EC's South Island League

[Eugene Church]

Secondary League Stars of the Week

[Eugene Church]

Up next, I will recap the season in the South Island Supreme League and the South Island Secondary League.

[Eugene Church]

Monday, July 11, 1960

NY YANKS WIN 3RD FLAG IN A ROW
True to their colors, the New Yerby Yankees are the blue bloods of South Island baseball... the Yanks raised up their third flag in a row by
capturing their second straight Supreme League flag... New Yerby also nabbed the Secondary League crown in 1958... nobody came close
... the Yankees won their first 9 games this season and won going away, toppling the league by 4 games... their only losses were by one run
... the Zebulon Zips wound up second in the standings at 8-6.

Next year the South Island Supreme League will welcome the Grin Hill Smileys, who won promotion this year by taking the Secondary League
title... the league will also say "au revoir" to the last place Bar Harbor Acadians, who will be relegated to the South Island Secondary League.

Much of the New Yerby success came from their explosive attack, coupled with steady and reliable pitching from the tandem of starter Steve
Chancellor (7-0/3.12 ERA) and reliever Johnny Jordan (5-1/3.31 ERA).

Star right fielder Silas Delaney (.338 BA/5 HR/11 RBI/19 R/4 SB) snared the Supreme League Most Valuable Player Award for 1960... he led
an imposing group of hitters, along with third baseman Rusty Armstrong (.367 BA/5 HR/21 RBI/12 R/6 SB) and
Clayton Delaney (.452 BA/4 HR/20 RBI/17 R/11 SB), Silas' brother in center field... New Yerby finished first in all of the batting categories
(.323 BA)... the Yanks had the best staff in the league, too, by far (3.14 ERA)... it's hard to lose when you can do it all on the diamond...
however, on defense New Yerby was below average (.962 FA)

Second place Zebulon (8-6) had a modest season, but suffered from a lack of offense... Eddie Rabbitt (.500 BA/0 HR/11 RBI 10 R/6 SB) won
the Supreme League batting crown... he only got help from third baseman Terry Humphries (.381 BA/2 HR/6 RBI/5 R), but little else from the batting
order... the Zips were terrible at the plate and only fair on the hill (5.14 ERA), led by Mike Trapani (3-1/3.38 ERA) and Duck Davis (4-3/4.82 ERA)...
with the gloves the Zips were rated pretty good (.968 FA).

The Delta Stars (7-7) wound up tied for third place, 5 games off the pace... feeble hitting did them in... right fielder
Jimmy Carter (.314 BA/4 HR/9 RBI/13 R/13 SB), center fielder Lynn Parker (.340 BA/4 HR/8 RBI/8 R) and first sacker
Joe Bauman (.306 BA/1 HR/9 RBI/4 R) were only mild threats at the plate... Carter topped the league with 13 steals...
Johnny Goodman (3-4/2.88 ERA) was the only reliable starter, but the poor run support hurt him... the rest of the staff was bad... overall Delta
possessed a good 3.83 ERA, second-best to champ New Yerby... fielding was alright (.966 FA).

Meraux (7-7) was in the three-way tie for third place in the standings... the Tigers were lousy defensively (.955 FA) and atrocious on the mound
(6.62 ERA)... Meraux's best pitcher Paul Dobson (4-4/5.53 ERA) was basically just an average hurler in the pitching-poor Supreme League...
but they were potent at the plate with a .315 BA... the Tigers could go toe-to-toe with New Yerby in scoring runs, sparked by shortstop
Don Fontenot (.414 BA/1 HR/11 RBI/12 R/9 SB), second baseman Pierre Marceaux (.366 BA/2 HR/13 RBI/12 R), first baseman
Alton Ragsdale (.357 BA/3 HR/15 RBI/12 R) and Aaron Mettler (.298 BA/1 HR/7 RBI/13 R).

The Jackson Jackalopes (7-7) were also in third place... pathetic pitching (6.33 ERA) killed the season... the Jacks could score and hit (.295 BA)
and they could handle the glove well (.968 FA)... most of the offense came from talented first baseman Nate Perkins (.333 BA/7 HR/25 RBI/11 R)...
he topped the league in homers and RBIs and finished third in the MVP balloting... shortstop Mickey Retief (.328 BA/0 HR/4 RBI/13 R/10 SB) was
a solid ballplayer... left fielder Lawrence Chapman hit with power, but not much for average (.229 BA/5 HR/12 RBI/10 R)... Dan Triggs (2-1/5.26 ERA)
and Donnelle Crochet (1-0/5.49 ERA) were the best of the lot on the hill, but nothing special at all.

