World Baseball Classic Discussion Thread

[Silvedania]

You would be correct. I finally figured out how to ressurect the original name. YAY!

Nice to meet you!

[World Baseball Classic]

For anyone wondering about World Baseball Classic signups, my plan is to open them in around 10 days. This is so a lot of the tournament can be happening during real MLB Spring Training, and around opening day.

[Grey County]

For anyone wondering about World Baseball Classic signups, my plan is to open them in around 10 days. This is so a lot of the tournament can be happening during real MLB Spring Training, and around opening day.

Thank you

[World Baseball Classic]

World Baseball Classic 51 signups are open

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

That bid photo warms my heart so much.....

[Cassadaigua]

This is more of a domestic baseball post, but if anyone has players in their nation that they would like to have play in Cassadaigua, please send me a TG via United Pink States today. I am putting together my domestic league in far greater detail than I ever have, and would like to get some international players. If interested, send their name(s), age (as of the start of WBC 51), and position. Stats are helpful. Female preferred, but male definitely acceptable.

Please send any potential telegrams to my puppet United Pink States, though, not Cassadaigua.

[World Baseball Classic]

It is time to find a host for World Baseball Classic 51!

There has been one bid, from South Newlandia and Tikariot

By 8pm EDT on Friday March 19th, if you are a member of the World Baseball Classic Council (linked in sig), please send this nation, World Baseball Classic, a TG on whether you want to:

Vote FOR the bid.
or
Vote AGAINST the bid.
or
if you want, you can formally ABSTAIN.

[World Baseball Classic]

Well, we can call the vote early!

With 23 eligible voters (25 WBCC members - 2 bidders), we needed 12 votes in favor to have the bid. We have attained that.

For- 13 votes
Against - 1 vote.
Abstain- 0

Therefore, the Owlephant bid of South Newlandia and Tikariot has been approved for hosting WBC 51. All decisions relating to the Classic are theirs!

[Barnettsville]

Question out of curiosity (h/t to Tikiriot - apologies if I butchered the spelling):

Is there a World Softball Classic? Not that there's necessarily a clamoring for it...

[Hannasea]

There were a couple of editions, the last being held in 2017.

[Newmanistan]

Did I just count 23 innings? Holy crap!

[South Newlandia]

yup, crazy. We currently believe that this is a new WBC record, until proven otherwise.

[The Sherpa Empire]

Did I just count 23 innings? Holy crap!

RP please.

[Newmanistan]

Did I just count 23 innings? Holy crap!

RP please.

Don't worry, I will. It's been a busy week for me but now it's the weekend so the time will be there.

[The Sherpa Empire]

RP please.

Don't worry, I will. It's been a busy week for me but now it's the weekend so the time will be there.

Yay!

[Barnettsville]

yup, crazy. We currently believe that this is a new WBC record, until proven otherwise.

To the best of my knowledge, the record was 17 or 18. Might have been a Newmanistan-Cassadaigua game at that.

[Super-Llamaland]

This 22-inning game from WBC23 is the longest game I'm aware of (another RPer notes it was the longest group stage game he remembers on the next page). Like I mentioned on the Discord, I don't know if that's been beaten before this MD, although I don't think it has while I was active.

[Chromatika]

Here is the Challonge for the Tournament. Predictions will close tomorrow morning before scoring.

[Zwangzug]

#14 Hampton Island vs #19 Zwangzug
@ Sabrehead Stadium (Samakar, Bashperian Darklands), Tikariot

Game 1
Zwangzug                  0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  4
Hampton Island            0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 5  8

The result of this game was originally scored as 
Zwangzug                  0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  4
Hampton Island            0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 6  9
Since that is not a possible score, the game was adjusted to Zwangzug 4-8 Hampton Island.

Robin Ventura: exists
Hampton Island: hold my bear

[Sarzonia]

I figured I'd have a little fun with Newman's last post in the WBC 51 thread since they decided to namedrop Sarzonia.

[Liventia]

While I am in favour of voting in new Council members (i.e. the status quo), for the sake of playing Devil's Advocate and considering the WBC is one of the few tournaments that has a restricted voting pool, I am proposing the following changes to the Constitution (proposed changes in red strikeout or blue). Thoughts and comments are welcome.

