World Baseball Classic 53 Everything Thread

[StrayaRoos]

Baseball Player Caught Eating an Sausage the Wrong way
The Pale Herald caught Richmond Greyhounds Catcher ,Ter (Previously of Coal Coast and Duomji) at the Finals of the StrayaRoos national volleyball Cup eating an Sausage Sandwich The Wrong Way and immediately copped flack from us and The Nation who has suggested he be banned from the rest of the season because of this Incident,The league has announced he will have his contract terminated and Sent to Quebec for an year and be banned from the national league for 2 years at most

This is an historical Excerpt from an Yellowing Copy of the Pale Herald that sits in the corner of the StrayaRoos Emus Dressing Rooms before every Away game and Is traditional to Make the Debutants Read it to Ter So he blows up and rants on forever until the umpire is called in and Warns him of Ejection

[TJUN-ia]

Game 1: Milchama (39) 1-4 TJUN-ia (3) (F/11) (TJU lead 1-0)
After our unbeaten run was ended in 13 innings in Mylderm, the Battin' Jags still returned to home shores 2nd in the group at 5-1 and looking great in their quest for a 4th-straight playoff appearance. Sure, it sucked to drop that 1 game on the road to an unranked team, but when your 1 of 2 teams in this group with a winning record already, then maybe being imperfect isn't that big of a deal. Phillip Hellas-Verona was OK with losing a game or two at the early stages as the only time the overall record will matter was when the seeding for the Playoffs are announced. But obviously, you want to lead the group for morale purposes and so, the double-header here in The Diamond in The Gardens kicked off with an opponent no one expected to be battling for the group lead in the pre-season: Milchama.

To be fair to Tal Clioch's warriors, they did win WBC23 back in the day and certainly have some good talent on show, but the home of the world-famous Karakorum Forum-Democracy-Times-Tribune-Sun-Stars-Gods-Men-Tribute-Fightin'-Picayune-Post-Gazette-Chronicle-Eclipsor-Ellipsor-Report-Spin-Connector-Deflector-News-Today-Yesterday-And-Tomorrow (try saying that fast) was certainly a surprising candidate to be 6-0 ranked #39 pre-season, so this series was certainly going to be interesting. Davis Johnson would start Game 1 against Barish Adams and this duel would last until the 8th inning with only 2 runs conceded total - a sign that both men played out of their minds in New Washington tonight. TJUN-ia struck first with a run from Bryce Calhoun in the 5th before Emmett Willits struck back via homer in the 6th. Things would remain tight even as both Carlos Buena and Nemo Haiyono came in to try and force the deadlock to be broken but even the 10th produced nothing. But someone had to win and, in the bottom of the 11th, Joe Gregory sent the ball beyond the ivy and walked off the opener 4-1 to the delight of the crowd and of his teammates. What a way to start a series, eh?

Game 2: Milchama (39) 6-2 TJUN-ia (3) (Tied 1-1)
Now THIS, this is the first game this season we were simply outplayed and here's why. Gene Almac took on Ya'acov Masmerim in this one but once the 4th arrived, he had to be replaced. Sure, Rafael Llorente managed a homer in the 3rd, but that was small change compared to Masmerim's 3-run bomb earlier and Martin Jondon's 2-run homer in the 4th so poor Almac had to go. Out came F. G. Greenwood to try and stabilise things and he would only concede 1 further run, so that's nice. Unfortunately, TJUN-ia could only manage an extra run themselves and thus the series was tied at 1-1 and we needed Game 3 to break the deadlock.

Game 3: Milchama (39) 1-4 TJUN-ia (3) (TJU win series 2-1)
Jose Almas vs Shmuel Shmornen was the pitching duel for this decider and when the first pitch to Pedro Moires got sent over the ivy, you could tell tonight was going to be a fun one. PHV wanted to keep TJUN-ia in the green and thus they certainly tried to force Shmornen to flinch in any way possible - and the final straw came in the 5th when Matoko Kagawa broke through for a 3-run bomb, a 4-0 lead and Shmornen's replacement by Annie Haynes. Haynes over saw a run for the visitors, Emmett Willits with the run in the 6th, but that's about it - 4-1 the final score, 2-1 the series win for TJUN-ia and the Battin' Jags moved to the top of the group on head-to-head alone.

One more series to play before the first break of the campaign as #15 Liventia come to New Washington with a shocking 4-5 record. How this series go may decide if they have a chance of re-entering the hunt for the Top 2 and so, they must be dispatched if possible. GO JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE (Group G)
S1: vs Muralos (UR) - Rounders Field, Portside W 3-0 (1st)
S2: @Mylderm (UR) W 2-1 (2nd)
S3: vs Milchama (39) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington W 2-1 (1st)
S4: vs Liventia (15) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington
----------------BREAK TIME----------------
S5: @Kriegiersien (18)
S6: @Muralos (UR) - Venko Field, Okcidenta-Havenurbo
S7: vs Mylderm (UR) - Rounders Field, Portside
S8: @Milchama (39)
----------------BREAK TIME----------------
S9: @Liventia (15)
S10: vs Kriegiersien (18) - Rounders Field, Portside

[Milchama]

"Wow!"

"Yeah, what a series"

"So close"

"We took 1 out of 3 to the number 3 ranked side in the world and were unlucky in that first game"

"Yep, I thought with the Terrific Tennons up we would have had it in the 11th inning of that first game"

"But, alas, ground out"

"And thus does the perfect legend die"

"Still incredible"

"Yeah we're in second place with a 3 game lead on 3rd place"

"Also, taking 1 of 3 on the road is a big deal"

"Yeah, it definitely lines up with where we should be"

"One thing I've heard so far is that home field advantage seems to be playing a big role in this WBC, so every win on the road could be super valuable"

"That's good to know because if we take 2 of 3 at home that could really move us somewhere"

"Yep absolutely"

"God it's nice to field an actual A team"

"Yeah we're only good at one sport and it's nice to see us play well in that one sport"

"Definitely but we might be ok at cricket"

"We didn't play anybody, like we played a mid major schedule. We did very well with that mid major schedule but still a mid major schedule"

"Ok but winning is winning and we did win"

"It was a good thing"

"Yeah it was also impressive that Masmerim hit a 3 run homer"

"One thing that I've really loved in the MBL recently is all the pitcher hitting"

"Yeah a pitcher almost went for the batting title last year"

"Yep, Coollins just didn't play enough games"

"Nope, he's no Ohtani but still he hit .350"

"Pretty crazy"

"How many RL players are we going to sneak into RPs?"

"As many as we can get per RP"

"Are we going to start naming some guys?"

"No"

"Ok"

"So then are we done here?"

"Well we need to pray"

"Shacharit already happened"

"Oh sure that, yeah"

"Cool, let's do it"

"Then say as I say and do as I do"

''Ringa pakia!''
''Uma tiraha!''
''Turi whatia!''
''Hope whai ake!''
''Waewae takahia kia kino!''
''Ka mate, ka mate''
''Ka ora, ka ora''
''Ka mate, ka mate''
''Ka ora, ka ora''
''Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru''
''Nāna nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā''
''Ā upane, ka upane''
''Whiti te rā, hī!''

"Now repeat after me!"

"Forini! Forini!"
"Finidi! Finidi!"
"George! George!"
"Oh Brother! Oh brother!"

*They strip and run around for 6 minutes*

"We pray the Margaret of SnubNose 38 and Random Number God that you may deliver us victory over Kriegiersien and any other infidels that we face in international play"

"Sacrifice the Rubber Chicken!"

*Swoosh of an axe and the chicken is dead*

"Margaret we pray that you take this sacrifice of a rubber chicken in good faith and that by your deliverance Milchama does well in all international competitions"

"Come on You Warriors!"

"Let's Go Milchama!"

[Chromatika]

If you'd ask Jeremiah Nikolai Bresnev which of the Chromatik Baseball League teams were his favorite, he would likely just chuckle at the absurdity of the question. He was a fan of baseball before the CBL was even a thing; to say one team was his favorite more than any other would be like asking which of his four children was his favorite.

When the Outliers went abroad for one of their road series, it was Bresnev's hobby to follow up on the CBL; besides the Chromia Comets, Hanai Heroes, and Knetyohai Dynamo, there were the Felswyr Fire and the new darlings, Eyrods Pilots. The Pilots' run at the championship had been something to watch; he really appreciated the play of the duo of Lidia Lisowska and Raitis Ranta. If it wasn't for the prominence of the LPB, there would've been more players making it on the Outliers' roster, but the LPB is the best baseball league in the multiverse by far, and the best of the Outliers are playing there.

It's interesting to think that three months ago, there had been a bit of a scandal about who would be the ace for the Outliers going forward. Hilary Angelou had been the top pitcher on staff for so many seasons, until the emergence of one Clara Ayonara. Ayonara had won every start or at least forced a no-decision in the last World Baseball Classic; people were calling for the young ace to replace Angelou.

The two pitchers reportedly don't have any kind of animosity between each other, as they came forward and said that Angelou would be the ace and that Ayonara would be the second pitcher on staff. It was a case of the media making more of things than they actually were.

Bresnev considered himself a proponent of Chromatik baseball. Regardless of where the team was, he would support them.

[Zwangzug]

"It was the first game of the knockout stages," said Nelson. "We were at Samakar, in the Bashperian Darklands."

"Who is 'we'?" Griffith asked. "You weren't even there."

"It's a cultural memory," said Maia. "We're a team. We were there. The same way the fans say 'we.'"

"Todd Forneris pitched the bottom of the tenth," reminisced Jorgi.

"Forneris, the chess nerd," said Maia.

"Kirsten Harris scored the go-ahead run," said Enrico.

"I'm just gonna say," said Griffith, "if you want to watch replays of this game--and I'm not sure why you would--the announcers at the time probably did a better job bringing it to life than you're doing."

"It's not the details that make a memory important," Nelson said. "It's that it's shared. A communal bonding experience."

"And how exactly is this 'bonding' helping us play better?"

Maia ignored him. "They denied us the opener."

"They denied us the opener," Jorgi echoed.

"Hackerbee tied the game off Forneris," Enrico said.

"We were lucky to hold Greene to a ground rule double," said Jorgi.

"Singer-Lun walked Boomer intentionally," said Maia.

"And then we surrendered a walk-off grand slam," said Nelson. "To a bear."

"To a bear," the others repeated.

"We will never forget," said Nelson, "and we will never forgive."

"You're all crazy," said Griffith, "you know that, right?"

"I mean, sure," said Enrico, "but I'm not sure what that has to do with Hampton Island."

"None of this has to do with Hampton Island!" Griffith blurted. "Atheara, who we're playing today? Super-Llamaland and The 189 and the rest of the group? Hampton Island don't even exist any more, we outlasted them. More than that, we won the series!"

"I know," said Jorgi. "I should know! I was there."

"Then why are you having this whole ritual thing? Just to immerse yourself in bad memories? It doesn't make sense."

"It's not the kind of...performative utterance where we say it to make it true," said Maia. "It's just...a statement of fact. We, Zwangzug, do not forget. And we do not forgive."

"What's there to forgive? Hampton Island were just trying their best, you can't blame them for trying."

"No, I mean--you think the fans won't remember it? Forneris was already a joke because of the chess thing, and now this. Whitney was the one who gave up the pitch, and she's still here. That's why--we have to be ready, to defend her against that. Just because we see her day in, day out for a month, doesn't mean they do. They might never forgive; we have to remind her that there's more to her story than one game."

"You're underestimating the fans. They're nerds, they get the full story. And they don't scapegoat people, either."

"But they don't forget," said Nelson. "Even when the other bullpen failures blend together, they remember this. Because of how absurd it was, with the tying run. Five runs in the bottom half, why not six? And the fact that it was bears."

"You just remember it because it was recent," said Griffith. "And you're dwelling on it, which just makes it worse. But some day there'll be another bullpen collapse, and then people will all move on to obsessing over that and forget about Hampton Island."

Nelson shrugged. "We'll see."

So it was that in the bottom of the twelfth, with Yelvor Greditz-Walters on third, Josepph de Haller on second, and Zederth Olkanafe on third, that the DH, Greg Idersson, deposited a hanging curve from Nelson into the left-field bleachers at Coldstone Park.

Would it be remembered? Only time could tell. But Griffith was pretty annoyed at the way everyone called him a prophet.

[South Americanastan]

SOUTH AMERICANASTANIAN CLUBHOUSE, AFTER GAME 3

Almost as soon as the players entered the clubhouse, they began celebrating.

"WE FUCKING DID IT!"

"WOO! LET'S FUCKING GO!"

Mike Kelly, meanwhile, attempts to corral the team.

"Alright, alright, before you start getting shitfaced, calm down for a bit,"

Kelly pulls three balls out of his pocket.

"Now, right here, I've got the game balls from each game of the series."

He tosses one to John Mikelanton.

"Mikelanton, take the one from series one, you'll want to remember your third complete game, a shutout, nonetheless."

He then tosses another one to Darby Nikolassen.

"Nikolassen, another shutout, take this one. Maintained a no-hit for 3 2/3 innings against the 4th ranked team in the WBC."

He pulls the final ball out from his pocket.

"And Cook, this one's yours. 1 run game to secure the sweep,"

Kelly begins walking towards the manager's office.

"Now get your shit and get wasted in some bar somewhere, unless you want to be playing for a beer company again"

The players oblige, taking showers and changing into normal clothes, as they normally would after a game. They check their stadium PO boxes, generally used for fan mail without exposing the address of players for the team. Frank Monteforte checks his box, a small bar on top displaying "NEW MAIL". Monteforte opens the PO box, shoving the envelope into his bag before closing the box and joining up with the rest of the team.

HARRY'S BAR AND GRILL, AFTER GAME 3

"Really? We're going here?"

"Yes, Darby, we are. We literally just got out of a game, our faces are probably still on the damn TVs. Plus, who the hell goes clubbing at 6 PM?"

"Jack, you know I do."

"You're fucking weird, Darby, you don't count."

"This place has great food and a massive selection of beer, anyway, you can get as hammered here as anywhere else."

"Won't believe it 'til I see it."

Manning walks into the bar first.

"Hi, can we have the private room?"

"Sorry, you need a reservation for that."

"I think we do... HEY! JOMIKE!"

"Don't fucking call me that."

"JOHN! YOU DID CALL IN BEFORE WE GOT HERE, RIGHT?

RIGHT?"

"Uhhh... yeah, I think so."

"We should be on the reservation list then..."

Manning peers at the list of reservations.

"Ah, right there."

6:15 PM:

DEFINITELY NOT THE SOUTH AMERICANASTAN NATIONAL BASEBALL TEAM

"Yes, that's us.

Manning turns backwards.

JOHN! YOU FUCKING IDIOT! WHY DOES OUR RESERVATION SAY THAT WE'RE "DEFINITELY NOT THE SOUTH AMERICANASTAN NATIONAL BASEBALL TEAM"!?"

"I PANICKED! YOU KNOW I'M SOCIALLY AWKWARD!"

Manning lets out a sigh, before moving into the bar, following the waiter towards the bar's "Private Room".

In the private room, a group of tables is set up, able to seat the entirety of the South Americanastanian team. Manning takes a spot at the head of the table as the others filter in, dropping their duffle bags by their seats.

After a long wait, the food and drinks are finally serve.

"Hey, hey, hey! We gotta say a prayer before we eat this food!"

Some of Jack Manning's domestic teammates, such as Ken Barrington and Sam Harrison, snicker, while the others players prepare for a traditional prayer before eating.

"We thank the lord for this precious meal today, and we pray that He allows us to have fun and beat our opponents within an inch of their life, KICK ASS AND SMOKE GRASS!"

A chorus of voices shouts.

"AMEN!"

Frank Monteforte takes a drink from his glass of beer, before taking the envelope out of his duffel before eating. The sender marked on the front of the message sparks a wave of frustration and worry.

I'm gonna want to be eating to read this one.

He cuts off a small piece of his ribeye steak, inserting it into his mouth before chewing. As he chews, he cuts open the envelope with a Swiss Army Knife, pulling out the folded letter inside.

SOUTH AMERICANASTAN DEFENSE FORCE
DEPLOYMENT NOTICE

TO: Franklin J. Monteforte

This letter has been sent directly to your known location at the time for ease of communication.

As of the 7th of December, 2021, your currently assigned unit, the 29th INFANTRY BATTALION, has been scheduled to deploy overseas to JOC DE SANZA PUMBO in NORTHERN ANGOLA on the 19th of February. As such, your unit, the 29th INFANTRY BATTALION has begun undergoing training for COUNTER INSURGENCY OPERATIONS, JUNGLE WARFARE, and AIR ASSAULT. Due to this, you will be expected to report directly to CAMP BRETON directly after the end of your leave by TWELVE PM, JANUARY 10th, 2021. Failure to report for this date will result in you being marked ABSENT WITHOUT LEAVE, and treated as such.

