World Baseball Classic 60: Everything Thread

by **Drawkland** » Sat Mar 22, 2025 4:45 pm

DRAWKLAND NATIONAL BASEBALL TEAM

Name: Base Corps
Demonym: Drawkian
Physiology: See Here
26th World Baseball Classic, Rank #3 (?!)
Manager: Glenn Sutton
DH at Home: Yes

Home Field: Hydrogen Cyanide Field
Drawk City, Drawkland (75,000)

Drawkland's Base Corps is renowned the multiverse over for the way they play baseball. Unfortunately for all Drawkian fans, the way the Base Corps plays baseball is "hilariously mediocre." The roster is talented, featuring a some genuine superstars and plenty of other big names to fill the gaps. The issue lies in performance: the Corps never puts it all together at once. When the bats do well, the pitching is erratic. When the pitching is good, the bats fail to show up. By far, Drawkland's most notable failure lies in The Choke. For some reason, the back end of Drawkland's bullpen is snakebit, and the bats rarely show out after six frames. The blown lead is an art displayed by the Base Corps so often that one wonders if they're doing it on purpose.

However, three cycles ago, the Base Corps finally had their breakthrough. After 22 consecutive cycles of failing to even reach a WBC quarterfinal in 12 playoff appearances, Drawkland finally did it. With a thrilling 5-game series against Milchama, the Drawkians pulled through, narrowly avoiding another horrifically blown lead, and went on to get spanked by #1 South Newlandia. Now the glass ceiling is broken, and the team just keeps getting better. Against all odds, Drawkland broke even further in WBC 59. Once again the Base Corps fell short against top-ranked South Newlandia, but this time it was taking the Elephants to Game 6 in the championship series. Now the question remains: was this just a fluke, or a sign of things to come?

ROSTER IN BRIEF

This is the depth chart for the Base Corps fielders.
Bolded Players are starters in a "full strength" lineup.
Bench players are listed by likelihood of pinch hitting/receiving spot starts.
Players marked with * are in their last year. Players marked with ^ are WBC rookies.
Position, Number, Name, Bats, Throws

Outfielders
LF: #36 Richelle Frost, R/R
CF: #21 Zac MacBay, R/R
RF: #7 Lane Kavana, S/R
OF: #12 Connor Avalon^, L/L
OF: #5 Rodrigo Jagger^, R/L
OF: #88 Miles Black, L/L

Infielders
1B: #13 Ted Honeycutt, L/L
2B: #10 Elizabeth Houston, S/R
3B: #8 Alexander Gates, S/R
SS: #3 Aaron Frost, R/R
IF: #19 Hunter Braddock, R/R
IF: #9 Zoe Holmwood^, L/R
IF: #23 Flynn Morse, R/R

Catchers
C: #2 Cooper Calebs, R/R
C: #84 Jimmy Todd, R/R

This is the depth chart for the Base Corps pitching staff.
The starters are listed in rotation order.
Sharpe and Barton will get spot starts in the group stage to prevent repeat SP matchups.
Players marked with * are in their last year. Players marked with ^ are WBC rookies.
Role, Number, Name, Bats, Throws

Starting Pitchers
SP: #11 Tyler Silvanus, L/R
SP: #25 Andrew Boone, L/L
SP: #31 Claire Kirkland, R/R
SP: #46 Joseph Shrubbin, R/R
SP: #28 Stuart Ryland^, L/L

Relief Pitchers
SW: #35 Sara Barton, R/R
LR: #27 Hugo Sharpe^, R/R
MR: #71 Brett Sadler, R/R
MR: #61 Stephanie Bullard, L/L
MR: #45 Kirby McKinney^, S/L
SR: #32 Robert Butcher, R/R
LS: #70 Dion McDaniel, L/L

Closers
SU: #33 Eddy Keaton^, L/L
SU: #41 Trevor Bell, R/R
CL: #60 Lorraine Lockwood, R/R

The starting rotation order may be modified during the tournament for matchup considerations.

