ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

[Dark Horse]

i really like the CyberCats uniform.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by Dark Horse

i really like the CyberCats uniform.

Yes, it really is well done.
rocknfire7 did that for me... and quite a few others, too.

I'm have been quite fortunate to have the great graphics gurus do the IPA logos, jerseys and caps for me.
A list of them would be like a Graphics Hall of Fame.
I need to compile a list of everybody and post them here.

[Eugene Church]

Wednesday, November 15, 2062

IPA GOLDEN GLOVERS SHINED IN '62
Real baseball fans in recent years have taken notice that it takes more than hits and homers to win games... it also take good pitching... and good pitching depends greatly on its defenders, those guys that are featured in all of the highlight reels everyday of every season... there were plenty of standout plays that won a lot of games in the Islandian Pro Alliance this season... and here are the players that could go get 'em and throw 'em out... the 2062 Ruthlandian Union and Tycobbian Union Golden Glove teams... only one rookie, pitcher Timmy Aaron, made the teams... Tuffy Palmieri led with 6 Golden Gloves... Chad Cochran and Buddy Blackford are three-time winners.

2062 Ruthlandian Union Golden Glove Awards
Pitcher: Tony Joe Carnes (Valmara Vipers) (1.000 FA) (32 G/19-12/3.88 ERA) (first-time winner)
Catcher: Tuffy Palmieri (St. John Crusaders) (125 G/.992 FA/5 PB/54.3% RTO) (.313 BA/1 HR/59 RBI/56 R) (6-time winner)
First Baseman: Hector Francisco (Stoner Silver Sox) (149 G/.996 FA/75 Assists) (.332 BA/7 HR/74 RBI/95 R/4 SB) (2-time winner)
Second Baseman: Vince Norberg (Cold Creek Raccoons) (151 G/.986 FA/426 Assists) (.319/40 HR/127 RBI/128 R/5 SB) (first-time winner)
Third Baseman: Gus Beasley (Marston Nine) (150 G/.967 FA/241 Assists) (.282 BA/5 HR/75 RBI/74 R/3 SB) (2-time winner)
Shortstop: Cal O'Leary (Ranford Bulls) (151 G/.984 FA/487 Assists) (.244 BA/8 HR/64 RBI/59 R/2 SB) (first-time winner)
Left Fielder: Curtis Cochran (Belair Beach Sunbirds) (153 G/.993 FA/10 Assists/432 PO) (.306 BA/3 HR/64 RBI/100 R/17 SB) (3-time winner)
Center Fielder: Tyler O'Reilly (Belair Beach Sunbirds) (152 G/.990 FA/24 Assists/567 PO) (.234 BA/15 HR/87 RBI/82 R/20 SB) (2-time winner)
Right Fielder: Zippy Balencia (Grand City Cybercats) (138 G/.992 FA/20 Assists/373 PO) (.305 BA/3 HR/67 RBI/75 R/10 SB) (first-time winner)

2062 Tycobbian Union Golden Glove Awards
Pitcher: Timmy Aaron (Blue Lake Schooners) (32 G/1.000 FA) (14-11/3.43 ERA) (rookie winner)
Catcher: Otto Piper (Fairfax Frogs) (126 G/.991 FA/8 PB/61.7% RTO) (.285 BA/9 HR/80 RBI/51 R) (first-time winner)
First Baseman: Buddy Blackford (Oxford Red Caps) (154 G/.994 FA/94 Assists) (.323 BA/49 HR/127 RBI/127 R) (3-time winner)
Second Baseman: Rube Nealy (Hillsboro Blazers) (146 G/.982 FA/463 Assists) (.296 BA/13 HR/82 RBI/59 R) (2-time winner)
Third Baseman: Roman Redondo (San Alejo Montaneros) (147 G/.990 FA/300 Assists) (.231 BA/16 HR/77 RBI/70 R/1 SB) (2-time winner)
Shortstop: Jack Ferris (Colchester Elites) (149 G/.984 FA/440 Assists) (.279 BA/6 HR/52 RBI/60 R/2 SB) (first-time winner)
Left Fielder: Marvin Cordice (Cape Coral Hurricanes) (152 G/.994 FA/12 Assists/491 PO) (.283 BA/11 HR/64 R/96 R/12 SB) (2-time winner)
Center Fielder: Rudy Gatlin (South Fork Stallions) (152 G/995 FA/8 Assists/565 PO) (.285 BA/7 HR/77 RBI/94 R/8 SB) (first-time winner)
Right Fielder: Showboat Lynn (Oxford Red Caps) (153 G/.994 FA/13 Assists/342 PO) (.294 BA/41 HR/119 RBI/121 R/5 SB) (first-time winner)

