The Wild Kards
19 years on from their crowning glory of 3rd place in WBC 31, promptly followed by the outbreak of a civil war that would pull the nation from the public eye, the Wild Kards have finally pulled together enough support and organization to make a return to the international scene.
Note: There are intelligent ponies on this team. If you are interested in finding out more about how they physically play baseball, shoot me a TG or discord DM and I'd be happy to explain. The ground rules for them are as follows: Pegasi aren't allowed to use their wings to fly, be it in the field or on the basepaths. Unicorns can't use their magic while a ball is in flight, either off a bat or after being thrown.
Karditani teams are known to be prone to errors, and as a result pitchers are trained to rely heavily on strikeouts. The squad selected this cycle features probably the cream of the defensive crop that the Karditani Baseball League (KBL) has to offer, but obviously the pitchers won't upend everything they know about how to approach the game because of that. Starters can reach pitch counts of 110-120 regularly but will rarely complete games as they burn through pitches quickly going for those strikeouts. Pitchers are generally capable enough with the bat, and are especially known for driving in runners in scoring position to help their own cause; there's a long-standing tradition of having them hit ahead of catchers, who devote themselves entirely to their defensive and pitcher-supporting responsibilities.
Manager: Gale Wind, 45, #22. The star of the Wild Kard team that made two semifinals in a row, then had her career cut disastrously short by the war breaking out in her age-27 season. She's been called upon to return and try to lead a new generation to glory. A pegasus who was a three-tool stud in her time, possessing blazing speed and a cannon for a wing alongside prodigious pop. When the KBL went to shit and she had to hole up to avoid a collapsing society, she took to perusing the deeper parts of the internet and found an appreciation for the nerdier side of the sport. She'd always been happy to take a walk but seeing the numbers that bore out how important plate discipline really is has had a great effect on her managerial style.
Hitting Coach: Batl Skard, 54, #5. The Wild Kards survived the war much better than the Ironworkers (Karditan's gridiron team) did, meaning there's a lot more talent still alive to return as coaches. Skard was the star for the early Kards and a veteran presence through their glory run, and was a wizard with the bat--having unparalleled vision and discipline at the same time, making him an absurdly difficult out. This obviously plays well in Wind's gameplan--crank that OBP.
Pitching Coach: Manny D'aquisto, 45, #7. Wind's equivalent in the rotation, a young pitcher who was just coming into his own on those elite Kards teams. Born and raised in the strikeout-obsessed culture of that era, he's carried that focus forward when coaching this team.
Lineup: (Batting order, position, name, age, #, bat/throw, info)
1. LF Skyline, 23, #14, S/L; A pegasus with a serious set of wheels. Played through their teens as the typical slap-hitting bunting type, but is getting rigorously coached on how to wait back and draw walks. Has advanced enough in that field to be trusted with the leadoff spot, but still has lots of room to improve.
2. 2B Bryan Brady, 31, #25, R/R; Has comically little power, but elite plate vision and discipline. Just a hair under half his KBL at-bats end up with him on first base.
3. 3B Adam Ezell, 26, #29, R/R; A solid all-round player with great contact, solid power, a sharp eye, and a quick glove. Isn't a slouch on the basepaths, either.
4. RF Artillery "Art" Support, 25, #77, S/R; The squad's Big Bopper. A pegasus who learned the tricks of chucking balls and hitting bombs from Gale Wind herself. Lacks her speed, but makes up for it with a much better sense for fielding catches cleanly.
5. 1B Vera Cruz, 26, #15, R/R; Another all-rounder, Vera has a similar skillset to Ezell with less speed and more pop. And she's a tall drink of water that's a vacuum at first base.
6. CF Asdrúbal Ramírez, 28, #2, L/L; Yet another all-rounder. You can tell there's a pattern to Wind's player selection here: Players with few weaknesses and above average discipline. Ramírez fits that bill perfectly, a steady glove and quick legs to cover center and a propensity for walking. Has enough pop to require pitcher's respect but is far from a dinger demon.
7. C Robert Humphries, 30; #9, R/R; I know what we said in the blurb up top about catchers not hitting, but Humphries has been a generational talent in the KBL by balancing his defensive responsibilities with a quality bat. Serves as the secondary cleanup hitter if everyone in front of him ended up walking; about as much of a homer threat as Ezell.
8. Pitcher
9. SS Tremor, 27, #19, R/R; An earth pony pure defensive specialist chosen because of a relative dearth of shortstop talent in the KBL right now. He's a black hole both on the field and in the lineup.
With DH: Add in Doyle Christain (listed below) in 6th, shift everyone else down one.
Bench:
C Backstop, 24, #86, R/R; Cut from more traditional Karditani catcher cloth, any time that she'd otherwise spend in the batting cages goes to working with the pitching staff to maximize familiarity and coordiation.
