This past weekend in Downers Grove, the Illowa APBA League finished up the 2023 season with postseason series, conducted its 50th annual draft and got a good head start on the 2024 season.
It was a busy weekend!
Nine of the ten members were at the hotel in the Chicago suburb in person. Even John Brandeberry from Missoula, Montana, had a significant presence playing and drafting online.
IAL Postseason
First round: Marcus Bunch and his Colona Upperdeckers took care of Don Smith’s first place Molly Putts Marauders. Mike Bunch and his Green Rock Bombers disposed of the second place Global Glaciers managed by Dennis Jennings.
So, it came down to father vs. son.
It took six games but the son won. Marcus was crowned the 2023 Illowa APBA League champion! Congrats to Marcus!!
2024 IAL draft
The 2024 draft was one I felt went pretty smoothly but since there were a total of 65 picks, it took a while. It was also one of the most interesting drafts I’ve seen in a while.
Here are the first ten picks:
| Pick # | Team | Player |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thunderchickens | Elly De La Cruz |
| 2 | Wallbangers | Nolan Jones |
| 3 | Bombers | Josh Jung |
| 4 | Glaciers | Grayson Rodriguez |
| 5 | Highlanders | Royce Lewis |
| 6 | Hitmen | Yanier Diaz |
| 7 | Upperdeckers | Eury Perez |
| 8 | Hustlers | Triston Casas |
| 9 | Glaciers | Matt McClain |
| 10 | Marauders | Spencer Steer |
To see the entire draft of ten rounds and 65 picks, click here.
Some thoughts here. First, I’m sure John Brandeberry who is the manager of the Ospreys was quite thrilled to see that Bryce Elder (a B with over 174 innings) was still available for his pick in the middle of the third round!
Second, I knew going into the draft there were rookie catchers of talent but not how many. By my count, there were seven catchers picked in this draft which has to be a record for our league. At one point at the end of the third round, there was a run on catchers. Four catchers were chosen within six picks.
Speaking of runs, it’s kinda fun to see them happen unless you’re part of that chain. There was another run; this time on relief pitchers in the seventh round when four were taken in a row.
You can compare this draft to the RCMBA’s draft which was held a couple weekends ago.
IAL begins the 2024 season!
After the draft on Friday evening, managers didn’t waste time. After double checking player usage limits, most got playing their first series of the year.
Most IAL managers played 30 games over the weekend. From what early reports are showing, this is going to be a VERY competitive season! Normally after a weekend like this, one team may go 19-11 and maybe another might go 10-20. Others will be closer to .500.
The season so far?? No team is reporting anything higher than two games over .500 or under .500. Obviously, there aren’t any clear winners or losers.
And that goes for my Twin City Thunderchickens. We went 15-15 for the weekend. Our team can hit! As long as the pitching can hold in there, we have a chance.
Here are some photos from the IAL draft weekend
Final thoughts
Thanks to Scott Fennessy for stopping by! It was good to see him and if I’m not mistaken, he even rolled a bit for someone’s team.
Chuck Lucas and I played the All-Star Game for my 1966 NL replay while we were waiting for World Series to finish. No spoilers here but I will say we had a lot of fun and it generated some interest from others.
I’ll be writing something up soon about it.
I think this will be a fun IAL season!
