An Introduction to Bardneyian Base Ball Leagues: NAPBBC East Division
The NAPBBC (National Association) is Bardney's premier professional baseball league. It is organized into two divisions, East and West, who play a 148-game schedule, 12 games against their division opponents, and 4 games against their non-division opponents. The winner of each division contests the National Championship Series, a 7-game affair.
Today we'll look at the NAPBBC's East Division, the original division of the NAPPBC before western expansion. We'll offer a short history of each team and talk about their present composition a bit as well.
East Division
Bristol Gothams (New Avon)
History: The Gotham Base Ball Club lays claim to being the oldest base ball club in Bardney, and indeed it does have roots in amateur base ball. While perhaps not the oldest, the "Gotham Base Ball Club Rules" is an actual document dating back over 40 years, close to the foundation of the game. This distinction means that it has earned fans not only in Bristol and New Avon, but across the country. It is one of the most recognizable and successful base ball clubs, having won multiple National Championships in the professional era and claiming to have had the best record in several years of the amateur era.
Location/Character: The club is located in the upper region of the Isle of Manhatin, in a valley surrounded by bluffs above. Their park seats 23,000, though with the admittance of standing fans it can hold up to 33,000. Additionally, the club stations police officers or local roughnecks on the bluffs above the stadium to admit paying customers there and prevent them from entering the park. It is estimated that an additional 8-10,000 fans can watch from the bluffs. This varied seating arrangement means they can and often do lead the league in attendance. The club is generally seen as Manhatin-centric, regardless of class, or upper-class across the entirety of the city of Bristol. They were the first club to install luxury boxes in parts of the stadium. Nevertheless, their fans across the country come from a wide spectrum of class.
Present Day: The present-day Gothams club is led by their irascible manager "Red" McGuffin, who is routinely censured by the press for his temper and behavior on the field. Nonetheless, he has led them to many winning seasons. Their principal player is 3B Orville "Duke" Jennings, who is known for his excellent fielding at the hot corner and for the many line drives he rockets into all corners of the stadium.
Bristol Atlantics (New Avon)
History: The Atlantic Base Ball Club of Bristol is not as old as the Gotham Club, and has its roots in the expansion of Bristol beyond its original Manhatin-area borders. Club records indicate that the club was founded when some former members of the Gotham Club moved the outer areas and found the commute, either by foot or streetcar, to be prohibitively long. Therefore, they founded their own club, taking the name from the nearby Atlantic Ocean. They have long had a fierce rivalry with the Gotham Club and are considered the city's two pre-eminent base ball teams.
Location/Character: The club is located in the Bristol borough of Brookline, south of the Isle of Manhatin. Their park seats 18,000, though with the admittance of standing fans it can hold up to 29,000. The club is definitely representative of the borough of Brookline, with fanatical devotion within its limits. But more broadly, it is considered a middle-class club, the province of small business owners, managers, and other skilled workers. They aren't as rough and ready as the Excelsiors, but are definitely more downmarket than the Gotham Club. They have less national reach than the Gotham Club, but their role as the second club in the biggest base ball city earns them their fair share of fans outside of Bristol.
Present Day: The present-day Atlantic club is led by their flinty-eyed manager "Silent" Sam Robinson, who has earned the title "The least quoted man in base ball" for his reticence to speak. His team reflects its manager, being hard-nosed competitors who let their actions speak for them rather than their words. Their principal player is SP Stanford "Big Stan" Otis, who is known for his 6'3 stature, large mustache, and sidearm delivery that makes him one of the harder throwers in the league.
Bristol Excelsiors (New Avon)
History: The Excelsior Base Ball Club is slightly younger than the Atlantic club, but still one of the older professional clubs in base ball. It had its roots in an after-work league for factory workers. Supposedly, they named their team the Excelsior Club because they expected to rise beyond their circumstances. While the original generation of the club never really got rich, today the Excelsiors are one of the most famous teams in Bardneyian professional base ball. Despite being the "third wheel" in the rivalry between the Gotham Club and the Atlantic Club, they zealously hate both clubs and take every opportunity to assert their relevance.
