World Baseball Classic Discussion Thread

[Free Republics]

Council Breakdown
This was the Council prior to WBC 47:

Abanhfleft
Banija
Beepee
Cassadaigua
Drawkland
Ethane
Free Republics
Hampton Island
Ko-oren
Liventia
Lycrabon
Newmanistan
Nova Anglicana
Schiltzberg
Terre Septentrionale (formerly Union of Socialist Alpine Republics, Alpine Union and Southern Democratic States)
The Derpy Democratic Republic of Herp (Scootalove City)
The Sherpa Empire
Tierra de Castro
Vangaziland
West Phoenicia

The following nation did not produce a roster and RP during WBC 46 and 47, and are removed from the Council: Beepee, Ethane, Schiltzberg, Scootalove City, Tierra de Castro, Vangaziland

The following nations did not produce a roster and RP during WBC 47 and will be removed from the Council if they do the same in WBC 48: Lycrabon, Nova Anglicana, Terre Septentrionale (was roster only)

The following new nations posted a roster and RP during both WBC 47 and 48, and are eligible for vote at this time: Hapilopper, The Greater Nordics, Xanneria/A Mushroom Kingdom

The following new nations posted a roster and RP during WBC 47, and would be eligible for an induction vote after WBC 48 if they did the same: Anthor, Bolgano, The Sarian

There are two matters for WBC Council members to vote on:
VOTE 1: WBC Council: On the matter of the following joining the council, please vote For, Against, or Abstain for each of the following:

Hapilopper
The Greater Nordics
Xanneria

VOTE 2: Hall of Fame Voting: The Hall of Fame Spreadsheet has been updated for the first time since after WBC 43. There are 2 nations up for vote. West Phoenicia had reached 10 points after WBC 45 but, due to an oversight, this was missed at the time. Ko-oren has also reached 10 points with their second place finish in this WBC. Please vote: for, against, or abstain for each of the following.

West Phoenicia
Ko-oren

Per the Constitution, West Phoenicia and Ko-oren must abstain on their own Hall of Fame votes.

Send all votes together to my puppet, Acedonia, by 9 AM EST on Sunday November 17th.

[Drawkland]

I'm on the ball this cycle! Check out the new Post-47 WBC rankings HERE!

As always, let me know if I made any mistakes.

[Free Republics]

The vote deadline has passed. The results are:

Council Membership

Hapilopper - 9 for, 1 against, 1 abstain
Greater Nordics - 4 for, 5 against, 2 abstain
Xanneria - 6 for, 3 against, 2 abstain

Therefore, Hapilopper and Xanneria are added to the WBC Council. The new membership of the Council stands as follows:

Abanhfleft
Banija
Cassadaigua
Drawkland
Free Republics
Hampton Island
Hapilopper
Ko-oren
Liventia
Lycrabon*
Newmanistan
Nova Anglicana*
Terre Septentrionale (formerly Union of Socialist Alpine Republics, Alpine Union and Southern Democratic States)*
The Sherpa Empire
West Phoenicia
Xanneria

*Must post roster and RP in WBC 48 to maintain membership

---

Hall of Fame Voting

Ko-oren - 10 for, 1 abstain
West Phoenicia - 6 for, 3 against, 2 abstain

Therefore both Ko-oren and West Phoenicia are now members of the WBC Hall of Fame.

---

I also just realized while modifying the spreadsheet to induct our new Hall of Fame members that I had missed Ethane's Hall of Fame eligibility. Ethane was eligible after WBC 44 but has yet to be voted upon. Therefore, he will be put up for a vote with the Council and Hall of Fame vote after WBC 48 so that we don't have to hold another vote right now.

[Free Republics]

Signups are now open for WBC 48!

[Brooklyn and Queens]

Baseball is back peeps, and it's about time too. The MLB offseason has been so painful to watch

[Sarzonia]

I don't know how much access I'll have to RP and post a roster considering my internet connection limits with the coronavirus craziness, but I'll do the best I can.

[Nova Anglicana]

I am feeling what Cassadaigua said about 2-1 series wins; progress, but never enough. We’re 9-3 in our last 12 games, really good, but that opening sweep(!) against Krigiersien really killed us. Group 4 is the closest group, with only three games separating first from sixth. Props and thanks to West Phoenicia and Daskel for making this a fun group to be in. We just need a much better second half if we expect to be competitive in the playoffs.

[Drawkland]

Cassadaigua brought to my attention that the forums were down for an hour or so earlier today. I briefly considered moving the schedule back another day to make up for this, but since the forums appear to have been fine for awhile now, I'm scratching that idea. I'm gonna make sure the cutoff is in the later end of the window, just in case.

[Hampton Island]

I'd like to politely point out that we are the Pot 1 team in Group 1.
I have read multiple RP's now saying Abanhfleft is the Pot 1 team. Thanks!

[Nova Anglicana]

I'd like to politely point out that we are the Pot 1 team in Group 1.
I have read multiple RP's now saying Abanhfleft is the Pot 1 team. Thanks!

Noted and corrected.

[Drawkland]

Sorry for the late notice, but the next MD is being pushed back a day, along with the rest of the schedule.

[Drawkland]

Sorry for the late notice, but the next MD is being pushed back a day, along with the rest of the schedule.

Unfortunately, I will have to start cutting off the WBC earlier from now on ... instead of the cutoff window being 11pm-1am Eastern time, it will be modified to 10pm-11pm Eastern. The schedule in the OP will be updated tomorrow (as well as, ideally, my IC info, etc).

Thanks for rolling with the punches everyone!

[Newmanistan]

What a wild series that was against Cassadaigua, four of the five games won with a walk off. Back and forth dramatic game five. A series for the ages! Congrats, Cass! Not sure if the final can top that in terms of its excitement.