1B Braeden Carlisle, 32, #10, L/L; The neu-KBL's premier power threat, he's been snubbed from the starting lineup for his bad OBP track record and age. Still took the invite to play for the team knowing he'd at least be pinch hitting in high-leverage glory-chasing situations.
SS/2B Charles Stubbs, 22, #40, L/R; Something of a diamond in the rough. He's got prodigious power and great speed, but still needs lots of work on his discipline and fielding. Most scouts and coaches have confidence that these aren't insurmountable obstacles but may take a few years--when everything clicks, watch out.
3B/2B Sara Kovačić, 23, #36, R/R; Solid hands, solid glove, and patient: The Formula. Sara looks to be the heir apparent to Brady's second base; not quite as insane an OBP, but with some real pop that could produce unreal OPS numbers if left unchecked.
LF/CF Miguel Robles, 21, #16, L/L; Projected to be Yet Another All-Rounder, but perhaps with a bit more upside. May be able to reach elite power given time.
RF/LF/1B/3B Corner Case, 24, #99, S/R; A unicorn with good power and strong throwing technique but has trouble holding down a consistent starting spot. Makes headway through providing a higher level of offensive play than most utility players.
DH Doyle Christain, 44, #17, S/R; The last of the original Wild Kards still in playing condition. He never ran to begin with, so his legs turning to dust didn't matter. Still a fiend with the stick, pretty much everything you'd want out of a batter. Even if he's been setting error records playing first base for the worst teams in the KBL since we don't use the DH in any capacity.
UTIL Omnipresence, 27, #00, R/R; A unicorn who regularly plays 3+ positions in every game they're in. Rarely makes a notable play but never makes an egregious mistake; competent but forgettable with the bat.
Rotation:
P Pablo Maraville, 29, #32, R/R; Commonly considered the best starter in the KBL at the moment. Packs three different fastballs of slightly different speeds and very different movement, alongside a 12-6 curve and a changeup to maximize speedplay.
P Southhoof, 27, #84, L/L; Gives Maraville a run for his money, and is without a doubt the best pony pitcher. They rely on a cutter for jamming righties and a slider for catching lefties chasing.
P Ramon Villanueva, 25, #57, R/L; One of many flamethrowers the new-look KBL produces. Loves to challenge hitters with high cheese and pulls the string with a knuckle-curve.
P Frankie Sandoval, 23, #47, R/R; The least strikeout-centric of this staff, packing merely a mid-90s fastball and having a sinker in their inventory. Still hardly a "pitch-to-contact" pitcher in the grand scheme of things, but in relation to his peers he might as well be.
Bullpen:
LR Zane Clark, 21, #43, L/L; Predicted to end up in the Kards' rotation at some point, though estimations of whether they're an ace or a third-slot are still fuzzy. Currently throws mid-90s but should make it to the highs in two or three years.
LR Jawbreaker, 28, #55, R/R; A pegasus with a much heavier build than most of her kind. Nothing special in terms of stuff, but is remarkably consistent for very long outings; if a starter gets chased out in the first few innings, she can finish the game with ease.
MR Katarina Giles, 26, #9, R/R; Another flamethrower. Preferred strikeout pitch is a slider. Will often hit for herself, or even be put in to pinch hit then left in to pitch.
MR Rocket, 24, #69, R/R; A unicorn who's yet another flamethrower. Set apart by her extra flames--a fastball that regularly reaches 102 and has spiked as high as 105--but has yet to really develop a second pitch.
MR Gino Lofton, 27, #22, R/L; The resident lefty specialist. Not as flamethrower-y, but still brings a high 90s fastball with a devastating changeup.
SU Henry Valdez, 22, #21, R/R; A hot prospect with an astoundingly solid standard inventory. Fastball that touches 100, changeup, slider. All quality.
CP Dave Saroyan, 28, #3, R/R; The top reliever in the KBL since its return. High-90s heat, a table-dropping splitter, and a changeup that breaks in on righties to induce even more over-swinging.
Home Stadium: Big Island Field, Ponyburgh. A state-of-the-art stadium in the resurgent downtown of the old industrial city, next door to sister stadium Island Junction that hosted the World Bowl final. Seats 60,000 thanks to the financial backing of Big Island Dressing, a condiment corporation founded in Ponyburgh who's primary product line has become the signature sauce of Karditan's southwestern cuisine and become commonplace across the nation.
Dimensions from left-to-right (in Standard Imperial Length Units) are 330 - 360 - 400 - 375 - 345.
RP Permissions:
Choose my run-scorers: Yes
Choose my lineup: No
Follow my Pitching Rotation: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Yes
RP injuries to my players: No
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Eject my players: Yes (1 or 2 max, and try to make it funny)
DH used at home: No
Godmod other events: Yes (no killing, no plagues, and funnier is better)
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67174175/1264599045.jpg.0.jpg)