Location/Character: The club is located in the Bristol borough of Bronck's Land, northeast of the Isle of Manhatin. Their park seats 20,000, though with the admittance of standing fans it can hold up to 31,000. The fans, like their club, are hard-nosed, opinionated, and unafraid to fight. Numerous columnists have remarked that their stadium is "no place for ladies or children", with frequent disagreements, yelling, fisticuffs, and copious amounts of alcohol. Very few teams can claim to have more fanatical supporters than the Excelsiors, and this notoriety has stretched nationwide, with lower-class elements around the country supporting them. Some outside of Bristol seem to support them as kind of a finger in the eye of the two larger clubs, as if to say, "I hate the dominance of the top two Bristol clubs, so I'm going to root for the nastiest Bristol club to take them down."
Present Day: The present-day Excelsior club is led by their streetwise manager "Tiny" Tommy Matthews, who began life running numbers for a criminal organization. He was a brawler in his youth until he discovered he had base ball talent and the rest is history. He never lost his hard edges, though and his team reflects that, being somewhat more likely than any other club to spike, slap, hit, trip, or bean opponents. Their principal player is SP "Honest" Horace Geiger, so called because he is fair and upright in all his dealings, including telling opponents just when he's going to hit them for having done something.
Cambridge Red Stockings (New Anglia)
History: The Cambridge Base Ball Club is the only other team besides the Gotham Club can truly lay claim to being the first base ball club in Bardney. In New Anglia, they play by a version of the rules known as the New Anglia Game, which differs from the New Avon Game in a few ways. Disputes go back and forth as to when exactly the teams started and what constitutes "base ball", but the Cambridge Club has been playing a version of base ball for a long time. When the New Avon Game became the national standard for base ball, most of the Cambridge Club changed over, but some did not and still contest an amateur version of the New Anglia Game. Cambridge got its nickname, Red Stockings, from their uniform, which was first cited in a Bristol paper, and the name stuck. They are the pre-eminent club outside the Bristol area in terms of national appeal.
Location/Character: The club is located in the middle of downtown Cambridge, and is often referred to as the beating heart of the city. Their park seats 22,000, though with the admittance of standing fans it can hold up to 31,000. On game days around game time, everything focuses on the game at hand. Fans swarm the stadium, even standing outside to listen to the cheers to indicate who is winning. Bars buzz with talk of the Red Stockings' success or failure, and street vendors make a killing selling sometimes less than reputable fare to anyone in the area. The team has a strong Emhainan fan base, which allows it to distinguish itself from the sometimes overly-Sasunnish crowd of the Bristol clubs.
Present Day: The present-day Atlantic club is led by their confident manager Clarence "Cocky" McArty, who earned his nickname for his boasting and on-field gambles, which usually pay off. His team is a bunch of ruthlessly efficient players, with many of the highest-paid and most skilled base ballers in the nation donning the red stockings. Their principal player is C Sterling "Silver" Greer, whose arm guns down would-be base stealers, whose bat strikes home key runs, and whose leadership steadies the team whenever it is tempted to falter.
Dartford Mutuals (New Kent)
History: The Mutual Base Ball Club of Dartford was founded by local players who learned the game from former members of the Gotham Club, and therefore has a history going almost as far back. Their national reach is limited, being overshadowed somewhat by their proximity to Bristol. However, they have a fierce rivalry with Bristol clubs and supporters, who often deride them for residing just outside the glamour of Bristol. Most base ball fans in Bardney will know two things about them: they have a historical winning record against Bristol clubs, which few teams can boast, and that they are organized on a mutual society model. That is, anyone can buy shares of the club, and you're not a real fan until you own a piece of the club and exercise your vote at meetings.
Location/Character: The club is located across the river from Bristol, in the area known as Paradise Plains. Their park seats 16,000, though with the admittance of standing fans it can hold up to 27,000. As a result of their fan ownership policy, they have among the most loyal fans in the entire league, probably only surpassed by fans of the Bristol clubs. They are also known for their creative, fan-composed, cheers of almost any player on the roster. Fans of other teams will sometimes attend games just to hear the crowd sing or chant in support of their team.