Should the date, destination, or circumstances of your unit's deployment and training be changed, you will be notified via another letter. Should your unit's deployment be canceled, you will be notified by another letter. Should your unit depart during your leave, the South Americanastan Defense Force will provide transportation to the location of your unit's departure from South Americanastan.

THIS DOCUMENT IS AN AUTHORIZED NOTICE OF THE SOUTH AMERICANASTAN DEFENSE FORCE. EXPOSING THIS DOCUMENT TO A HOSTILE, NEUTRAL, OR UNKNOWN FORCE IS A PUNISHABLE OFFENSE.

As Frank's eyes widened due to a combination of his astonishment, fear, and being stunned by the letter, the bar's music drowned out the noise of his fellow player's.

Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
No one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools" said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming

And the sign said, "The words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sounds of silence"

[Eshialand]

Deciphering King William
Part III: A Stranger Where One Ought Not Be
Part I | Part II
Eshialand 7-4 Bardney
Eshialand 8-4 Bardney
Eshialand 4-3 Bardney

"King William?"
"Ah, Michael, you're back!"
"I'm not Michael, I'm Prime Minister Peterson."
"Oh, really? I guess I have to add another day to the 'Days Since Michael Last Showed Up" calendar..."

The king turns to a whiteboard on the wall, erases a number 2, and replaces it with a number 3.

"...has it been three days since Michael's been here?"
"Yes David, it has! But I've been finding my ways to pass the time... have you ever heard of Liam O'Nally?"
"The baseball player? Yeah, but what does he have to do with anything?"
"I've just been reading this book, and he was a real character! Did you know that he once played an entire game drunk, and nobody noticed until he kissed his sister, thinking she was his wife?"
"Ha ha ha, sounds like an O'Nally thing to do... but seriously, I think we need to find Michael. Have you tried giving him a call yet?"
"No, I never thought of that..." the king replied sarcastically. "Of course I did! Wherever he is, he doesn't have any cell signal..."

---

"Bahh, why don't I have any bars?" Michael asked.
"Are you only just noticing that now?" Kevin replied. "Look, we've never had any need for cell towers, or... anything from the outside. Just relax! Enjoy yourself!"
"Yeah, enjoy myself... once I find out what happened with the king."
"Rigghhttt... you should talk to my hold coach, Al Lainsbury. If there was anyone in town who'd know about the king's situation, he might just be the one to talk to."
"Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!"
"No problem!"

As Michael walked away, he realized that he had something else he wanted to say. "Wait!"
"Hm?" Kevin responded.
"Talk to your mother, I bet she misses you!"
"Ha ha ha, will do."

Fifteen minutes later...

"So, you wanna know about the king?" Mr. Lainsbury answered. "Well, I think I might know a thing or two, but nothing's for sure quite yet."
"Could you at least tell me what you know? Point me in the right direction?"
"Okay then, I will. So, you know how some owls are able to detect magical auras?"
"Owls who to the what now?" Michael was visibly confused. Albert instantly realized what this meant.

"You aren't from around here, are you?"
"No sir."
"...who told you about us?"
"The king did, but in his defense I found out on my own!"

There was an awkward pause as Albert tried to decide whether to trust Michael. In the end, the decision wasn't as hard as he had made it out to be.

"Okay then, there are a few things you should know..."

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

OOC: Only grade part 6, of course, since Parts 1-4 were already roleplayed.

Memoires d'Athletes

Do Or Die

Ten years ago.

The Battle between the Greatest Team in Paper and the Challenger happened.

Erskine CI vs. Sangwon CVI for the last championship final of the Year.

This is the story of that game, from those who played, and those who witnessed it.

---

10->52. 18->9->10. 25.....7->5->7.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: It was a tough year altogether, and nobody was feeling the numbs.

The extra innings, with the Hwanggeumsajagi (Golden Lion Championship) finals tied at 0-0....you know somebody was going to be a hero that night. It was a really unusual night for all of us out there. I think I'd be lying if I told you that we were going to win, or that it would happen on a walk-off home run. That level of pressure, even when you are in high school, is quite something. I remember the final out of the ninth, being like 'well here we go'.

We all looked at our coach (head coach Jang Min-Gi) on the dugout, and coach told us not to worry. It was then that we knew it wasn't going to be easy.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: We were ready to win the triple. Everybody came to the final, the third straight we were making in, with some sort of energy. All of us were expecting something special to happen, whether it be crowning of what could possibly be the greatest team in the history of Quebecois high school baseball, or a successful prevention of it by another powerhouse program. Like a lot of kids know we do live in a golden age of Quebecois baseball, especially with how many of our players play in Cassadaigua or South Newlandia these days, but to us- the golden age was when were still in high school. The level of talent on those high schools...unbelievable. You know what I'm saying?

Heo Myeong-Shin: You bet. I remember that Spring-Summer season being a really tough one, because everybody knew who were the ones to watch, but at the same time none of us knew. It was that hard to predict, and it did end up being a phenomenal season!

Kelsey Altherr: That's one brilliant thing about the high school sports, but especially baseball, here. The energy level, no matter what school you go, is gonna be there, and the crowd is always gonna watch you once you are on the nationals. Then, once you actually make it, that's when you really see the key differences. I remember playing Erskine on, what was it, Hwangjebae semifinals? I remember you, Myeong-Shin, were resting that day.

Heo Myeong-Shin: Yeah, I was. We ran different pitchers, closing it out with Gaugin Jones, who did turn out quite nicely for (California City) Dodgers.

Kelsey Altherr: Exactly. For us, it was the first time in five years we made it to a semifinal on a natty (note: Quebec and Shingoryeo has five national championships for high school baseball, with one school eligible to participate up to three tournaments). For them, it was sixth in three years and they had already won three in that period. Kinda a bummer it didn't turn out that way.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: I know that feeling. It was hellish playing against those guys, especially since the depth Erskine had on all positions...was quite impossible to create. Almost as if we were seeing some U18 version of QBO: The Show.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: Then you beat us anyway so...

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: Yes, but we'll get to that later anyway. Myeong-Shin and I always had that bond from the beginning, and we did want the same number ten after all, though it did take you the long way.

Heo Myeong-Shin: It did take me the long way for sure. When I was starting baseball at Sydenham Central (Public School) as a grade two, I had number ten because my dad, you've all met him before, he's the Chicoutimi Lions fan. He never grew up there, but my paternal family's all from Gaspesie. So of course his favourite player was Hong Man-Seok, and he suggested why don't I wear the ten after the 'Hongshin'? I said sure, and agreed to it.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: You wore eighteen and nine for Erskine and college though.

Heo Myeong-Shin: I think I received eighteen because you know, an ace's number. I told coach that I didn't want number one anyway. And number nine was because Saguenay football doesn't give out eighteen for linebackers- that's usually for quarterbacks or safeties. Though I did play safety up to senior year of high school, that was thrown out of the window pretty quickly anyway. So nine it was, and playing both baseball and football had meant, eighteen.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: Yeah, I see what you mean there. I remember getting number ten because of same reason actually- your dad recommended number ten to me as well because of that reason. Back then I was in Habpo though- Muhak (Primary School) did have a good team and there I was until mum got a job in Chicoutimi. I still kept the number until Queen's College, and then Lions came. Can't really wear the retired number, so fifty-two was the next best thing.

Kelsey Altherr: I feel that. I like number twenty-five on me. Anyways, let's go back to that special night. I remember watching it back home because we had choice between Cheongryonggi (Blue Dragon Cup) and this one and we went for Cheongryonggi. Even on the television, there's that odd weight...you could feel it all the way to your seat. Only those who have played in it would know.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: Oh certainly. I remember, being that freshman shortstop who played on the team that won double two years prior, there was that high expectation. This team lost to Gyeongbuk in a downer at Bonghwanggi (Phoenix Cup) final last year and lost in quarters, so there's that hope that we could hit the finals for all three. The little did we know that the further we went into that season, which was my junior year, more pressure we got from everybody! It wasn't easy to deal with it, especially since the expectations were that we would still be there for classes and do all our work and whatnot. So, by the very last night, at that Hwanggeumsajagi Final, I think we were ready to go all in, feel our happiest at achieving history or be heartbroken at having fallen short.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: It was my second national finals, so I was trying my best to enjoy it. Sangwon had such a good class of seniors and as a guy who was going to play college ball at Queen's College, I was trying my best to not spoil it as the captain. I think all 35 of us knew what was coming, but still it was scary. To be there, as the captain on his final high school tournament, and to make it all the way to the final...at that point I remember all those dinners after the match on gameday or practices during days off that the alumni association paid for us, and you know, they were now cheering from the stands! Man. They were taking the winning traditions that seriously here.

Kelsey Altherr: To be fair, they did expect a lot from all of us in the end.

2. Entering the Scene

Diane Salah Bergeron: I remember that feeling the night before, after pulling off a couple of big upsets from Westlake, Western Quebec and I think it was Gyeongnam Collegiate on semifinals. The next thing, you knew you were going to play Erskine for what's going to be do-or-die...that's when the nerves hit. I remember the coaches, on our bus back to the hotel, telling us not to think too much and go to bed once we were back there. Obviously, that was because a lot of us were feeling that nervous- though I'm sure enough of our guys wanted to kick their asses and keep the pursuit for trio going.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: To make it worse, it was a seven-p.m. start, and the Bears and Wyverns both had away series, so everybody in Quebec City was watching it happen. So the heat continued well into both our hotels, so nobody could really sleep the night before.

Asher Lundrigan: I agree with you there. It was probably the most nervous twenty-four hours I've ever had in what ended up being a very short career for me. (*chuckles*) It was the matchup everybody wanted- Erskine versus Sangwon, Pinson versus Heo, Northeast versus Southwest- the storyline was written the night they beat us right off the bat. Funnily enough, my family's actually from the Northeast, though Anticosti is mostly Welsh-speaking and baseball wasn't so much a thing there, and most of my family members came to watch us with that in mind.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: I remember Myeong-Shin and I couldn't really sleep the night before. Our mothers were close college friends, all the way back to their freshmen year at Queen's College, and we all thought both of us would play together. Of course, that's not how it worked out and now we were bound to face each other at the last high school game of our careers- like bloody hell. After Myeong-Shin losing his mother and us really going to rival schools...man, it was a tough year because of conflicting emotions and all that. Being eighteen, it was a lot to handle.

Heo Myeong-Shin: Yeah, the cottage crew really had a tough time because you know my mum. My mum, your mum, aunties Michelle, Mara and Alexanne. She would have really loved watching us face off in Quebec City of all places, and into the pros because we knew he's going to Lions and me Tigers.

Dianne Salah Bergeron: I think the toughest part about that evening match was how we had all day to wait. I don't know about Erskine, but we decided not to practice all day long either. We didn't want the pressure to get to us by being at the park earlier. Some of us napped, others started preparing for the final exams, etc. Not much else to do, because going to the city would have been a bad idea. Coach didn't let us right?

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: Not that I recall. I remember Kendrick Ayisi, Andrew Weintraub and Kelsey Kim going to the game lounge and playing some pool, and us going to the convenience store at the main floor. That was probably the best way for us to keep our minds off and destress.

Asher Lundrigan: And I don't disagree with you on that. With me, Eileen came over from Montreal and we were having lunch at the restaurant just next to the Hotel R. I think the name was 'Le Vaisseau d'Or' - that place was still around last time I was in the area. I remember her not telling me to worry so much about it, but to see it as a day in life. Oh, how naive we were of life in those days!

Heo Myeong-Shin: And now, you and her are future parents. Who would have thought? (A round of applause) Seriously though, the tension in the stadium...the way the cars honked and the fanfares ran all match was a surreal experience. You know, the kind you could only expect so much from college football- and even majority of college stadiums didn't have that much fanfare as the final match did that day. Just by looking at everybody's eyes, we were feeling something special. Something different for sure.

Diane Salah Bergeron: God, I remember warming up for an hour ahead of the game. All thirty of us were just thinking, being like 'alright, here we go, let's do this'...I think the good part about having a night game was that we could have gone back to hotel right after it ends if we lose, and if we win....I guess we would have partied all night. But the hours leading up to it, soaking up the vibes and whatnot...not fun.

Asher Lundrigan: I remember having a good feeling about the day, because Myeong-Shin's pitches were really on point. His sinkers and fourseam (fastball) all hitting 93, 95, 97 miles...and with good control and command on own too! It was of course weird for sure, but the summer heat certainly had us anticipate.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: I think the buzz in the air was really palpable. Almost unbearable when we all entered into the middle of the turf, sang the national anthem, and went back into the dugout. Like...jesus fuck.

3. The Zone

Andrew Weintraub: I think, the more I think about this game, the more I get amazed with the sheer scale of pitching contest we had that day. Not just any contest, but one that ended up last seventeen innings too. Just by the quality of the pitching, where you only had what? Five pitchers in both teams combined. It was a really incredible game to watch.

Kelsey Altherr: Certainly. And nobody expected the game to really go that way either, not with how much momentum both sides had seen. I remember so many people were bagging it on the chance the match would end up being an anticlimatic one, with either side just ramming and running it down the lane.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: I think it was inevitable, especially with how hyped up the matchup between me and Myeong-Shin were going to be. Really this was it for a lot of seniors, and I think that may have been why both sides did end up having juniors as starting pitchers. The seniors would then take over for later innings, and work things out accordingly.

Asher Lundrigan: Oh, certainly. It's once in a lifetime thing for Coach Sung to use an opener, followed by another bullpen, and then go for Myeong-Shin at the bullpen. Of course, the intensity of those first few pitches...you could tell that these guys were still nervous over it. I remember thinking, right before the game, about the decision, on whether Gaugin (Jones) could handle the pressure, because his shot, then and now, were that 88-mile slider, and we weren't getting the angles we wanted. So, to see Sangwon come ahead early 2-0, by the end of the first inning, did feel suck.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: It was a couple of unfortunate bounces on the infielding. I remember feeling really bad about a miss from second base, and him feeling bad about poor base coverage for the second hit, but it was still early into the game. Like the first inning doesn't matter so much if we could just get a couple of runs going, and that wasn't really the problem we had. Not with our bats, I don't think.

Asher Lundrigan: Yeah, I still think that some kind of a change was needed by the end of the second inning, because we were really not getting it going at all. We weren't really hitting at the rates expected and the pitching was a bit..problematic. It was almost as if the team was somehow feeling its narrative...I don't know, shaken? I remember the bench was still pumped up though, and that worked out nicely especially as Myeong-Shin was warming up for his final match.

Andrew Weintraub: I remember watching on the other side, and be like 'shit, this isn't going to get any easier' the moment he started warming up. Like we've all heard about how great he was as a submarine pitcher, but let's be honest, that aura wasn't just something you see often. He's been there for his eighth championship final at the time, and knew how to really get into the opponent's heads. I knew our coach being like 'Let's just pitch a bit, seven innings at a time, and see how it goes.' I think that was the goal because really, it's gonna be a long game.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: It's never easy for anybody. I remember Ezra Beasley, who scored the double in that 1-0 score, feeling frozen to the ground by what I still think was the nastiest sinker. He must have shit his pants the moment they got the first strike, and man did the whole dugout freeze.

Heo Myeong-Shin: Are you sure that pitch was a sinker? I thought I threw more sliders at the time.

Asher Lundrigan: It was a slider. You started throwing more sliders by the extra innings, but it was mostly sinker, fastball, sinker, fastball. Like you were throwing 153, 154, 158 and 156 so early, it was ridiculous.

Diane Salah Bergeron: It was then that the match started to become what we now know of a classic. The next thing I remember Erskine scoring a homer, a clean 440-feeter to the left by, on top 4th. Lester Currie really hit a hard fastball by Andrew, and it just went like a shooting star, off to its neverending heights. That was tough luck, I remember a couple of guys saying 'shite', and that's when the tide seemed to have turned around.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: But the match still went on, and neither side wasn't really feeling busted. Andrew's pitching was still spot-on, and the cornerwork was superb that day, while Myeong-Shin flat out crushed the hitters. I remember the toughest inning from that match being the top 7th. It was still 2-1. I think we had two runners loaded, with one out- I was on second, Arabella Hannon first. I remember sliding to the third base off a rough pitch by Andrew (Weintraub) there, and all of sudden, we knew we could really turn it around here. And then it was Myeong-Shin on the third, we knew he was feeling on brand and whatnot...

Diane Salah Bergeron: And then he hit the pitch.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: Exactly! That was a double to the gap between centre and right fielders, so I went home with ease. The problem was that Arabella thought she could hit the home as well, and reached all the way. Like any right-fielder would have missed that, but Bae Sung-Geun really drove it home and she was caught out right at home.