---

Article I: Council Eligibility

Section 1: To be an eligible member of the Council, a nation must have fulfil at least one of the following criteria:
Clause a. Participated (meaning posted a roster and at least ONE RP) in each of the previous 2 Classics and be approved by a simple majority vote of the current Council. (ie: if there are currently 10 or 11 voting members are on the council, then 6 members would have to approve, etc.) This is to limit the number of members of the Council to the truly active participants. Both the roster and RP must be posted in a timely manner, prior to the nation's elimination from that Classic.
Clause b. Hosted or co-hosted one of the last 3 Classics, even if the nation has not posted a roster and at least one RP in the last 2 Classics.

Section 2: Any member of the Council that no longer meets one of the criteria outlined in Section 1 shall cease to be a member of the Council, and can only regain that status by meeting Section 1 once more. To maintain membership, a nation must fulfil at least one of the following criteria:
Clause a. Hosting (or co-hosting) a Classic, (if possible), within the next 3 Classics.
Clause b. Participate (meaning post a roster and at least ONE RP) in the subsequent Classic.

Section 3: If a Member of the Council fails to maintain its membership (by failure to fulfill any of the above criteria), it shall have 1 Classic to retain membership (by fulfilling any of the above criteria). If the Member does not do so, then it shall not be eligible for membership on the Council for a minimum of one Classic.

Section 4: Any previous hosts of the Classic within the last three WBCs are also eligible, pending a simple majority vote of the current Council.

Rationale: Make membership of the Council automatic; merge Section 4 into Section 1.

Article II: Rights and Responsibilities of the Council

Section 1: The Council shall be the voters for the next Host of the Classic and shall choose from the available bids.

Section 2: The Council shall be the determining body for changes, (ie: repealing, amending or introduction of new rules), to the WBC Constitution. A two-thirds majority shall be needed to amend or repeal any part of the WBC Constitution, but a simple majority vote shall be sufficient for introduction of new rules to the Constitution.

Section 3: Any member of the Council can withdraw from the Council without prejudice, but shall be subject to the above eligibility guidelines if they seek re-instatement.

Section 4: Council members may "go on vacation" (ie: take a NS break) for a maximum of two Classics; but shall be subject to the above eligibility guidelines if they seek re-instatement if they are gone for more than two consecutive Classics.

Section 5 4: The Council is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the Classic and for advertising of the same.

Section 6 5: The Council shall be held to any subsequent rights and/or responsibilities that are created henceforth into the WBC Constitution.

Rationale: Since the changes would make Council membership automatic, it stands to reason that nations taking a hiatus would regain their membership again as soon as they meet the criteria, rather than needing to be voted in, therefore there is no need to freeze their Council membership.

Article IV: Impeachment Procedures

Section 1: In order to initiate impeachment and/or removal from office proceedings against a current member of the World Baseball Classic Council, another member in good standing must motion for impeachment. If a different member seconds the motion, the member is considered impeached.

Section 2: In the event that a Council member is impeached, the full Council shall have one RL week to discuss whether or not to remove the impeached member. During that period, the impeached member is still considered a full voting member of the Council on any items other than those involving the impeachment proceedings.

Section 3: The council president shall initiate the removal vote, which shall only take place in the event two thirds of votes cast are in favour of removal from office. If the president is the one being impeached, the vice-president shall serve the same role as the president for the purposes of this section.

Section 4: In the event that two-third of votes cast are in favour of removal from office, the Council member shall be removed from the Council with immediate effect for a period of two World Baseball Classics. At the end of the two World Baseball Classic period, t The member may petition to rejoin the Council and initiate a plan to address any concerns outlined in the impeachment proceedings after a minimum of 2 Classics, providing that they also meet one of the criteria outlined in Article I, Section 1.

Section 5: Any Council member removed due to impeachment proceedings must be nominated to rejoin the Council and must be formally seconded. If that occurs, the Council may vote on readmission when votes for new Council members are being taken. If a simple majority of votes cast are in favour of readmission, the impeached member shall rejoin the Council with immediate effect.

Rationale: Tweak wording since membership would be automatic.