Present Day: The present-day Mutual club is led by their boisterous manager "Foghorn" Michael Davis, whose incredibly loud voice can be heard anywhere in the stadium. His team is either fiercely loyal or deathly afraid of being called out on the field, and the Mutual Club usually makes a good show of it. Their principal player is SP Kermit "Dartford Flash" Connelly, so named for his hard tossing on the mound. Batters rarely dig in against him for fear of being knocked down by a fast pitch.
Berkeley Resolutes (New Gloucester)
History: The Resolute Base Ball Club is of a similar age to the three Bristol clubs and the Mutual Club, but is somewhat younger. Like in Dartford and Brookline, the expansion of base ball beyond the borders of Bristol led to the formation of the Resolutes. Over the years, the Resolutes have been mostly a middling team and have struggled to gain any kind of national purchase, crowded out by the Bristol clubs and the Red Stockings. They have, however, developed a number of skilled players, who typically go on to a larger and more lucrative club.
Location/Character: The club is located fewer than 100 miles away from Bristol, in the state of New Gloucester, and as such is followed as sort of a "second club" by individuals in the Greater Bristol area. Their park seats 13,000, though with the admittance of standing fans it can hold up to 20,000, making it one of the smaller parks in the NAPBBC. The club has often struggled against a "little brother" image, overshadowed by the more prestigious clubs in Bristol. They and their die-hard fans often have a chip on their shoulder, coming from a small state and an overlooked club.
Present Day: The present-day Resolute club is led by their glad-handing manager "Smiley" Joe Ferguson, who is a player's manager, a fan's manager, a journalist's manager, just about anything but a winning manager. He doesn't have a bad team, but they struggle to attract talent away from some of the bigger clubs. Their principal player is 1B "Friar" John Tucker, so named for his balding pate and rotund physique. He does have quite a stroke at the plate, however.
New Delphia Athletics (Pennwoods)
History: The Athletic Club of New Delphia can lay claim to one of the oldest base ball legacies outside of Bristol. At its founding, the Athletic Club already took part in activities we would call track and field, or athletics. Not long after the publication of the "Gotham Base Ball Club Rules", there are club records that indicate base ball was being played. Sadly, this long history hasn't led to sustained success, with the club's overall professional record languishing well below .500. Nevertheless, New Delphia loves base ball and can be credited as a city with a rich base ball history.
Location/Character: The club is located in north New Delphia, in an area that was originally underdeveloped. Their park seats 16,000, though with the admittance of standing fans it can hold up to 30,000, making it among the largest capacities in the NAPBBC. The fact that it can hold nearly as many standing fans as seated is remarkable, but stingy ownership's insistence on packing in as many fans as possible has caused the stadium to deteriorate. It was once was new and well-kept, and the Athletic Club successful, but the decline of the stadium has mirrored the decline of the team. Still, New Delphia fans are fanatical and renowned for their heckling and noisemaking. Whether their efforts are directed at opposing teams or at their own, the effect is often unbearable. Clarence "Cocky" McArty once remarked, "The closest you'll ever get to hell on earth is a New Delphia home game."
Present Day: The present-day Athletic club is led by their lugubrious manager "Long-face" Lee Leitner, who has managed the club for more seasons than most can count and lost more games than most would in their worst nightmares. The ownership prefers to develop homegrown players and refuses to spend on pricey new athletes, meaning that the club often fields a lesser team than might be possible otherwise. Their principal player is LF Dewitt "Fancy Dan" Markham, who can swing a mean stick, but might be better known for his elegant fashion style off the field and fastidiousness on it, trying to keep his uniform clean at any opportunity.
Columbia Nationals (Columbia)
History: The National Base Ball Club isn't quite as old or as followed as its name might suggest. Instead, the name derives from the club's location in the nation's capital of Columbia. At first, when the capital was mostly the province of civil servants and politicians, base ball was not popular. But as the city grew, the relative lack of diversion as compared to other major Bardneyian cities led to sports becoming an important part of Columbia's character.
Location/Character: The club is located in the nation's capital of Columbia, between the states of Crescentia and Elizia. Their park seats 16,000, though with the admittance of standing fans it can hold up to 25,000.The park is located in bottomland on the southeast side of the capital and was notoriously swampy before being drained to construct the park. The club attracts politicians to almost every game, who enjoy basking in the sun in their relatively luxurious reserved seats. It also has a significant amount of southern support, being the closest professional club to much of Southern Bardney. It also mines the southern semi-professional leagues for talent. As far as its national reach, it's limited outside of Southern Bardney.