Heo Myeong-Shin: And then it was Asher's turn. But all day long, he was having trouble hitting the ball, and it was a quick three-strikes out.

Asher Lundrigan: Really I did, and it did suck. Not gonna lie, that was a helluva effort by Andrew. Like, let’s be clear here- you did end up pitching at one of the greatest pitching performances in the past 115 years of high school baseball. But one of the reasons why it really shone was because of how great the adversary was, and for a junior to do that, with no fear? Like you don't throw a high fastball at a slugger I was, but he did catch me right there. Bravo.

Diane Salah Bergeron: That's how I also remembered the rest of the regular innings as well. We really had full of passion for the sweaty jerseys and rainy caps. It was great because of what happened and what did not happen, I guess.

Kelsey Altherr: You gotta give full respect for not breaking when it could have happened at any moment. Nobody didn't expect a two-nil lead broken down so quickly, and I'm sure nobody expected both Andrew and Myeong-Shin to combine for sixteen strikeouts (Andrew Weintraub: 9K in 9 innings, Heo Myeong-Shin: 7k in 7 innings), or three consecutive runners shot down by Pascal Chen-Villeneuve, or a triple by Lee Rutherford.

Heo Myeong-Shin: Then we had life again. 89 pitches gone, but still lot more to go.

4. Extra Innings

TEAM NAME                    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
#3 Sangwon CVI - CHICOUTIMI  0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0  0  0  0  0  0
#1 Erskine CI  - KINGSTON    2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0  0  0  0  0

Heo Myeong-Shin: So we went into the extra innings after a ten-minute break, with the staff quickly checking the mound to see if the grass was still good to go.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: Right, and that was the longest wait ever...(checks the clock) God, has it already been an hour? Hard to believe that we've been having this interview session for this long. How has the time already passed so quickly?

Asher Lundrigan: We all ended up having lots of tea and coffee and desserts, and so it ended up going on a bit longer than expected. (Clears throat) Besides....who would have thought that a bunch of high-schoolers, who just happened to be good at playing baseball, end up carving the greatest story in the history of high school ball? Some of us are just mere parents, some of us still playing and some of us just abroad.

Diane Salah Bergeron: Right, but the story isn't about ourselves and especially not about famous spouses some of us have. So let's go back to talking about the extra game.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: Mmm-sure. So we went back into the game after that inning off, and I felt the huge drop of the clock at the very top of the hour....you know. Now it all came down to just one score, the one that you couldn't really turn around from, and it really came down to that one moment that's going to decide it all. I'm sure I felt that, so did Myeong-Shin, and a lot of us out there on the stadium that night must have felt the stadium roar all the way from the mantle of the earth.

Heo Myeong-Shin: I remember entering the pitch at the bottom of the tenth and feeling like...'this is it'. You know. The one chance for Erskine Collegiate to do the undoable, that being the first school since Gyeongbuk Collegiate in 1971 to win three national championships in a single year...and it all came down to my hands. It was heckuva feeling, and I remember Asher telling me something as we entered the pitch, saying something important-

Asher Lundrigan: I think it was something silly, like 'I wonder what Naomi and Eileen must be thinking right now.' I remember myself on the dugout shortly before the mid-10th, and being like 'man, what was she thinking right now'. Like I knew she wasn't really a baseball person, so being here alone wasn't an easy task...

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: Wasn't the best of things to say no? Like lover boy, please!

Asher Lundrigan: Certainly not. But that wasn't even the most important part of what I said to Myeong-Shin either. We still have to share us here about how you had to ask around for Natalie Gregoris's number the night before that match-

Theo-Alexandre Pinson:Right, but I'll get to that once we get to 'The Home Run'. Now can we go back to what you guys talked about?

Kelsey Altherr: Calm down, guys. Calm down. Now let's go back to it.

Asher Lundrigan:Alright, let's do that. (Clears throat) Anyways, I think at that point I was still amazed we were still in this game. Kinda expected it to either end with a big bang or a downer of a loss...but instead we were heading into the extra innings. I think that inning we went with a fairly straightforward combination, that being fourseam bottom-fourseam top-add a twoseam and sinker to the bottom. Didn't want to go for a tricky fight, and there was no need for it anyway when Myeong-Shin was having an unbelievable match too.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: No doubt. It's hard to say what exactly happened, but the next five innings went by like a flash, as we went into the extra innings. Myeong-Shin, of course, was still pitching like he was at the very end of his time as a pitcher, and I think we, on the other hand, had to start sending in bullpen every possible inning. Leftie, Rightie, Sidearm, just throw everybody into the mound.

Diane Salah Bergeron: It was a weird feeling, where the matches felt long and short because of how many changes there were, even if all the batters were registering an out every other minute, maximum five pitches...there were so many changes, and we started to lose focus on the bat. I remember there was one hit on the eleventh when Remi Aubry-Bossaka, a double, but it went unconverted and we went back to the drawing board.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: Oh, that play? It was a double play that fell right into my glove...it was a rare one that I didn't expect to happen so easily, but that day the infielder glove did feel lot bigger and all the hits went into a groundball out....a day like that certainly was what I needed.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: Right. (eyerolls) I think as it went on, became clearer and clearer that whatever the outcome we were gonna get had to be done out of spontaneity. Maybe a home run or just a triple that would be completed on a sacrifice bunt. Something that's straightforward on surface, but hard to actualise - you know, we were throwing everybody at them and it was working, and they had Myeong-Shin. And everybody knew he's gonna finish the game. Period.

5. Leading Up to 'The Home Run'

Kelsey Altherr: Then came the greatest home run of all time. A walk-off homer, right at the end of the fifteenth inning too. There's so much we can say and so many angles we can use to cover it, really.

Andrew Weintraub: No doubt. I think we knew that something was going to happen after the way the fourteenth-inning ended. We were all waiting out in the dugout, being like, 'something amazing's gonna happen this time and you know only one side's going to score tonight. That's how I went about describing it, really, having pitched first nine innings. You know, like how there's this feeling you can't shake off? Especially when you are watching from the dugout and feeling the highs and lows in unison.

Asher Lundrigan: Yes. It's like that sense of inevitability which is scarier than any sense of screen violence. The top of the inning, of course, went like that because there were three batters on bat, and none survived. Me, Josie Myette (who replaced Lee Rutherford on outfield) and Mira Cho-Lawson (who played first that night), each of us had solid contact to the bat once, but a couple of fouls really frustrated us and then we all swung out fairly easy. Who was the pitcher that inning, Andy?

Andrew Weintraub: Anna Dambrink? Senior righty who used to play basketball too right?

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: Yeah her. Tall girl who went to Saguenay State. Her stuff was pretty good, but everybody knew you can't use Anna as a starter, so bullpen it was. It was a risky decision though, so we were even more relieved when her location really worked out.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: Dang straight. She was on the mound just when you guys needed her. 91, 92 and 93 miles too.

Andrew Weintraub: Just unstoppable, even if just for that inning.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: The walk back into the dugout after that inning wasn't easy. I was third at bat, after Noel and Diane, and it was like 'holy shit'. All of our heads were spinning.

Diane Salah Bergeron: It was that odd feeling of silence that really got into our heads there, and then I remembered Theo, who captained us that year, looking back and being like 'Let's just convert once, guys. That's it. Let's fucking do it.'

And then the coaches came in and gave every one of us a fist bump and a nod. Gestures that may have been small on appearance, but really meant a lot to us then.

Asher Lundrigan: And there's always that question over whether we should have substituted Myeong-Shin out for a different pitcher. We had a few lined up on bullpen at the time, of course, and with the way the innings have turned out, I think we could have covered for at least two more innings with our bullpen out. I remember saying to coach Sung, 'no, this is the final match. And he's been practically unhittable at this point, so let's give Myeong-Shin one last time to pitch.'

Heo Myeong-Shin: In hindsight, that was the right decision to go for.

Don't get me wrong, kids, it's not normal for you to be back out there when you have already pitched for last twelve innings and have thrown 121 pitches. You shouldn't be pitching that much. But for me, that was it. Everybody knew I was going to play shortstop and third for the Fighting Irish, and that, combined with football, put pitching off the window. So no, I don't regret it.

Asher Lundrigan: Now I just remember the homer.

Diane Salah Bergeron, Theo-Alexandre Pinson, Heo Myeong-Shin, Andrew Weintraub, Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: Same.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: So before this year, I didn't really know Theo much, at least in person. And one of the things I learned about him during that year, and especially that match, was that Theo knew how to be on top of the so-called waves. Whenever he's at bat, he's really taking his time with entrance, moving like The Miz, before moving his right hand to his right ear. It's those things that he use...whenever possible...to thrive off the heat and the pressure, that makes him such a great hitter.

And as the opposing infielder, you kinda have to think ahead and figure out where he's going to hit because Theo can hit in any direction. Unlike fielding, he's really good with getting the hits over the defensive shifts, so you always have to stay aware and hope for the best.

Andrew Weintraub: But there's also that drive, the desire for a single home run, that he sometimes finds himself into. In pros, you don't always see him land them in clutch situations, but he used to be really good at that back then.

So, I think we were into the two out territory in the inning, and he entered the bat. I remember Theo doing the usual entrance and then gestures. He was so calm and ready, it was amazing to watch.

Asher Lundrigan: I remember that feeling coming from Theo, as he entered the bat. and thinking like, Right, so I should give him a sign to go for a low inside slider, outside corner sinker and probably a high fastball to strike him out. As a catcher, you always have to think about how to read a batter, but you know, there's always that risk of overreading what a batter would think. The data from his high school days did suggest that he was probably at his weakest when a righty would throw high-fastball right into that left corner, so I went with it.

Heo Myeong-Shin: I think Asher did a good job of covering the pitches, and just going ahead with what the plan was. So I just did my best, as suggested right there, to go for the strikeout. Besides, it was them who were really hurrying their best to make something out of this inning. We just had to quickly turn this around, especially after what happened on top of the inning.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: I remember that. The slider I first let it go, but it was just barely in the strike zone for the umpire to give a strike sign. The second one was indeed a sinker, and that too got me pretty good there. So next, I blinked twice and asked myself, 'what would be the best way to strike myself out', and decided to use that.

Then the next thing I heard was the meeting of the ball, and just everybody shouting at me.

6. Fin.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: Right, the home run. I remember feeling pretty confident about it, but it wasn't...something that I had expected to happen, in all honesty. I don't think Myeong-Shin did, definitely not Asher nor anybody else there.

Heo Myeong-Shin: To give you the credit though, there would have been only two people who would have scored a game-scoring home run that night. Especially with the way the batters have been playing all evening, and how the narrative...just got drawn like that. It's funny how the fate sorta worked out?

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: That I agree with you there, Myeong-Shin. I can still see the ball drawing a full parabola whenever I think about that very moment. The sound of ball just getting smashed was unbelievable...and you know, it's just one of those things that you just had to be there in order to get the full feeling of.

Diane Salah Bergeron: The very relief and the thrill we got the moment he hit the ball and it went on...and on..and on and..on. I remember all of us feeling so proud of what we have done, that being to win a title and to deny Erskine what would have been a trifecta. It's really amazing, and I remember the whole crowd shouting for minutes...that felt more like hours.

Asher Lundrigan: I still remember the very signal I gave, that was to just go for high fastball like I said just minutes ago.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: I remember that too. It was probably a good idea, just to make sure it would strike Theo out, or have the ball overpower his bats for an outfield fly. In the end, the location was slightly off and that went in for a great home run.

Heo Myeong-Shin: And of course, that's how baseball sometimes goes like that. You know, I get asked a lot of questions from young children about what it's like to win a natty or just being good at that level of schooling, but a few about that home run I allowed. To kids, it's still a huge deal because you know, when you wake up in the morning and see the front page headline being like '허명신 홈런 맞다 (Heo Myeong-Shin allowed HR)', that kinda leaves a lot of impact on people's mind, you know?

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: I think that the more we think about it over the years, the feeling kinda subsides and is replaced by the what if's of 'dang, we came that close to making history'. So still a bit of bummer but not crushing enough to really ask over. You know, you feel for your teammates and Myeong-Shin and the seniors, but you also think about how far we've come along. Didn't both the juniors and the senior win five nationals during our four years, Asher?

Asher Lundrigan: We did. Some of us in either years weren't there for the titles we won on our freshmen years, so I think Lester and a couple of seniors that year were only there for the double our freshman year? Of course you, Sam, was there for all five. I wasn't around for the only title, the Cheongryonggi (Blue Dragon Flag) Classic our senior year because health reasons that senior year. It was frustrating and tragic for a lot of us on that team, really. I had stories, Myeong-Shin lost his mum that spring, et cetera...

Heo Myeong-Shin: Just...a lot of thoughts coming from that moment, really. It's really tough for us to be part of what's really a historic moment in general, but also an a-historic moment for us too. It's really hard because the group of juniors and seniors we had that year may have been the best since the 1983-1984 teams, maybe even the greatest ever. We all had our love for the game, came close to matching the history twice but just couldn't do it.

We just wanted the final hit to go our way.

Diane Salah Bergeron: I did my best, after the very home run, to take it all in, because I knew anything like this wasn't going to happen again. I had a baseball scholarship with Gyeongbuk A&M, but knew that I was going to have a different career outside of baseball after college, so I tried my best to just cherish the experience and immerse myself in the moment as we all stormed the mound.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: It's really an unique situation, especially since it's collegiate baseball we talking about here. The other team had to stay out on the turf for the final handshakes, and the playing of the school songs and everything. Having known these Erskine guys for ages, especially Myeong-Shin and Asher, I cannot say enough on how much respect I have for these guys, especially because of how strong and respectable of opposition they were.

Andrew Weintraub: No doubt. A lot of us have come to know each other the years, probably because we were on the same boat really, so you know we all admire each other for how gutsy we have become over the years and how teamwork really brought ourselves together.

Diane Salah Bergeron: So the handshakes followed, and Erskine played the Red and Grey Song...and then it was our turn to celebrate. The very moment on the turf afterwards, as we hugged and kissed each other, before bowing to the fans out on the third base....it was one of the greatest feelings I've ever had in my life.

Andrew Weintraub: And we all sang the school song, the 'Daesang Deacons Unite'...and we cried and cried and cried.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: It really took a lot of time for us to get over the feeling, as the exams happened, the school was over and we all went to the summer vacation. 10 years later (OOC: written from the POV of first 3 parts, which were written back in WBC 51 and not 53), now we can really speak a bit more with nuanced, balanced perspectives of what exactly happened that night. I'll always be proud of being part of that Erskine team that came so close to win the trifecta.

Heo Myeong-Shin: I totally agree with you. You know, growing up in Cornwall where my dad won collegiate and national titles and whatnot while at Queen's College, there was that shine and glitter all about the expectations. I think that if me right now had told me of 8-year old me that I would one day win five nationals as a submarine pitcher, Hector Kweon trophy as a defensive player (specifically in rover position), and both Quebec Series and Dagan Series MVP honours as a third baseman....I would not have believed myself.

And along the journey, so many memories were made and of course, this match was one of them. Just few weeks ago, my eight year old son and six year old daughter found this very game on the VousTube and watched it with Naomi and his grandpa. The kids, of course, weren't born yet, but Naomi was indeed there with my in-laws and my dad and my sister on the first-base stands, so she knew what was going on.

So when I came back to Quebec City few days after that, just in time for training camp with the national team, the kids recreated the home run for me. Of course, the irony being that Seung-Geon's a lefty, so he was pitching as a left-handed sidearm...which is a rarity these days.

And then it was Seung-Yeon who gave that classic pose, with Theo letting go of his non-dominant hand as he swung the bat, as the softball went out of our house in Quebec City....It was a really eye-opening moment, especially after all that Naomi and I had gone through at that age.

It was that summer when I told Naomi, who I have already dating for a couple of years out on the cottage county just two hours north of Kingston, that one day we were going to get married, and that my mum's going to watch over us in heaven. I think she still does.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: And I'll remember those two weeks of the Golden Lion for rest of my life. To make it to the end of the season, especially with all that pressure and expectations coming our way, and then to come out on top of it...the true happily ever after moment for me and everybody else on that team.

I learned so much about being a true leader for any team or nation I represent that year, and to have played a role that is now etched into the history books...it's such a privilege and honour. That certainly allowed me to carry on with my life as a baseball player at Queen's College, and then Saguenay Lions and now, Brattleboro Brats.

Now, that's not just the only thing that stood out from those two weeks, because I'd be lying if I said so. I remember how we all celebrated back in the locker room after the hurrahs and lifting the coach up in the air mid-turf. There was so much champagne flowing that we were all drunk and the floors were slippery. And then there were lots of alumni who came to celebrate with us and I still remember how Guy Mauriac, the actor, was like 'there's somebody I'd like you to meet, and she's your age was'. I was wondering who it would be by any chance, but on the deep inside it was Natalie Gregoris. Myeong-Shin, of course, knows the whole story going back years-'

Heo Myeong-Shin: Was it the very summer after our sophomore year, when I first met Naomi and you were still fooling around like a manwhore?

