It's here, the 10th season of Robin Island professional baseball! After the postseason, I'll post a sort of "wrap-up" of the first ten years.


After an off year in '63, the Monarchs are back in the RICS looking to take crown #2! They managed to barely edge out the Kings, who had another great year. The Robins did well and continue their 8-year streak of finishing above .500, a feat matched only by the Kings, who carried it over from their time in Yosemite. On the other side of that, however, is the Shockers' 8-year streak of finishing below .500 after their one and only RICS appearance. The Emeralds had an average season, nothing special. The Grizzlies declined this season, but they seem to be stabilizing a bit. The introduction of the draft in the offseason should help them out in the future.

In the SBL, the Tigers showed up to play and were rewarded with their first appearance in the RICS, leaving Aorin as the only SBL team to not have a pennant despite having a great team. This year Carp fans could feel their championship window slamming shut as the team did poorly with an aging core. Behind Toramoto was their rival Joestar, hoping to catch up in time to try for their second ring. Shinosaka had a bit of a championship hangover as they slipped to third, only a game ahead of the Senators. Finally, the T-Birds did better this season, the first time in three years that they didn't hit 100 losses. Like with Yosemite, fans are hoping the draft will help Hokkyo out.

Yet another first-time team in the RICS, the third year in a row this has happened. This time, it's the new kids on the block Tigers, facing the lords of Queenston, the Monarchs. The Monarchs have the experience but the Tigers had the better record, thus home field advantage. Both teams had the best defense in their respective leagues, and while the Monarchs probably have the edge in pitching, Toramoto's offense is slightly better. Last time Queenston was in the RICS, it was the highest-scoring series in RIBF history but it worked out for them. 

NEXT: 1964 RICS

Here's the 10th anniversary wrap-up of the RIBF!

After 10 seasons, the Shinkyo Robins are the clear best team, making the RICS 5 times in a row and winning 4 of those. In terms of win percentage, here's how it stacks up:
Shinkyo Robins - .570
Shinkyo Senators - .548
San Moriuchi Kings/Yosemite Canaries - .545
Aorin Carp - .528
Joestar Crusaders - .525
Shinosaka Stars/Shrikes - .516
Toramoto Tigers - .514
Queenston Monarchs - .504
Vertlac Emeralds - .480
San Juan Shockers - .480
Yosemite Grizzlies - .350
Hokkyo Thunderbirds - .300

Here's a timeline of how the league has evolved over the years:
1955: First season with 10 teams: Aorin Carp, Joestar Crusaders, Queenston Monarchs, San Juan Shockers, Shinkyo Robins, Shinkyo Senators, Shinosaka Shrikes, Toramoto Tigers, Vertlac Emeralds, Yosemite Canaries.
1959: Shinkyo Senators are shifted to the SBL, Yosemite Canaries become San Moriuchi Kings, league expands to 12 with two new teams: Yosemite Grizzlies and Hokkyo Thunderbirds.
1962: Shinosaka Shrikes become Shinosaka Stars.
1964: Tenth season!

Here's a look at the pennants hung up around ballparks in Robin Island:


As of 1964, only four teams have never made the playoffs: Aorin, Vertlac, Yosemite, and Hokkyo. 

Additionally, two teams made identity changes in the '65 offseason: Queenston and Hokkyo.


The Monarchs made the first changes to their jersey ever, switching their home and away jersey styles with a brand-new script. The home now features the logo with a new number font meant to be closer to the Red Sox' font, while the road uses the new script in yellow with collar striping, a first for the RIBF. Nothing else was changed.



The T-Birds also made new changes, introducing scripts to be worn on the home and away. The placket striping was gotten rid of so as to not interfere with the scripts. Nothing else was changed. The "Raicho" script features a new "R lightning bolt" mark that some speculate the team will use occasionally, however, nothing official has been announced. 

In other news, the Robins have retired SP Taizo Miyagi's number 27, making it the first and currently only retired number in the Federation. Miyagi was the pitcher of the year in 1955 and was an All-Star from the game's start in 1959 to 1962, as well as pitching for all four of the Robins' championships. He retires at age 36 with a career ERA of 3.06, 138 Wins, 363 strikeouts, and 92 losses in his 9 year career with the Robins.