The fourth spot in the standings went to the Braxton Bruins (6-8)... they won the Secondary League flag in 1959, but didn't fare very well in the
Supreme League... just a second-rate club with a fair offense (.288 BA), good scoring, no power, terrible pitching (6.88 ERA) and pretty good defense
(.974FA)... heading up the attack were third baseman Roger Sandlin (.404 BA/2 HR/14 RBI/7 R), shortstop Chuck Abadie (.379 BA/0 HR/9 RBI/17 R/13 SB)
and second baseman Scott Bell (.314 BA/2 HR/14 RBI/7 R)... Abadie tied for the league lead in stolen bases... last year's Secondary League MVP
Jeff Cook only hit .231 with 3 homers and 11 RBIs in a very disappointing season... Braxton's top twirler Chester Gearhart wasn't as good as his 4-2 mark
... his ERA was a sky-high 6.48... 'nuff said.

The Mystic Mariners (5-9) in 7th place batted well on paper with a .302 BA... 7 of their regulars hit over .300, but still they lost games...
top batters were second sacker John Dailey (.407 BA/2 HR/10 RBI), first baseman Frank Gullo (.357 BA/5 HR/14 RBI), left fielder
Ryan Cassidy (.311 BA/4 HR/11 RBI/8 R), third baseman Julien D'Hemecourt (.314 BA/2 HR/9 RBI/14 R) and center fielder
Rory Flanagan (.304 BA/1 HR/10 RBI/9 R)... on the hill Bill Woods (2-2/5.01 ERA) and Chris Foyle (0-1/4.12 ERA) were mediocre at best...
overall Mystic posted a 5.88 ERA and they were the worst team defensively in the Supreme League with a .955 FA..

Last place went to the Bar Harbor Acadians (4-10)... next year they will be demoted to the South Island Secondary League... the Cajuns
batted a lowly .246, were next to last in scoring and above average on the mound, but with a poor 5.12 ERA in a run-happy league... Bar
Harbor played well defensively with a .974 FA... shortstop Mike Allen (.400 BA/5 HR/9 RBI/9 R), left fielder Andre Martel (.325 BA/2 HR/4 RBI/10 R)
and third baseman Armand Savoie (.293 BA/2 HR/6 RBI/9 R) were the only reliable bats in the lineup... Jesse Dodge was a fair pitcher with a
2-5 mark and a 4.56 ERA in a high-scoring league... he led the league with 87 Ks in 79 innings.

[Eugene Church]

1960 South Island Supreme League Final Leaderboards

[Eugene Church]

SUPREME LEAGUE ANNOUNCES 1960 AWARD WINNERS
The Supreme League honored its players with special awards... number one was the 1960 Supreme League Most Valuable Player Award given to New Yerby star Silas Delaney... the league also announced this year's Golden Glove team, given to the top defensive performers... Delaney also made this pretigious team as well... the right fielder received his second Golden Glove trophy... Adam Harper, first baseman for Bar Harbor, copped his second trophy, too.

Rookie second baseman Eddie Rabbitt of Zebulon set a new mark for batting average... he batted .500 this season, besting the old mark of .480 by Mike Allen of Bar Harbor in 1957.

1960 South Island Supreme League Awards:

[jg2977]

Nice season recap, EC.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by jg2977

Nice season recap, EC.

Thanks, Jeff.

Appreciate your loyal support.

You will be playing in the South Island and the Islandian Pro Alliance in their next seasons.
You only have average ratings like you gave me... we'll see how you do.
I'll keep you posted on how you are playing.

I had a good career in the IPA... I started with just average ratings, but the AI developed me in to a really good player.... I did not want that... I made the Hall of Fame... was really ridiculous.

In the South Island League, I am a good-fielding shortstop with no range... it has be a better hitter than I really was in real life.

Really having it tough on the mound... great control with no stuff and no fastball makes my life miserable... next year I may go back to shortstop and give up the mound.

[Eugene Church]

Tuesday, July 12, 1960

GRIN HILL NABS SECONDARY LEAGUE CROWN, HEADED TO THE SUPREME LEAGUE
They are smiling ear-to-ear in Grin Hill... the Smileys tore up the Cherrywood Stouts 16-5 in a sudden-death playoff for the 1960 South Island Secondary League championship and the promotion upwards to the South Island Supreme League next year... and righty so, Grin Hill was the most explosive offense in the Secondary League.