With DH, vs RHP

1. (S) E. Houston    2B
2. (R) Z. MacBay     CF
3. (L) T. Honeycutt  1B
4. (S) A. Gates      3B
5. (L) T. Silvanus   DH
6. (R) A. Frost      SS
7. (R) R. Frost      LF
8. (S) L. Kavana     RF
9. (R) C. Calebs     C

With DH, vs LHP

1. (S) E. Houston    2B
2. (R) Z. MacBay     CF
3. (L) T. Honeycutt  1B
4. (S) A. Gates      3B
5. (L) T. Silvanus   DH
6. (R) J. Todd        C
7. (R) A. Frost      SS
8. (R) R. Frost      LF
9. (S) L. Kavana     RF

no DH, vs RHP

1. (S) E. Houston    2B
2. (R) Z. MacBay     LF
3. (L) T. Honeycutt  1B
4. (S) A. Gates      3B
5. (S) L. Kavana     RF
6. (L) C. Avalon     CF
7. (R) C. Calebs      C
8. (L) Z. Holmwood   SS
9. (/) pitcher's spot

no DH, vs LHP

1. (S) E. Houston    2B
2. (R) Z. MacBay     CF
3. (L) T. Honeycutt  1B
4. (S) A. Gates      3B
5. (R) J. Todd        C
6. (R) R. Frost      LF
7. (S) L. Kavana     RF
8. (R) F. Morse      SS
9. (/) pitcher's spot

sorry for this fucked up formatting idk how else I could've made it work like I wanted it to
*Tyler Silvanus, a 2-way player, will DH every game except the day after pitching.
On non-Silvanus DH day against lefty: Ted Honeycutt DH, Hunter Braddock 1B
On non-Silvanus DH day against righty: Ted Honeycutt DH, Lane Kavana 1B, Connor Avalon RF

Coaching Staff
Manager: Glenn Sutton (#6)
Bench Coach: Keith Hawking (#12)
1st Base Coach: Al Krauss (#28)
3rd Base Coach: John Vogels (#55)
Hitting Coach: Roger Madison (#24)
Pitching Coach: Devin McClellan^ (#28)
Bullpen Coach: Hannah Ellis^ (#82)
Athletic Trainer / S&C: Nicholas Kingston

ADVANCED TEAM INFO

The Base Corps, while aggravatingly mid in performance (last cycle notwithstanding), does have plenty of talent on the roster. This coaching staff is led by beloved/notorious manager Glenn Sutton, the hotheaded but wise longtime skipper of the Gelia Blues. This roster has been in serious flux the last couple cycles, featuring more newcomers entering and retirees leaving. Because of the transitionary period for not only the roster but the coaching staff itself, Sutton has elected to go with a more complex lineup. After making the final, expectations are definitely mixed. Is this a roster that can compete, especially with some longtime veterans retiring? The roster can be considered nearly elite at this point, but there's a lot of question about whether these players can perform together as a team. The starting lineup will shift drastically to allow the bench to get plenty of innings in the game since they're about as good as the starters anyhow.

As far as hitting, a lot of the lineup consists of boom-or-bust power bats, with a few excellent hitters that help keep the lineup moving. There's also a few high OBP/smallball hitters scattered throughout the lineup as well. The result is a real feast-or-famine offense, either going off for big run totals or being totally silenced. The strategy is mostly focused on wise baserunning and hit placement, smallball, until a lead is established, then the approach will usually shift to swinging deep, though this isn't a hard-and-fast rule.

Pitching-wise, Drawkian starters are notable for longer outings than human counterparts, mostly due to the higher average endurance. Sutton will be similar to the previous manager Evergreen in letting starters who are pitching well to keep pitching until they're no longer effective. With a full rotation of five solid starters and solid spot starters/long relievers in the bullpen, the Corps has the freedom to let the starters put in a longer workload per game since they won't have to worry about a quick turnaround. The famously terrible bullpen will be eating as few innings as possible in hopes that it results in fewer blown leads.

Click the spoilers below to read advanced bios about all the players and coaches.

Glenn Sutton - #6
Manager
Team: Gelia Blues [DRK]

Glenn Sutton has been the manager of the Gelia Blues for over 20 years. Though the Blues have had their success, they've also had their, well, blues. Through all of that, the guiding hand of Glenn Sutton is a mainstay of the Gelia dugout. He's navigated three rebuilds and piloted a couple years of dominance in the league. Sutton uses a mix of analytical and holistic approaches, referring to the numbers when necessary but also deferring to the feelings of his players on the field. DISC was looking for a dependable and fan-favorite PBL manager to be the new skipper for the Base Corps, and Sutton seemed to fit the bill nicely. Now he has something on his resume no other manager has: he's taken Drawkland to a WBC quarterfinal.

