upped its record from 97-57 in '77 to 100-54 this season... Scottsdale was a solid starter from 2037 to 2056 with a 362-277 mark and a 3.44 ERA... he was voted into the IPA Hall of Fame in 2057 despite the 277 losses and a relatively high ERA... Scottsdale was the TU Rookie of the Year in 2037 with a 21-7 record... he was a 3-time All-Star.
Rusty Bradford improved the Kenwood Wildcats from 82-72 and 5th place in 2077 to 90-64 and the TU West title in 2078... the Wildcats had a swift turnaround when he took command in 2076... Bradford was hard-working hurler for 17 seasons with Kenwood... he compiled a 260-216 mark with a quality 3.42 ERA from 2039 to 2055... twice Bradford made the Tycobbian All-Star team... the Wildcats won the TU West 7 times during his career.
South Fork manager Jay Murphy enjoyed another fine season... his Stallions again copped the TU East Division title with a 90-64 mark, beating out Ozarka and Tuckanarra by 5 games... in 2077 South Fork won the Pro Cup with an 88-66 record... they made it to the TU Title Series this year where they were beaten by Pro Cup champion Turon in 5 games... Murphy took charge of the Stallions in 2058... as the boss of the Stallions Murphy has won 6 TU East titles and 2 Pro Cups (2073, 2077) in his 21 seasons... as a player he was an impressive starter with a 250-185 record and a 3.24 ERA... twice Murphy won the TU Golden Arm Award (2042, 2044)... in '44 he also was named the TU Most Valuable Player... Murphy was 5-3 in the 2042 postseason playoffs with a 3.98 ERA... he won two games in the Pro Cup Finals, game one and game four... South Fork swept Colfax for the IPA crown that year.
5 managers have won the Manager of the Year Award two seasons in succession... in the Ruthlandian Union Clem Rogers of the Colfax Blasters was the first to do in 2009 and 2010... Far Mountain skipper Alex Groveland was honored 3 times in a row in 2012, 2013 and 2014... It's happened 3 times in the Tycobbian Union... Ozarka's Joe Mac Carney was picked in 2015 and 2016... followed by Charley Oscar of the Southport Sun Sox in the 2044 and 2045 seasons... and finally by Billy Christianson of the Rolling Hills Racers... in a remarkable run Christianson won 4 times straight from 2061 to 2065.
