World Baseball Classic 49- Everything Thread (IC)

[The Sherpa Empire]

Daki Chuan knew that a lot of people were going to be watching her pitch game 5 of the Sherpaland-Banija series. For one thing, it was the only game on. All the other quarterfinal series had been settled in four games or less.

For another thing, the Sherpa Empire and Banija had developed a rivalry over the past few years. It was purely a sports rivalry with no deeper conflict behind it, but it still kept baseball fans glued to their TVs whenever the games were on. The two teams were very evenly matched, and that made for interesting baseball. They also had the distinction of being two of the poorest nations to field successful WBC teams, and that made it easier to compete as equals. Whatever the outcome, it was a good clean test of skill, not tangled up in any murky issues about economic inequality or racism.

And of course, for a sexist nation like the Sherpa Empire, it was a big deal that Chongba Lee was trusting a woman to pitch such an important game. Even though they had seen teams from Cassadaigua and Newmanistan succeed with female players, a lot of Sherpalanders still believed that women were worse than men at sports. Daki Chuan knew they would make a big fuss about it if she did badly, and it wouldn't just be her reputation that suffered. If she blew it, it would make it that much harder for the next woman to break in. If she blew it, they would never let Lee hear the end of it, demanding to know why he had given her the ball. His reputation was on the line too, and the more she thought about it, the more she appreciated him for giving her a chance.

There was a lot on the line, but there was nowhere else Chuan would rather be. This was the big break she'd been waiting for, and she was ready for it. The pressure was there, but she was more excited than afraid. After all, it wasn't her first time pitching under pressure. She'd played big games before. They were SIBA women's games, which not everyone cared about, but from Chuan's point of view they were still big games. She took them seriously, the same way the men took their games seriously.

The top of the 1st wasn't very eventful. A couple of Banijan batters made contact, but the fielders didn't have much trouble getting the ball to Zia to tag them out. When the Sherpas came in off the field, they found Geli Ananthan sulking in the dugout with a surly expression. "Dude, it's your own fault you got benched," said Qiang.

Ananthan snarled at Qiang, "I'm the best hitter on this team and he benches me because--"

"You got benched because Lee can't trust you to play your best," said Qiang.

"Qiang, he already knows why he got benched," said Lee.

Qureshi got thrown out at first, and it was Ojha's turn to bat. He took one last look back at his teammates in the dugout and winked at Chuan. "Don't worry, sweetie. I'll hit something for you." The way he said it was a little obnoxious, but he kept his word and got on base -- even though it meant running like hell to beat the throw. That was the start of a 2 run rally.

The 1st inning set the tone for the game. Chuan wasn't blowing the Banijans away, but she was holding her own and getting solid run support. After 6 innings the Sherpas were up 6-3. Chongba Lee told Daki Chuan she wouldn't be pitching the 7th. "You did good, but I'm going to have Murthy take it from here," Lee said.

Murthy made a hash of things, allowing several batters to reach base and giving up 2 runs. Lee pulled him and sent in Bharadhwaj to get the 3rd out before the Banijans could tie up the score.

Bharadhwaj stuck around to pitch the top of the 8th, and then it was Roshan in the 9th. The game ended with Jassey chasing a pitch that was low and outside. He reached for it and missed and the umpire called him out on strikes. The Sherpa players ran into the infield to celebrate with hugs and cheers -- or most of them did. Geli Ananthan slammed his glove down in disgust and stormed off to the locker room while everyone else was still celebrating.

Daki Chuan and Chongba Lee were both immensely relieved that everything had worked out. Lee decided he would stick with the same pitching rotation for the semifinals against Cassadaigua:

Zhuang
Ai
Pham
Akunjee
Chuan

[South Newlandia]

OOC Disclaimer: This happens right after game 5 of the Round of 16 series. Ignore this for grading purposes.

ELEPHANT VALLEY MAIL
Sports -> Baseball
The end of the road, for this time

It was the last match of the Round of 16 series between Hapilopper, the world number 15, and South Newlandia, current world number 31, to reach the Quarterfinals. Few had expected either team there, but both are quickly improving talented sides. Today, it would be decided who would make a big step towards future success, and who would have to leave after a great fight. The Elephants were motivated to fight their way into the Quarterfinals, after all, they had won their group, and they were the higher seed. They wanted to go even further than in WBC48, reaching the last eight. But the primary reason the Thrashers hadn’t won their group was the fact they had to play the defending champions. They had won 20 games in their group, which would have been enough in some groups to win, but not with Nova Anglicana against you. Argueably, both teams would deserve it, and in both cases, it would be a fantastic story, leading either against the hosts from Newmanistan or against Northwest Kalactin, another young and promising squad, who had beaten Drawkland out of the Round of 16 spot and held the Rockets 2-2 on their own ground to this point. The only thing left to do was to actually play the baseball.

Hapilopper                   0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 3  7
South Newlandia              0 0 0 2 0 0 2 1 1  6

The game started with Blake Robbins pitching, while the pitcher for Hapilopper was Cole Winthrop. The first three innings were largely eventless, with South Newlandia only managing a single hit, and Robbins seemingly having a good day with his pitches. That very much changed after the fourth inning, when Robbins allowed a three run homer. This was very bad. Damian Bolton and Mohamed Felix decided that this was the time to pull Robbins, as this wouldn’t have been the first time he completely broke apart after one bad inning. This meant that Jack Miller would get to pitch in the WBC49 after all. He hadn’t been needed so far, but now, with everything at stake, he needed to play his best. Miller, the oldest South Newlandian pitcher at 28 years old, had been part of the pitchers that brought the Elephants into the Round of 16 two years ago, where they crashed out 0-3 against Newmanistan. The Elephants were still behind by three, but they had an answer in the 4th with Adam King and Shawn Zimmerman collecting the first runs of the game for South Newlandia, reducing the Thrasher’s lead to just one run. Hapilopper doubled this lead in the fourth, but at least the team was back in the game now. We skip straight into inning seven. Miller was still on the mount for another inning, once again stopping the Thrasher’s bats. Now was the time for South Newlandia. A nice base hit by Ian Pearce was followed by a beautiful home run scored by Fabio Ventura. The game was now all tied up after seven innings, with both sides still very much in this series. After most of the games so far had been pretty clear, this one was going to go down to the wire. Fabio Paul came in to close the game. Miller had been a starter in WBC48, but he was moved to the bullpen this time, and with good reason. He simply started to get worse to early in games, but he was still very good to bring out in emergencies, like this time. Anyways, it was partly on Paul’s shoulders now. He was 9-2 over the tournament, but had been playing a bit worse recently. He had to deliver now. He didn’t allow a run in the eighth. Miraculously, Zimmerman brought the team into the lead in the bottom of the eighth, and suddenly, the Elephants were three outs away from the Quarterfinal series. No one had expected the team to go this far. Now was the time, now was the time to become legends. Paul just had to not give the Haps any runs. Only three outs. It was so close. It would’ve been the story of the Classic. Well, maybe not the only story, but one of them. Paul went to the mount. Yeah, that didn’t happen. Three runs for the Thrashers. If there was any time where you shouldn’t give up three runs, this would’ve been it. Oh well, now the Elephants had to bat in the bottom of the ninth from two runs behind. This would not have been the first time they would’ve managed that, not even the first time of this tournament. Mike Larsen was at bat first, and he got himself a double, and a single for Fabio Ventura put runners on the corners, with no one out yet. David Drum and Adam King got retired, and suddenly, the situation was much worse. Zimmerman got a run, and Larsen went home. Ventura was still on second, just two bases away from scoring the equalizer. Gregor Garner was next at bat. He hadn’t done well at all so far, not in the game, not in the series, not even in the tournament at all. Would he be the saviour for South Newlandia, could he get them into the Quarters right now? The count was 2-1 when he hit a ball well into Right Field. Marion Pound ran for the ball for Hapilopper, and at first, all that people could see was Marion slamming head first into the Outfield wall. A few seconds later, it was clear the game was over. Marion had caught it; the ball had been just shy of being a homer that would’ve changed everything. While Hapilopper celebrated, the Elephants were incredibly sad. The pictures reminded the spectators of the International Baseball Slam, when the U22 lost in the semi-finals against Tikariot, basically with the same scene. More than a few players were there for the Elephants in both tournaments, and it felt incredibly disappointing to go out just like that, in the same way the youth team did a year ago. One could see Adam King, Daryl Dunlop, David Drum, Mike Larsen and Shawn Zimmerman, Ryan Hunter, Jay Kramer, Barnaby Butt and the many bench players who had all been part of the team in the IBS, sitting on the ground in disbelief, more than one of them crying. It felt like a nightmare, like the same nightmare from the IBS all over again.
But it was over. South Newlandia was officially eliminated from the World Baseball Classic, while Hapilopper would play against the hosts in the Proving Grounds, in what could’ve been the great rematch for South Newlandia. They would have to go home instead. That would not be the end of things, though, they will come back only stronger. The International Baseball Slam and the Summer Olympics, to be played in Banija and Liventia, are on the horizon for the South Newlandian baseball players, and World Baseball Classic 50 will roll around eventually.