Keith Hawking - #12
Bench Coach
Team: Gelia Blues [DRK]

Keith Hawking has been Sutton's right hand man for as long as both have been coaching. When Sutton got the job, it was only natural that he invite Hawking to be his bench coach. Hawking has the skills to keep a team in check in the dugout, ensuring the mood and mindset stays where it needs to be. Has a wide variety of sunflower seed flavors available at all times.

Al Krauss - #28
1st Base Coach
Team: Sun City Flames [SNL]

Al Krauss, a lesser-known skipper who's been at the helm for the Sun City Flames in the LPB, was brought into to be the 1st Base Coach starting last season. The Flames have been decent, but have yet to get any deep playoff success. Normally an actual manager, Krauss is mainly on this staff "for fun" and his experience with coaching players with a variety of backgrounds.

John Vogels - #55
3rd Base Coach
Team: Metropolon Engineers [DRK]

With Kyle Patton retiring from baseball, the job of third base coach has been filled with John Vogels. He's not the legend that Patton was, but he's accrued an impressive record in Metropolon. Vogels is excellent at measuring the arms and legs of the defense and runners in the heat of the moment, and often makes the right call on when to wave or hold a player at third. He's also known for being a great clubhouse personality.

Roger Madison - #24
Hitting Coach
Team: Drawk Corps

Roger Madison has been a mainstay of the Base Corps lineup since the very beginning when Madison was just a hot young prospect added to the national team to test his mettle and sell some more tickets. It would just be weird to have a Base Corps roster without him. His status as a pure contact hitter and longevity in the league netted a first-ballot Hall of Fame induction. In the meantime, his experience both with hitting and playing the WBC makes him an ideal choice to be the hitting coach, even as the rest of the coaching staff is now well acclimated to WBC play. A sentimental pick, maybe, but it's worked out pretty well the last couple cycles.

Devin McClellan - #28
Pitching Coach
Team: Chelstio Stars [DRK]

Peter Connelly was the pitching coach for the last couple cycles, and did a bang-up job. Unfortunately, due to various offseason commitments, he could no longer continue as Base Corps pitching coach. Glenn Sutton went and hired the second-best pitching coach in the league willing to take the job: Devin McClellan of the Chelstio Stars. The Stars don't have an incredible roster as far as star power, but their pitching staff has been incredibly effective. McClellan has the sauce to get pitchers to throw to their best potential, and the Corps hopes he'll do the same on the national team level.

Hannah Ellis - #82
Bullpen Coach
Team: Chelstio Stars [DRK]

Hannah Ellis is the bullpen coach for the Chelstio Stars. Similar to Troy Hawthorne with Peter Connelly in previous cycles, Sutton figured picking the domestic bullpen coach for the main pitching coach hire would be a solid plan. Ellis and McClellan already have a solid rapport and play into each other's styles. Plus, with current Stars reliever Stephanie Bullard in the Corps bullpen, hopefully her effectiveness will be maximized.

Nicholas Kingston
Athletic Trainer / Strength & Conditioning Coach
Team: Elite Eleven (non-PBL)

Curiously enough, Nicholas Kingston is actually a member of the Elite Eleven, the (in)famous group of eleven athletes who boast about being able to play any major sport at a professional level. The Elite have gained recognition for their stint as the Kick Corps, Drawkland's soccer national team, but they've previously competed as the Net Corps and Base Corps as well. Through all of this, Kingston was noticed for his pseudo-role as the trainer and S&C coach for the rest of the Elite, possessing an almost superhuman instinct for identifying and treating injuries correctly, as well as certified medical training. Kingston actually applied directly for this job, and DISC had no other candidates lined up at the time, so they gave him the nod. As the trainer/S&C coach, Kingston doesn't wear an official jersey, but he normally wears #8 with the Elite Eleven.

Connor Avalon - #12
Center Field, Right Field, Left Field
Bats: Left / Throws: Left / Team: Krakon Generals [DRK]

With longtime Corps member Jackie Santos leaving last cycle, there was a need for a hard-hitting lefty in the outfield. Connor Avalon may not be the most fearsome lefty bat in the PBL, but he's definitely in the upper tier. He's also got the speed and defensive tools one would demand from a national team outfielder, but his bat just isn't good enough to be consistently starting (especially considering his lefty-lefty splits). He's absolutely a pull hitter, and gets a fair amount of power when he gets a pitch to drive. Expect him to get some starts in this group stage, and a few pinch hit opportunities when a left is needed.