It all came together unexpectedly for the Grin Hill Smileys (11-4) this year... they were picked near the bottom in the preseason poll... the oldtimers that have had only one winning season in its history blossomed into a very potent offensive machine this season... none of the rookies played much this season... Grin Hill was 7-4 and finished in third place in the league inaugural season 1955... they've been bad every year since... however, not this season... the Smileys topped the Secondary League with a .341 team BA and led the league in scoring with 124 runs... that's 8.3 runs a game.

Offense is fine, but most of the teams in the Secondary League can put runs on the scoreboard, it's the pitchers that make the real difference, not the batters... southpaw Jim Smiley (10-2/4.15 ERA) wasn't overpowering and great, but he was solid and steady, posting a fairly good 4.15 ERA... Smiley was voted the 1960 Secondary League Most Valuable Player and deserved the honor... boy, what a lineup: 1B Nico Pocorello (.437 BA/16 RBI/15 R), LF Phil Juban (.413 BA/2 HR/16 RBI/13 R/6 SB), CF Slim Smiley (.347 BA/2 HR/9 RBI/17 R/7 SB), RF Cliff Lebreton (.355 BA/2 HR/17 RBI/15 R), 2B Jose Jimenez (.478 BA/1 HR/9 RBI/14 R/8 SB), C Lindsey Nelson (.340 BA/4 HR/13 RBI/10 R) and 3B Mark Wade (.327 BA/1 HR/8 RBI/10 R)... the only non-.300 hitter Rafael Ramos (.200 BA/4 HR/15 RBI/13 R/2 SB) didn't hit for average, but he was a very productive one... last year's Secondary League pennant winner Braxton (10-5) did not fare well in the Supreme League this year... they came in 6-8 and 6th in the standings... just didn't have the pitching in the new league... let's see how the Grin Hill Smileys do.

Cherrywood (10-5) came up one game shy of the pennant... in the preseason poll they were solid picks as pennant contenders and almost won it... the Stouts hit very well (.315 BA), scored well (102 runs) and had average pitching (5.15 ERA)... but Cyril Romero (8-3/4.73 ERA) and Hank Hodges (2-2/4.67 ERA) were not as effective as Jim Smiley... the batters were good, but not quite as good as Grin Hill... sparking the Stouts at the plate were SS Rick Fargnoli (.463 BA/1 HR/15 RBI/11 R/6 SB), 2B George Hayes (.369 BA/2 HR/14 RBI/14 R/5 SB), rookie 3B Charlie Loomis (.344 BA/6 HR/12 RBI/16 R), LF Merlin Haggard (.439 BA/1 HR/11 RBI/9 R)... CF Robert Wheeler (.250 BA/5 HR/13 RBI/10 R/7 SB) and 1B Tony Armstrong (.271 BA/5 HR/11 RBI/12 R) provided the longballs and RBIs... Cherrywood needs help in RF and catcher... and pitching, too... Hank Hodges was the only contributing rookie.

The Parkland Perfectos (7-7) were well-regarded going into the season and picked to contend with Joliet, the favorite, and Cherrywood, the second choice... they never really challenged the top teams, but they did come in tied for third place with Billings... so far, the Perfectos are just an average team in the Secondary League, always around the .500 mark in their 4 seasons... Parkland boasted average batters with a .288 team BA, scored well with 87 runs and had so-so pitching and no longball power (16 HR)... the Perfectos didn't have a batting order packed with hitters like the contenders... the best of the lot were RF Aaron Kettering (.358 BA/6 HR/14 RBI/17 R) and 2B Davey Lee (.333 BA/1 HR/14 RBI/5 R)... a pair of rookies CF Ballhawk Bannen (.274 BA/3 HR/9 R/9 RBI/13 SB) and 1B Harry Mixon (.333 BA/2 HR/5 RBI/12 R) did help out offensively... rookie Billy Hansen (2-2/4.01 ERA) pitched fairly well, but most of the work went to veterans Denny Lee (3-2/4.39 ERA) and Dunk Sanford (1-1/5.40 ERA)... rookie Angel Torrez (1-2/10.12 ERA) flopped badly... overall, Parkland just did not have the offense to beat out Grin Hill and Cherrywood.