All matches

(1) Cassadaigua 3-0 TJUN-ia (43) (7-6, 9-6, 11-3)
(UR) Delaclava 2-3 Sarzonia (28) (4-2, 2-5, 3-5, 11-2, 3-5)
(6) The Sherpa Empire 3-1 Royal Kingdom of Quebec (32) (3-4, 7-6, 11-5, 9-5)
(2) Banija 3-1 Super-Llamaland (UR) (2-3, 5-3, 11-4, 8-5)
(3) Nova Anglicana 3-1 Tikariot (UR) (8-2, 1-0, 2-5, 4-3)
(4) Ko-oren 2-3 Hampton Island (8) (5-2, 8-6, 0-10, 1-8, 3-6)
(5) Newmanistan 3-2 Northwest Kalactin (37) (7-3, 1-6, 3-2, 4-5, 5-3)
(31) South Newlandia 2-3 Hapilopper (15) (2-8, 5-0, 3-7, 4-3, 6-7)

With this, the Round of 16 is over. Newmanistan managed to advance after all, but they needed extra innings to do that. Sarzonia knocked out the last unranked team of WBC49, Delaclava, and Hampton Island somehow managed to come back from a 0-2 deficit to go to the Quarterfianls, just like they did in WBC48, eliminating one of the favourites, Ko-oren. That settles the Quarterfinal pairings:

(1) Cassadaigua vs. Sarzonia (28)
(6) The Sherpa Empire vs. Banija (2)
(3) Nova Anglicana vs. Hampton Island (8)
(5) Newmanistan vs. Hapilopper (15)

By the way, if you are curious about how the Classic continues to go, you can take a look at Fred Kartoffer’s sheet here. He promised that he would follow it a long, but he might not. Good luck. The sheet also claims that South Newlandia will be 12th after this cycle, which would be quite impressive after just two Classics.

---

After the teams were done celebrating and thinking about what could’ve been, respectively, Ryan Hunter, pitcher for South Newlandia, and Levi Berry, the first baseman for Hapilopper, ran into each other on total coincidence. They were actually both a little bit uncomfortable about the situation at first, considering the game that had just taken place.

Hunter: Hey, man. Congrats on the win, you deserved it.
Berry: Yeah, I am kind of sorry about that. It was much closer than I expected, it was a nice matchup. Sure hope to meet you some time in the future.
Hunter: Thanks, I really enjoyed it as well. Hey, wait a second – don’t we both have something in common?
(both laugh)
Berry: Yeah, I guess. Midnight can be really scary if he wants to. I want to apologize to you about that clown in the stands in game one; I didn’t think that was okay, really. Exploiting that felt really dirty. Sorry.
Hunter: I mean; it was somewhat my fault too. I knew it could happen, it happened before, but I thought I would be fine, and I wasn’t. If I would have thought I couldn’t do it, I wouldn’t have gone to the mount. Right now, I am back in treatment, I’m sure it will get better at some point.
Berry: You know; I had nightmares too, and it wasn’t great for a while, that bear is scary. What kind of psychologist do you even go to for something like that?
Hunter: I talk to Barry Fursome, he specialises in traumatic bear attacks, for some reason.
Berry: Barry Fursome? You are fucking with me.
Hunter: No really, that is his actual name. I have his card on me, take a look, he really exists.
Berry (after examining the card): Wow. I guess, with his name, he had to do something like that.
Hunter: Talking to him really helped me for a while, but I am back to seeing him now. I want to put this behind me before the season starts again.
Berry: Good luck on that, I wish you all the best.
Hunter: And you, you go and take Newmanistan out for us. I heard you will play in the Proving Grounds, beating them there would make such a great storyline. Good luck!
Berry: Thanks, that’s nice. If you want to keep contact, you can message me, privately if you want, on twii.tur, @levib12.
Hunter: Thanks, I will be sure to do that. I got to go now, I hope we meet again at some point.
Berry: For sure!

[Cassadaigua]

Fillies Focused On Sherpa, not Nova Anglicana,
By Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

Cassadaigua looked very strong in the third and fourth games against the Stars of Sarzonia, doing well to ensure there was no let up on the road to winning one more game. Many fans can look at how the competition is shaping up, and see that Nova Anglicana is potentially the opponent in the Finals. They have an ambitious side from Hapilopper to take care of, but many people are expecting the Lions to win that series. However, just like Nova Anglicana can’t look past Hapilopper, we especially cannot look past The Sherpa Empire. The big reason is quite simply that the Sherpalanders are a very good team, and they have been on the cusp of winning a championship for several cycles. They are the best team going right now that does not have a title on their resume to begin with.

Pitching was the order of the day against Sarzonia in the third and fourth games. Desiree Plummer was the starter in the third game, and struck out ten, only allowing one run in her eight innings of work. The Fillies had a balanced attack, with all nine players in the lineup managing at least one hit, once the offense picked up in the sixth inning. There were no home runs hit in the game for Cassadaigua, just a steady diet of singles and doubles to account for the six runs. In game four, it was Brianna Shirley on the mound, the pitcher that many people thought was going to start the first game, considering she had not pitched since the group stage. She was fresh, and it was evident immediately. Shirley struck out the first four batters she faced, and allowed only one hit in her first six innings of work. Cassadaigua gave her a couple runs to work with, but she needed to be at her best. With the team leading 4-0 heading into the ninth, once again without the luxury of the long ball, Shirley was given the chance to get the complete game shut out. Brianna would have to settle for just the complete game, but it was a masterful performance by her, completing a pitching effort that for the series, shut down Sarzonia to one run or less in three of the four games. “Pitching is what wins games, as everyone knows,” manager Maddie Polanco began, “and that is as good as it is going to get. I have to feel pretty good about our staff as we move forward.”

Polanco confirmed that the team will start the series against The Sherpa Empire with number five starter, Jessica Ashfield. She has not pitched since the group stage, but the team is confident that she can give the team a great start in the opener. The bullpen was hardly used in the quarterfinal, so that also helps the decision to go with Ashfield here, and hold back Kayla Mason for game two, giving her an extra day off. Overall, this team is confident, but they understand what The Sherpa Empire is capable of. Speedy outfielder Katelyn Martini told me that, “That is a great team. We’re not looking ahead to who might be awaiting us in the final if we were to win, because we have to worry about winning. We are glad to have made it as far as we have, but we all expected to be here.” That leaves it to the fans to start thinking about a potential rematch. But both the Fillies and the Lions have more work to do to get there. #winonemoregame.

[Hapilopper]

The Jungle, Loudon, Newmanistan
Leading up to the Semifinals of the 49th World Baseball Classic: Hapilopper v. Nova Anglicana
The sheer joy of the Hap Thrashers for knocking off the hosts and moving to the semifinals had been tempered somewhat when they learned that Hampton Island had been knocked off by Nova Anglicana and would be facing them in the semifinals. Nova Anglicana had Hapilopper’s number throughout the group stage, taking four of their six games during that phase. They were the only series during the phase that the Haps had lost, so to go up against them again was, to say the least, a little bit concerning.

But still, the Haps had made it to the semifinals. For the afternoon following the deciding fourth game of the series, they faded into the background as the eyes of the Hapiloppian sporting public tuned into the exciting decider between Banija and the Sherpa Empire. Both nations were well-known and well-liked amongst the Hapiloppians – Banija being a relatively close nation in the Glorious Southwest of Atlantian Oceania, and the Sherpa Empire through the exploits of its NSSCRA drivers who had become household names in Hapilopper.

After the Sherpalanders knocked off Banija to advance to a series against Cassadaigua, some Hapiloppians wondered what a Hap/Sherpa or a Hap/Cass series would be like. But those people were a very decided minority. Many, many more were agonizing over the prospect of having to face the Nova Anglicana Lions again.

Among those in the majority were the entire Hapilopper National Baseball Team, who took to a baseball field not far from the Jungle in Loudon to practice. It was clear that the team was taking the challenge very seriously, and players could be seen working a little harder than usual. Players were taking more time at the batting cage, doing more pitching warmups and going a little harder on the field.

But they were also reviewing film and lots of it. The Haps had quite a bit of footage on Nova Anglicana, partially on the six games they played with Hapilopper, but on the more recent playoff games. The team was taking an opportunity to review mistakes they had made in the Nova Anglicana series and possibly learn from them. There had been a few poorly-placed pitches. Some fielding flubs. Some batting blunders. There had been mistakes made in the Nova Anglicana series and the players were looking for ways to avoid such errors in the semifinals.

There would be very little change in the team’s lineup for the semifinals. Curtis Skinner, the 56-year old knuckleballer, would still start game one for the Haps, while Hot Sauce Gibbs would start game two, Vic Foster would start game three, Martin Meadows would start game four and Cole Winthrop would start game five.

While the team had was getting prepared on the field not far from the Loudon Jungle, first baseman Levi Berry was making some waves on twii.tur for some comments concerning the bear heckler incident during the round of 16 against South Newlandia. Berry had let the incident stew and upon thinking of it, was very clearly disturbed with what had happened.

“NLH owes South Newlandia and Ryan Hunter an apology,” Levi wrote. “Met Ryan after Elephant series, real nice guy, told me about a guy he’s been talking to.”