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: Hey hey, don't say that! But yes.

Heo Myeong-Shin: Yeah, I remember that. It was a really memorable summer for both of us. Of course, both Theo and I had won some trophy, I think for me it was Eundanpoonggi (Silver Leaf) and the very Golden Lion we talked about earlier, and Sangwon won Cheongryonggi (Blue Dragon) that year. So we headed into that summer, thinking like 'dang, hopefully something good's gonna happen that summer' while watching 'The Heart of Sixteen' and you were like 'dang, Natalie Gregoris is such a good actress, and she's our age? How in the world.'

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: Right. Of course, you teased me a bit here and there that summer. Anyways, so Guy Mauriac introduced me to Natalie, who unfortunately had to first see me in an awkward situation, all drunk and wet with champagne poured all over me. And in her sweet, alto voice she's like 'oh, hey, I'm Nat' and I was thinking on the inside like 'holyshitholyshitholyshit this is Natalie Gregoris, is this true?????'.

Diane Salah Bergeron: Not your proudest moment. We were all drunk and yet the very S-level chad in you, standing in front of Natalie Gregoris, being awkward as hell-

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: Certainly not. So I had to go outside the locker room a bit, apologise to her for being a mess and then shower. Little did I know that it would take seven years before we'd be more than friends though. Not sure I survived through all those years.

Asher Lundrigan: You know, it's still amazing how you took so long. Of course, this is rich coming from me of all persons but-

Heo Myeong-Shin: (Clears throat) Yes, but you had Myeong-Yoon (author's note: Quebecois women's basketball superstar, Heo Myeong-Yoon, is Asher's best friend dating back to middle school) who happened to be the biggest Plongeon fan in Erskine those days.

Asher Lundrigan: Right, I do. But in the end, you and Nat went through a lot of changes in life. We can all google about your past relationships and her ex-boyfriends and all that too, and nobody will deny that you two had lots on hand. In the end, however, you two were good friends for such a long time that I think it was inevitable.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: Absolutely. We are getting married at the end of next year, and it's hard to believe we are going to have known each other for over a decade by then. Can you believe it? And to imagine that it started all that night- adds an additional feeling of specialness into it. It's something I'll never forget and be grateful for.

[Abanhfleft]

MUSINGS OF AN ARMORED DINNER JACKET
Official blog of Ibrahim Ahmadinejad, former Right Fielder of the Verbergerkinnh Cubs and the Abanhfleft Revolution

THE FMLB SPLIT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES: A DISASTER FOR BASEBALL IN ABANHFLEFT OR NOT?

WRITING FROM EFFELENENDRO - I mean, that wasn’t really a surprise to anyone, was it? The Abanhfleft Revolution, plucky losers who just can’t seem to catch a break, going up against the defending World Baseball Classic champions Chromatika. It was never going to be a pretty sight. But hey, at least we managed to win a game against the defending champions, right? That’s got to count for something, even if it does mean that we have now dropped down to third place with a 5-4 record. We also still have a positive run differential compared to Brookstation, but what good does a better run differential really do when the team above you has beaten you more times than you’ve beaten them? I have a feeling that the return series at our place against Brookstation could very well make or break the Revolution’s chances of making it through to the next round of the 53rd World Baseball Classic. But we still have a lot more obstacles to go through before we can even begin thinking about that.

But let’s not dwell on the very recent past. It’s not like there’s anything that we can do about it now, can we? Chromatika, the defending champions, beat Abanhfleft in the National Stadium by two games to one, and that’s all that she wrote. Instead, why don’t we focus on the not-so-recent past, towards one of the biggest scandals that baseball in Abanhfleft has ever faced. Yes, my fans and followers, I am indeed talking about the 2016 Fleftic Major League of Baseball split, probably the biggest scandal to ever happen in Fleftic baseball since the Piuui Black Sox allegedly threw the 1959 Kopa ng Beisbol against the Releinthi Statesmen at the behest of Domenico Vincenzi, a powerful and rich businessman rumored to have ties with the notorious Conam crime organization. This scandal has subsequently been referred to as the Green Sox scandal because green was the color of the old one thousand penenk bill, and the Black Sox organization had practically turned their whole team green thanks to being covered by that much money. But we’re not here to talk about the Green Sox, we’re here to talk about the 2016 FMLB split.

First a little background on the split, and why it happened in the first place. In 2015, baseball was losing its popularity in Abanhfleft by the crap-ton, pardon the French. The FMLB was the league with the lowest average attendance (not counting some of the “newer” leagues like the Lacrosse League of Abanhfleft and such) with only about 12,670 people attending games on average. The league and the teams were all hemorrhaging money, and while owners wanted to sell, nobody wanted to buy what was seen as a guaranteed cash drain. And then the Abanhfleft Revolution did well in the International Baseball Slam, and suddenly people were flocking back in droves to watch the stars of the IBS play in the league that they basically had forgotten even existed. People who probably didn’t even know if their city or province had a team or not suddenly declared themselves lifelong fans of that team. Attendances and viewership rates shot through the roof, with viewership making and breaking the 20 million mark during the 2015 Kopa ng Beisbol championship series between the Selid Nebulae and the Habalanbacushe Balderdash. That season, while FMLB’s books were still in the red, for the first time in two decades they were losing only around 300 million new penenks as opposed to the 400-500 million losses that they had been posting before. Some times, like the aforementioned Nebulae and Balderdash, actually made money for the first time in a long time because of the resurgence of interest in baseball brought about by the Revolution’s exploits in the International Baseball Slam.

A year after the historic IBS that basically resurrected baseball in Abanhfleft, a new international baseball competition known as the Baseball Club Championships popped up. Habalanbacushe, as the defending Kopa ng Beisbol champions, were entered into that competition as Abanhfleft’s representative. The Balderdash were able to make it as far as the semifinals of the Baseball Club Championships before they were eliminated from the running by the Ny Aucklanda Warlocks, and the additional revenue generated by these BCC games opened their eyes, and the eyes of everyone else in the league, to a new form of revenue that could sustain these clubs long after the initial wave of renewed interest brought about by the Revolution’s “success” in the IBS. And then news came from Super-Llamaland of plans to create a so-called “Baseball Elite League” which would pit Super-Llamaland’s best baseball clubs against some of Abanhfleft’s best baseball clubs. Now everyone was wondering: which clubs were the BEL talking about? After a few weeks of speculation, the identities of the sixteen clubs were finally revealed: Habalanbacushe Balderdash, Selid Nebulae, Pilken Blue Sox, Wanda Island Warlocks, Verbergerkinnh Cubs, Dorfdifving Bombers, Oontaz Sultans, Keephall Vikings, Porcusces Battleships, Ceneisis Volcanoes, Copper Cuprum Miners, Bytuch Wyk Scallops, Ja Ministers, Trendstart Conquistadors, Effelenendro Islanders, and Beledor Jabberwocky. And as soon as the identities of these clubs were revealed, these sixteen clubs voted to leave the FMLB and, at the same time, join the Baseball Elite League.

Now you can imagine that this didn’t go down well at all with both the FMLB and the fans. The FMLB at the time had 30 teams, and the decision to add or remove a team could only be made after a simple majority vote by all teams, and since sixteen was technically a majority, that allowed the sixteen to leave the FMLB and join the BEL. The fourteen remaining teams quickly voted to amend the rules so that now, departure from the league had to be approved by a 75 percent supermajority, and that a team could only join another league if all the other teams voted to approve it. But, at the start, it appeared to be too little too late. The Fleftic teams in the Baseball Elite League were making a killing over there, while the drama around the whole thing (and Abanhfleft’s failure to do anything of note in the World Baseball Classic) seemed to have turned people off from baseball from the time being, and once again attendance and revenues declined. Despite all this, nobody entertained any thoughts of following what were now being called “the Wayward Sixteen” to the Baseball Elite League, and anybody who did was cast out for entertaining thoughts of treason. At least that was how it looked.

And then, after one season, the Baseball Elite League collapsed. But unlike the numerous other times where leagues had failed, money had nothing at all to do with the fall of the BEL. Well, I don’t know, actually. But certainly one of the biggest factors for the BEL falling apart was the suspension of the Baseball Club Championships, and once it became clear that the BCC was never going to be unsuspended ever again, the Fleftic teams in the BEL backed out and left the league hoping that they would be welcomed back to the FMLB with open arms. But the Wayward Sixteen seemed to have forgotten that we Fleftics could be a very resentful bunch, and that maybe we didn’t want them back in our league after leaving us all behind just like that to chase after the money. And, with sixteen teams gone, the FMLB actually managed to make some money for the first time in a long time during the 2016 season, enough money that the league were convinced to approve the addition of two expansion teams into the smaller FMLB, the Mydeuzey Sand Lizards and the Keklavik Polar Bears. For the first time in a long time, the FMLB were actually and finally healthy finance-wise, and there was just no reason for the league to welcome the Wayward Sixteen back into the fold.

Coming into 2017, the front offices of both the Pilken Blue Sox and the Habalanbacushe Balderdash proposed to the rest of the Wayward Sixteen that they should create a league of their own to compete against the FMLB and then bank on either their new league merging with FMLB or FMLB merging with their new league. The other fourteen clubs in the Wayward Sixteen voted overwhelmingly against this proposal, as they believed that creating another league separate from FMLB would finally kill what little remaining goodwill the league had for the Wayward Sixteen. Instead, the other fourteen clubs favored approaching FMLB with a proposal that would see them slowly readmitted back into the league, one team at a time if need be. This was the offer that the Wayward Sixteen would eventually present to the FMLB (with one change, that being the readmission of two teams per season), and this was the offer that the FMLB front office laughed at since they saw it as a weak attempt by the Wayward Sixteen to be brought back into the fold. No thank you, the FMLB told the Sixteen. You’ve made your bed and now you get to sleep in it. And really, why did they have to expand the league once again? The smaller FMLB brought about by the split was also now the leaner and meaner FMLB, financially stable and financially sustainable even in the years where interest in baseball was declining due to the national baseball team becoming a meme. There was just no need that the league’s front office could see about welcoming back with open arms the sixteen clubs who ditched them for the money. Certainly, that was the way that they saw things.

But the fans didn’t. While interest in baseball was indeed waning because of the Abanhfleft Revolution’s failures to do anything that mattered in the World Baseball Classic, the fans that had been created by the sport’s resurgence in 2015 wanted to see their teams being able to play once again. They didn’t care if the sixteen teams wanted to make their own league or rejoin the FMLB; they just wanted to see the teams that they had only begun caring for and supporting recently get back in action. And when news came out that FMLB had rejected a deal with the Wayward Sixteen to slowly but surely readmit those teams back, that was the moment that fan anger finally boiled over. Nobody cared about the history of the split or the logistics of attempting to mend it; the fans just wanted their teams back. It got to the point where fans of all teams, both from the Wayward Sixteen and the FMLB, were staging daily protests and demonstrations in front of the FMLB headquarters in Effelenendro to convince the league to accept everyone back. Compromise was no longer a choice; all sixteen teams had to be welcomed back or else the protests were going to continue. Boycotts were also being mooted. That was how desperate the baseball-loving public of Abanhfleft wanted, no, needed to see their country’s league be brought back together.

The FMLB finally relented to fan pressure and approved the entry of all of the Wayward Sixteen on March 1, 2018, resulting in the single largest expansion of the Fleftic Major League of Baseball in the league’s entire history. It was already too late for FMLB to create a new schedule integrating the Wayward Sixteen so they split up the teams into two leagues, with the “Loyal Fourteen” and the two expansion franchises in Keklavik and Mydeuzey going into the Central League and the Wayward Sixteen in the International League. The schedule used for the International League was one that they had created back when they were actually putting serious thought into creating another league to compete against the FMLB. The intention for putting everyone in two leagues was to keep everyone separated while the front office worked out how to reintegrate the Wayward Sixteen in time for the 2019 season and make it look like nothing had changed before the split in 2016, but the fans didn’t care about all that behind the scenes stuff anymore. All that mattered to them was that the split was over, FMLB had been healed, and everyone was free to enjoy baseball once again without worrying about allegiances and such.

Well, that’s the history of the 2016 FMLB split. Now, as to my perspective of it, I’m afraid that there isn’t a lot that I can say regarding the split itself, but the split definitely caught me and my friends and fellow players in Verbergerkinnh by surprise. The front office didn’t run this by us, and they all expected that everyone was just going to be fine with it. Nobody was, but only a few decided to leave the organization and sign with an actual FMLB team because, well, our contracts at the time were big and fat. Some decided to leave Verbergerkinnh for smaller wages out of principle, but I wasn’t one of those players. I’ll admit it, the money was the only reason why I stayed with the Cubs. Well, that and actual loyalty to the club. But if I’m being perfectly honest, the money was outweighing my loyalty by something 60 to 40, sometimes even 70 to 30. That’s just the name of the game, and I’m but one player.

It wasn’t just an easy ride, of course. There were troubles during those times, troubles like scouring the free agent lists to pick up players to replace those who had left because of the abrupt nature of the split. And the plane rides to and from the Llamalean teams were not fun at all. Imagine the Toros de Haritzaga going away to the Trendstart Conquistadors, or vice versa. Now multiply that by ten. That’s just a fraction of the exhaustion we experienced when we had to go away to the likes of Penbrooke or Nandaozhou. In a sense, we all felt relief when the BCC was suspended and the Baseball Elite League subsequently fell apart. It’s not because of anything our Llamalean friends have done, of course not. But the logistics of all that back and forth between two countries separated by Allah knows what was not going to help out our careers at all. And that’s all that I wrote about the 2016 FMLB split. It might have been a tad bit longer than my usual stuff but there were just a lot of things that had to be covered and mentioned about the split that I couldn’t leave out for fear of supporting one side or demonizing the other. But of course, all this isn’t the full story. There are a lot of books out there that have been written about this, and the one that I recommend the most is Wayward: The Reasons Why the FMLB Split Happened and Why It’s Not What You Think It Is by Pavel Olluvanov. Until then, this is the Armored Dinner Jacket saying ciao, peace, Catch you in my next post.

[Muralos]

The Muralosian National Baseball Team's Thoughts On Their Upcoming Series, With Some Extras
Revealed Again in Quotes and Vignettes

Matvei Golovin, catcher: "So, the next team we play is Mylderm. Think we can sweep this one?"

Aleksandro Chen, relief pitcher: "I don't know. They were able to win a game against TJUN-ia, and they have an overpowered pitcher. Have you seen this guy? He's ambidextrous! Practically two pitchers in one!"

Lin Ruiz, starting pitcher: "Um, you know that's not how that works, right?"

Matvei Golovin: "He's like the two of you combined. It'd be like... if the two of you went through reverse mitosis."

(Roberto Huerta, national team manager, is heard snickering.)

Matvei Golovin: "Am I wrong, Coach? Instead of splitting up, you fuse together..."

Roberto Huerta: (still snickering) "Reverse mitosis... gosh, that's genius."

~ ~ ~

Sara Donaldson, left fielder: "Back-to-back series wins! Amazing! This is the power of having a bench, isn't it!"

Kotaro Nakamura, shortstop: "Yeah, a little piece of furniture goes a long way."

Sara Donaldson: "Kotaro, PLEASE. I will say, though, it's terrible that we still haven't submitted the names of the bench players to the WBC people, and it's bad that we still can't have a larger starting rotation and a bullpen. Why is this so hard? I mean, I couldn't begin to understand the complexities of the Muralosian bureaucracy around sports, but I'm pretty sure this is all still within our power."

Aleksandro Chen: "Ma'am....."

Sara Donaldson: "If the next words you're about to say are what I think they are....."

[Atheara]

What Does Atheara Say?
Atheara's start to plan a National Baseball League.

Matchday 7
Zwangzug                  3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0  5
Atheara                   1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1  4

Matchday 8
Zwangzug                  0 0 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0  5
Atheara                   0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 4  9

Matchday 9
Zwangzug                  0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  4
Atheara                   0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

"Well... This is fantastic, i think." Says so Imperial Council member, whom is also the Minister of Athletics and Sporting in Atheara, Kevin Laycent - Nuzel. He's been reviewing the current popularity of sports in Atheara and doing other tasks what not a Minister of Sports would not normally do. With the upward trend of baseball gaining popularity in Atheara, maybe there should be a sort of baseball league sorted out. The plan for an Athearan Hockey League was delayed due to some internal problems, but that was solved. However with the current conditions, baseball has a more higher importance. But first, he needed to see if Atheara as a whole is willing to engage itself with the sport.