The Billings Rams (7-7) were forecast to be just an average team in the Secondary League this season and they lived up to that prediction, winding up tied with Parkland for the third spot in the standings... the Rams were very bad their first two years in '55 and '56 with an overall 4-16 record... they have improved since, hovering mostly around the .500 mark... Billings is just a fair-to-middling team, just like 5 other clubs... they are all bunched together... the Rams don't have many threats in the lineup... LF Mitch Anderson (.368 BA/6 HR/15 RBI/15 R) and 3B Ralph Ziegler (.397 BA/1 HR/10 RBI/11 R) lead the way at the plate... 1B Roger McCullough (.345 BA/2 HR/5 RBI/11 R) also lends a bat occasionally... none of the rookies made much of an impact... however, Rusty Roniger (2-1/2.81 ERA) may be given a good shot at the starter position next season... Billings depended on veterans Clifton Chenier (3-3/4.42 ERA) and Mike Mitchell (2-2/5.90 ERA) this year.

The season was not very jolly for the Green Giants of Joliet (6-8)... favored to win the pennant, Joliet struggled badly and tied for 5th place... never challenged the contenders... just average hitting and poor pitching... historically Joliet was terrible the first two years in the Secondary League with an overall 4-19 mark in 1957 and 1958... the Green Giants jumped to 9-6 in 1959 and lost the pennant in a playoff game with champion Braxton... that's why the optimism coming into this season... but the stars of '59 flipped, flopped and fizzled in 1960... the only reliable bats belonged to 2B Ralph Varricchio (.385 BA/2 HR/10 RBI/8 R/7 SB) and 1B Alphonse Guidry (.278 BA/4 HR/13 RBI/12 R)... catcher Teebo Chargois (.357 BA/0 HR/2 RBI/8 R/4 SB) looks good stats-wise, but really didn't produce many runs... he got a lot of hits, but they were wasted... Sid Landry (2-6/3.57 ERA) proved to be the most effective hurler on the squad, but he didn't get much run support... the rest of the staff was poor and of little help.

The Littleville Supermen (6-8) tied for 5th place this season, but they were a pretty bad club... don't understand how they won 6 games with a .224 team batting average and just 64 runs... it had to be the pitching staff with a Secondary League-best 4.35 ERA... Billy Daniels (4-5/3.97 ERA) was the prime reason... he apparently kept them in many games, but suffered seriously for run support... you are in trouble when your top hitter is rookie RF Billy Pate (.261 BA/1 HR/10 RBI/5 R/4 SB)... rookie 3B Jay Danley led them with 5 homers, but he batted only .209... 'nuff said... yep, the Supermen are not very super on the diamond... Littleville is only 29-42 in its 6 seasons... '57 was their best at 6-6... '59 was their worst at 4-10.

St. Dominic is a lousy team, yet they came in with 6 wins and only 8 defeats... they have the worst ERA in the Secondary League at 6.32... they are 7th in batting with a lowly .260 BA... and the Saints scored the fewest runs in the league... the only bright spot on the team was Max Rommel (.391 BA/3 HR/10 RBI/8 R)... he also pitched, but suffered with a 5.67 ERA in his 5 starts... Danny Church had the best record with a 3-3 mark, but his ERA was atmospheric at 7.94... next season Church (.333 BA/2 HR/5 RBI/4 R) will be back at shortstop, his normal spot in the lineup... he is a solid fielder and decent bat... the Saints were desparate for pitching and they tried him, but the experiment failed big time.

Finally we come to the team at the bottom of the barrel in the South Island Secondary League - the Pelham Oaks (4-10)... the Oaks can hold their own with the lumber, but they come up way short on the hill... they batted .286 and scored 87 runs, but they allowed 101 runs with a lofty 5.72 ERA... thriving at the plate were catcher Doug Patterson (.375 BA/2 HR/12 RBI/9 R), 1B Bill Chapman (.302 BA/4 HR/10 RBI/12 R) and 2B Chad Worthington (.371 BA/2 HR/9 RBI/10 R)... rookie shortstop and pitcher Wiley Carmichael (.364 BA/1 HR/6 RBI/8 R) did his part with the bat, but he had a tough time on the mound with a 1-2 record in 5 starts and a 5.02 ERA... John Wright (1-2/4.41 ERA) had the best stats in his 3 starts... he pitched in 12 of the team's 14 games... Phil Jacobs (2-2/7.71 ERA) has the best won-lost mark and the worst ERA on the team... and can you believe it?... yep, the Pelham Oaks used to be in the South Island Supreme League... they came in tied for second place in 1955 with a 6-4 record... they lost the pennant by one game to the Jackson Jackalopes... in 1956 Pelham won the Supreme League crown with an 8-2 record... they fell apart in '57, dropped to 3-9 and got demoted to the Secondary League... overall the Oaks are 32-39, but they have not been very successful in the Secondary League... they were much better in the Supreme League... go figure?