[Eugene Church]

Thursday, November 16, 2062

IPA MVP AWARDS GIVEN TO MOONEY AND STONICH
One of the most prestigious awards in Islandian Pro Alliance circles is the Most Valuable Player Awards... next to being elevated to the IPA Hall of Fame, this might be the next most-revered honor... the 2062 honorees are Elnora's fine outfielder Donald Ray Mooney and Rolling Hills' talented third baseman Teddy Stonich... both standouts sparked their clubs to great heights this year... Mooney was a vital part of the Clippers sudden rise to the Ruthlandian East division flag and Stonich was the main catalyst for the Racers super season... they won the Tycobbian West division crown for the third straight year and also won it all - the team's record-setting fifth Pro Cup trophy.

MOONEY, DE GROM AND NORBERG, 1-2-3 IN RU MVP POLL
This year's Ruthlandian MVP, Donald Ray Mooney, is an 11-year veteran with the Elnora Clippers... at age 29, Mooney made the All-Star team this season, was third in the Golden Bat balloting and paced his team to the RU East flag as they improved drastically from a 73-81 mark in '61 to a super 98-56 record in '62... in a fantastic year Mooney had the third-best batting average at a lofty .367... hammered 30 homers out of the park, drove in 121 runs (2nd) and scored 108 times... in addition Mooney was a go-getter in left field... a standout defender... in his career Mooney is a .309 hitter with 234 roundtrippers and he has been selected to the All-Star team four times... this was a career year for him.

Mooney outpolled several fine performers for the 2062 Ruthlandian Union Most Valuable Player trophy... his main contender was St. John's topnotch twirler, Teddy de Grom, who led the Crusaders to another magical season... they were the RU South champion for the third year in a row... de Grom captured the Ruthlandian Golden Arm Award this season with an extraordinary 19-2 record... he almost went unbeaten this year - the only games he lost were 3-2 and 3-1... de Grom completed 12 of 19 starts, compiled a 2.36 ERA, fourth best in the RU, and tossed 2 shutouts... at age 34, this was his best season... overall in 14 seasons with the Crusaders de Grom has posted a 207-154 record with a 3.47 ERA... twice he made the Ruthlandian Union All-Stars... he has paced them to five division titles in his tenure.

Ending up third in the Ruthlandian Most Valuable Player poll was Cold Creek's second baseman Vince Norberg... just 21 years old and in his second season in the IPA, he had a sensational season with a .319 batting average in 151 games with 35 doubles, 10 triples, 40 home runs, 127 RBIs and 128 runs... Norberg topped the RU in RBIs and came in second in runs scored... he made the All-Star team this year, copped the Ruthlandian Golden Bat trophy and also won a Golden Glove... the Cold Creek Raccoons rose up from seventh to fourth in the RU East standings, improving from 70-84 last year to 80-74 this year... in his rookie year Norberg batted .280 with 33 homers, 123 ribbies and scored 100 runs... he was the 2061 RU Rookie of the Year

[Eugene Church]

Friday, November 17, 2062

ROLLING HILLS STAR STONICH WINS 2ND TU MVP
It was a glorious season for the 2062 Tycobbian Union Most Valuable Player, Teddy Stonich, the brilliant third sacker for the IPA Pro Cup champion Rolling Hills Racers... the Racers have captured the overall IPA crown twice in the past three seasons... the six-year star put up massive numbers this season, leading the league in home runs, hits and RBIs and ranking second in runs scored... Stonich batted .345 in 151 games with 219 hits, 34 doubles, 1 triple, 31 home runs, 134 RBIs and 123 runs... he won his second Golden Bat and led the Racers to a third straight Tycobbian West division title... Stonich also was named the Pro Cup MVP this year... Stonich started off his IPA career with a bang... he was the TU Rookie of the Year in 2057... lifetime Stonich is hitting at a .335 clip with 209 homers and has won one batting title in 2059... three times he has made the All-Star squad... this is the second time Stonich has been selected the Tycobbian Most Valuable Player... he also took the honor in 2060.

The runner-up for the TU MVP was a most worthy competitor, Oxford's splendid first baseman Buddy Blackford... since he joined the Red Caps in 2057, the team has won the Tycobbian West 5 out of the previous 6 seasons, the last 3 years in a row... they also copped the IPA Pro Cup in 2061... this year Blackford led the league for the third time in longballs... it was his first time to top the league in runs scored... and he came in second in RBIs... a 6-year veteran at age 26, he posted a .323 BA with 49 homers, 127 RBIs, 127 runs, while participating in 154 games... 4 times Blackford has made the Tycobbian All-Star team and 3 times been award the Golden Glove... he also snagged the Tycobbian MVP trophy and Golden Bat in 2058.