Article VII: Voting Procedures

Section 1: For a Council vote to be considered valid, [color=blue]at least one more than a quarter of the total number of members of the Council (25%+1) must have voted on the motion or election at hand. a motion must have a simple majority of votes cast provided that a quorum of Council members votes in favour of or against the motion at vote.

Section 2: For the purposes of this amendment, a "quorum" shall be defined as one more than half the current voting membership of the Council.

Section 3: Any option on a motion or election that receives the most votes the active Council membership shall be automatically approved.

Section 3: Votes may be held over any duration of time as specified by the person opening the vote, except where provided for by the Constitution.

Section 4: If two or more options on a motion or election are tied following the set period of voting, the tied options shall be voted on again by the Council for a time period half that of the original.

Rationale: Clean up clunky wording with possible doubt due to differences in US/UK English; lower quorum requirement since membership would be automatic and grow large; add voting duration section; add tiebreak protocol for votes

---

Even if we decide the proposed changes are unnecessary, I would put the following separate amendment to the Constitution forward:

Article VI: Tournament Sportsmanship

Section 1: Teams may withdraw from the World Baseball Classic after it has started, but will only be removed from the competition following the conclusion of the round the team is in at the point of withdrawal. Games will not be forfeited. No team may voluntarily forfeit games or entire series after a World Baseball Classic has started.

Section 2: Only nations that have ceased to exist during the World Baseball Classic before being eliminated are deemed as forfeiting.

Section 3: Forfeited games due to CTE by a nation are automatic victories for the opposing team and should be scorinated as such.

Rationale: Bring WBC Constitution in line with forum-wide rules allowing teams to withdraw, within reason.

Additionally, if the proposed changes regarding Council Membership don't go to a vote, I would propose the following changes to Article VII to clarify a few things and remove clunky wording:

Article VII: Voting Procedures

Section 1: For a Council vote to be considered valid, at least one more than one half of the total number of members of the Council (50%+1) must have voted on the motion or election at hand. a motion must have a simple majority of votes cast provided that a quorum of Council members votes in favour of or against the motion at vote.

Section 2: Any option on a motion or election that receives the most votes after a set period of voting shall be approved. For the purposes of this amendment, a "quorum" shall be defined as one more than half the current voting membership of the Council.

Section 3: Any measure that receives the votes of one more than half the active Council membership shall be automatically approved.

Section 4: Votes may be held over any duration of time as specified by the person opening the vote, except where provided for by the Constitution.

Section 5: If two or more options on a motion or election are tied following the set period of voting, the tied options shall be voted on again by the Council for a time period half that of the original.

[Sarzonia]

I'm strongly against adding a requirement to host a WBC for Council membership, especially since the pandemic makes it extremely impractical, if not impossible for me to host anything that doesn't have a mobile phone-capable scorinator.

I'm not clear why you're proposing wholesale changes without some reason why we should make all these changes now. The withdrawal procedure I support because we haven't kept up with the precedents established forum wide.

[Quintessence of Dust]

I'm strongly against adding a requirement to host a WBC for Council membership

Liventia's amendment doesn't do that. All it does is change membership from elected to automatic, but it treats rostering for 2 Classics and hosting 1 of the previous 3 Classics exactly the same as how the existing constitution does.

[Zwangzug]

"For a Council vote to be considered valid, at least one more than one half of the total number of members of the Council (50%+1) must have voted on the motion or election at hand."

Just curious, would all the recent votes have been valid under this criteria? I can imagine a case where there's an unopposed vote or several inactive voters don't have opinions on (for instance) Council membership, I wouldn't want a vote to be thrown out for lack of a quorum.

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

Domestic baseball post that may as well be posted here.

With myself being eliminated from the contention for this cycle, I think that it's a right time for me to RP my domestic baseball season with international players before we head into the WC cycle rush. I aim to RP the regular season and the postseason in multiple parts.

For those who have players on their nation that would like to play in Quebecois Baseball Organisation (QBO), please send me a TG to Independent Athletes from Quebec or PM via Discord over next 2-3 days. Make sure to send me their name, age, position and handedness. Stats are good, a bit of bio would be helpful.