[Eugene Church]

1960 South Island Secondary League Final Leaderboards

[Eugene Church]

1960 South Island Secondary League Awards

[Eugene Church]

MY LIFE IN 1961
WILL EC HAVE ANY FUN IN '61?

EC has mixed emotions about the year 1961... do you know the definition of "mixed emotions"? Well, I will share it with you like I did on the radio when EC was a DJ... that the feeling you have when your 267 and one-half pound mother-in- law drives off a mountain cliff in your brand-spanking new car... there is joy and yet there is great despair simultaneously and all at the same time.

Actually my mother-in-law is one of my all-time favorite people... she was really special... a very lovable and wonderful lady that loved EC... it was far from the truth for me to depict her that way on the radio... but, gracious as she always was, she always said she got a kick out of my comments about her.

The good part of 1961 - EC is back home in the good old USA... my tour of duty ended in Turkey in December and I was shipped to Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio... I was assigned to Security Service Headquarters... looking back on it, Turkey was better than Kelly... I could play sports in Turkey... I got a rude awakening upon arrival at Kelly Air Force Base... I was invited by a former teammate of mine in Turkey to come to basketball practice for the squadron team... Stan Duletsky and I had led the Charlie Trick team to second place in the base intramural league in Turkey... keep in mind that I had not played basketball for a year, I was rusty and was not in shape physically or skill-wise... oh, my goodness, was I bad - embarrassingly bad... I still blush whenever I think back on this episode in my life... I mean to tell you these guys played at another level of basketball... they were faster, quicker and much better than me... I told Stan after practice that I just wasn't good enough to play even when I got in playing shape... these guys were at least small-college level skill-wise... three of them could have play big-time college basketball.

My skill level was an above average college intramural player.

Kelly was not a good experience... EC couldn't play basketball... the job was boring... just going through intelligence data and routing it to to wherever it was needed... I was just a "paper pusher"... and I still have two more years to go until I got out of the Air Force... after a few weeks of misery and not being able to play basketball, I requested to be reassigned to Turkey... yep, they turned me down... no chance of that... EC was stuck at Kelly for the duration of my Air Force career.

Actually, it wasn't great being back home in the USA... EC couldn't play sports and he was still the social recluse he had been when he was in high school and in Monterey at the Army Language School... woe is me... yep, EC has a martyr complex... not really sure what it is, but I've got it.

Nope, EC will not end this post on such a sad and miserable note.

Thank God for the radio... I still have my much beloved music to pass the time away in a joyful way.

For all you buckaroos and you little darlin's, too, here are the Kendalls with their number one country song from the golden year of 1984 - "Thank God for the Radio".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzA1eOvA48o

[Eugene Church]

Got busy today and converted my IPA and South Island Leagues to OOTP24... hope it is the wise thing to do... I have been told that it is stable by several knowledgeable OOTP gamers.

All seemed to go well.

It sure is going to be quite a job to update all 64 teams with the new graphics I have for the new season... I have lots of new primary and secondary logos, compliments of hurricanekevin on the Mods Forum.

My normal procedure is to transfer my leagues only after the final patch for each version of the game... I am going to try to use OOTP24 right now.

Hope it is a good, solid and reliable version.

If it proves to be a problem, I will use OOTP23... it is a very solid version of the game.

[jg2977]

I look forward to hearing how OOTP24 is, I'm still going to wait about another month. Hopefully there is a 1/2 price sale at the all star break like there usually is every year.

[Eugene Church]

I added two rookies to each team... I created all the free agents and just randomly assigned one pitcher and on position player to each team.

Will begin spring training games soon.

I think I will play some of them out to get a look at the new players.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by jg2977

I look forward to hearing how OOTP24 is, I'm still going to wait about another month. Hopefully there is a 1/2 price sale at the all star break like there usually is every year.

I added you to the LaGrange Bulls in my IPA... but you are on the reserve roster.... the Bulls have a very good second baseman... I may trade you to a team that has a poor second baseman so you can be a regular.