Present Day: The present-day National club is led by their quick-witted manager "Canny" Danny Dodson, whose elaborate strategies and seeming knowledge of exactly when to employ a squeeze or a hit and run is renowned throughout the league. His team isn't the most skilled, but their manager keeps them competitive through strategies or even pinch-hitting and employing relievers, much to the chagrin of traditional fans. Their principal player is C Enright "Politician" McFadden, who is known for his high-flown speeches and for helping his pitchers to escape jams, just like politicians can get their friends out of trouble.
Carrollton Canaries/Yellow Stockings (Crescentia)
History: The Carrollton Base Ball Club originated with the strong trade links between Carrollton and Bristol. Sailors who disembarked at Bristol would often go to watch base ball games, and then returned to spread the game in their own city. In fact, Carrollton probably adopted the game more enthusiastically than any other city outside the Northeast, and by one count, there were 37 different base ball clubs in the city limits and suburbs. Several of these clubs unified to go professional and adopted the bright yellow stockings for which they are known today. Until recently, nobody in Carrollton referred to the team as anything other than "The Carrollton Club", but the national press gave them the name "Yellow Stockings", and then the local papers started to call them the "Canaries", which ended with the team adopting a live canary mascot. Today, they are called by any one of the three names.
Location/Character: The club is located in the downtown area of Carrollton, in the heart of the city. Their park seats 17,000, though with the admittance of standing fans it can hold up to 24,000. The club has some national attraction because of their colorful stockings and adoption of a live mascot, both rare in the NAPBBC, but is mostly popular in Crescentia and the neighboring state of Lenapia. Because of the role of sailors in popularizing the game, base ball in Carrollton is mostly a lower and middle-class affair. The Canaries are also notable for their high concentration of Catholic supporters, as compared to the mostly Protestant fans of other East Division clubs.
Present Day: The present-day Carrollton club is led by their rotund manager Patrick "Steig" Wellington, whose red, puffy, complexion and Emhainan ancestry led to the nickname of the popular dish. His team is mostly a collection of modestly-skilled players whose principal virtue is their ability to work together for success. Their principal player is SP Milo "High-Low" Grafton, so called because he'll hurl it to you high or low, but never down the middle.
Duquesne Grays (Pennwoods)
History: The Duquesne Base Ball Club takes its nickname from its gray uniforms, and is thus sometimes known as "The Duquesne Club", "The Gray Club", or "The Grays". They were one of the last clubs to go professional in the East Division, though residents claim that base ball was being played since its early days. It is likely that workers migrating from Bristol to Duquesne to work in the ironworks brought the game to the city. Their professional history is not long, nor is it particularly illustrious, having endured mostly losing seasons. This has given rise to the phrase "He's got a case of the Grays", which can refer either to a team on a long losing streak or a fan who is down in the dumps because his team has been losing.
Location/Character: The club is located on the north side of the city of Duqesne. Their park seats 14,000, though with the admittance of standing fans it can hold up to 26,000. It has no national reach, but maintains a fierce loyalty in western Pennwoods. The city and club are notable for the presence of Wailsh, Pict-Emhainan, and Alemagnian immigrants, which make up an important part of their history and character. In fact, teams from multiple different ethnic communities that worked in coal mining or iron factories unified to form the first Grays team. The city is also strongly Protestant in character, a bit unusual for a city named after a Catholic from Qatre-Rivieres.
Present Day: The present-day Grays club is led by their jocular manager "The Clown Prince" Bill Madsen, whose on-field antics as both a player and manager keep fans entertained and opposing players and umpires often infuriated. He may seem like an odd choice for a losing team, but his players probably need the levity to keep their spirits up. The current Grays club suffers from a lack of quality pitching. Their principal player is LF Emmett "Duquesne Dynamite" Harrison, who is known for his bat, whether he is smashing round-trippers or competing for the batting title.
). This was all what I could discern from my small research. I am not a regular baseball watcher, and the sport is not much prevalent in the country where I reside. So pardon me for any mistakes in technical terms that I made.