That person, Barry Fursome, apparently specialized in traumatic bear attacks. Both Levi and Hunter had been traumatized by Midnight the Bear in separate incidents in the last two World Baseball Classics. Last year, Levi was growled at after Midnight was repeatedly intentionally walked, while this year, Hunter was charged at after plunking Midnight with a pitch. During the Round of 16, a fan pulled out a cardboard cutout of a bear, and with the help of a megaphone, growled at Hunter in an underhanded attempt to get under his skin. The attempt worked and helped push the Haps through in a huge way.

But it didn’t sit well with Levi, and he demanded the fan get tossed out of the park. That fan, 22-year old Jim Spivey, was ejected from the ballpark. He later explained he thought what he was doing would be funny.

“I was trying to get everyone around me to laugh and maybe get the players laughing,” the fan said. “I didn’t realize Levi Berry would be such a bitch about it.”

Either way, the fan was asked to return to Hapilopper and not return for another game involving the Hap Thrashers.

[Newmanistan]

(1) Cassadaigua vs (4) The Sherpa Empire @ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls
Game 1:

The Sherpa Empire      0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  2
Cassadaigua            0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2  4

Game 2:

The Sherpa Empire      0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0  4
Cassadaigua            1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  3

series tied, 1-1

(2) Nova Anglicana vs (11) Hapilopper @ The Jungle, Loudon
Game 1:

Hapilopper             0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0  3
Nova Anglicana         0 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 X  4

Game 2:

Hapilopper             1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  4
Nova Anglicana         0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

series tied, 1-1

[Hapilopper]

The Jungle, Loudon, Newmanistan
The Semifinals of the 49th World Baseball Classic: Hapilopper v. Nova Anglicana – Following Game One
The Haps had been here before. They had been there one round before, when the Hapilopper National Baseball Team had dropped the first game of the series to a very strong baseball team. Now here they were, having dropped the first game of the semifinals to Nova Anglicana. The morning after the loss, manager Dale Moss knocked on the doors of the hotel room of the Hap Thrashers – including one of race car driver Drake Stevenson by total accident – and called a team meeting in his room.

“Y’all get breakfast, then come up to my room,” Dale said. “We’re meeting.”

“Even me?” a shirtless Drake said as he peered out of his room.

Dale turned around and shook his head.

“Not you, Stevenson,” Dale replied. “This is for team members only.”

The rest of the team crowded in Dale’s hotel room to meet about what to do for the rest of the semifinal series. It turns out the rest of the team had wanted to hold such a meeting as well, just to get them in the right frame of mind before the second game of the semifinal series and beyond. This was a team that was hell-bent on making sure this was the only game they dropped in the series, regardless of how heavy a favorite the Nova Anglicana Lions were.

The team was also something else that made Dale very, very happy: They were one cohesive unit. Sure, they had gone through some difficulties, and had gone through some unfortunate setbacks, most notably when Charlton Forest blew out his arm during the group stage, but instead of falling apart, it seemed like the Haps came together rather than allowed that setback to define them.

“We know why we’re here,” Mo said to Dale. “Spare us the introductory rah-rah bullshit. We’re here to win.”

Dale smiled.

“I know you are, and that makes me happy to hear,” Dale said. “But we’ve got to talk. All of us, guys, we gotta talk. We got problems. We can’t lose games like that. You know this.”

The players nodded their heads.

“We can’t leave runners stranded on base,” Dale continued. “We left seven runners stranded last night. That’s how we lost. It’s not because of bad pitching, and it’s not because of bad fielding. We can not leave runners hanging on base. I don’t care WHAT you do, you bring them home. I don’t care if you have to send them through a brick wall, you bring them home.”

There were other points in the meeting. Hot Sauce Gibbs had spent the first game in the stands in the Jungle in Loudon, legal pad in hand, mapping out pitches to throw at Nova Anglicana’s hitters. His notes appeared to be as detailed as ever as he detailed what to throw each time around the lineup, where and when. Sure, he was surrounded by screaming fans and got hit a few times with some spilled popcorn, but that didn’t stop him from studying the Nova Anglicana Lions throughout the first game.

During the meeting, he showed his teammates what he had learned. Just like in the Newmanistan series, it seemed like Hot Sauce knew what he was doing above almost everyone else.

“I have no guarantees this will work,” Hot Sauce said, “but if it does, all I need is some run support and we’ll be golden. I’ll do the best I can.”

“And that’s really all I need of you,” Dale responded. “That’s all I need of all of you. Everyone says Nova Anglicana will roll over us. Maybe they will. But damn it, guys, let’s give them the fight of our lives. What happened in the group stage means diddly jack poo right now. What means something is what we do now. Let’s take it to them.”

And take it to them they did. Game two saw one of the most impressive performances of Hot Sauce Gibbs’ career, and a game that appeared to run contrary to the belief that he couldn’t do anything past 95 pitches. His performance? One earned run. Five hits. Two walks. 13 strikeouts. 137 pitches. Sure, he was dead tired after the game ended, but he had whiffed the Nova Anglicana Lions just like he had hoped he would.

It gave the Haps hope for the series. They had realized they could beat Nova Anglicana, a team that had, unequivocally, had Hapilopper’s number and then some throughout the group stages. But now Hapilopper had drawn level with the Lions. Now Hapilopper could strike. This was a team that had momentum on its side and then some, and they were hell-bent on doing whatever they could to force their way past one of the absolute best baseball sides in the entire multiverse.

But that was the problem. Nova Anglicana was one of the absolute best baseball teams in the entire multiverse. The Hap Thrashers had to be on the absolute top of their game. The pitchers had to be perfect. The hitters had to be on point. The fielders had to be on their toes. Because if they slipped up, even once, then the Lions were the kind of baseball team that could – and would – take advantage.

For those reasons and more, all of the Dominion of Hapilopper would be watching the competition in Loudon very, very closely.

[The Sherpa Empire]

Weiyun Gan was still traveling with the Sherpa national baseball team, even though he couldn't pitch with his injured arm. He was deeply frustrated that he couldn't pitch against Banija or Cassadaigua. Gan was a quiet unassuming personality, but that didn't stop him from being passionate about his pitching. He had been brilliant in the group stage, and he felt like he could have done great things in the playoffs if he wasn't injured. It was a relief that the team had been able to hang in there without him, but he still wished he could have been part of it.

On the ride from Jessicaville to Tundra Falls, Gan noticed that Geli Ananthan was still sulking. "Are you mad that we won that game?" he asked.

Ananthan didn't answer, but Gan still stood there waiting for an answer.

"Are you mad that we won that game?" Gan repeated. "Did you want Banija to beat us just so you could say 'I told you so'?" He hadn't raised his voice, but there was an icy glare in his eyes.

Wen and Qureshi had been comparing notes about which Cassadagan players they thought were hot, Luochong Zhuang had been talking to Daki Chuan about fish farms, and Kami Akunjee had been telling Tsheri Pham how difficult it was for his wife to navigate Namche's back streets with her wheelchair -- but one by one they all trailed off and turned their attention to the confrontation between Gan and Ananthan. They weren't used to seeing Gan get in a confrontation with another player.

"Did you want Banija to win that game?" Gan asked.

Ananthan could see that things were going to get ugly if he didn't answer. "No!" he snarled. "No, I didn't want Banija to win!"

"Then why are you so mad?" said Gan.

It was obvious that Ananthan still didn't want to talk, so Gan left him alone -- but a lot of the players still thought Ananthan was being a jerk.

Most of the men were no longer fussing about having Chuan on the team. Pitching 6 decent innings against Banija had convinced them that she was a real pitcher and not just a publicity stunt. Wangdi Ai and Rita Katiyar still hadn't apologized for their rude behavior earlier in the tournament, but at least they had stopped giving her dirty looks. Only Ananthan was still acting like he had a problem with her.

Things calmed down when they got to the Proving Grounds. Having a game to think about took their minds off the stupid drama. Even Ananthan's mood improved when he had a bat in his hands. Cassadaigua wasn't going down without a fight, though. The Dagans won the first game with a 10th inning walk-off.

In game 2, the Sherpas took the lead in the 4th inning with a grand slam by Tianling Qiao. The Cassadagans threatened to make a comeback in the bottom of the 9th, but Roshan got out of the jam and left Taylor Bryant (who would have been the tying run) stranded at 2nd base.

[Newmanistan]

(1) Cassadaigua vs (4) The Sherpa Empire @ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls
Game 3:

Cassadaigua            0 1 0 1 0 0 3 0 1  6
The Sherpa Empire      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Game 4:

Cassadaigua            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1
The Sherpa Empire      0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 X  3

series tied, 2-2

(2) Nova Anglicana vs (11) Hapilopper @ The Jungle, Loudon
Game 3:

Nova Anglicana         0 0 0 4 1 1 0 0 3  9
Hapilopper             0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

Game 4:

Nova Anglicana         0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2
Hapilopper             1 1 0 8 1 0 1 0 X 12

series tied, 2-2

[The Sherpa Empire]

The Sherpas were on their way to another decisive game 5. This time they at least had the benefit of a well-rested bullpen since Akunjee had gone 8 innings in game 4. The offense had not been great for the last two games, and Chongba Lee was debating what he should do about it when there was a knock on the door of his hotel room.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"It's me," a man's voice answered from the hallway. It sounded like Geli Ananthan.