Miles Black - #88
Center Field, Left Field, Right Field
Bats: Left / Throws: Left / Team: Whisrold Golds [DRK]

With speed demon Louie Wade moving on, the need arose for another baserunner to strike fear in opposing defenses. Miles Black is the answer. On his Whisrold Golds, he holds down center field with plus defense in addition to his top percentile speed. His bat does leave a little to be desired, however. There's no spot for him in a national team starting lineup, but he will serve as an excellent pinch running option late in games. If his services are needed defensively, he'll prove a great outfield option. He may even be an acceptable pinch hitting option against righties. Do not look up his splits against lefties.

Richelle Frost - #36
Left Field, First Base, Right Field, Catcher
Bats: Right / Throws: Right / Team: Pittsennat Cadets [DRK]

Richelle Shard was a middling corner outfield and occasional catching prospect in the Pittsennat Cadets minor league system at the beginning of her career. When she finally got her chance at the PBL level, she exploded onto the scene and earned an All-Star berth in her second season. Since then, Shard has continually improved and become a perennial all-star outfielder thanks to her bat. Her greatest strength is barreling the ball very well, featuring plenty of swing-and-miss but making the contact really count when she gets it. Her batting eye was perhaps her greatest weakness, but she's been making leaps and bounds since her Base Corps debut. She's the main utility option, having the versatility to play corner outfield, first base, or even catcher, but this cycle she'll be getting a lot of starts in left field. Also, she's now known as Richelle Frost, as she married fellow national teamer Aaron Frost last cycle. Congrats to them!

Rodrigo Jagger - #5
Right Field, Left Field, First Base
Bats: Right / Throws: Left / Team: Corinth City Blazers [DRK]

The rare righty-swinging lefty-throwing player, Rodrigo Jagger is quite agile in the outfield. He doesn't quite have the speed to play center, but he can defensively handle the corner outfield without trouble. If he wasn't totally unable to throw right-handed, he'd likely be a third baseman. Either way, he's a solid boom-or-bust power hitter with some swagger. With the solid talent in the outfield, he may not get many starts, but he'll be a nasty option to come off the bench against lefty pitching.

Lane Kavana - #7
Right Field, Center Field, Left Field
Bats: Switch / Throws: Right / Team: Gelia Blues [DRK]

Lane Kavana has been headlining the Base Corps since he was 20, and he still shows no signs of stopping (though maybe some slowing). In WBC 55 on home soil, he was responsible for a tick over half the Corps' runs that tournament, either by scoring them or batting them in. Lane Kavana is the ultimate five-tool player, holding down center field, wreaking havoc on the basepaths, and terrorizing pitchers at the plate. In short, he's a WAR machine. He's perhaps most famous for his power hitting and prowess to all fields, but he's most proud of his pure contact ability. With plenty of power bats in the Corps lineup, and his power beginning to wane with age, Kavana is content and even excited to serve more of a contact-heavy role. With his slightly less impressive cycles lately and the rise of the "Core Four," he's now a fearsome threat late in the order.

Zac MacBay - #21
Center Field, Left Field, Right Field
Bats: Right / Throws: Right / Team: Drawk City Scouts [DRK]

Zac MacBay was one of the "Core Four" at Sadeg State University, a group of hot prospects who came up at the same time and dominated Drawkian college baseball for several years. His excellent hitting and slightly above-average defense netted him a first-round draft selection by Drawk City, and he rose quickly through the minor league ranks. Now well-acquainted in the PBL, MacBay is a perennial All-Star and former MVP. His ability to hit for extra bases is his greatest strength, though he's also got plus speed and the ability to swipe some bags when needed. With slight reverse splits, MacBay is now a bona fide threat in the box. If he had a slightly better arm, he'd be a true five tool player. Due no true center fielder left on the roster, MacBay is stepping into his secondary position for most of the games this cycle.

Hunter Braddock - #19
First Base, Third Base
Bats: Right / Throws: Right / Team: Cove Port Galleons [DRK]

Hunter Braddock is your prototypical corner infielder with excellent power. Defensively he's decent, but his bat is where he's made his name in Cove Port. His batting average and OBP leave a little to be desired, and he has a penchant for swinging at sliders off the plate. Still, it's hard to hate when he leans back and clobbers a baseball 400 feet to left field. He'll be a pinch hitting option for most of this tournament with a few spot starts sprinkled in. If he happens to be on a heater, he'll get more playing time.