I also put on a team in my South Island Secondary League... you will play for the Bar Harbor Acadians... you should be a regular.

Will keep you posted.

[jg2977]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

I added you to the LaGrange Bulls in my IPA... but you are on the reserve roster.... the Bulls have a very good second baseman... I may trade you to a team that has a poor second baseman so you can be a regular.

I also put on a team in my South Island Secondary League... you will play for the Bar Harbor Acadians... you should be a regular.

Will keep you posted.

Thank you.

[Eugene Church]

Will begin working on the lineups for spring training and taking a look at the new rookies in the South Island Supreme League and the South Island Secondary League.

There are 32 rookie players for the 1961 season... 2 rookies for each team.

[Eugene Church]

MY LIFE IN 2023
Yep, EC's Life Is Filled With Glee in '23

Nope, you wiseguys, that's 2023, not 1923... believe it or not EC is a lot younger than that... I am so glad I am young at heart... always played ball with younger guys... at age 55 EC played in an 18 and over basketball league... my wife taught Sunday School for 50 years and I was always in a class with people 20 years younger than me for the most part... my church league basketball team and softball teams were mainly in their 20s and 30s... I was in my 40s and 50s... I never was in a Sunday School class with people my age... yep, I think that kept me young in spirit... even on the OOTP Forums I deal with folks a lot younger than me... back in 2003 when I was just starting to play OOTP3, dbacks, a 15-year-old teenager taught me what a cursor was and how to post a screenshot... now nice folks like knuckler, txranger, low, hurricanekevin, rocknfire7 and other fine graphics guys help me with my wonderful logos, jerseys and caps... viewers like jg2977, Dark Horse, CD and StLee keep my view counts going pretty steadily... thanks for helping an old traditional curmudgeon and old codger enjoy the great game of baseball.

dbacks, where are you now?... EC still needs you and your computer expertise... would you like to rebrand all 64 teams in the Islandian Pro Alliance?

EC has been blessed by Jesus... and also by baseball... in the last few years I have started reading books for the first time in my life and loving it... EC had to retire from sports because of bulging discs in my spine caused by too many rear-end hits by bad drivers... 6 times it has happened to me since 1977... I was stopped at a stop light when it happened... in 1995 my doctor told me to stop playing sports or I might just end up in a wheelchair... yep, so EC retired... I love sports, but my health is far, far more important.

“Hello again, everybody. It’s a bee-yoo-tiful day for baseball.” – Sportscaster, Harry Caray

Now I just have to watch games or read books about baseball... just finished a book "Baseball - The Early Years"... actually I only read half of it... it was way too much about the history of baseball business from the 1860s to the early 1900s... there were two more volumes to read... nope, EC did not finish even the first book... it was really well-reseached and scholarly by a doctorate thesis... but it was tedious to read... I need to be entertained and informed... Harold Seymour did not entertain, but he thoroughly informed me... it would be a great book for a baseball historian doing research... but it was not for EC... sorry, Harold.

"Wit, Quips and Quotes from the Diamond Minds"

EC just started a new book by George Will, a political writer and a great baseball fan and writer... "Men at Work"... in it Will interviews The Manager, Tony Larussa... The Pitcher, Orel Hershiser... The Batter, Tony Gwynn... and The Fielder, Cal Ripken... yep, baseball is not just a simple game... it is far more than "I just move the ball around and throw strikes"... far more than "I see the ball and hit it."... most fans don't really watch the games or really understand what's going on in the minds of the players, the manager, the pitcher, the catcher and the batter... baseball is really complex... in the 20 seconds a pitcher has to deliver the ball to the batter, there is a whole lot of thinking going on... what's the count?... how many runners are on base?... what are they going to do?... what does the hitter like to hit?... where does he hit it?... who is batting next?... it is mindboggleing for a slow-thinking man of weak brain like ye olde EC... EC gets fatigued by all of the variables... yep, baseball is not just a simple game.

“Think?! How are you supposed to think and hit at the same time?” -- Yogi Berra

“There are three types of baseball players: those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happened.” – Tommy Lasorda

[Eugene Church]

Just finished cutting the spring training rosters in the Supreme League down to 15 for the regular season.

Will do the Secondary League this evening.

After that, I will have to enter the schedule manually... sure do wish there was a way to save the schedule each year.