Chongba Lee wasn't really that enthusiastic about talking to Ananthan, but it was part of his job. He set down the notes he had been leafing through and went over to open the door. "Come on in," he said.

Ananthan came in, and stood there awkwardly looking around the room.

"Sit down and make yourself at home," said Lee. "What's on your mind?"

Ananthan plopped down in a chair, but he didn't look very relaxed. "I want to play tomorrow," he said. "I know I made a stink about it last time you had Daki pitch, but I'm not going to do that again and I think will be good for the team to have my bat in the line-up."

Lee folded his arms and thought it over for a moment. He was still annoyed with Ananthan, but Ananthan sounded like he was feeling at least a little remorse -- and he really could hit. He'd batted in one of the three runs that the Sherpas scored in game 4. "Are you going to apologize to Daki?" Lee asked.

Ananthan looked conflicted. "Will you let me play if I apologize?"

"Are you going to give 110% to make sure we win this thing?"

"Yes. I'll make things right. Please, Chongba..."

"All right, first thing tomorrow, we'll talk to Daki," said Lee. "If you make things right with her, I'll let you play."

In the morning before game 5, Daki Chuan and Pei Tan were talking over their plans for the game when they were interrupted by Geli Ananthan. He was a big brash burly man, and it looked odd to see him standing humbly with his head bowed and his hat in hands. "Hey, Daki," he said. "I know I gave you a hard time back there in Jessicaville, but, uh, I want to apologize. I shouldn't have been so hard on you. And I don't want to sit out every time you pitch, so, well, would you be okay with it if I stop being a jerk and Lee lets me have my regular spot in the line-up?"

"Okay, but you gotta hit something," said Daki. "Deal?"

"Deal!"

[Hapilopper]

The Jungle, Loudon, Newmanistan
Just before the semifinals of the 49th World Baseball Classic – Hapilopper v. Nova Anglicana – Game Five
After two blowouts, the semifinals between the Hap Thrashers and the Nova Anglicana Lions had gone down to one game. Everything else was irrelevant at this point. Either win or play for third place, which was not what the Haps wanted to do in the slightest. The idea of playing for third place, at this point, was nauseating to even think about. The Haps could taste the idea of making it to the finals. They could sense a series with the Sherpa Empire or Cassadaigua for the WBC Championship. All they had to do was just win one game, and if they didn’t, the disappointment would be immeasurable for the Hap Thrashers.

But at this point, regardless of the result of that night’s game, there was no way the Haps could consider this World Baseball Classic to be anything other than a smashing success. Not many experts, either in the Dominion or abroad, had rated the Thrashers’ chances very highly. After all, Hapilopper had endured two massively disappointing WBC campaigns in WBC 47 and 48. Sure, the first one might not have been Hapilopper’s fault, having been impacted by an unusual “Casarean” style of play (or as Levi Berry called it on twii.tur, the “C-Section”), but there was no excuse for WBC 48. It seemed as if the team was unmotivated, losing games they shouldn’t have lost.

Frustration mounted after that series, and a lot of it remained when the National League of Hapilopper announced they were taking another stab at the World Baseball Classic. Critics questioned why the NLH was even bothering when the result was going to be more of the same. The expectation among many was that the Haps were going to embarrass themselves yet again on the international stage and face a swift group stage exit.

But that didn’t happen. Where the Haps were unmotivated and underachieving in the 48th Classic, they were hellbent on kicking ass in the 49th. The team won series after series in the group stage, only dropping two – the ones to the Nova Anglicana Lions – before getting an 11th seed for the knockout round. The HNBT appeared to be a breath of fresh air for a nation so desperate to see one of their own doing well for a change. Hapilopper, sadly, had seen their reputation sullied by some pretty poor performances in international competitions, most notably the national football team, which had done so poorly in World Cup 85 qualifying that rumors of an investigation were gaining steam.

The Hap Thrashers didn’t care. They were there to win ballgames. You could see it in the fire in their eyes, the intensity in their attitude towards the game. Either win or go home. To the Haps, there was zero alternative. With that mindset, the team very quickly gelled together in a way that hadn’t been seen in a Hapiloppian team since the Baptism of Fire days, when the Hapilopper National Football Team, hellbent on making a splash in its international debut, dominated the tournament.

That “win-as-one” mindset was tested throughout the knockout rounds. There had been some experts that predicted a quick exit for the Haps, with one well-known expert predicting a three-game sweep by South Newlandia on Hapilopper. But that didn’t happen. The Haps went to the full five games and knocked off the South Newlandia Elephants. It was off to the Proving Grounds to take on the heavily-favored hosts, Newmanistan.

And you know what? The Haps didn’t care. They didn’t care that Newmanistan was six-time WBC champions. They didn’t care they were the hosts. All they cared about was getting past them to make it to the semifinals, and they did it in four games. The Haps were on to the semifinals to take on Nova Anglicana.

And thus far, the series with the Nova Anglicana Lions had been a see-saw battle. There had been close games in the first two games. Blowouts in the next two. Now it was time for the fifth game, a deciding game between the defending World Baseball Classic champions and a team that had blown past so many expectations, but yet would be sorely disappointed if they were relegated to playing for third place. Everyone expected Nova Anglicana to be here. They were one of the best teams in the multiverse for a good reason. But few expected the Hap Thrashers to be here.

But back home, the Dominion was excited for that deciding fifth game. Could the Haps really take down the defending champs in one game, after the Lions had frustrated and confounded them throughout the WBC? Nova Anglicana was the only team to take series victories from the Haps. But none of that mattered right now.

It was two hours before game time. The entire team sat in the clubhouse of the Loudon Jungle, tension about as palpable as it had ever been. Nobody said anything. Nobody needed to. Many players were sitting in chairs, looking at each other, wondering if this would turn out to be another disappointment in Hapiloppian sport, or if it would be the continuation of one of the greatest stories in the history of sport in the Dominion.

But one player, sitting with his back turned to the rest of the team, was looking at a legal pad which had been stuffed with notes. Cole Winthrop, the night’s starting pitcher, couldn’t have been any more relaxed as he looked through pitch charts, heat maps and scouting reports, among other things. The icy silence in the clubhouse, broken only by the quiet droning of lights, seemed to help Cole concentrate on his last-minute studying. But, having sensed a certain amount of tension, Cole turned around in his seat and asked a rather silly question.

“Think I should hook my sister up with Drake Stevenson?” Cole asked about as matter-of-factly as could be. “I know Drake’s here, think he’d like my sister?”

The other players looked at Cole’s unusual question. Cole had a sister, yes, a few years older than him, and she was attractive, but this was just before perhaps the highest-stress situation the Hapilopper National Baseball Team had ever known – a deciding game against the defending champs, a team that the Haps had struggled with. And now the starting pitcher of the game was more worried about hooking his sister up with the Dominion’s most famous racing driver?

Mo Beverly, the catcher, looked at Cole for two seconds before realizing what he was doing. A huge smile came over his face the second he realized that Cole had a smartass look on his face.

“Why don’t you ask him first,” Mo said, with a huge smile on his face.

The point of Cole’s move was simple. Sure, Nova Anglicana was a powerhouse, and the Haps would have a hell of a tough time with them. But they were a baseball team that could still be beat. All the Haps had to do was produce more runs than the Lions over the course of nine (or more) innings. Cole looked back at the rest of the team, who was slowly coming around to what he had been doing.

“Gentlemen, it won’t be easy, but hell if it ain’t worth it,” Cole said. “And I think we’re just the team do it. Let’s beat the Lions.”

[Newmanistan]

(1) Cassadaigua vs (4) The Sherpa Empire @ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls
Game 5:

The Sherpa Empire      0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 0  5
Cassadaigua            1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

The Sherpa Empire wins series, 3-2

(2) Nova Anglicana vs (11) Hapilopper @ The Jungle, Loudon
Game 5:

Hapilopper             0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0  4
Nova Anglicana         0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Hapilopper wins series, 3-2

Championship- The Sherpa Empire vs Hapilopper @ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls
3rd Place- Cassadaigua vs Nova Anglicana @ Emperor Michael I Stadium, Pocono City

[Hapilopper]

The Jungle, Loudon, Newmanistan
The Semifinals of the 49th World Baseball Classic: Hapilopper v. Nova Anglicana – Game Five
Rather than being nervous as hell about the deciding game like they had been earlier that day, the Hap Thrashers took the field at the Loudon Jungle about as relaxed as they could be. Cole Winthrop – or as Levi Berry called him after the game, “Cool Winthrop”, had succeeded in relaxing the tensions of his teammates as they went up to face the defending World Baseball Classic champions, the Nova Anglicana Lions. They’d need to be as relaxed as could be, and they’d need to play their best game of baseball. In the group phase, the Lions had taken four out of six games, and two out of four in this series. But that didn’t matter on this day. All that mattered was who could win on this evening in Loudon.

With the eyes of the Dominion watching the Hap Thrashers, they might have played their very best game of baseball they had ever played. Cole Winthrop was on the top of his game, and with a scare in the second inning, he was taking care of business on the mound. Two earned runs, seven hits, nine strikeouts and three walks in six innings of work. It was the kind of performance that a pitcher would want any day of the week.

