On September 15th and 16th, the Illowa APBA League held its 49th All-Star Game. Like last year, the City Boys clashed against the Country Gents in a house by a lake in Henry County, Illinois.
The IAL is a ten-team, continuous ownership league founded in 1975 which uses a slightly modified APBA Baseball basic game.
Also like last year, Freddie Freeman played a big part in the IAL All-Star Game. Freeman was the All-Star Game MVP in 2022. There was a big difference this year though. Freeman was traded in the off-season and in the process, he was playing for the City Boys instead of the Country Gents.
Freeman wasted no time in making his presence known. In the bottom of the first inning, he hit a two-run homerun to take a 2-0 ‘Boys lead.
In the sixth with a 2-1 lead, Freddie contributed an rbi double to give the City Boys a little insurance. Mookie Betts drove home Nolan Arenado in the seventh with a base knock.
Let’s give the City Boys’ pitching some credit too. The only offense the Country Gents could muster was a Matt Chapman single followed by Kolten Wong triple for a run. In all, the Gents tallied four hits and were hitless in the last five frames.
Honestly, the City Boys’ offense was pretty tepid too. They only managed five hits which were a little more timelier.
For his overwhelming effort in the game, Freddie Freeman was named the IAL All-Star Game MVP for the second year in a row.
City Boys 4
Country Gents 1
MVP Freddie Freeman 2-2, 2B, HR, 3 rbi
Eight IAL members were in attendance plus one more participated over the phone. During the weekend, IAL managers played up to 24 regular season games in addition to the All-Star Game. The 2023 IAL season is in its homestretch with 126 games played out of a full 162-game schedule.