I'm going to go to the Schedule Forum and see if someone will do me a schedule that I can install... I did this for the Islandian Pro Alliance and it works every year since.... that was years ago.

[Eugene Church]

Wednesday, March 27, 1961

SOUTH ISLAND BASEBALL IS BACK FOR 7TH SEASON
Double your pleasure, double your fun... nope, that not the Doublemint twins song... that's what the South Island Supreme League and the South Island Secondary League will do for season 7... they will play a doubleheader every Sunday afternoon and increase the total number of season games to 28 per team... two reasons - give the fans double their pleasure for the price of one ticket and give the boys of summer and old diamond dawgs more games to play... the season will still run from April to July... the Grand Opening is this Sunday afternoon.

Another plus is it will give the teams more games to play and not make every game so crucial... more games means the best team overall will be determined... 14 games is just too small a sample... a bigger sample should mean the best team will have more time to prove it.

The New Yerby Yankees (12-2) handily won the Supreme League last year for the second season in a row... the Yanks are still the best talent-wise and they may have gotten better... more depth in the pitching... Kenny Hersh had a fine spring and will get more time on the hill this year, especially with the addition of doubleheaders each weekend... as always, good pitching will be of prime importance, maybe even more important... New Yerby still has the solid pitching of Steve Chancellor (7-0/3.12 ERA) and Johnny Jordan (5-1/3.31 ERA), two of the top twirlers in the Supreme League... the high-powered offense is still there with Clayton Delaney (.452 BA/4 HR), Dom DeLuca (.407 BA/1 HR), Rusty Armstrong (.367 BA/5 HR), Supreme League MVP Silas Delaney (.338 BA/5 HR) and Roman Joyce (.471 BA/1 HR)... rookie LF Beauregard Dubois and second baseman Whitey Powell should make New Yerby even better this year... yep, the rich just got richer.

Grin Hill is the second choice of the pundits... the Smileys (11-4) won the Secondary League pennant last season and won promotion to the Supreme League... Braxton copped the pennant in that league two years ago and did not fare very well in the Supreme League in its first season... the Bruins came in 6th with a mediocre 6-8 mark... however, most observers feel Grin Hill is a far better club than Braxton... the Smileys are jammed packed with rock-solid bats... their top guns are first baseman Nico Pocorello (.427 BA/16 RBI), left fielder Phil Juban (.413 BA/2 HR/16 RBI), center fielder Slim Smiley (.347 BA/2 HR/17 R), Jose Jimenez (.478 BA/14 R), right fielder Cliff Lebreton (.355 BA/2 HR/17 RBI), catcher Lindsey Nelson (.340 BA/4 HR/13 RBI) and Mark Wade (.327 BA/8 RBI)... their worst hitter shortstop Rafael Ramos hit a lowly .200 for average, but hit 4 homers, drove in 15 runs and scored 13 times... and this year Grin Hill adds another Smiley... brother Lim Smiley will be in left field... he had a super spring... in addition Grin Hill picked up a fine pitcher in lefty Jay Logan, who also excelled this spring... Logan will now join Jim Smiley (10-2/4.15 ERA), a reliable pitcher... it will be great having them to start each game of the Sunday twinbills... the big problem for the Smileys is the second-rate relief corps... look out, methinks Grin Hill will do fine in the Supreme League.

Jackson, Delta and Meraux were all tied for the third spot... the Meraux Tigers (7-7) are improved over last year with the addition of newcomers, third baseman Etienne Monet and right fielder Remy Melancon... they tore up the spring league with .400 BA's... the Tigers have a big batch of big-time batters in shortstop Don Fontenot (.414 BA/11 RBI/12 R/9 SB), first baseman Alton Ragsdale (.357 BA/3 HR/15 RBI), catcher Bill Peagram (.322 BA/7 RBI), second baseman Pierre Marceaux (.366 BA/2 HR/13 R), center fielder Paul Dobson (.271 BA/3 HR/10 RBI/4 SB) and left fielder Aaron Mettler (.298 BA/1 HR/7 RBI/13 R)... in spring training pitchers Bobby McNew and Angelo Zarrella looked very good, along with holdover from last year Tommy Kitchen... the Tigers look like a solid 3rd place club this year.