"Maybe several polls should work out in favour. But first i must ask someone.' Kevin thought to himself as he picked up his office phone, which was next to hims computer, which was in his private office. He dialed the numbers in, and after a little bit of waiting... The person on the other side of the phone finally picks up. "Ah, Laycent. Is there anything you need?" The person asked.

"Madam, i've been reviewing the rise of baseball's popularity and it seems to have increased for quite a while between the time the last WBC ended and up until this current time. I would like to propose something."

"Well, i was reviewing some public issues and your called interrupted me, but i'm in a good mood. What is it that you propose?"

"Madam, i propose to hold a small National Baseball League for Atheara. With the rising levels of popularity for baseball, and that considering we don't really have a consistent showing of baseball, we might miss a good opportunity to nurture our sporting talents further. Not only that, we could actually put some of the built baseball stadiums that several cities requested into professional use."

"You do know this requires some planning, right?"

"Madam, i understand what you think about it. But i promise everything will work out."

"Then go ahead and start your plan. You have the green light."

"Thank you, Madam Delis. I await at the next planned Council Meeting."

"Phew, what a sigh of relief." Kevin said to himself. Now that he had the permission from the Councilliary, he could finally start the plans for a National Baseball League. 'Now to start the polls. But now i have to manage it all by myself. Well for now at the very least. There is also the next Council Meeting which is actually like, tomorrow. I can propose the idea and concept and do the vote first, then do the polls. Well then, let's start and prepare myself for tomorrow. I know it's gonna be hectic.' Kevin thought as he shut down his computer and left his office for his house.

The next day, at the Council Meeting... Kevin showing his idea and concept...

"-Which is why i propose a National Baseball League for Atheara. Thank you very much for listening, you may start the vote." Kevin said, which after that he walks down from the podium to his Council seat. "Are there any objections before i start the voting process?" The Councilliary, Eriana Delis asked before hearing silence. "None? Well that's a surprise. Alright please write your choice thenput it next to the poll box on the podium. After that, everyone is dismissed." Delis says before walking down the podium herself and exiting the back door labelled "URGENT MATTERS ONLY," seems she had another important matter to deal with.

And after doing as told, i exited the Council Room. That was a bit stressful to be honest. I'm only 22, yet i proposed something as insane as a National Baseball League for a nation like Atheara. Anyway, the results should be out tomorrow. 'Now maybe i should get myself a cold brewed coffee... Should i get Black Talk or Brewster? Eh, let's go with Black Talk coffee. I heard it's good.' I thought to myself before exiting the building and heading to my car, where i saw my adopted 6 year old son sit in the car. I just hope tomorrow goes the way i wanted it to be.

---

Council Meeting: "Should Atheara Have a National Baseball League?
Yes: 64
No: 30
Abstain: 56

"Exactly the way i wanted it to be."

[Brookstation]

This video was uploaded on Wetube on Scott Parker's channel on 8th December 2021

Disclaimer: Everything mentioned in the video was based on my personal opinions. Anything in this video doesn't reflect on the Brook Baseball Association's opinions.

Huh, I knew this was coming.

Right so welcome back to the channel - your boy is back with another new video. My name is Scott Parker and I make videos on everything related to sports. So if you are a Brook and a sports lover, go and change the colour of the subscribe button.

If any of you have watched my last video carefully, you must have realised that I mentioned that I was a charm and the opposite of whatever I said always happened. You saw that happen when we faced Abanhfleft. Now, last day I had told that our future in the tournament is bright and indeed, much bright it is. To be frank, I don't have much to speak about in this video. I couldn't find any fallacy in our team's performance. Both teams played, the team from Sherpa Empire was more experienced and thus they won. That's it. Giving the summary of the match is the newspaper's job, not mine. Thus today I will be narrating an important incident in the history of baseball in Brookstation. I mean I started out with making informative videos on sports and after getting a great response on those videos, I came up with roasting and reviewing stuff.

Now without wasting anymore time, lets get into it.
The incident dates back to the 90's, 1991 to be precise. Baseball isn't a popular sport in Brookstation and you can see that today itself, so you can jolly well imagine the condition of baseball in the 1990s. Simply, no one cared about it. The only reason it existed was because the founders of the country had an aim of making Brookstation a sports loving and developed country and thus emphasis should be given to every sport. Today, baseball might cross hockey to become the 3rd most popular sport in Brookstation but things weren't quite the same that time. Although, Brookstation never had a proper baseball league, the sport was just kept alive with the concept of monthly games. So, what used to happen was- There were six teams comprising of university students, unemployed young people and some other people. There used to be three matches in a month where one team used to face another randomly. Then in the final week of the month, two out of the three winners with the better stats faced each other. The only reason why there was such an obscure form of tournament was because no one was interested to watch the baseball match in the weekdays. They tried to gather audiences on Sundays but still that did not work to a great extent. However the final games gathered a lot of attention. People usually didn't turn up for the match but rather for the performances and the fair held nearby. It was a good way to hang out with friends or just spend time with your family in the weekends and that is what grew the popularity of baseball among university and high school students.

In every tournament, there has to be two good teams who move on to become rivals and this case was true here as well. The two teams of Halebid , Rubber Soul and Mellow Yellow (the first named after a Beatles Album and the other on a song by Donovan). Rubber Souls were the fan favourites. The club still exists today and is going to be there in the newly planned Brook Baseball Bash. Rubber Souls and Mellow Yellows were the ones who usually faced each other in the finals. Both had players from the national team and thus the Federation didn't make this two teams play in the regular matches as then one would have the prospect of missing out. In the 1991 season, these two teams again faced each other quite a number of times as always. It was the month of December and the season stats showed that both had faced each other in 8 monthly finale and both sides had won 4 times. Thus the final of December was going to decide the champion of the derby and the season. It had a huge crowd, much more than expected.

The game began with Rubber Soul going out first. The match went on at its own normal pace without disruption. Rubber Souls skipper John Doyle homered a run in the fourth innings and started their account. However, it did not take long for the Yellows to catch up to the score in the sixth innings. Things became different in the penultimate innings of the game. Rubber Souls hit two home runs in that innings and got another point. The details are not much clear as there isn't an official record of it. Yellows didn't get a single run in the innings. That is when things started going into the wrong direction. Two or three audiences started invading the crowd and came up to the Umpire and said something to him. Then suddenly, the umpire started shouting and started to yell. He demanded everyone to come to the field as there was a threat of a bomb blast. This caused havoc among the crowd. They started running in every direction they could. At the heat of the moment, people didn't think of the fact why no security stopped those men nor how the umpire was so sure of it. They just followed orders. The match had to be abandoned obviously and everyone was made to sit in a circle around the field. Fortunately, no one was injured. The police was called and they came to the field just to waste an hour finding the 'bomb'.

In reality, there wasn't any bomb at all. It was a plot cooked up by the fans and staff of the Yellows just to abandon the game if their team loses and bribed the umpire to play along the situation. The umpire, Mike Courts was banned from umpiring any game and was also sentenced to a short period in jail for creating mass panic. That year the champions trophy wasn't awarded to either of the team and the Mellow Yellows received a five year ban. The League was also halted for three months and then it resumed again in the April of 1992. However, the person who came up with this evil idea is yet unknown. The reason I told of this scandal is because today baseball is growing popular in Brookstation and we are participating in the world's biggest baseball tournament. None of these would have been possible had this league not been there and also it is almost 30 years since the scandal and thus I think we should no about this.

Our next series is with Sevendia at home and I will be present in Halebid this time. So lets hope I am able to bring you with a positive ground report in my next videos. Till then, goodbye.

[South Newlandia]

The baseball landscape of South Newlandia

Spoilered for size

The 12 teams in the South Newlandian League of Llamaphant Pro Baseball come in all kinds of shapes in sizes. Here’s some fun facts about every team.

Elephant Valley Homers
The Homers play in the biggest stadium of South Newlandia, the Elephant Stadium, filling 15,000. This makes it nearly half as large as the smallest stadium of the Super-Llamanean League!

Elephant Valley United
United shares a market with the Homers, but so do the two Newport-based teams. Their fun fact is that they were the first South Newlandian baseball team to hire a foreign coach, signing Tikariotian Raymond McFadden. They were also the first team to be able to draft a player first overall in the LPB draft.

Masmow Dragons
Located on the far-away Dragon Island, things tend to be different for the Dragons. Along with the smallest stadium, they also have the biggest distance to other stadiums from their Dragon Island Arena home.

Ruditown Dachshunds
The Dachshunds are notable for playing with relatively few South Newlandian players. In fact, their regular starting lineup features only one – Center Fielder Rufus Salas.

Newport Dolphins
The Dolphins, meanwhile, go the opposite approach, featuring five South Newlandian WBC players on their roster. Of course, this goes both ways, the Dolphins have acquired some great players, but some have simply developed here.

Newport Owls
The Owls hold the record for the closest distance to another team, with Soaring Wings Field and Dolphin Stadium being only a few stations apart from each other. Of course, they share this fact with their rival.

Rüsselsheim Blue Sox
The Sox, having the rest of the conference on the other side of the country, hold the record for the longest distance to any other team in their division, excluding Masmow. In fact, seven of the eight teams in other divisions are closer to the Sox than Newport and Sophie City.

Sophie City Monarchs
The Monarchs will be forever enshrined in LPB history and trivia answers by virtue of having taken part of the opening game of the first LPB season, in which they lost to the Wizards. This was, of course, because they were the last SNBL champions; their only playoff run in the modern era.

Malidridad Mariners
The Mariners are the only team outside of Masmow to not play on the mainland. They are also the only franchise that has ever moved in the modern era, with the Mariners having previously played as the Southwestern Baselanders. This also makes the Mariners South Newlandias newest team.

St. Riecarn Saints
The Saints play in the smallest market of all LPB teams, with St. Riecarn only having about 24,000 inhabitants, making it the 19th-biggest city in South Newlandia. Having been an expansion team when the SNBL expanded to 16 games, the Saints are also one of the LPB’s newest teams.

Sun City Flames
The Flames are tied with the Saints for being one of the newest teams. They also established Desertfire Stadium only a few years after they arrived, making them the franchise to move on from a stadium the fastest.

Walstreim Stingrays
The Stingrays are one of only two South Newlandian teams that have a starting rotation featuring five different countries. The other one, the Sox, even pull this off without a South Newlandian. Additionally, the Stingrays’ new home, Seaside Park, is going to host the first LPB game on South Newlandian ground in the second LPB season.

[Liventia]

National captain Rowntree dropped from WBC squad after career-worst year
Long-time national team captain Dermot Rowntree has not been included in Baseball Liventia's final 26-man player roster for World Baseball Classic 53, it has been learned.

Rowntree, having returned to the Port Cartfort Saboteurs after a one-year MVP stint with the Orean Capital Tiger-Cats, recorded his worst year in every major statistical category since the Liventian Baseball Championship moved to a 144-game schedule five full seasons ago.

While his 40 home runs was still good for third-most in the Challenger League, he slashed just .225/.260/.496 – career-lows in all three categories since his first full big-league campaign eight seasons ago. He struck out a career-high 147 times in 564 at-bats, and registered an OPS+ of just 103 (100 is league average).

Even though he helped the Saboteurs (58–86) stave off an immediate relegation back to Division Two, it is understood Baseball Liventia's selection panel has been in touch with Rowntree to notify him he would not be considered for selection – despite officially remaining team captain.

Without his services, the Tiger-Cats went from making the playoffs last year with a 76–68 record to rock last in the six-team National League Bravo Division, at 58–86.

The Championship consists of 24 teams in two conferences – the National League (NBL) and Challenger League (CBL) – with two divisions of six in the NBL and three divisions of four in the CBL. There also exists a Division Two of 24 teams, with six divisions of four.

In the top tier, six teams from each conference make it into the playoffs, with the top two seeds in each league receiving a first-round bye. In the Challenger League the three division winners and next three best teams make the postseason, while in the National League the top two teams from each division plus the next two qualify. Each team plays 144 regular-season games, with the bottom team in each conference being relegated to Division Two. The big-league playoffs go: Challenge Round (wildcard, BO3); Division Series (BO5); League Championship (BO7); Grand Final (BO9).

Meanwhile, the Division Two system sees a ladder format, with only the division winners and one wildcard per conference qualifying for the playoffs. The higher seed in the first round begins the series with a two-game advantage.

This year, the two promoted teams – the Weston East Misfits (53–91) and Saboteurs – both avoided an immediate relegation, although both finished second-last in their respective conferences. Instead, the Lox Land Talons (51–93) and Schimpol Redbirds (52–92) had the worst records, ending their top-flight stays of two years.

From the second tier, both relegated teams from last season are coming back up immediately – the Bede Swordfish (129–35) and the Colver Steamrollers (145–19), who certainly steamrolled their division. The Swordfish beat the Steamrollers 4–2 in the Division Two final series.

In the top flight, the Dover Outer North Blizzards triumphed through the playoffs, winning the team's third title in history and first in 13 seasons. The inaugural LBC champions, who finished the regular season at 90–54 and owned the National League's best record, were pushed the full seven games in the NLCS by the Talbott South Hilltops before triumphing 5–3 in the Grand Final series over the Jesner Spin Doctors.

More changes are coming to the LBC next season, albeit mostly cosmetic – teams will now only be known mostly by their city and nickname, with clunky geographic modifiers like "Outer North" relegated to parenthesis. In Division Two, a reduction in the number of games from 164 to match the top-flight's 144 is expected, with no change to its unique ladder playoff system.

Baseball Liventia is expected to publicly unveil the changes, along with its official WBC53 roster, shortly.

NATIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE, ALPHA DIVISION

Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Talbott (South) Hilltops	89	55	.618	-	88-56	1	49-23	40-32	8-5	20-21	Clinched	W2	4-6
Batogo Forest Red Raiders	88	56	.611	1	85-59	3	47-25	41-31	7-4	21-16		W1	8-2
Talbott (North) Sting Rays	86	58	.597	3	85-59	1	50-22	36-36	6-5	17-17		W3	6-4
Orean (Outer) Oysters	64	80	.444	25	67-77	-3	38-34	26-46	5-5	24-23		L2	2-8
Weston (East) Misfits	53	91	.368	36	57-87	-4	32-40	21-51	4-8	22-26		L3	4-6
Lox Land Talons	51	93	.354	38	46-98	5	34-38	17-55	5-6	23-19		W2	6-4

NATIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE, BRAVO DIVISION

Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Dover (Outer North) Buzzards	90	54	.625	-	84-60	6	51-21	39-33	12-6	26-18	Clinched	W5	8-2
Orean (Inner) Hawkeyes	76	68	.528	14	73-71	3	35-37	41-31	6-8	24-17		L2	5-5
Wakeford Capitols	72	72	.500	18	75-69	-3	40-32	32-40	4-6	20-27		L1	5-5
Bosting Blue Birds	69	75	.479	21	77-67	-8	37-35	32-40	5-10	21-24		L1	7-3
City Centre Keys	68	76	.472	22	72-72	-4	41-31	27-45	8-6	15-23		L3	2-8
Capital Tiger-Cats	58	86	.403	32	51-93	7	26-46	32-40	5-6	14-16		W1	3-7

NATIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE, WILDCARD

Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Talbott (North) Sting Rays	86	58	.597	+14	85-59	1	50-22	36-36	6-5	17-17	Clinched	W3	6-4
Wakeford Capitols	72	72	.500	-	75-69	-3	40-32	32-40	4-6	20-27	Clinched	L1	5-5
Bosting Blue Birds	69	75	.479	3	77-67	-8	37-35	32-40	5-10	21-24		L1	7-3
City Centre Keys	68	76	.472	4	72-72	-4	41-31	27-45	8-6	15-23		L3	2-8
Orean (Outer) Oysters	64	80	.444	8	67-77	-3	38-34	26-46	5-5	24-23		L2	2-8
Capital Tiger-Cats	58	86	.403	14	51-93	7	26-46	32-40	5-6	14-16		W1	3-7
Weston (East) Misfits	53	91	.368	19	57-87	-4	32-40	21-51	4-8	22-26		L3	4-6
r- Lox Land Talons	51	93	.354	21	46-98	5	34-38	17-55	5-6	23-19		W2	6-4

CHALLENGER BASEBALL LEAGUE, DELTA DIVISION

Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Dover (Outer South) Bills	83	61	.576	-	88-56	-5	43-29	40-32	10-8	20-22	Clinched	L3	4-6
Desert Counts	76	68	.528	7	76-68	0	39-33	37-35	7-15	22-28		W2	5-5
Folenisa Sounders	68	76	.472	15	68-76	0	37-35	31-41	10-7	16-25		L2	5-5
Port Cartfort Saboteurs	58	86	.403	25	65-79	-7	29-43	29-43	3-5	13-23		L5	2-8