So, what do you think of the first 10 years of the RIBF? How has your team done? What do you think of the new updates? C&C Welcome!

NEXT: 1965 Season + Draft

Congrats to my very own Shinkyo Robins on having the most Championships out of any team!

Well, as somebody on the OOTP Subreddit said, “You can’t script success in OOTP.”

ItDoesntMatter wrote:

QCS wrote:

Yeah, they certainly dominated these 10 years. However, it's actually not the worst thing I've ever seen: a couple years ago I was doing a league for fun and one team (in a league of 12) ended up winning 7 championships in 8 years.

haha, wouldn't that be awful if you were running a league and that happened? like one team just kept winning over and over again no matter what? that'd be embarrassing 😂

Anyway, I'm digging Queenston and Hokkyo's new looks! I could definitely see an updated version of that R-bolt being their primary logo in 2020.

I know, right? Couldn't be me

Thanks! The R-bolt turned into a stronger symbol than I was intending, glad it's become popular.

ThisIsFine wrote:

Well, as somebody on the OOTP Subreddit said, “You can’t script success in OOTP.”

Ain't that the truth!

Before we get to the season, here's the first-ever RIBF amateur draft!

I'll only be listing the first round and any prospects with high potential in later rounds to save space and time.

1 - Hokkyo - 2B Katsuhiro Hoshino - Age 18 - North Koshinkyo High School - Potential: 4/5
2 - Yosemite - CL Chris Hulse - Age 22 - Queenston Technical College - Potential 5/5
3 - Aorin - RP Doug Raab - Age 22 - Columbia Provincial University - Potential 4.5/5
4 - San Juan - CF Kasaku Yamasaki - Age 22 - Finch Lake University - Potential 2.5/5
5 - Vertlac - CL Jonathan Nelson - Age 21 - Oyachi City College - Potential 4/5
6 - Shinkyo RBL - SS Akihiko Shibata - Age 22 - Shinkyo University - Potential 2.5/5
7 - Shinkyo SBL - CF Noriichi Ota - Age 22 - Shinsakai University - Potential 3/5
8 - Shinosaka - CF Guy Koteras - Age 23 - Luna Island University - Potential 2.5/5
9 - Joestar - SP Peter Second - Age 19 - Porter Valley High School - Potential 2/5
10 - San Moriuchi - SP Christof Alexander - Age 20 - Yosemite A&M University - Potential 2.5/5
11 - Queenston - CF Frank Plew - Age 22 - Naples Lakeside University - Potential 2/5
12 - Toramoto - LF John Greene - Age 22 - Robin Island Military University - Potential 2.5/5

As you can see, talent dried up quickly. The first 5 picks were the most valuable, with Yosemite nabbing Chris Hulse, who many consider to be the player with the highest potential in the draft. However, Hokkyo, Aorin, and Vertlac also made great selections, all players that should make an impact when it make it to the Federation.

As for the season itself, here it is!


The Kings are king once again in the RBL, beating out Queenston, Shinkyo, and an early challenge by San Juan to take home the crown once again. They'll be looking to win their first championship in this year's RICS. The Robins and Monarchs had good seasons, it just wasn't enough to top the Kings. San Juan was tied for first about 60 games into the season, but soon dropped off as injuries and poor play derailed their season. Vertlac had another bad season, while Yosemite made huge strides, finishing only one game behind the Emeralds and looking like a team on the rise.

The same can't be said for their partners in Hokkyo, however, who had another awful season. Back to losing 100 games, the team just shows no sign of improvement. On the opposite end of that, the Tigers will return to the RICS, looking for 2 straight. The Stars were close behind them, but couldn't make the distance soon enough and finish with a strong second place. Behind them were the Senators, who also had a good but not great season. The Crusaders finished over .500, which is good, but they seem to have lost their window with their current core. The Carp have fallen completely, with the exact same record as last season. They're no longer contenders and are the only original SBL team to not have made the playoffs so far, frustrating ownership to no end.

So it'll be San Moriuchi and Toramoto in the finals! The Tigers made quick work of Queenston last season, hoping to do the same to the Kings, who are looking for their first trophy after just missing out in '63. 

NEXT: 1965 RICS