[Drawkland]

What a wild series that was against Cassadaigua, four of the five games won with a walk off. Back and forth dramatic game five. A series for the ages! Congrats, Cass! Not sure if the final can top that in terms of its excitement.

My jaw literally dropped when xkoranate spat out that result. It's definitely a fitting end for what's been an absolutely banger of a series. I'm not sure the championship series will be able to compete with that level of craziness either

[Cassadaigua]

Great series! Good thing it's not real, because if it was, I think they would be too drained after that to be ready for Game 1 the next day of the finals!

[Newmanistan]

What a wild series that was against Cassadaigua, four of the five games won with a walk off. Back and forth dramatic game five. A series for the ages! Congrats, Cass! Not sure if the final can top that in terms of its excitement.

My jaw literally dropped when xkoranate spat out that result. It's definitely a fitting end for what's been an absolutely banger of a series. I'm not sure the championship series will be able to compete with that level of craziness either

I doubt it! It is an interesting championship pairing, wish both of them the best! Try to put on at least half the show that this semifinal did.
Been an exciting Classic, my motivation was really down in 47 but really got rekindled here. Quarantine life might have helped that but it was fun!

[Banija]

That was one hell of a series! Two blue bloods going at it in that kind of fashion, and ending like that? If you had a series IRL like that, Idk how you'd emotionally be able to prepare for the next one haha.

Comiserations to Newmanistan- that's a brutal way to go out. But two deserving players in the Championship Series. Best of luck to all!

[Cassadaigua]

If you had a series IRL like that, Idk how you'd emotionally be able to prepare for the next one haha.

I have no idea, so I'm glad that scores are computer generated.

[Newmanistan]

I had an idea earlier today that both Cassadaigua and Nova Anglicana were interested in.
Basically, I'll be releasing the results of this game inning-by-inning, adding an inning every 45-60 minutes.
Stick around and check every few hours to watch the game progress! Good luck to both the competitors.

I must say, this is genius!

[Drawkland]

I had an idea earlier today that both Cassadaigua and Nova Anglicana were interested in.
Basically, I'll be releasing the results of this game inning-by-inning, adding an inning every 45-60 minutes.
Stick around and check every few hours to watch the game progress! Good luck to both the competitors.

I must say, this is genius!

Gotta give credit to Cass and Nova, without their approval I wouldn't be able to do this

[Newmanistan]

This still isn't over? Might this top our semifinal?

[Drawkland]

This still isn't over? Might this top our semifinal?

Not quite, but it was still a great game! Real glad Maggie spit this one out, and that we were able to pull off this inning-by-inning thing.

Thanks to everyone for RP'ing this Classic. This was really my first solo hosting job of a major tournament, and I'm stoked that everything went smoothly. I think I might have to throw up another WBC bid sometime soon

Congrats, of course, to Nova Anglicana, winning their first major tournament ever! And commiserations to Cass, Newman, and all the rest who fell short.

I don't think I'll be able to do the ranks tonight, but I'll definitely be able to get it done tomorrow. Stay tuned!

[Nova Anglicana]

First of all, thank you to Cassadaigua for making this finals series an epic battle. This is probably the most fun I've had on this site in years, and maybe not coincidentally, the hardest I've RP'd in a competition in recent memory. My condolences on not winning, but there's always Drawkian hopes for you to dash in WBC 49!

To Drawkland, for hosting an incredible WBC. Very successful in terms of number of posts, level of participation, and of course, the epic way that game 7 was handled. Thank you so very much.

To everyone else, thanks for participating in a great WBC! The Newmanistan/Cassadaigua semifinal was incredible. Thank you to Sherpa, Ko-oren, Banija, Hampton Island, West Phoenicia, and others for fun RP lines. Sarzonia, welcome back, I enjoyed reading everything you posted! To the newbies like South Newlandia, TJUN-ia, Daskel, Inner AginanaUsordia, I hope you enjoyed your debut and come on back!

Having been President during some down times, I'm really happy to see the WBC thriving. Long live baseball on NS!

[Newmanistan]

Nova Anglicana, welcome to the WBC Champions club at long last. We've been waiting for you!
Drawkland, terrific job from start to finish. Epic way to showcase the final score, and you got a great scoreline to do exactly that.

This ended up being a great Classic with great moments. Well done to everyone.

[Nova Anglicana]

Nova Anglicana, welcome to the WBC Champions club at long last. We've been waiting for you!
Drawkland, terrific job from start to finish. Epic way to showcase the final score, and you got a great scoreline to do exactly that.

This ended up being a great Classic with great moments. Well done to everyone.

Thanks, Newmanistan! It feels good to be part of the club. I should be able to put up a post today to tie a ribbon on this momentous event for us.

When the exhaustion from this Classic has subsided, I have a proposal for a baseball tournament as a fun little palate-cleanser between WBCs. The International Baseball Slam was started as a small, fun, baseball tournament by Gregoryisgodistan, now South Covello, sometime in 2013(?). I'm not quite sure. My first participating was September of 2013, and that was IBS III, so it may have been started in 2012.

In any case, it was discontinued after 10 events in 2016 (around WBC 38). In my recollection, that time was a bit of a low point for baseball on NS. But there may be more interest now, given that we had nearly 50 participants for this WBC.

So what do people think about reviving the IBS? My hope is that it can be a way to keep newbies engaged, allow for other NS Sports folks to dip their toe into baseball without the pressure of a major tournament, and allow for some fun and experimental RP lines. Sound off on whether or not you'd be interested in getting this started in a few weeks!

EDIT: I should note that I reached out to Greg/South Covello and I do have his permission.