CHALLENGER BASEBALL LEAGUE, ECHO DIVISION

Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Jesner Spin Doctors	92	52	.639	-	91-53	1	48-24	44-28	10-2	30-11	Clinched	W1	7-3
Lantgoma Snipers	79	65	.549	13	77-67	2	40-32	39-33	5-1	26-17		L1	7-3
Salfast Manatees	71	73	.493	21	74-70	-3	46-26	25-47	11-10	20-22		L2	4-6
Olympton Rapiers	66	78	.458	26	65-79	1	39-33	27-45	3-9	20-22		W5	8-2

CHALLENGER BASEBALL LEAGUE, FOXTROT DIVISION

Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Pardbo Bisons	79	65	.549	-	76-68	3	47-25	32-40	12-10	24-20	Clinched	W5	6-4
Neverend Gunslingers	71	73	.493	8	67-77	4	38-34	33-39	8-7	22-21		W2	6-4
Cittin Bashers	69	75	.479	10	67-77	2	38-34	31-41	7-11	25-19		W3	5-5
Schimpol Redbirds	52	92	.361	27	52-92	0	33-39	19-53	7-8	17-25		L7	1-9

CHALLENGER BASEBALL LEAGUE, WILDCARD

Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Lantgoma Snipers	79	65	.549	+3	77-67	2	40-32	39-33	5-1	26-17	Clinched	L1	7-3
Desert Counts	76	68	.528	-	76-68	0	39-33	37-35	7-15	22-28	Clinched	W2	5-5
Neverend Gunslingers	71	73	.493	5	67-77	4	38-34	33-39	8-7	22-21		W2	6-4
Salfast Manatees	71	73	.493	5	74-70	-3	46-26	25-47	11-10	20-22		L2	4-6
Cittin Bashers	69	75	.479	7	67-77	2	38-34	31-41	7-11	25-19		W3	5-5
Folenisa Sounders	68	76	.472	8	68-76	0	37-35	31-41	10-7	16-25		L2	5-5
Olympton Rapiers	66	78	.458	10	65-79	1	39-33	27-45	3-9	20-22		W5	8-2
Port Cartfort Saboteurs	58	86	.403	18	65-79	-7	29-43	29-43	3-5	13-23		L5	2-8
r- Schimpol Redbirds	52	92	.361	24	52-92	0	33-39	19-53	7-8	17-25		L7	1-9

[Sarzonia]

The trip to the new Prince Francis Stadium in Branwen was interesting for Sarzonian national baseball team manager Geoff Yancey.

He looked for signs pointing to the stadium as a curiosity since his ride share driver seemed to know where she was going.

"Do you see any signs for the stadium?" Yancey asked his driver, a middle aged woman named Yvette.

"They haven't put them up yet," Yvette answered. "It's on Driscoll Avenue off Exit 13. Hold on, let me merge." She merged into the lane that took them to Exit 13 and toward Driscoll Avenue. Within a couple of minutes, Yancey got out of the car, dragging his wheeled suitcase containing his kit and other important items with him to the visiting team manager's office. A few minutes later, he had his scheduled appointment with Solderan media.

He looked over his notes. There would be no prepared questions ahead of time, and he didn't have an opening statement so as to avoid giving Soldera bulletin board material. He walked up to the dais and said, "good morning l-uh, everyone. I'll open it up for questions."

"Geoff, Harlan Vasquez from The Branwen Examiner, what are your expectations for this series against the Snakes? What did you tell your team ahead of this series?"

"I warned the team to focus on this series, considering what happened the previous times we faced unranked sides for the first time," Yancey said. Including one where the team didn't deserve to hold our soiled jocks, he thought when remembering losing two of three matches to Venmere to kick off the previous World Baseball Classic.

"Which team was that?"

"Venmere," Yancey said abruptly. Too abruptly, he thought. He winced momentarily at potentially giving them bulletin board material. Then he recalled they didn't enter this edition. But the other thought Yancey had was making it clear he wasn't referring to Eshialand, who also took two out of three from the Stars in their opening series. Eshialand were a quality opponent and advanced to the knockout rounds as the group runners up behind the Stars. They were also level for top of the Group A table, so making sure he wasn't throwing shade at the Owls was important enough for him to risk offending a team that weren't even competing.

"Geoff, Sydney Broughton from The Times Journal. What was your thoughts about [Soldera manager Ned] WIllingham's comments about your team not having the DH here?"

Yancey gave Broughton a look. "I don't personally care what Ned thinks. Luke Brinkley's an important part of our team, but since Soldera doesn't use the DH in their home matches, we'll have to make do without him in the starting lineup," he said. "I don't go bitching when a team decides not to use the DH in their home matches or I'd never get along with anyone in Delaclava, Last I checked, my best friend was FROM there.

"I think Willingham has enough responsibility on his hands worrying about his team and the baseball programme here in Soldera to devote any time to what we're doing in Sarzonia, but if he wants to run his trap, y'all are going to have an interesting time when you come to Woodstock. That's all I'm going to say about that."

"Geoff, Harlan Vasquez again. Do you think those comments could spark a rivalry between Soldera and Sarzonia?"

"No," Yancey said. "What kind of question is that? I don't care what Willingham has to say about our team. We've got three matches here and we're going to have work to do to ensure we win at least two of the three. Other than that, I've got enough work to do with my team to even think about Soldera." Yancey then stood up, gave a look to the assembled media, shook his head and walked out of the press room, ignoring the questions that came flying toward him.

When he walked back to the office, he saw bench coach Brad Howland.

"Brad," he said, "You think Dima can go at least six?"

"Two days after throwing three innings against Aji No Moto? I wouldn't push it. Why, what are you thinking?"

"Oh, nothing," Yancey said. Howland looked at his skipper.

"I know that look. You are thinking something, and if I know you well enough, I don't like what you're planning."

Yancey drew in his breath and exhaled.

"Yeah, you're right. We're going to beat those guys the old fashioned way, by earning it."

[Quintessence of Dust]

(Provisional) box scores as posted on the TalkBaseball.qd website. This tournament, TBQ will be summarising results entirely through The Wire quotes.

                          AB   R   H  RBI BB   K  LOB  AVG  HR  RBI
T. Brøndum RF              5   0   0   0   0   0   4  .138   0   2
L. Chevalier LF            5   2   2   1   0   1   0  .379   1   4
L. Dai 3B                  4   1   1   0   1   0   1  .333   0   3
S. Borgþórsson 1B          4   1   1   2   1   1   1  .259   1   3
K. Kawasuda DH             5   0   3   1   0   1   1  .500   0   1
J. Stevens CF              3   1   0   0   0   2   3  .391   1   5
K. Yutani 2B               4   1   1   0   0   0   1  .333   0   1
T. Watanabe SS             3   0   2   1   1   1   1  .278   1   2
Y. Long C                  4   0   2   1   0   1   2  .000   0   1

Doubles: L. Dai (3, 1st inning, 0 on, 2 outs), K. Kawasuda (1, 1st inning, 0 on, 2 outs), T. Watanabe (1, 6th inning, 1 on, 1 out)
Home runs: S. Borgþórsson (1, 1st inning, 1 on, 2 outs), L. Chevalier (1, 3rd inning, 0 on, 0 outs)
Total bases: L. Chevalier 5, S. Borgþórsson 4, K. Kawasuda 4, T. Watanabe 3, L. Dai 2, Y. Long 2, K. Yutani
2-out RBI: S. Borgþórsson 2, K. Kawasuda, Y. Long
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: T. Brøndum 2, J. Stevens, Y. Long
Hit by Pitch: J. Stevens
Team LOB: 7

BASERUNNING
SB: K. Yutani (2)

                            IP  H   R  ER  BB   K  HR  PI  PS   ERA
H. Kalberg W (1 – 0)       7.1  3   1   1   1   7   0  95  63  1.35
M. Ryan                    0.2  1   2   2   1   1   1  16   8  6.75
J. Grant                   0.2  2   2   2   0   0   0   6   5 10.80
H. Liang SV (4)            0.1  0   0   0   1   0   0   7   3  0.00

Game score: H. Kalberg 74
Batters faced: H. Kalberg 26, M. Ryan 4, J. Grant 4, H. Liang 2
Ground outs – fly outs: H. Kalberg 6 – 9, M. Ryan 1 – 0, J. Grant 1 – 1, H. Liang 0 – 1
Inherited runners – scored: M. Ryan 1 – 0

Scoring summary:

1.2: Sigurkarl Borgþórsson homers (9LD). Lingxin Dai scores. Sigurkarl Borgþórsson scores.

3.1: Luka Chevalier homers (7D). Luka Chevalier scores.

5.2: Kutoshi Kawasuda singles (89S). Luka Chevalier scores. Sigurkarl Borgþórsson out at 3rd.

6.1: Teijo Watanabe doubles (78XD). Jay Stevens scores. Teijo Watanabe out at 3rd.

8.2: Yazhu Long singles (56). Kaori Yutani scores.

8.0: Sacrifice fly

9.0: 2-run homer

9.0: RBI double

9.1: Sacrifice fly

                          AB   R   H  RBI BB   K  LOB  AVG  HR  RBI
J. Theriault SS            4   0   1   1   1   1   1  .333   1   8
L. Chevalier LF            1   0   0   2   2   1   0  .367   1   6
K. Yutani 2B               3   0   0   0   0   0   2  .267   0   1
  b–T. Watanabe PH, 2B     2   0   0   0   0   1   4  .250   1   2
S. Borgþórsson 1B          3   1   1   0   0   0   1  .267   1   3
  c–M.P. Yang PH, 3B       1   0   0   0   0   1   2  .500   1   2  
K. Kawasuda DH             4   1   1   0   0   2   3  .400   0   1
L. Dai 3B, 1B              3   2   1   3   1   0   1  .333   1   6
T. Brøndum RF              1   0   0   0   0   0   0  .133   0   2
  a–R. Weber RF            3   0   0   0   0   0   2  .143   0   1
Y. Long C                  3   2   2   0   1   1   0  .292   0   0
Z. Janečková CF            4   2   1   1   0   2   1  .333   0   1

a–R. Weber substituted for T. Brøndum in the 3rd
b–T. Watanabe pinch-hit for K. Yutani in the 7th
c–M.P. Yang pinch-hit for S. Borgþórsson in the 7th

Doubles: Y. Long (1, 8th inning, 1 on, 1 out), J. Theriault (2, 8th inning, 2 on, 1 out)
Home runs: L. Dai (1, 2nd inning, 2 on, 0 outs)
Total bases: L. Dai 4, Y. Long 3, J. Theriault 2, S. Borgþórsson, K. Kawasuda, Z. Janečková
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: K. Kawasuda 2, K. Yutani, T. Watanabe
Sac Fly: L. Chevalier
Hit by Pitch: L. Chevalier
Team LOB: 6

FIELDING
Errors: J. Theriault (2), R. Weber (1)
Double plays: 1 (Theriault – Yutani)

                            IP  H   R  ER  BB   K  HR  PI  PS   ERA
J. Sakaguchi               3.1  0   0   0   0   1   0  32  21  5.40
N. Drey W (1 – 0)          1.2  3   1   0   2   2   0  47  25  0.00
B. Amundsen H (2)          2.0  2   1   1   1   1   0  37  23  3.18
M. Ibsen                   1.2  1   0   0   1   2   0  23  10  0.00
B. Beaufils                0.1  0   0   0   0   1   0   4   3  0.00

Game score: J. Sakaguchi 61
Batters faced: J. Sakaguchi 10, N. Drey 11, B. Amundsen 9, M. Ibsen 7
Ground outs – fly outs: J. Sakaguchi 6 – 3, N. Drey 1 – 1, B. Amundsen 3 – 2, M. Ibsen 0 – 3, B. Beaufils 0 – 0
Inherited runners – scored: B. Amundsen 2 – 0, B. Beaufils 2 – 0
Hit batpersons: N. Drey

Scoring summary:

2.0: Lingxin Dai homers (78D). Sigurkarl Borgþórsson scores. Kutoshi Kawasuda scores. Lingxin Dai scores.

6.0: Single, run scores on throwing error (E9)

7.0: Luka Chevalier walks with the bases loaded. Yazhu Long scores.

7.1: Wild pitch. Zuzana Janečková scores.

7.0: RBI double

8.1: Zuzana Janečková singles (4MD). Lingxin Dai scores.

8.1: Jack Theriault doubles (3L). Yazhu Long scores.

8.1: Luka Chevalier flies out (7). Zuzana Janečková scores.

                          AB   R   H  RBI BB   K  LOB  AVG  HR  RBI
J. Theriault SS            4   1   1   0   0   1   2  .323   1   8
L. Dai 3B                  4   0   1   0   0   1   1  .324   1   6
J. Stevens RF              3   0   0   1   0   0   1  .346   1   6
S. Borgþórsson 1B          3   0   1   0   1   0   1  .273   1   3
L. Chevalier LF            3   0   0   0   1   0   1  .333   1   6
K. Kawasuda DH             4   0   0   0   0   1   1  .286   0   1
Y. Long C                  3   0   0   0   0   0   0  .259   0   1
T. Watanabe 2B             3   0   1   0   0   0   0  .261   1   2
Z. Janečková CF            3   0   1   0   0   0   0  .333   0   1

Doubles: L. Dai (4, 6th inning, 0 on, 0 outs)
Total bases: L. Dai 2, S. Borgþórsson, J. Theriault, T. Watanabe, Z. Janečková
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: L. Chevalier, J. Theriault, K. Kawasuda
Sac Fly: J. Stevens
Team LOB: 4

BASERUNNING
SB: J. Theriault (3), S. Borgþórsson (1)

                            IP  H   R  ER  BB   K  HR  PI  PS   ERA
J. Scherer L (0 – 1)       4.2  7   4   4   2   5   1  76  55  3.60
M. Ryan                    2.1  0   0   0   0   0   0  28  16  3.60
H. Liang                   1.0  0   0   0   0   0   0  11   8  0.00

Game score: J. Scherer 38
Batters faced: J. Scherer 23, M. Ryan 7, H. Liang 3
Ground outs – fly outs: J. Scherer 5 – 4, M. Ryan 3 – 4, H. Liang 1 – 2
Inherited runners – scored: M. Ryan 1 – 0
Balk: J. Scherer 2

Scoring summary:

2.0: Solo homer

2.2: RBI single

4.1: Jay Stevens flies out (8). Jack Theriault scores.

5.2: RBI single

5.2: Balk with runner on 3rd

“If the Gods are fucking you, you find a way to fuck them back.” -- Ervin Burrell

The Things left Sangti with a 2 – 1 series win and first place in the table, but trouble met them at home where they were greeted with the diagnosis of Tom Brøndum’s injury. The right fielder had gone hard into the wall in Game 8 and left the game in distress, flying home ahead of Game 9; now it was confirmed, he’d herniated a disc in his back. Even with the advanced medical technology that is now routine in Quintessence of Dust, he will miss the entire remainder of the group stage. Jay Stevens, splitting time at centrefield with Zuzana Janečková, and Rémy Weber will fill in for Brøndum, while Carolina Brewster (L/R) has been called up as replacement. (OOC: Against Delaclava and Nova Anglicana, Stevens will start at CF and Weber at RF; against other teams, Stevens may play RF while Janečková is in CF.) Brøndum was one of the stars of the Things’ WBC52 run and his loss is a huge blow – although, he was hitting just .133 and had slumped so badly he lost his leadoff role to Jack Theriault. Weber is a marked defensive downgrade and Stevens and Brewster yet to really prove themselves.

Juzo Sakaguchi left the same game early with an injury, too, though Nathaniel Dray and Bjarte Amundsen filled in capably in relief. Sakaguchi’s side strain is much less severe and he will be expected to return to the rotation, while Jan Scherer will earn another spot start against United Adaikes. Scherer was unlucky not to receive more run support in his start against Sangti and also had some balk troubles with umpires not liking his pickoff move. Overall the Things had the better of Sangti, including a fine pitching performance from Kalberg, and power hitters finding their stride as Sigurkarl Borgþórsson, Luka Chevalier and Lingxin Dai all hit their first home runs of the tournament.

[Hannasea]

Five Hannasean baseball scandals!

Part 1: The colour line

Hannasea is notorious for its lack of diversity when it comes to skin tone. A country so white it makes Græntfjall look like a multiracial rainbow nation. Nonetheless, there are some black Hannaseans, and they like baseball just as much as their white compatriots. A century ago, this led to controversy with Adrian “Skip” Nosna, then the leading figure of the nascent Ye Most Venerable Hannasean Association of Base-ball Clubbes & Gentlemen’s Sporting Associations. Nosna’s team, the Oakwood Thundercats, refused to take the field when they discovered the Then-Contemporary Blopping Remorsefulnesses had two black players in their line-up. This led to the institution of the colour line, in which a circle was drawn around Nosna’s feet in coloured chalk and the word “TWAT” added in massive letters with an arrow pointing to him. Nosna was not allowed to cross this “colour line” while everyone else went off and had fun playing baseball.

