If you’re completely new to baseball, wikipedia has a helpful article; here’s a glossary of common terms from PBS. Those new to the IBS might want to look at previous tournaments for a sense of how to play. New players are expected to read the guide to sports roleplaying. This opening post contains important information; even experienced baseball roleplayers should make sure to read it in its entirety.
Rosters
Even if you don’t plan on RPing much, it is a basic courtesy to your opponents to try to post a roster. A roster should ideally contain some minimum information:
- The 9 batters in your team (eight position players and either pitcher or designated hitter).
- Some pitchers (because pitchers’ arms tire out, there tends to be a rotation of 3 – 5 starting pitchers, plus a few relief pitchers to enter the game as substitutes).
- Your RP permissions.
If my opponents RP first, they may…
Choose my lineup Y/N
Choose my pitcher Y/N
Choose my runscorers Y/N
Choose other statistics Y/N
Use DH Y/N*
RP injuries to my players Y/N
RP ejections to my players Y/N
Godmode events Y/N
Godmoding refers to unusual events outside the expectations of a normal game of baseball. A player hitting a grand slam isn’t a godmode, but a player hitting a home run ball that bounces off a passing pigeon into the centerfielder’s glove would be.
Please make sure to read your opponents’ permissions before RPing; any disputes over such permissions will be determined at the host’s discretion.
You may include other information in your rosters, which can be as minimal or detailed as you like, but try to make sure to include things that other people might find helpful. These could include:
- Information about your players: who’s more likely to hit a home run, steal a base, or make a great play in the field?
- Kits and colors.
- Handedness, which is very important in baseball.
- Coaches and managers.
- Team history.
- Information about your fans.
* The designated hitter is a player who doesn’t field, and who bats in place of the pitcher. For the purposes of this tournament, the designated hitter preferences of the team listed as the ‘home’ team for each game will be used; the default assumption is that the designated hitter is used unless you specifically state otherwise in your roster preferences.
Host nation
All the games for this edition of the IBS are taking place in the Hannasean Federation, commonly referred to as either Hannasea or the Guild Federation. Hannasea is a medium-sized nation located in the northeast of the main Esportivan continent. It is an alpine nation with a temperate climate; the IBS is taking place in spring, prior to the start of the baseball season. As such temperatures are cool and mild, and there will be chances of occasional rain. Hannasea is a peaceful nation that has built its prosperity on a philosophy of free trade with all. Further information can be found in the CE info-pack.
Roleplaying rules
Each player can set their own permissions, but the following rules apply to everybody:
- No major violence. If you and your opponent want to RP a fight between your players, that’s fine, but no major crowd hooliganism, and no military invasions or terrorist attacks.
- No destruction of host infrastructure. Your fans can throw beer cups on the field and your mercurial pitcher can trash her hotel room; your fans cannot burn down the stadium nor riot in the city center.
- No pandemic storylines. Hannasea has strict biosecurity protocols and the COVID-19 coronavirus does not exist in our canon. Please do not RP infecting the host or other countries.
- This is a game, in which results are determined using a weighted random number generator. Being annoyed at losing a game is fine, but persistent negative whining about results or entitled behavior make this a negative, unwelcome environment for everyone.
- All questions and comments should be put in the OOC thread.
Schedule
On each day, the first listed team is considered the ‘home’ team. This means results when posted should be read in reverse, with the first listed team batting second e.g. ‘Team A 4–3 Team B’ means Team A batted second and scored 4 runs, Team B batted first and scored 3 runs.
1 Nov MD1: 2v5, 3v4, 1 Bye
3 Nov MD2: 5v3, 1v2, 4 Bye
5 Nov MD3: 3v1, 4v5, 2 Bye
7 Nov MD4: 1v4, 2v3, 5 Bye
9 Nov MD5: 4v2, 5v1, 3 Bye
On each day, the first game will take place at the first listed ballpark, the second at the second. In this way, each team will have one ‘home’ and one ‘away’ at each.
Peanut Group (Questionable Ballpark, Corsair Park)
Kohnhead U21 Pandas
Brookstation Crimsons
Behetij Beach Lions
Redemption Joshuyo
Cassadaigua U18s
Almond Group (The Orange Bowl, CodeTek Park)
San Fukuoka Jets
StrayaRoos Emus
Banija Joint Service Academy All-Stars
Nova Anglicana Lions
Frozen Forest Lynx
Cashew Group (HB&B Stadium, Brown Field)
United Adaikes Hawks
ICF Crocodiles
Eshialand U21s
South Newlandia U21s
Super-Llamaland U17s
Walnut Group (Principality Ballpark, The Lightning Dome)
Abanhfleft Revolution All-Stars
TJUN-ia U21 Batting Cubs
Alexandre Pétion High School
Central Heights High School
Basian Clergy White Sox
Ballpark guide
(Because the scorinator does not allow park factors, details about particular parks favoring hitters or pitchers are purely IC flavor and will not necessarily be reflected in results.)
Questionable Ballpark: Home of the New Blopping Mountaineers, but the first part of the name is misleading, the ballpark is well outside the city limits. The second part is accurate and this is an extreme hitters' park because of the altitude. Fences are pulled back to compensate but that adds doubles and triples.
Corsair Park: The only HBL stadium located inside New Blopping city itself. The New Blopping Corsairs play here. Corsair Park is regarded as a pitchers’ park because of its very deep power alleys, though these add doubles and triples to balls pulled into the corner. The surface is grass.
The Orange Bowl: In the coastal city of Kent. Home of the Kent Oranges. Built on the cliffs, meaning the ground has strong crosswinds that make it extremely hard for leftie hitters to find the stands. The walls are pulled in to compensate and there's a deep left field.
CodeTek Park: An orthodox outdoor grass stadium with a shorter right field, by far the most unusual feature of the home of the Pearl City Purple Sox – the leading Hannasean domestic team – is that a tree is located in the grass just beyond the left-center fence. While pruned back during the regular season, in spring its bowers hang over, meaning a ball in play can get stuck here, in which it is automatically ruled a ground-rule double.
HB&B Stadium: In the town of West Chestnut, just outside Butterfly City. Home of the West Chestnut Dragons. Newly refurbished inside a dome with astroturf. Hitters' park, but short outfield walls mean not many triples.
Brown Field: Sponsored by brewing giant Brown, and located on the Incomprehensible Peninsula. Home of the Upper Niedewe Reds, with a retractable roof. Short corner poles but a deep centerfield make this a fairly balanced park. The cool sea air depresses home runs but the artificial playing surface can make line drives bounce at difficult angles for infielders.
Principality Ballpark: In the historic city of Old Blopping, home of the Old Blopping Warlocks. Old fashioned traditional ballpark. Pitchers' park with a slight favor to righties because of a shorter left porch.
The Lightning Dome: In Pintook, on the shores of the massive Lake Took. Home of the Pintook Saracens. Newly rebuilt dome with astroturf. Extreme pitchers' park because of the low altitude and deep outfield.
MD1 is provisionally scheduled to begin 1 November with a cutoff at 1100 UTC.