The Delta Stars (7-7) could surprise if their pitchers do as good in the regular season as they did this spring... Terry Cockrell (1-2/5.60 ERA), Johnny Goodman (3-4/2.88 ERA) and Eric Pahler (1-1/5.27 ERA) all did well... .. if rookie right-hander Bobby Taranto can hold his own in the regular season, the Stars could shine... center fielder Lynn Parker (.340 BA/4 HR), second baseman Buzzy Roberts (.274 BA/2 HR) and right fielder Jimmy Carter (.314 BA/4 HR) return to spark the attack... two rookie newcomers, first baseman Milos Kukucka and third sacker Mason Mansur won spots in the batting order with good springs... 4th place is about as high as the Stars will reach this season... Delta just doesn't score runs like the top contenders.

The Jackson Jackalopes (7-7) still lack pitching... all of the staff are just fair to mediocre... no new blood on the hill for the Jacks this year... they do have a pretty good rookie second sacker in Chris O'Neal... he hit very well in the spring and won a spot in the batting order... the Jacks are led at the plate by Nate Perkins (.333 BA/7 HR/25 RBI), one of the best bats in the Supreme League... he gets some help from shortstop Mickey Retief (.328 BA) and right fielder Allen Miller (.292 BA/2 HR), but that's about it... vet left-hander Denny McCain (2-1/8.20 ERA) won the job this year with a good showing in spring training... they really need McCain to regain his form of his first four seasons when he was a very strong and capable starter... Jackson may have trouble breaking even this season... the Jackalopes are looking like a 5th place finish.

The Braxton Bruins (6-8) are terrible on the hill... sadly, Kevin Stokes (1-2/6.68 ERA), Gordon Freeman (1-3/7.30 ERA) and Emile Delhomme (0-1/7.90 ERA) are back again... 19-year-old rookie Justine Marineaux made the squad, but did not fare well in the springtime... the Bruins needs some good pitching, so they went with someone young and new and are hoping for the best... last year Braxton was fairly good at the plate, paced by third baseman Roger Sandlin (.404 BA/2 HR), shortstop Chuck Abadie (.379 BA/13 SB) and second baseman Scott Bell (.314 BA/2 HR)... the Bruins are hoping left fielder Jeff Cook (.231 BA/3 HR) can regain his swing from 1959 when he won the Secondary League MVP with 10 homers and 28 RBIs... rookie center fielder Snag Bardelli will add some needed defense and might add a little spark to the attack this season... Gordon Freeman will handle first base this year in hopes of helping out in scoring a few more runs, some good defense and a contact hitter... he will probably be needed on the mound with the addition of the doubleheaders on Sunday... maybe Freeman might get something going on the mound like he did in his first years in 1957 and 1958... Gordon Freeman has never performed up to his potential... Braxton could finish anywhere from 4th to 6th, if Cook has a good year and the pitching improves.

The Mystic Mariners (5-9) came in last in the Supreme League last season... the Sailors can hit the ball and score runs, they just can't keep the other teams off the scoreboard... their hurlers can't make the other teams walk the plank... the hitters are still there, led by first baseman Frank Gullo (.357 BA/5 HR), left fielder Ryan Cassidy (.311 BA/4 HR), second baseman John Dailey (.407 BA/2 HR) and center fielder Rory Flanagan (.304 BA/1 HR)... but there is hope on the hill... the Mariners looked solid in the spring... Bill Woods (2-2/5.01 ERA), Chris Foyle (0-1/4.12 ERA) and Terrell Lewis (1-3/6.95 ERA) stood out among the Supreme League staffs... add in rookie Bill Walsh and you have a decent mound corps... the big question is: did they just look better because of the watered-down talent in spring training?... lots of bad batters get a lot of plate appearances in the spring trying to win a spot on the roster... Mystic just might move up a notch or three in the coming year... yep, it could happen.

The Zebulon Zips (8-6) came in second last year... looking at their stats, you shake your head and wonder how... the Zips just don't compare well with New Yerby or Grin Hill... or for that matter, Meraux, Delta and Jackson... they just don't have the offense, nor the pitching... league batting champion Eddie Rabbitt (.500) and Terry Humphries (.381 BA/2 HR) are their only threats at the plate... the pitching is just plain bad... don't see Zebulon finishing high in the standings this year... rookie left fielder Blake Baxter won a spot in the lineup with a good spring... rookie hurler Jules Mugnier comes highly-regarded, but he didn't have a good spring... Duck Davis (4-3/4.82 ERA) is the top hurler... nope, those kind of numbers don't cut it... the Zips are destined for the bottom of the Supreme League.