Better yet, the hitters were bringing runs home, even in some creative ways. In the second inning, after going down 1-2-3 in the first, Jerome Hayden roped a screamer to the left-field fence and ran like the wind for a stand-up double. The first hit of the ballgame, Jerome clapped his hands and screamed “LET’S FUCKING GO!!!” at the top of his lungs, very clearly keyed up. With Leroy Hunnisett walking up to the plate for the next at-bat, Jerome had an interesting idea.

That idea played itself out as he waited for the right moment, for the pitcher to be caught off guard. The pitcher looked back at Jerome, who was taking a lead off second. Jerome looked back at the pitcher with a cold expression on his face. The pitcher turned his back to pitch and Jerome booked it for third, sliding safely with a stolen base. This was something of a surprise, even in spite of the fact that Hapiloppian players were known for their base stealing.

Leroy looked over towards Jerome. Jerome looked back towards Leroy, then looked towards the third base coach, and back at the pitcher. Leroy looked back at Jerome, who looked about as aggressive as he had ever seen him and raised his eyebrows. The pitcher went into his stretch and Jerome broke for home. Leroy bunted, and by the time the ball made contact with his bat, Jerome about ten feet from home. There was no chance for a play. The Haps led 1-0 on the suicide squeeze. Leroy was out, but that was beside the point. The point was about getting runners home. With the bases empty, Mo Beverly sent himself home the old fashioned way the next at-bat, blasting a towering shot to right field to pull out to a 2-0 lead.

But the joy of the top of the 2nd was short lived, as Nova Anglicana had a response of their own to tie the game up. But it could have gone all pear-shaped were it not for a ridiculous left field catch from Dayton Rowe. A high fly ball had gone into deep left field, and by all rights it should have been a home run that would have put the game out of reach for the Haps. Two runs had already come in for the Lions. But Dayton, one of the fastest men in baseball, jumped against the left field wall, planted his right foot against the wall, used his momentum to go up, and caught the ball just as it cleared the fence.

Rod Perkins: "There's a drive. Deep left field. Dayton Rowe going as far as he can go..."
(long silence from the commentator's box, loud cheering)
Rod Perkins: "HE CAUGHT THE BALL. HE CAUGHT IT! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! WHAT A CATCH BY DAYTON ROWE, THE INNING IS OVER AND THE GAME IS STILL TIED AT TWO!! DAYTON ROWE TOOK A HOME RUN AWAY!"
-HTN commentator Rod Perkins' call of Dayton Rowe's catch (which is based off Otis Nixon's famous catch in July of 1992 in a Braves/Pirates game)

The inning was over, and the Haps had gotten themselves out of a jam in one of the most incredible ways. But the catch had done more than keep the game tied. It shifted the momentum in the favor of the Hap Thrashers. It was perhaps the biggest piece of evidence to the Haps that they could, in fact, beat the mighty Lions from Nova Anglicana. And it was what Hapiloppian fans needed to see. Fans watching back home in Hapilopper – all over Hapilopper, from Hamilton Square in Hapilopper City to Raceway Park in Buckridge and everywhere in between were delirious with joy with the play.

Of note, the Lions never scored another run for the rest of the game. For the next four innings, the game appeared to transform from “explosive offensive contest” to “classic pitcher’s duel.” Pitchers registered strikeout after strikeout. Cole settled down and went into a groove that only the best pitchers in baseball could jump into. Those four innings served to increase the tension, and everyone wondered just what was coming next, and if – or when – someone would break through. The Haps didn’t think the Lions were beat. Not even close. They could break through with one swing.

But it didn’t happen.

In the top of the 7th inning, Terry Blanchard broke through with one swing of the bat. It was a breaking ball that didn’t break. Terry knew it wasn’t breaking and made the most of it. A high fly ball to right field, Terry ran like hell for first base and when he saw it cleared the fence, it was all he could do to keep from leaping into the air. He lifted his right arm into the air, pointing one finger up. The rest of the team rushed out of the dugout to greet their hero. The feeling of tension, the feeling of dread and the feeling of fear became the feeling of absolute euphoria, if for a brief moment. There was still fear the Lions would respond.

Rod Perkins: "LINE DRIVE TO RIGHT, IT'S GONE! HAPS LEAD! HAPS LEAD! TERRY BLANCHARD JUST BROKE THROUGH!"
-HTN commentator Rod Perkins' call of Terry Blanchard's go-ahead home run

But they didn’t. It was time for Travis Reid to pitch two innings. Cole had tapped out at the end of the inning. There was nothing more he could have done. After the game, he admitted to feeling “about as mentally and emotionally exhausted as I’ve ever felt” and said he was certain if he went out there in the bottom of the 7th, it would have turned the game around the other way.

The memory of game four against South Newlandia, where Travis gave up the deciding runs to force a game five had become exactly that. A memory. Travis looked about as confident as ever. The swagger was very evident as he took the mound to warm up before he went up against the heart of the Nova Anglicana lineup. And they went down in order. Out one: A strikeout. Out two: Fly ball to center field. Out three: Right back to the pitcher, thrown out at first base.

It was time for the top of the 8th, and the Hapiloppian fans in the Jungle of Loudon were getting that much louder. Hapiloppian fans were already a loud bunch, but with the prospect of making the Finals of the WBC looking more and more real by the moment, it gave them an excuse to get even louder. And in that inning, one more run was scored that helped secure a trip to the finals.

Campbell Braxton was on third base with Dayton Rowe at the plate. Braxton, figuring he had nothing to lose, booked it as soon as the pitch left the Lion pitcher’s hand. Dayton swung, and the ball bounced over the head of the pitcher. The Haps led 4-2.

The Hap Thrashers feared a comeback from the Lions. The Hapiloppian fans feared a comeback. But it never happened. Travis Reid had it under control in the 8th. Dwayne Pocock had it under control in the ninth, and when he struck out the last batter in the bottom of the ninth, the feeling of fear turned into the feeling of unadulterated joy.

Rod Perkins: "THEY DID IT! THEY DID IT! THE HAPS ARE GOING TO THE FINALS! THEY'RE GOING TO THE FINALS, BY GOD! THEY BEAT THE LIONS!"
-HTN commentator Rod Perkins' call of Hapilopper's victory

For most of the WBC, it seemed as if the Nova Anglicana Lions had Hapilopper’s number. They were the Hap Thrashers’ kryptonite. But when it counted, the Haps delivered. They had come back and fought like hell. And when it mattered, the Haps turned it around and took the semifinal round.

When the team returned to the clubhouse, they found out just who they would be facing. They nodded their heads in anticipation of what promised to be among the greatest championship series in the history of international sport.

The Sherpa Empire awaited the Hap Thrashers.

[The Sherpa Empire]

Geli Ananthan kept his promise that he would hit something for Daki Chuan. With one out and one on in the 2nd inning, he hit a single, moving Qiao over to 3rd. Unfortunately, Zia grounded into a double play on the next at bat.

It was 1-0 Cassadaigua when the starters were pulled. Behind the backstop, a row of pudgy brown-skinned men in Rajas jerseys were drooping dejectedly in their seats. But then Cassadaigua had a bullpen malfunction and the Sherpas didn't. The guys in the Rajas jerseys perked up a little when the first Sherpa runner reached base, they started cheering and bouncing with excitement when the tying run scored, and they went into an absolute frenzy when the go-ahead run scored. After the last out was recorded (a fly ball caught by Qiang), both the players on the field and the Rajas fans behind the backstop went a little berserk whooping and hugging each other.

For the first time ever, the Sherpa Empire was going to the WBC finals.

When the victory celebrations wound down, it was time to look ahead to their next opponents. Hapilopper had won their 5th game against Nova Anglicana, and now they would be coming to the Proving Grounds to face the Sherpas.

The good news was the Sherpas were already in Tundra Falls, so the ones who got drunk celebrating their victory over Cassadaigua could sleep it off without being woken up to catch a bus or a plane. The bad news was their pitching staff was still a bit short-handed because of Gan's injury, and it was a best of 7 series. Daki Chuan had risen to the challenge of being the team's fifth starter, but that meant they had one less pitcher available out of the bullpen. (The other bad news -- at least according to Kencha Qureshi, Xiao Wen, and Kami Akunjee -- was that none of the Hapiloppian players were hot, and that made it way less fun to study them.)

Starting pitchers:

1. Zhuang
2. Ai
3. Pham
4. Akunjee
5. Chuan
6. Zhuang
7. Ai

Since the series can't run long enough for a 2nd time through the rotation, you might see Pham or Akunjee coming out of the bullpen in game 6 or 7.

[Newmanistan]

FINAL: The Sherpa Empire vs Hapilopper @ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls
Game 1:

Hapilopper             0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0  4
The Sherpa Empire      0 1 1 0 2 0 0 1 X  5

The Sherpa Empire leads series, 1-0

3rd Place: Cassadaigua vs Nova Anglicana @ Emperor Michael I Stadium, Pocono City
Game 1:

Nova Anglicana         0 0 0 3 0 0 1 1 0  5
Cassadaigua            0 0 0 4 0 0 1 3 X  8

Cassadaigua leads series, 1-0

[The Sherpa Empire]

Samira Akunjee was putting the finishing touches on a cartoony watercolor of fat little marmots playing baseball in a lush green meadow with graceful snow-capped mountains in the distance and ragged clouds racing across the sky. She could do serious art when she wanted to, but sometimes she just wanted to paint marmots in baseball gear. The game was a battle of the sexes with the male marmots in Icefall Doctors' colors and the females in Kathmandu Yetis colors. In the real world, the Icefall Doctors and Yetis only played each other once a year in spring training, and most of the players didn't look like marmots. Kami Akunjee kind of did, and that might have been part of why Samira thought he was cute -- but the others didn't look like marmots.