The Islandian Times selected Blackford's Oxford teammate as the third-best votegetter for Tycobbian MVP...Rico Alessi is a 25-year-old right-hander, who has been acclaimed the Tycobbian Golden Arm in two of the past three years... he won the trophy in 2060 and this season... Alessi led the league in victories in those seasons... with him the Red Caps have won pennants in four of his five seasons, the last four in a row... Alessi was also part of the 2061 Pro Cup championship team, going 3-0 in 5 starts with a superb 1.55 ERA... this year he stood out with a 19-7 record, 2.60 ERA in 30 starts, 3 shutouts and 14 complete games... Alessi worked 228 innings and made the All-Star team... overall in he has compiled a 65-23 mark with a fine 2.83 ERA.

Finishing fourth and fifth in the TU MVP voting were two fine hurlers for the up-and-coming High Mesa Mustangs, Weldon Herrington and Robby Numbers... the two workhorses led the club from fourth place to first place in the TU East this season... Herrington is in his sixth IPA season... the 26-year-old right-hander was picked for the All-Star Game and came in second in the Golden Arm poll... he finished 18-7 with a strong 2.27 ERA, second best in the league... also came in second with 265 innings pitched and 6 shutouts... Herrington made 32 starts... lifetime he is 100-58 with an excellent 2.74 ERA... High Mesa has won the TU East title twice in his time with the club.

Numbers blossomed this year in his sixth season... at age 26, the tough portsider made 31 starts with a 19-9 record in 263 innings with a stout 2.29 ERA... tied for the most wins in the Tycobbian Union... wound up third in ERA and Innings Pitched... Numbers fired 4 shutouts, completed 17 games and made 27 quality starts (87.1%)... he also was chosen for the All-Star team and ended up third in the Golden Arm balloting.

[Eugene Church]

2062 Tycobbian Union Most Valuable Player Poll

[Eugene Church]

Saturday, November 18, 2062

RACERS AND CLIPPERS SKIPS NAMED BEST IN IPA
What makes the best managers in the Islandian Pro Alliance?... Does he know how to shrewedly handle people?... Is he a communicator?... Does he handle public relations well?... Does he get along with team management?... Can he walk out of the dugout day-after-day and get the lineup card to the umpires?... can he go out to the mound, politely ask for the ball and graciously slap the pitcher on the butt when he takes him out of a game?... Well, all of that is well and good, but basically, what makes a good manager is good players... as one award-winning skipper put it, "If you got the hosses, hoss... you will will a lot of games."

Well, I guess you could say the Rolling Hills Racers had the hosses... and you could also say that the Elnora Clippers did, too... they both won a bunch of ballgames this year in the Islandian Pro Alliance and their managers were named as the best managers in Island baseball for the year 2062... Rolling Hills' Billy Christianson and Elnora's Stan Kivas were lauded as the top skippers in the Tycobbian and Ruthlandian Unions... it was the second straight season Christianson won the honor.

CHRISTIANSON TOP TYCOBBIAN MANAGER
After a 21-year Hall of Fame career Billy Christianson took charge of Rolling Hills in 2052... his father is the famed IPA manager and superstar amateur pitcher Matty Christianson... after four or five so-so seasons Billy turned the Racers into contenders and they have really thrived the last three years with two Pro Cup trophies... this year Rolling Hills won more ballgames than any other team... they went 102-52 and scampered away with their third consecutive Tycobbian West title... that was good enough for the IPA media to choose him the 2062 Tycobbian Union Manager of the Year.

In spite of this sparkling record, Christianson got some very still competition from Southport's Lorne Evans, who came in a very close second in The Islandian Times poll... Evans, also a Hall of Famer, has enjoyed a wealth of success as skipper of the Sun Sox... the team has won six pennants in his 16 seasons, including a Pro Cup in his first season, 2047... the Sun Sox are almost always a contender in the TU South race... but this was a special year even for Evans... they were fourth in 2061 with an 80-74 record... but this year they shot up to 100-54 and won the division flag... and they almost won a fourth best-manager honor for Evans... he won it in 2047, 2055 and 2058... Evans would have broken the record if he had won this year... he is tied with Matty Christianson of Rolling Hills and Charley Oscar of Southport each with three best-manager awards.