Scoring summaries:

2nd inning
Jay Gould doubles, Joe Mills scores 1 – 0

6th inning
Aaron Green grounds out (4–3), Zach Walker scores 2 – 0
Joe Mills singles, Chase Lee scores 3 – 0

7th inning
3 – 2 Matt Stallings doubles, Brian Ehrhardt and Mike Owens score

8th inning
3 – 4 Chris Roberts homers, Juan Alvarez and Chris Roberts score

1st inning
Aaron Green homers, Ethan Harman, Zach Walker and Aaron Green score 3 – 0

3rd inning
3 – 1 Micah Bradley homers, Micah Bradley scores

4th inning
3 – 2 Wild pitch, Dakota Long scores

6th inning
Alex Hamilton singles, Jesse Lowe scores 4 – 2

1st inning
Joe Mills singles, Ethan Harman and Zach Walker score 2 – 0

3rd inning
Jake Walsh singles, Toby Parry scores 3 – 0

8th inning
Dominik Fox singles, Chase Lee scores 4 – 0

4 – 1 Brad Dwight homers, Brad Dwight scores

[Banija]

Welcome to the fourth cutoff of the World Baseball Classic. Enjoy your latest African dance sensation!

Each MD I will be offering a small prompt. These prompts are not required and there is no extra bonus for doing them compared with doing a match report or any other type of RP; they’re simply there because, with a long group stage format and many tournaments competing for attention, inspiration may be running thin. Feel free to respond in whatever format you like – or ignore them entirely.

Today' we are going to move from a baseball prompt to a general nation-building prompt- language. What language, or languages, are spoken within your country? Are there various regional dialects of the same language, or do different parts of the country speak different languages, or does everybody speak the same language? And how do language issues effect politics and everyday life? And how do they, of course, effect your national team- what language is the coach required to speak? Are players using translators in the locker rooms? What do players speak to each other on a day to day basis?

---

Matchday 10-12 Scores

Group A

Matchday 10
Bardney                   1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Banija                    0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 X  4

Ardengard                 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0  3
Ranoria                   0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0  2

Eshialand                 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0  6
Drawkland                 1 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 1  7

Matchday 11
Bardney                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Banija                    1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 X  4

Ardengard                 0 2 0 0 3 2 0 0 4 11
Ranoria                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  2

Eshialand                 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0  2
Drawkland                 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

Matchday 12
Bardney                   0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0  4
Banija                    1 1 0 0 3 1 0 0 X  6

Ardengard                 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 2 0  7
Ranoria                   0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 1  5

Eshialand                 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Drawkland                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Group A                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Banija                 12   10   2    58   35  +23
2 Eshialand              12    9   3    57   44  +13
3 Drawkland              12    5   7    35   57  −22
4 Bardney                12    4   8    40   49   −9
5 Ardengard              12    4   8    51   53   −2
6 Ranoria                12    4   8    44   47   −3

Group B

Matchday 10
Kohnhead                  0 3 3 0 1 0 0 0 0  7
Quebec & Shingoryeo       1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0  5

HUElavia                  0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1  3
StrayaRoos                0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  2

Tikariot                  0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 4  7
Alzavola                  0 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 3  9

Matchday 11
Kohnhead                  0 1 1 0 1 2 1 0 0  6
Quebec & Shingoryeo       0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

HUElavia                  1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  3
StrayaRoos                3 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 X  6

Tikariot                  0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  4
Alzavola                  0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  3

Matchday 12
Kohnhead                  0 0 0 0 1 1 4 3 1 10
Quebec & Shingoryeo       0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0  2

HUElavia                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3  4
StrayaRoos                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Tikariot                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2  7
Alzavola                  0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 3  5

Group B                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Kohnhead               12    9   3    66   43  +23
2 StrayaRoos             12    7   5    51   46   +5
3 Alzavola               12    6   6    71   72   −1
4 HUElavia               12    5   7    50   60  −10
5 Tikariot               12    5   7    47   58  −11
6 Quebec & Shingoyreo    12    4   8    57   63   −6

Group C

Matchday 10
Sarzonia                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1
Soldera                   0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 X  4

South Americanastan       0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  2
Hannasea                  0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

Aji No Moto               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Cassadaigua               0 0 0 0 1 3 0 1 X  5

Matchday 11
Sarzonia                  0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1  5
Soldera                   1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  3

South Americanastan       3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Hannasea                  0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 X  4

Aji No Moto               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1
Cassadaigua               0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 X  2

Matchday 12
Sarzonia                  1 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0  5
Soldera                   0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  2

South Americanastan       1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1  5
Hannasea                  0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0  2

Aji No Moto               0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Cassadaigua               0 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 X  6

Group C                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 South Americanastan    12    9   3    58   35  +23
2 Sarzonia               12    8   4    56   47   +9
3 Hannasea               12    6   6    53   40  +13
4 Cassadaigua            12    6   6    45   40   +5
5 Soldera                12    5   7    42   55  −13
6 Aji No Moto            12    2  10    41   78  −37

Group D

Matchday 10
Sangti                    6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  6
Nova Anglicana            0 1 0 0 0 1 3 2 X  7

The Greater Nordics       1 1 0 3 0 3 0 0 0  8
United Adaikes            0 0 0 4 0 0 1 1 1  7

Quintessence of Dust      0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0  3
Delaclava                 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  2

Matchday 11
Sangti                    0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Nova Anglicana            0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 X  4

The Greater Nordics       0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
United Adaikes            0 3 1 0 0 2 0 0 X  6

Quintessence of Dust      1 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 1  7
Delaclava                 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

Matchday 12
Sangti                    0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  3
Nova Anglicana            0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 X  4

The Greater Nordics       0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  2
United Adaikes            0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 X  3

Quintessence of Dust      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1
Delaclava                 1 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 X  6

Group D                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Quintessence of Dust   12    9   3    55   44  +11
2 Nova Anglicana         12    8   4    61   42  +19
3 United Adaikes         12    6   6    48   56   −8
4 Delaclava              12    5   7    50   44   +6
5 The Greater Nordics    12    5   7    49   57   −8
6 Sangti                 12    3   9    45   65  −20

Group E

Matchday 10
Le Choix                  0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 0  4
The 189                   0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0  2

Atheara                   0 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 0  5
Super-Llamaland           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Behetij                   0 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 1  5
Zwangzug                  0 0 0 2 0 4 0 0 X  6

Matchday 11
Le Choix                  0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  2
The 189                   2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 X  4

Atheara                   0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1
Super-Llamaland           0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 X  4

Behetij                   0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0  2
Zwangzug                  0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 X  5

Matchday 12
Le Choix                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  3
The 189                   1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2

Atheara                   0 0 1 1 8 5 0 0 0 15
Super-Llamaland           0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  2

Behetij                   0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0  3
Zwangzug                  0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3  4

Group E                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Zwangzug               12    9   3    67   46  +21
2 Super-Llamaland        12    6   6    54   72  −18
3 Atheara                12    6   6    72   58  +14
4 Le Choix               12    6   6    51   57   −6
5 The 189                12    6   6    48   51   −3
6 Behetij                12    3   9    54   62   −8

Group F

Matchday 10
Equestrian States         1 0 1 0 1 3 0 0 0  6
Abanhfleft                0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1  4

The Sherpa Empire         0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 1  6
Chromatika                0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0  3

Sevendia                  1 1 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 0  7
Brookstation              4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 2  9

Matchday 11
Equestrian States         1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Abanhfleft                5 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 X  8

The Sherpa Empire         0 0 0 4 0 0 10 0 0 14
Chromatika                0 0 0 0 0 0  0 0 3  3

Sevendia                  0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 2  6
Brookstation              0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  4

Matchday 12
Equestrian States         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0  5
Abanhfleft                2 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  7

The Sherpa Empire         0 0 3 0 0 0 1 1 0  5
Chromatika                1 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 X  6

Sevendia                  0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0  2
Brookstation              0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 X  3

Group F                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 The Sherpa Empire      12    8   4    67   38  +29
2 Brookstation           12    7   5    47   51   −4
3 Abanhfleft             12    7   5    56   46  +10
4 Equestrian States      12    5   7    50   56   −6
5 Chromatika             12    5   7    55   68  −13
6 Sevendia               12    4   8    42   58  −16

Group G

Matchday 10
Liventia                  1 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0  4
TJUN-ia                   0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

Kriegiersien              0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  2
Milchama                  0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 X  4

Muralos                   0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1
Mylderm                   0 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 X  4

Matchday 11
Liventia                  0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1  3
TJUN-ia                   0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

Kriegiersien              0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0  3
Milchama                  6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  6

Muralos                   3 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 2 10
Mylderm                   0 0 1 2 0 0 1 1 0  5

Matchday 12
Liventia                  0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0  4
TJUN-ia                   0 0 0 1 0 2 3 0 X  6

Kriegiersien              0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0  4
Milchama                  1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2  5

Muralos                   0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 0  5
Mylderm                   0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0  2

Group G                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Milchama               12   10   2    59   42  +17
2 TJUN-ia                12    8   4    58   33  +25
3 Muralos                12    6   6    59   65   −6
4 Liventia               12    5   7    61   57   +4
5 Kriegiersien           12    4   8    37   49  −12
6 Mylderm                12    3   9    35   63  −28

Group H

Matchday 10
Ethane                    0 1 0 0 2 0 0 2 0  5
South Newlandia           0 0 2 1 0 2 0 1 X  6

Caleon                    0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Barnettsville             2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  2

Ko-oren                   0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0  4
Daskel                    0 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 X  6

Matchday 11
Ethane                    2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0  4
South Newlandia           0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 2  5

Caleon                    1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0  4
Barnettsville             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Ko-oren                   1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3  5
Daskel                    1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1  4

Matchday 12
Ethane                    0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0  3
South Newlandia           0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 X  4

Caleon                    0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  2
Barnettsville             1 0 0 1 0 1 0 3 X  6

Ko-oren                   0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  2
Daskel                    0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Group H                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 South Newlandia        12   10   2    59   38  +21
2 Ethane                 12    9   3    55   37  +18
3 Ko-oren                12    5   7    35   51  −16
4 Daskel                 12    5   7    55   55    0
5 Caleon                 12    4   8    37   41   −4
6 Barnettsville          12    3   9    34   53  −19

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

QBC Sports - Vegeta, Yang Soo-Gyeong named 2051 Jock Millan Trophy recipient

Josalyn Hosmer

QUEBEC CITY - Atletik Thessia outside hitter Yang Soo-Gyeong and Cazadores Cathair midfielder Vegeta are co-winners of the Jock McMillan Trophy as the Quebec & Shingoryeo's athlete of the year.

A previously-selected panel of media members and sports professionals from across the northern Anaian nation voted on the award over last two weeks. From the panel of 36 members, Yang and Vegeta received 12 votes with 6 votes going to Vreton Bulls setter Jin Chang-Wook, 5 votes to wrestler Alexander Kicknosway and one vote to CSKA Quebec point guard Heo Myeong-Yoon.

This is the sixth time the Jock McMillan Trophy, which is presented annually by The Taegukgi, has been awarded to two entrants on a tie. The most recent tie was in 2044 with foil fencer Helmut Joekisch and baseball superstar Heo Myeong-Shin.

'It's been an unbelievable pleasure to be sharing Jock McMillan Trophy with Yang Soo-Gyeong,' wrote the 19-year old midfielder, whose official name is Kepler Marcel Gouveia de Souza, on his l'Instagramme post caption, with a picture of him holding the IFCF Champions League Trophy. 'I am happy to receive this honour on behalf of everybody who have witnessed my journey as a person, and will be looking forward to continue my career.''

Yang led Quebec & Shingoryeo to their first ever world title at the 2051 Volleyball World Expo in Bollonich and Hispinas, averaging 21 points to win the Most Valuable Player award. Most notably, she recorded 24 points in a full-set quarterfinals victory over Mytanija, widely viewed by many as the 'greatest match in expo history', which was then followed by a 21 point, 3 service ace and 2 block performance in a 3-1 victory over HUElavia in the final.

The Quebec City native, who was widely viewed by the international public as the 'Big 3 Hitters' of the MOF Top League, has been one of the prolific scorers since her arrival in Mytanija three years ago after two seasons with Gatchingerrak Superliga club Avangard VC, and helped leading the Quebecois women's team to a silver medal finish at the 2051 Quebecois Commonwealth Games in Montreal last August. The 22-year old was awarded the 'Senior Player of the Year' by the Royal Quebecois Volleyball Federation last week.

'I am beyond humbled to be awarded the Jock McMillan Trophy with Vegeta, a fellow sportsperson with remarkable abilities and personalities. As always, I'd like to thank everybody for making this possible @VKAtletik @RQVF @NoelleAxelrod @Chae_SH9 @WookiJin and many others,' Yang posted on her Twitt.tur account.

The 19-year old Vegeta became the third Quebecois player to win the Champions League honour under the IFCF era. He follows the lead of CD FAS and 1830 Cathair striker Hazel van Robben and Raynor City United rightback Donovan Kim-Lumanyika in winning the most prestigious domestic competition in the multiverse.

In July, Vegeta was named the recipient of the Sapphire Ball, award dedicated to the most valuable Quebecois football prospect of the footballing season. He has seen regular playing time for the Cazadores Cathair, where he has been playing since the age 15 after arriving on a transfer from Montreal Koreana academy, and is viewed by many as the next midfielder in making for the Audioslavian club.

[Ethane]

ETHANE // RED KITES // WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC 53 OFFICIAL ROSTER

POS | #  // NAME                // BAT/THROW | AGE
PITCHERS - STARTING ROTATION
RHP | 24 // Percy Geis          // R/R       | 27
LHP | 20 // Alfred Reynolds     // R/L       | 22
LHP | 71 // Colin Cole          // L/L       | 30
RHP | 52 // Jesse Potter        // R/R       | 25
RHP | 38 // Charlie Pope        // R/R       | 33
PITCHERS - BULLPEN
LHP | 17 // Cassian Strickland  // L/L       | 28
RHP | 18 // Calvin Larsson      // R/R       | 24
RHP | 35 // Damien Greene       // R/L       | 19
LHP | 36 // Alexander List      // L/L       | 33
RHP | 37 // Billy Hill          // R/R       | 30
LHP | 49 // Brad Reed           // L/L       | 28
LHP | 72 // Eden Nicholson      // L/L       | 25
CATCHERS
      89 // Ted Moore           // R/R       | 25
      94 // Wesley Dunn         // R/L       | 23
INFIELDERS
1B  | 10 // Warren Lawson       // L/L       | 22
2B  | 11 // Johnny Perry        // L/R       | 24
3B  | 15 // Shawn Knowles       // R/R       | 29
SS  | 21 // Ollie Brewer        // R/R       | 28
SS  | 33 // Michael Payne       // R/R       | 31
1B  | 43 // Dexter Annable      // L/L       | 20
2/3B| 74 // Joseph Carlson      // L/R       | 26
OUTFIELDERS
LF  | 76 // Greg Swanson        // L/L       | 24
CF  | 77 // Eddie Benson        // R/R       | 31
RF  |  8 // Tristan Wheeler     // L/R       | 23
L/CF|  4 // Patrick Snider      // R/R       | 17
RF  | 14 // Roy Mendoza         // R/R       | 22

MANAGER| Isaiah Simon | 48
ASSISTANT MANAGER | Daniel Walsh | 43
THIRD BASE COACH | William Gibbs | 39
FIRST BASE COACH | Justin Santos | 41
PITCHING COACH | Theodore Woods | 33
HITTING COACH | Alexis Gill | 52
HOME GROUND | The McTidley Arena | 20,000 cap.

RP PERMISSIONS
Choose my runscorers: Yes
Choose my lineup: Yes
Follow my pitching rotation: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Yes
RP injuries to my players: Yes
Godmod injuries to my players: Yes
Eject my players: Yes
Godmod other events: Yes
Use DH at home: No

[Super-Llamaland]

I have no idea how a news desk works lmao

OLADIPOUT: BANIJAN DISMISSED AFTER FAILURE TO ADVANCE
RETURNING MADDIE POLANCO LBA FAVORITE TO TAKE OVER
Ty Valbuena, LBC Baseball

NEW LLAMA CITY -- After failing to make the quarterfinals of World Baseball Classic 53 in his home country, Isaac Oladipo and the LBA mutually decided that his contract would not be renewed, ending a five-year reign with the Tigers. Famous for his unorthodox "Heartball" philosophy, and immediately popular upon returning the team to the WBC quarterfinals in his first tournament with a team limited by injuries, Oladipo will leave behind a legacy of stability and belief in the team's players that the likes of Sofia Rasmussen and Winston Yi failed to replicate. However, with results stagnating after that first quarterfinal run, and with IBS and EBT failures indicating an inability to rebuild the program under Heartball, it appears that the LBA has decided to pull the plug on the longest managerial tenure since Laurent Mårtensson in the early 40s.