She leaned back into the padded leather headrest of her chair, squinting at the painting to decide if she was happy with it. It looked okay. She was sitting there debating whether it was done or not when the phone rang.

She rolled the chair back and reached for the phone. "Hello?"

"Hello, may I speak to Kami Akunjee?"

"He's in Newmanistan," said Samira. "Do you, like, not watch baseball?"

"Is this not his number?"

"This is a landline. He's not home right now. May I ask who's calling?"

"This is Dawa from Shen Nong's Miracle Herbs, the Chinese Territories' best-kept secret for supernatural supplements. Our supplements have been proven to improve athletic performance, and they are completely undetectable in a drug test."

"Yeah, we're not interested. Don't call this number again," Samira said, and with that she hung up. She turned back to the watercolor marmots and almost immediately noticed a spot where a shadow was missing. She picked her brush out of the water jar, squeezed the excess water out of it, and went back to work.

---

---

Meanwhile, in Tundra Falls...

Xiao Wen had left a cannister of something sitting on a bench in the locker room. At first the other players assumed it was something ordinary like protein powder or a powdered drink mix, but then Tsheri Pham moved the cannister because he wanted to sit on the bench and he noticed the label.

Pham looked puzzled as he read from the label: "'Shen Nong's Miracle Powder, herbal magic supplement. Boosts muscle growth, increases stamina and mental acuity, improves athletic performance and sexual function.' What is this stuff? Are we allowed to be using this?"

"It's snake oil," said Tandi Ojha.

"No, it's not," said Wen. "It's made from 100% plant-based ingredients."

"I meant it's fake," Ojha clarified.

"It's not fake," Wen said defensively. "It's made with Tao, and yes, we're allowed to use it. The WBC doesn't have any rules against magical supplements."

Ojha laughed. "Especially not when they're fake."

"Those herbal elixirs don't do anything," Akunjee chimed in.

"Let me guess: you tried it to 'improve sexual function'?" said Wen. "That's probably why it didn't work."

Akunjee rolled his eyes. "Fuck off! It doesn't do anything because it's not magic. It's just powdered herbs."

"Then how come it's been working for me?" said Wen.

"That's called the placebo effect," Luochong Zhuang explained, and he launched into one of his infamous scientific lectures.

He was still going when Chongba Lee came in. "Zhuang, I hope you know as much about the Thrashers as you do about drug trials."

"Don't worry, I'm ready to play," Zhuang said cheerfully. "Let's do this thing!"

Lee was relieved. "Good man, let's do this thing!"

Zhuang started the game well, and the hitters were keeping Gibbs on his toes. The Sherpas were up 4-0 after 5 innings, but then in the 6th Zhuang started getting frazzled and losing control of his pitches. With a run on the board and two men on, Chongba Lee came out to the mound to see what was up. Zhuang didn't want to be pulled, and he said he could get out of the jam. He was wrong. Hayden hit a majestic towering home run over the outfield wall and the game was tied. Hayden took a jaunty jog around the bases, looking very smug and self-satisfied. Zhuang was a gentle soul who didn't get riled up about this sort of thing, but some of the other pitchers watching from the bullpen -- particularly Wangdi Ai -- resented Hayden's demeanor.

A pair of hits from Zia and Tan in the bottom of the 8th brought in a run, and the Sherpas went on to win 5-4, but Wangdi Ai was still irritated with Hayden and hoping to take him down a peg.

(OOC: Hap and I talked on Discord about the starting pitchers, and he said he's going to have Gibbs in this game and Skinner the next one.)

[Hapilopper]

The Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls, Newmanistan
The Finals of the 49th World Baseball Classic: Hapilopper v. the Sherpa Empire - Game One
On paper, the Hap Thrashers could not have been pleased with how the first game of the finals had turned out. The Sherpa Empire had bested them, 5-4. But, in all actualities, the Haps didn’t really mind. They didn’t mind the fact they had lost the first game, as it seemed like they had lost the first game of every postseason series. (This wasn’t exactly true, as the Haps had blown out South Newlandia in the Round of 16.)

And better yet, it seemed like the Haps had been competitive with the Sherpa Empire, one of the top baseball powers in all the multiverse. That four-run inning, aided greatly by a three-run blast courtesy of Jerome By-God Hayden, had helped the Haps’ cause a great deal. But there was some concern over the home run and Jerome’s response to it.

For starters, Jerome, by now very well known for his showboating, made a very big deal of the blast. He watched it fly through the air, flipped his bat towards the Hapiloppian dugout and trotted very arrogantly down the basepaths.

It is important to point out that while the Sherpa Empire was very well-known in Hapilopper, that was primarily because of their countrymen’s appearance in the NSSCRA stock car series. In fact, in a recent opinion poll, Sherpa drivers Kai Qiang, Liangmei Li and Rinzi Zakhilwal rated very highly among Hapiloppian fans as their favorites. But the baseball team wasn’t as well known. How would they react to such a display of showmanship from Jerome Hayden? To say the least, manager Dale Moss was not pleased.

“Nice job, Hayden,” Dale said upon Jerome’s return to the dugout. “Don’t pull that showboating shit again.”

And the Haps did lose the game, 5-4, on the strength of some beautiful hits from Sherpalander hitters. But it had been a one-run ballgame and losing one game by one run was not reason to panic. All the Haps did was discuss what they could do better for game two.

“I know one thing we need to do,” Dale Moss told his players. “Let’s start getting our runners home. We stranded six hitters out there. I’m getting really tired of seeing us strand runners when one or two would have gotten us the win. If you’re on base, and you feel like you can get home, for Christ’s sake, just get home! I’m not going to tolerate someone not even trying to come home. Steal a base. Steal two bases. But don’t just stand there!”

Dale also took further issue with Jerome’s showboating, telling his power hitter that such a move could have opened himself up to retaliation to the Sherpalanders. He hadn’t seen how they had reacted after the home run and to tell the truth, he had little knowledge of how they acted after such a move, which was why he was concerned. He wasn’t sure if the Sherpalanders were going to take it in stride or throw 97 at Jerome’s head the next time they played.

“The smart money is you should expect to duck,” Dale told Jerome. “I don’t know if they’re a pack of beanballers or if they’re going to be cool with it. But I’ve seen this before. Someone beans someone when they least expect it.”

“Yeah, like that guy that married my ex-wife,” interrupted Curtis Skinner, who was set to start game two. “I mean, I don’t think showboating after a home run is equal to stealing a guy’s wife, but if someone throws at you, I’ll throw at one of theirs. I’m not going to tolerate someone beaning you just because of that.”

Dale and Jerome looked at Curtis, who appeared to be dead serious.

“You think I’m going to tolerate that shit?” Curtis continued. “I don’t know the Sherpalanders. For all I know they’re great people. I mean, their race drivers seem like real cool people. But my rule is, if someone throws at one of my teammates, I throw at one of them. It’s not too hard to figure out, guys.”

Dale shook his head and put his arm on Curtis’s shoulder.

“Curt, I know this,” Dale said. “You’re right. I know you’re right. You know you’re right. But the eyes of the multiverse are on all of us. Let’s not start a beanball battle, OK? If someone from Sherpa throws at Jerome’s head, we’ll take care of it. But right now? Don’t worry about it. Just get ready for tomorrow night and we’ll be good.”

Curtis understood. He didn’t want to be a part of a beanball battle either. All he wanted to do was put on a stellar performance in what would likely be one of the last baseball games of his career, after a career that dated back to the early 1980s. But at least it would come in the biggest baseball stage of them all.

So Curtis sat down in his seat and started looking at a chart of pitches to throw at the Sherpas for game two. It would be on hell of a challenge, but he knew he was up for it.

[Newmanistan]

FINAL: The Sherpa Empire vs Hapilopper @ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls
Game 2:

Hapilopper             0 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 1  7
The Sherpa Empire      0 0 1 1 1 2 4 0 X  9

The Sherpa Empire leads series, 2-0

3rd Place: Cassadaigua vs Nova Anglicana @ Emperor Michael I Stadium, Pocono City
Game 2:

Nova Anglicana         0 2 0 0 2 1 0 0 1  6
Cassadaigua            0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1  3

series tied, 1-1

[The Sherpa Empire]

The Sherpa Empire and Hapilopper had very different attitudes toward baserunning. In the Sherpa Empire, people didn't steal bases very often because it was too easy to get thrown out. In Hapilopper people thought you must be asleep if you weren't looking for a chance to steal a base.