Winding up a distant third in the TU Best Manager balloting was the rookie skipper of the San Alejo Montaneros, Matt Bell... under Bell, the Monties went from sixth place in '61 to second place this year... San Alejo went from 67-87 to 88-66... quite a jump for anybody, especially a freshman manager... Bell is a Hall of Fame pitcher, who starred 21 years for the Montaneros, going 391-225 in his career with a magnificent 2.42 ERA.

KIVAS COPS BEST MANAGER IN RUTHLANDIAN UNION
The 2062 Ruthlandian Union Manager of the Year Award easily went to Stan Kivas of the Elnora Clippers... under his helm Elnora had a terrific year, improving from 73-81 and fourth place last season to 98-56 and the RU East pennant this season... Kivas was a starter for Elnora, compiling a 237-203 mark with a 3.45 ERA in 16 seasons... three times he was voted an All-Star and once he captured the Golden Arm... that was in 2044... as a rookie reliever in 2033 Kivas helped Elnora win its only IPA Pro Cup.

Benjy Donahue of the Far Mountain Redhawks finished second to Kivas... Donahue was a light-hitting solid first sacker for 12 years with the team... Donahue hit .300 lifetime, but only had 32 homers... he retired in 2057 and took over the club in 2058... this season the Redhawks flourished, going from fourth place to first place in the Ruthlandian North Division... in his five years as Far Mountain skipper, Donahue has always ended up in the top four teams, winning at least 82 games.

Third in the RU best-manager competition was Buster Noland of the Rocky Rapids Snappers... his family has always owned the ballclub... Buster's daddy was Junior Noland, who posted a 169-144 record and 3.46 ERA with the Snappers in his 11 seasons... and his granddad was the famed strikeout and no-hit artist in company league baseball, Ryan Noland... in the family tradition Buster also did very well in the IPA, going 214-155 with a 3.43 ERA in 14 years with Rocky Rapids... he won 20 games four times... made the All-Star team one time in 2048... he retired in 2052... was made manager in '58 and has made slow improvement each year... this year was his best... the Snappers improved from 76-78 to 84-70 this season, winding up third both years... they came in 21 games behind in '61... and just 4 games behind this year.

[Eugene Church]

Ah... at last... finished another fine season in the IPA.
Took two and a half months real time.

I really enjoyed this season... probably because Rolling Hills finally won its fifth Pro Cup trophy... they should have won it in 2061 but they blew a big lead in the ninth inning in the second round to get eliminated from the playoffs.

I had mixed emotions... Volusia really has done well in the playoffs the last two years... finishing second both times with less talent than some other teams... actually, they are talented, just don't have longball firepower... it was hard to pull for the Racers and not the V's.

[Eugene Church]

I noticed in playing out all the postseason games that the AI ignores some very good players and plays lesser players.

Going to go through all the team rosters and fix this through forced trades.
This will make both teams better... and yes, EC is impartial... will not favor anybody.

At the same time I will clean out the reserved rosters of the useless talent there.

Will also create the new rookie class of free agents and assign them to teams randomly, based on the team needs.

May take a while to do all 64 teams.

[Eugene Church]

Updated 8 team rosters with rookies and purged reserve rosters of poor talents.

56 to go.

[Eugene Church]

Tedious, but necessary work in between seasons... finished 8 more teams... updated rosters and added new rookies... cleaned out the useless players from the reserve roster.
Made some forced trades... the AI has some very good players on the roster, but doesn't use them... so I find a team that needs that position and make a win-win trade, hopefully helping both teams.

16 teams done... 48 to go... and then season 63 for the IPA.

[Eugene Church]

Been busy with real life... did 6 more team roster updates with new rookies and got rid of deadwood on the reserve rosters.

22 done... 42 to go.

[Eugene Church]

Slowly, but surely getting there... did 3 more team updates today.

25 done... 39 mo' to go.

[Eugene Church]

28 rosters done... 36 to go.

Season 2063 should begin in the IPA in a week or so.

[Eugene Church]

Updated 31 team rosters... 33 to go.

[Eugene Church]

Sorry, folks... real life got real busy today... didn't work at all on the Islandian Pro Alliance.

I think I'm going to have to alter my schedule... don't think I can report on my two dynasty leagues every day... think I will alternate between the IPA and the North Island-South Island leagues.

That would be the sensible thing to do.

So today, I covered the North and South Island Leagues.

[Eugene Church]

Another busy day... but I did update 2 IPA teams.

33 done... 31 to go.

[Eugene Church]

Gonna do at least 10 team rosters today... for sure... I hope.

[Eugene Church]

Only did 7 team rosters today... still it was a good day.

40 teams completed... 24 mo' to go.

[Eugene Church]

Pretty good day.
Did 5 team-roster updates.
45 of 64 done.