Former bench coach Maddie Polanco, internationally better known for her decades-long stint as manager of Cassadaigua, famously bringing them a fourth WBC title at WBC50 (and a plethora of other podium finishes), is the odds-on favorite to lead the Tigers starting WBC54. While her appointment is not yet confirmed, the LBA have been pursuing Polanco for years, and given her recent departure from the Dagan NT, it seems to be a fait accompli that she will take the reins after Oladipo...

---

"What the fuck did you do, Jason?"

It was Jason Wang's third day as a news desk intern at the Llamanean Broadcasting Corporation, and while days one and two had actually gone much more smoothly than he'd imagined, day three had been an absolute nightmare. His boss Morgan had told him to publish an Oladipo story without actually telling him where to find it, and it had taken him ages and countless searches to find the article and stumble through the publishing process.

"I, uh, just published the Oladipo story. Like you asked me to."

"The story I wanted you to publish was 'Oladipo Calls For Patience After Atheara Loss'! How the fuck did you even find this?"

"It was in the SECRET_CONFIDENTIAL_DRAFTS folder."

"..."

"Oh. Yeah, I didn't actually read it out loud, but now that you mention it..."

"That was only to be published if we failed to make the quarterfinals! The file name is literally OLADIPO_FIRED_IN_CASE_OF_Ro16_EXIT.gif - Why is it a .gif??"

"It was like that when I found it?"

Morgan, speechless, ripped Jason's laptop away from him, redacted the story, and walked off.

[Soldera]

As much as Solderan national team manager Ned Willingham might have wished for an hoped for a rivalry to develop between his unranked Snakes side and fourth ranked Sarzonia, it was looking for all the world that Stars manager Geoff Yancey was going to be a wet blanket.

What's worse than a denial or even a conditional denial of the existence of a rivalry? One could make the argument that dismissing the notion as a joke was worse. However, Yancey's pronouncement didn't exactly lack merit. After all, the three-match set at Prince Francis Stadium in Branwen was the first meeting between the international debutant Snakes and a Sarzonian side that was a former world champion and had pedigree to spare.

However, following a closely contested series that saw the Snakes win the first match against heavily favored Sarzonia and then saw the Stars rally to win the next two, the prospect of a rivalry might not be far-fetched after all. The Snakes and the Stars combined for six hit batters and a bench-clearing brawl that cost the Stars the services of Luke Brinkley due to an ejection in Game 2 of the series and then the automatic suspension by Sarzonian rule in Game 3 that seemed to ignite the passion in the Stars that Soldera brought to the opening pitch of this series.

Both managers even exchanged words and came this close to exchanging blows until the Eshian crew chief and his colleagues separated them. He also saw fit to warn both benches that any further escalations would result in an automatic suspension of both pitcher and manager, leading to Yancey nearly getting the heave-ho. Following the warning, he protested to the World Baseball Classic Council.

"That was heavy-handed bullshit," Yancey said of the Eshian crew chief's decision to warn both benches. "I think even Ned [Willingham, the Solderan manager] would agree with me on that."

Regardless, there was only one hit batsman in Game 3 of the series when a Mark Conroy change up hit third baseman Leo Hollingsworth with runners on the corners and nobody out in the bottom of the fifth. The home plate umpire didn't warn the benches after that one, saying after the match that he took the situation into account and deciding it was "obvious" Stars pitcher Mark Conroy didn't intend to hit Hollingsworth. That was exactly his point when Willingham came out to argue the fact that both Conroy and Yancey were still in the match.

"It was pretty far fetched that I'd win that argument," Willingham said. "I figured it was worth a shot considering how contentious the series has been thus far."

For Soldera, they got a heroic outing from fifth starter Dylan Baker, who minimised his pitch count and only threw 79 through seven innings before allowing a leadoff home run to the pinch hitting Brinkley in the eighth. From there, the bullpen slammed the door on the heavily favored Stars and the Snakes walked off the pitch in celebration with a rapturous crowd cheering for them.

Game 2 was where all the fireworks happened, especially in the top of the seventh as Brinkley pinch hit for Sarzonian ace Jeff Parrish and got plunked by Snakes starter David Maxwell. Brinkley threw his helmet toward Maxwell and charged the mound, leading to the bench clearing brawl that resulted in Brinkley's, Maxwell's, and Solderan reserve catcher Terry Kenseth's ejections. Because of the ejection and the automatic suspension to Brinkley, it left Sarzonia without its biggest bat in the rubber match of the series, but the performance of Conroy was of greater importance to Yancey.

"Mark had pitched poorly in his first two starts, so we really wanted him to right the ship," Yancey said. Consider that mission accomplished, as Conroy only allowed the two runs that came courtesy of a single from shortstop Dakota Long that ended Conroy's shutout hopes. He would pitch one more inning before turning matters over to the bullpen and Tyrell Douglass would earn his second save of the series with a three-up, three-down ninth.

For Soldera, the results drop them to 5-7, three matches behind the Stars for the second and final berth in the Round of 16, but Willingham said he was proud of how hard-fought the series against the Stars was.

"We gave it everything we had and we served notice to a top-five team in the multiverse that we would not be intimidated."

As for the Stars and the potential for a rivalry with the Snakes? Yancey sounded non-committal, but the arrogant veneer of a manager deliberately serving as a wet blanket was gone.

"It's only one series," he said, "but that team gave us a big fight," he said. "We're definitely going to have our work cut out for us against Cassadaigua." Sarzonia will return to Fleetwood Park in Woodstock.

The Snakes will travel to top of table South Americanastan for their final series of the first half of qualifying. The Bears are 9-3 and have a one-match lead over the Stars in Group C.

[Sarzonia]

Geoff Yancey went into this three-match away set with his team merely hoping to avoid a "trap" series against an unranked side that was motivated to beat them.

He and the Sarzonian national baseball team walked out of the series potentially with a new rival after a contentious series that saw six hit batters, a bench-clearing brawl, and tensions between the two field bosses nearly result in a fight. Most importantly, however, Sarzonia would walk out of Prince Francis Stadium in Branwen with two victories from three matches and an 8-4 record as they return home to face No. 12 Cassadaigua.

Soldera manager Ned Whittingham needled Yancey before the series began about his comment about not having the designated hitter for the series against the Snakes, and Yancey publicly decided to dismiss any talk of a rivalry between the teams with a deliberately arrogant response. Privately, however, he wanted to prove a point.

His team's starter in the first match of the series was Alton Long, the soft-tossing lefty in the rotation who was looking to help his team rebound from its necessary overuse of the bullpen in Matchday 8 against Aji No Moto. He barely survived three innings, but after giving up a leadoff double to catcher Mike Owens in the bottom of the fourth, Yancey had seen enough. He took out Long and sent on Carnie Weston since both long relievers Dima Ostrelov and Alfred Wagner pitched on Matchday 8. Weston threw three scoreless innings before Myron Daniels came on to pitch one inning. Scott Lassiter worked the eighth inning in Sarzonia's 4-1 defeat.

However, that match would only set the stage for the fury of Matchday 11. Starting pitcher Jeff Parrish battled with Soldera's David Maxwell through six innings with Parrish marginally better than Maxwell. Parrish allowed two runs on five hits, walked two and struck out five whilst Maxwell allowed three runs through six. Yancey sent Luke Brinkley in to pinch hit for Parrish to lead off the top of the seventh and Maxwell hit him near the shoulder. Brinkley tossed his helmet toward Maxwell and charged the mound and the teams cleared the benches. The ensuing confrontation resulted in the ejections of both Brinkley and Maxwell, along with Soldera reserve catcher Terry Kenseth.

Yancey and Willingham were seen jawing at each other and nearly came to blows before the Eshian crew chief separated the two. Yancey then played the rest of the match under protest after he warned both benches.

"Oh, I though the teams could have worked things out on their own without interference from the umpires," Yancey said. "I couldn't afford to get ejected there because I would have been automatically suspended for the series finale." Sarzonian sporting rules mandate an automatic suspension for one match following an ejection regardless of sport or level. A second automatic suspension also results in a review that potentially could extend the second suspension. Following Parrish's outing, Lassiter pitched the seventh and got two outs in the eighth before Tyrell Douglass got a four-out save.

In the third match of the series, Sarzonia finally got a big inning in the top of the fourth through the bat of first baseman Cody Frazier, who hit a two-run double to extend the Sarzonian lead to five runs. Soldera would get two in the fifth inning, but that match was played largely without incident. Conroy got into trouble in that fifth inning after he hit Snakes third baseman Leo Hollingsworth with runners at the corners to load the bases. Willingham argued for an ejection of Conroy and Yancey to no avail, as the Eshain home plate umpire asserted that Conroy didn't intend to hit Hollingsworth with two runners on and the tying run being in the on deck circle.

Yancey said he was relieved Conroy pitched well in the six-inning outing, but also warned that he would have to be ready for the team's series in South Americanastan at Olympic Stadium to start the second half of qualifying. Sarzonia currently sit second in the Group C table with an 8-4 record, one match behind the Bears. The Stars will return to Fleetwood Park to face Cassadaigua, who are level with Hannasea for third place in the Group C table, two matches behind Sarzonia. Yancey said there was no room for error against the Fillies despite their record.

"That team has outstanding pedigree and are a recent world champion," he said. "And South Americanastan are leading the group. Every last match is going to be a dogfight."

[Zwangzug]

In Griffith's first season with the Rainmakers, he mostly rode the bench but got a few opportunities to pinch-hit. One night they were playing away in the west side of the FTC, against the Mustangs. Weegham was ahead 11-4 in the sixth when the drizzle that had been ongoing for a few innings became too severe to run the bases safely. The grounds crew brought out the tarp, and the teams headed to their clubhouses.

"No slacking," said MacRaun. "Keep wearing your armbands or chewing your sunflower seeds, or whatever it is you do for luck. Except you." She nodded at the starting pitcher, Lois Delaney. "You're done."

Lois obligingly hit the showers. Even MacRaun, as unconventional as she could be, accepted the received wisdom on occasion.

"They'll call it soon," said Jeremy Burnham, who had hit cleanup for the Zebras in his younger days.

"Poor rookies," teased Nathaniel Skyler, the catcher and national-team fellow. "Can't get their cup of coffee."

Griffith rolled his eyes and tried to change the subject. "It's only appropriate. We're Rainmakers, we make it rain in the FTC."

"That can't be right," said Jeremy. "We were named after events in Weegham. They had a bunch of rainouts in a row so some newspaper gave them a hard time about it, and the nickname stuck."

"Rain?" Nathaniel echoed. "Wouldn't it be snow? You northeasterners are always bragging about 'cold enough for ya?'"

"I think it was rain."

"It doesn't matter," said Griffith. "It was a joke."

"But this franchise only formed pretty late. The modern era, after the tiny BUBL got started. They would have come up with a real nickname, not a newspaper joke."

"Maybe they were named after an older team," Jeremy argued. "One of those regional leagues from before the Consolidation."

"Maybe. But you'd think they'd have better records than that."

Griffith's phone buzzed. It was Nancy. Staying dry?

He was about to reply with a double entendre when MacRaun noticed him. "Puyo-Sachar! I said stay focused! Do you text when you're in the dugout? No you don't, because somebody might take your head off with a foul ball."

"Well, that's bad," Jeremy muttered. "The Mustangs should put up netting."

MacRaun went back to daydreaming platoon combinations. "Why does she pick on you and not me?" Griffith moused.

"Rookie hazing," said Nathaniel. "Don't worry, it'll get better if you make the starting lineup. Which I guess is going to be hard if the blowouts get rained out before you can get an at-bat."

The game was rained out, 11-4 the final to Weegham. Griffith knew he was supposed to feel proud, a team victory, no matter his individual irrelevance. But sometimes it was hard.

[South Americanastan]

THE LIGHTNING DOME, HANNASEA
Bottom 9th Inning, Game 3

"And that's gonna close out the top ninth for South Americanastan, next up for Hannasea: Mathis, Walker, and Green."

"Meanwhile, the Bears will be bringing in Matt Jackson to close out the game, let's see if he can rack up another save"

The South Americanastan team trotted back out on the field to begin the bottom of the ninth, led by team captain Jack Manning and closely followed by closer Matt Jackson. Manning attempts to rile up the crowd, by waving his arms and encouraging the crowd to cheer, eliciting a chorus of boos.

"And now, to lead off the inning comes Jason Mathis. He's got power, but if Jackson can take away the easy pitches, then Jackson might be able to strike him out."

"That's right Tom, but if Mathis can get his bat on the ball, it's over"

Jackson enters his windup, throwing a slider that just ducks under the bottom of the strike zone, eliciting a swing and miss from Mathis.

"STRIKE ONE!"

Matt Jackson toes the rubber, shaking off a sign from Manning before lifting his leg to throw. A hard fastball comes through the bottom of the zone, zipping past Mathis's swing into the glove of Jack Manning.

"STRIKE TWO!"

"And that's an absolute heater from Jackson, clocking in at 101 Miles Per Hour, the fastest pitch we've seen from a South Americanastanian pitcher the entire tournament!"

Jackson takes a long pause at the rubber, preparing to throw another pitch. He brings his glove close to his face, adjusting his grip on the ball. He throws a 12-6 Curve, catching Mathis off guard.

"And that is a BIG swing and miss from Mathis, that's going to be a strikeout for Jackson"

"Jackson pulling a new pitch from his hat there, we've never seen that one before."

Mathis solemnly walks back to the dugout, as Zach Walker jogs out to take his place in the batter's box. Just as he steps his second foot into the batter's box, Jackson throws a fastball past the plate.

"Here's Walker coming up, not a huge power threat, but he has a good eye and can make contact."

"Yeah, Jackson's just gotta try to get him to ground out if he wants another out he- OH! A QUICK PITCH FROM JACKSON AND HANNASEA DOES NOT LIKE THAT!"

Jackson toes the rubber for his second pitch, throwing a slider on the bottom edge of the strike zone.

"Pitch by Jackson... Walker makes contact with it, in the gap between Malone and Monte, Malone snags it with his glove, turns around and whips it across the field in air, and he's OU- NO! THE UMPIRE IS CALLING WALKER SAFE AT FIRST, AND HERE COMES KELLY OUT OF THE DUGOUT!"

"Kelly's always been one to stand up for his players, and we're seeing that again here."

Micheal Kelly storms out of the dugout, towards the umpire.

"What the hell was that, he was out by a mile and half!"

"Kelly, he was quite clearly safe."

"The fuck do you mean he was 'Quite clearly out'? Even the goddamn TV broadcast we got playing in the dugout thinks he's out!"

"I saw the ball hit the glove after I saw the runner step on the bag."

"Really? That's how you're judging this shit!? Every umpire in this goddamn tournament judges it by sound, unless you can somehow watch two things at once!"

"Kelly, he was safe"

"I want a goddamn review!"

"You can't get a review for every little call you think was missed."

"I can't believe they hire shitty umpires like you for the fucking World Baseball Classic! My son's little league umpires can do better!"

"YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU'RE OUTTA HERE!"

Kelly throws his hat to the ground in anger.

"Fuck you, you dumb sonofabitch!"

Kelly storms off the field, while a batboy runs over to collect his hat.

"Well, that was one helluva performance from Micheal Kelly, clearly not very pleased with this umpire"

"Kelly's still red in the face even as he's exiting the dugout into the clubhouse, and you can see the South Americanastan fans in the crowd going wild for him!"

"Anyway, up next is Aaron Green, great all-around hitter, let's see if Jackson can wrangle him for this at-bat."

Jackson throws a slider up in the high end of the strike zone, barely ducking down into it at the last second.

"STRIKE ONE!"

Then another slider, this time down low, ducking out of the strike zone and drawing a swing.

"STRIKE TWO!"

After that, a curveball. Green makes contact, sending the ball down the third base line.

"Hit by Green hard down the third base line, Malone dives and grabs it, throws from his knees to Larson, who jumps over the slide to throw it midair to Sevriens... CAUGHT! AND THE SOUTH AMERICANASTAN BEARS TAKE HOME THE SERIES!"

Manning runs out towards the pitchers mound, lifting Jackson up into the air in a bear hug. The rest of the team joins in on the celebration, practically parading Jackson back to the dugout.

"Clearly the Bears are happy about this one."

"Indeed they are, Tom, indeed they are."