Base-stealing still existed in Sherpa baseball, and experienced pitchers would learn not to make it too easy -- but Wangdi Ai was the least experienced pitcher on the national team and he wasn't used to having a lot of base-runners. So he wasn't ready for it in the 2nd inning when Hunnisett, who had hit a single, decided to steal 2nd. Ai's throw went wide, Qu couldn't reach it, and the ball dribbled into the outfield while Hunnisett went for 3rd. Chongba Lee, watching from the sidelines, facepalmed. The incident left Ai rattled, and his next pitch stayed up in the zone much more than he had intended. Mo Beverly clobbered it and the Thrashers took an early lead. Lee went out to the mound to calm Ai down, but Ai still struggled to silence the Hapiloppian bats.

The Sherpas were down by 3 by the time Rita Katiyar stepped up to the plate to lead off the bottom of the inning.

They clawed their way back one run at a time until the game was tied 3-3 -- and then things got interesting. The game turned into a wild slugfest, in more than one sense of the word.

Tempers were running high for a combination of reasons. First and most obvious: Both teams were on their first ever trip to the WBC finals, so the stakes were high, and they were taking it all very seriously. Secondly, Ai was annoyed with Hayden -- partly for yesterday's showboating, and partly because when Hayden hit a double in the 3rd inning he took a big lead off the base and Ai had to throw to 2nd multiple times to prevent him stealing 3rd. And third, Wangchu Namkha Qiang had been arguing strike calls again. It was kind of obnoxious.

When Hayden came up again in the top of the 6th, Ai threw a hard fastball at Hayden's head and sparked a brawl and got both of them thrown out of the game -- along with Rita Katiyar. Hayden charged the mound. Katiyar tried to tackle him, but a shove from Hayden sent him tumbling unceremoniously into the grass spluttering obscenities. Ai and Hayden traded a couple of punches before their coaches and teammates managed to separate them, and Ai left the field with a nasty black eye. To make matters worse, or at least more confusing, the language barrier meant that neither Ai nor Hayden understood a word of what the other was shouting at him.

Sangakkar got rushed out to the mound on short notice and immediately gave up a run that put Hapilopper back in the lead.

Curtis Skinner got ejected later in a separate incident, and nobody in either bullpen seemed to be able to get 3 outs in a row now that the batters on both teams were riled up.

Murthy nearly got himself ejected in yet another separate incident when he lost his temper after having a balk called on him.

By the end of the game, nearly everyone was exhausted and most of them had found something to get pissed off about. All the hitting and running and fighting had made for a long game, but somehow the Sherpas came out on top with a final score of 9-7.

---

---

A good night's rest did a lot to cool everyone's tempers, but Chongba Lee still wanted to talk about what had happened before the team took the field for game 3. "Qiang and Murthy, you guys need to stop blowing a fuse when a call doesn't go your way. Especially you, Qiang. Leave it to me to argue the call if it's really bad. Wangdi, don't start shit like that. It's not funny. Pham, I know you weren't part of the fight yesterday, but please don't bean anyone. We don't need another brawl. Akunjee, same thing tomorrow. I know you like to throw at people..."

"What? Who said I like to throw at people?" Akunjee protested. He sounded offended, but he did have a reputation for "accidentally" hitting a lot of batters when he was pissed off.

"Just don't start any shit, okay?"

"Okay, but why are you telling me?" said Akunjee. "Pham is pitching today and Wangdi is the one who started the brawl yesterday."

"I'm telling you because I know you like to throw at people," said Lee. "Use your brain for a second."

[Hapilopper]

The Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls, Newmanistan
The Finals of the 49th World Baseball Classic: Hapilopper v. the Sherpa Empire – Game Two
Before the start of the second game of the finals, all anyone could talk about at that point was the sudden and somewhat-inexplicable switch between Curtis Skinner and Hot Sauce Gibbs before the first game. It was a surprise to everyone when Hot Sauce, and not Curtis, was starting for the Haps for game one. The Haps weren’t talking before the first game, and manager Dale Moss refused to speak to reporters after game one. But it wasn’t anything all that suspicious.

Before the second game, Dale explained the move was an attempt to change strategies a bit.

“We figured the Sherpas were preparing for Curtis and not Hot Sauce, so we gave them Hot Sauce,” Dale said. “It was merely a strategic move and nothing else. We figured that by switching things up, we’d throw them off their game. Unfortunately that didn’t happen, but we’ll see what happens with Curtis.”

For a brief moment, it seemed like Curtis had been up for the challenge of the mighty Sherpalanders, striking out six in the first three innings of the game, as the Haps held a lead for much of the first half of the game, and it seemed possible that the Hap Thrashers could even the series at one game apiece. But that’s not what happened. Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact.

In the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings, the Sherpalanders scored a run each, tying the game and putting real concern in the hearts of the Haps. But Dale still had faith in his 56-year old starting pitcher. He felt that, when the going got tough, Curtis could still get the job done and get Sherpa hitters out when needed. He also had faith that his hitters could get the job done and plate some runs. But then, in the 6th and 7th innings, all went wrong.

And it might have started when Jerome Hayden finally, and we do mean FINALLY, got a receipt for all of his showboating that he had pulled off during the entirety of the World Baseball Classic. The first pitch thrown from Sherpa pitcher Wangdi Ai was aimed right at Jerome’s head. Jerome turned around and looked at Ai and appeared to mouth the words “you motherfucker!” at him. He looked at the Hapiloppian dugout, who were starting to move towards the field, and ran like hell for the mound.

The Hap Thrashers rushed towards the mound in an attempt to break up the chaos, and for a brief moment, the final of the World Baseball Classic turned into all-out warfare. Jerome was almost tackled by Rita Katiyar, and got some punches in on Ai before getting held down by a number of players from both teams, including Mo Beverly, who appeared to shout some things at his fellow Hapiloppian, including an “I-told-you-so” for all that showboating. And yet again, Hapiloppians had gotten involved in another bench-clearing skirmish. There had been one against the Free Republics in one of the Hap Thrashers’ first games as an international squad. There had been one against Terre Septentrionale after one of Hapilopper’s players decided they needed one to boost the morale. And now there had been one against the Sherpa Empire.

Whatever happened, the pictures of Jerome charging the mound and getting tackled was on the front pages of newspapers across the Dominion and was the subject of arguments and counter-arguments on every sports show and opinion page for the next week. Some loved it. Others loathed it. Some felt Jerome had finally gotten what he had deserved after all this time of showboating and excessive assholery. Others thought it bordered on criminal for a Sherpa pitcher to throw at him for the crime of showboating.

But it was not over. About 24 hours after pledging to throw at a Sherpa hitter if someone hit Jerome intentionally with a pitch, Curtis Skinner realized he had to follow through on that promise. The first batter up was Wangchu Qiang. Curtis didn’t know the guy. He didn’t have anything against him. But a promise was a promise. This wasn’t personal. It was strictly business.

So, as Jerome Hayden was grabbing a couple of cold beers from a cooler and stepping into a cold tub in the clubhouse, Curtis followed through on the promise he made him and threw the very first pitch of the at-bat behind the head of Qiang. The home plate umpire, deciding he wasn’t about to let these hostilities continue, responded by immediately ejecting both Curtis and Dale Moss for the intentional brushback (or brush-forward) pitch. Curtis knew it was coming and started walking off the field. But Dale rushed towards the umpire and started giving him more than a little bit of static, arguing that the umpire didn’t have the authority to eject Curtis because no warnings had been issued, and on top of that, the pitch didn’t hit Qiang.

But, to the umpire, that was irrelevant. He argued with Dale that the bench-clearing brawl had served as its own warning, and whether or not the pitch made contact did not matter. It was the intent instead that counted.

Dale responded by shaking his head in a very animated fashion and storming off the field.

So, as the game started to get out of control, Jerome looked over to see Curtis joining him in a cold tub.

“Promise is a promise, Hayden,” Curtis said, grabbing a cold beer.

“Wait, you actually…?”

“Threw right behind the guy’s head,” Curtis explained. “I told you I’d do it if you got plunked. Either way, it had to be done. I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror if I let that go past without me responding. I don’t really give a shit that I got ejected. Someone beans my teammate, I bean one of theirs. It’s just business.”

The problem, though, was that the Haps lost this one too, and the Sherpalanders pulled out to a 2-0 lead. The Haps had to get their rear in gear if they were going to be competitive against the mighty Sherpa Empire. Victor Foster, with a cocktail of what he simply called “exotic materials,” might have been the one to do it. He wasn’t saying what those exotic materials were, just that they were exotic and were going to help his pitches spin a little more fluidly.

[Newmanistan]

FINAL: The Sherpa Empire vs Hapilopper @ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls
Game 3:

The Sherpa Empire      0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0  3
Hapilopper             1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 X  4

The Sherpa Empire leads series, 2-1

3rd Place: Cassadaigua vs Nova Anglicana @ Emperor Michael I Stadium, Pocono City
Game 3:

Cassadaigua            2 0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0  7
Nova Anglicana         0 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  5

Cassadaigua leads series, 2-1

[The Sherpa Empire]

Tandi Ojha noticed that there was something unusual about Victor Foster's pitches, but he guessed wrong about the cause. "It reminds me of Jamling Ihawa or Dorji Thakali," Ojha said as he stood in the dugout watching Tianling Qiao whiff. "Do you know if they have blood magic in Hapilopper?"

Chongba Lee laughed. "I hope not. Hapiloppians with blood magic sounds like a recipe to blow things up and get people killed."

Ojha was still convinced the unusual movement on Foster's pitches was due to magic. "I wonder if he's using a talisman... They really should check for that at international games, even if it's not an issue in the local league."

Lee shrugged. "I don't think the WBC has a rule about talismans."

Ojha looked dumbfounded. "What? So I can just go out and buy a talisman that lets me see everything in slow motion and use it in a WBC game?"

"No because the Sports Department will throw you off the team," said Lee. "That's cheating."

"But if the Sports Department allowed it, the WBC people wouldn't do anything?"

"I don't think they have a rule against it," said Lee.

Ojha looked around the dugout like his whole world had just been rocked. "Then why the fuck are we not doing it?"

"Because it's CHEATING!" Lee answered.

"But you just said they don't have a rule against it!"

"Cheating is still cheating," said Lee.

Ojha understood Lee's position, but he didn't agree with it. He thought if there was a loophole in the rules that other teams could exploit, then the Sherpas should be exploiting it too. The idea that Foster might be breaking the rules had not really occurred to him.

"If it's cheating, then why don't you say anything when the Hapiloppians do it?" asked Yawei Qu, who had overheard the conversation.

"Because I can't prove anything," Lee said. "I didn't think to bring a magic detector."

Tsheri Pham had some trouble finding his groove, giving up 4 runs in the first 4 innings. The Sherpas started to mount a comeback in the 5th and 6th, but came up short and lost 3-4.

[Newmanistan]

FINAL: The Sherpa Empire vs Hapilopper @ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls
Game 4:

The Sherpa Empire      1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1  4
Hapilopper             0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1  3

The Sherpa Empire leads series, 3-1

3rd Place: Cassadaigua vs Nova Anglicana @ Emperor Michael I Stadium, Pocono City
Game 4:

Cassadaigua            4 1 8 0 0 0 0 0 2 15
Nova Anglicana         0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  2

Cassadaigua wins series, 3-1

[Hapilopper]

The Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls, Newmanistan
The Finals of the 49th World Baseball Classic: Hapilopper v. the Sherpa Empire – Game Four
There was a level of controversy between games three and four of the finals of the World Baseball Classic, as Hapiloppian pitcher Vic Foster’s pitches looked a little too interesting to be natural. This was not the first time questions had been raised over his pitches, and it’s not like he had been discreet about it. But this was the finals of the World Baseball Classic, and it seemed all of Hapilopper was watching the games, so Vic’s pitches had been under a deeper microscope than it would have been.

His performance had led Hapilopper to a 4-3 victory in Game Three, but talking heads wondered just why the National League of Hapilopper and World Baseball Classic officials had not put their foot down.

“Let’s face it, in any other nation this would be considered cheating,” said H-Sports talking head Stephen Hurtsley. “I remember the massive debate we had about 20 years ago about spitballers. Nobody likes them, so why are we allowing this to happen?”

“To say the very least, the NLH needs to review the spitballer loophole,” said Todd Sutton of the Buckridge Sentinel. “As happy as I am with Vic’s performance in Game Three, I wonder how legit this is, and I wonder if some would consider Vic’s pitches to be some kind of strange magic. Hapiloppians are not magical creatures – as in, they do not possess magical abilities, but I can’t help but wonder if some would think that that’s what caused Vic’s pitches to spin the way they did.”

Sutton, of course, was using sportswriter’s hyperbole, which is another way of saying “he was just bullshitting in an attempt to get eyes on his writing.” He had no first-hand knowledge of any kind of magical being. But it was enough to get some of his readers wondering just what a magical Hapiloppian being would be like, knowing Hapilopper’s potentially-unfortunate reputation for idiocy.

One reader suggested that a magical Hapiloppian being would unfortunately be known for unusual accidents in the most interesting of locations – such as a high school science lab. “The person decides to impress his girlfriend by launching a spell, unfortunately in the middle of a chemistry teacher showing off a potassium explosion. Dumbass kid launches a spell, and next thing you know, that day’s 5 o’clock news leads off with the dumbass that nuked the science lab.”

Another reader suggested such a being would use his powers for something interesting. “So I’m writing this letter from a famous place where Hapiloppians set land speed records. Imagine somebody with magical powers. He’s trying to break the 500 mph barrier out here, so he launches this spell and next thing you know he’s accidentally teleported himself to some strange time where I imagine everyone looks exactly like that coach for the Xannerian football team.”

Either way, the hashtag #MagicHapiloppians trended on social media for most of the day, and even a few famous people got a hold of it. Like Drake Stevenson, who took the chance to roast an old teammate.

“Could you imagine Chris Holmes with magic powers?” Drake asked on social media. “I mean, just one word. Kaboom.”

But the Haps were not doing well in the finals. The Sherpa Empire took game four, 4-3, in another agonizingly close game, a game that could have gone another way entirely were it not for Dayton Rowe, the baserunner representing the tying run in the bottom of the ninth, doing something idiotic on the basepaths. But perhaps calling it “idiotic” was being unfair to Dayton.

Having thought he had seen an opening, Dayton took off and ran for home, in an attempt to steal home. But he mistimed the run and was caught stealing at home, ending the game and giving the Sherpalanders a 3-1 edge in the finals. After the game, manager Dale Moss didn’t get that upset with Dayton, stating that being aggressive on the basepaths was a Hapiloppian trademark.

“Players in Hapilopper make moves that, if they work, they’re ballsy, but if they don’t work, they’re stupid,” Dale said. “Remember that walkoff suicide squeeze that decided the NLH title a few years ago? If that didn’t work, people would have called it the dumbest thing they had ever seen. Hapiloppian ballplayers gamble. That’s all Dayton did. If it worked, y’all would have called that the best thing you had ever seen.”

With the possibility of getting beaten by the Sherpas looking quite distinct, the Haps had to play harder, more desperate and more aggressive than ever before. Cole Winthrop, the cool, calm and collected pitcher, would take the bump for game five, and he looked ready throughout the day leading up to the game. This was the kind of situation custom made for him.

And honestly, everyone else looked calm too. They had borrowed their cues from Cole, who wasn’t letting the pressures of losing the series get to him. The Haps had to go for broke in game five. Otherwise, they were out.

[The Sherpa Empire]

The Sherpas were getting warmed up for game 4.

"Can I throw spitballs?" Kami Akunjee asked.

Chongba Lee looked annoyed. "Are you asking whether it's physically possible, or are you asking if you're allowed to?"

"I'm asking if I'm allowed," said Akunjee. "I already know how."

"No," said Lee.

Between games 3 and 4, there had been a lot of talk about Foster's pitching, and Akunjee and Lee had both realized there was a simple non-magical explanation. Lee had raised the issue with WBC officials, but they were still "reviewing" the situation.

"Can I throw underhand?" Akunjee asked.

"No," said Lee.

"Not, like, the whole game, but..."

"No!" Lee insisted. "Akunjee, please, you can do this without any weird gimmicks. Just go out there and stick to what you're good at. If you want to experiment with weird shit, you can do that in spring training -- but not this game."

Akunjee might have had a few screws loose, but he got the message. And he knew Lee was right -- his usual repertoire was good enough to win without resorting to stupid gimmicks. There was no reason to fix something that wasn't broken.

He gave up 2 runs in 6 and 2/3 innings before handing the ball off to Sangakkar. Bharadhwaj pitched an uneventful 8th inning, but uneventful was good. With a 1-run lead, the Sherpas weren't looking for too much excitement.

In the 9th things got interesting. Geli Ananthan gave the Sherpas an insurance run with a solo homer, but then Roshan struggled to shut the Hapiloppian offense down in the bottom of the inning. Levi Berry came in to score, and the Sherpas' lead was down to 1 run -- with Dayton Rowe on 3rd representing the tying run. The pressure was on. Pei Tan bobbled a catch and the ball got under him, rolling off into the grass. Rowe leapt at the chance to run for home while Tan was busy digging it out. Tan saw what was happening and had a moment of panic, but he managed to hustle the ball back to the plate just in time to tag Rowe out. It was one of those plays that got played over in slow motion on SISN, so the fans watching from home could see the exact timing -- but Rowe really was out.

The Sherpas just needed one more win, but they could be sure the Haps would fight like hell to stop them from getting it. Lee hoped Daki Chuan was ready to pitch under that kind of pressure.

Chuan had started big games before, but this was something else. "If you put this in a movie, people would complain that it was unrealistic," she said to Luochong Zhuang over dinner the night before game 5. "I mean what are the odds that the same year they put the first woman on the national team, we go to the finals for the first time ever, I get moved to the rotation, and I end up pitching a game that could decide the whole series?"

Zhuang gave her an encouraging smile. "What are the odds they put the first woman on the national team, and she actually talks to me? All these other men around, and you still listen to me rambling about the price of saffron. That's way more unrealistic than anything that's happened on the field."

"Zhuang, you're the nicest guy on the team," said Chuan. "Being a nerd isn't the terrible turn-off people make it out to be."

[Newmanistan]

FINAL: The Sherpa Empire vs Hapilopper @ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls
Game 5:

Hapilopper             0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  2
The Sherpa Empire      0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

The Sherpa Empire leads series, 3-2