Aaron Frost - #3
Shortstop, Second Base, Center Field
Bats: Right / Throws: Right / Team: Jaffro Drawks [SNL/DRK]

Coming up with the Pittsennat Cadets at about the same time as Richelle Shard (now Richelle Frost), Aaron Frost wrote his name in the PBL history books by winning rookie of the year. His excellent defense, speed, hitting, and luscious locks have made up for his relatively short size (by Drawkian standards). He made waves by signing with the LPB Jaffro Drawks in free agency, becoming one of their headline players. At the plate he's a good contact hitter, but his biggest drawback is his complete lack of pop. "Warning track power" has been the pitfall for Frost, who's only hit a handful of homers (most to the opposite field, as he excels on hitting the outside pitch). Despite that, his plate discipline, speed, and bloop single capabilities make him an excellent leadoff hitter. His best skill is his consistency at hitting line drives to the opposite field gap. Make sure you're alert with runners on base too: he's been known to drop a bunt down every now and then.

Alexander Gates - #8
Third Base, Shortstop, Left Field
Bats: Switch / Throws: Right / Team: Bellator Cavaliers [DRK]

Another of the SSU Core Four, Alex Gates was actually a year younger than his other Skyhawk counterparts. That being said, he was just as good as the rest of them, if not better. In his senior year, with the others gone, Gates continued to dominate college baseball, winning golden spikes honors and being taken second overall before a blockbuster trade sent him back to Sadeg right on the edge of his big-league debut. Since coming up with the Sadeg Knights, Gates has shown off his plus defense in the hot corner along with a penchant to get RBIs by whatever means necessary. His elite bat control makes him an invaluable resource in a lineup, though he's easily capable of hitting for extra bases. Nearing the end of his rookie contract, the Knights shipped Gates to Bellator for an insane haul of prospects ... and he made the Knights look like fools. Gates won MVP honors with the Cavaliers, and he's blossomed into one of the big names in the PBL since then.

Zoe Holmwood - #9
Second Base, Third Base, Shortstop, First Base
Bats: Left / Throws: Right / Team: Intersak Lakers [DRK]

With normal utility option Jolene Pender retiring from Base Corps play, another lefty player with infield versatility was definitely needed. Glenn Sutton decided to extend the invitation to Zoe Holmwood, an every-other-year All-Star in the PBL currently with the Intersak Lakers. By domestic league standards she's an everyday starter, but by national team standards she'll likely only get ABs against right-handed pitching. She will be most useful as a defensive substitute when needed, and of course the occasional pinch hit.

Ted Honeycutt - #13
First Base, Designated Hitter
Bats: Left / Throws: Left / Team: Jaffro Drawks [SNL / DRK]

Another limb of the Sadeg State Core Four, Honeycutt is a pulling power hitter at its finest. Thanks to his excellent performance in IBS 19 (including hitting home runs in six straight games), Honeycutt got attention in the LPB, eventually signing a contract with the Jaffro Drawks. Even at the highest professional level, Honeycutt has been demolishing baseballs with reckless abandon, though his OBP could perhaps use a little work. He prefers to play DH, but with Tyler Silvanus taking that up most days, he's resigned to play first base for most games this cycle. He isn't awful defensively at first, but his slouching there is made up for with his power. He even won LPB MVP for the Jaffro Drawks in their SNL league pennant-winning season, and has been a consistent star in the league ever since.

Elizabeth Houston - #10
Second Base, Shortstop, Third Base
Bats: Switch / Throws: Right / Team: Chelstio Stars [DRK]

Elizabeth Houston served as the platonic ideal of a leadoff hitter for Sadeg State's Core Four. Her plate discipline is unmatched, with a low stance and great bat control to force pitchers to attack her with the utmost care. She takes great pride in her OBP above all else, though her defense is perfectly acceptable and she's been known to clock one over the fence when the situation is right. She was taken by the Chelstio Stars in the first round following her graduation, and rose through their minor league system in record time to be their leadoff hitter. Since then, she's been an All-Star every season. She's established herself as an elite talent, and though she hasn't captured a league MVP, she has won All-Star Game and Drawkian Series MVP honors. She heats up at the right time and has a penchant for taking over series. If she starts cooking, look out!

Flynn Morse - #23
Shortstop, Third Base, Second Base
Bats: Right / Throws: Right / Team: Drawk Corps [DRK]

The Drawk Corps team in the PBL had Roger Madison in the middle infield for several decades. With his retirement, the Corps was short a superstar in that spot. Thankfully, Flynn Morse rocketed through the minor league system and came up as an elite shortstop. He mostly gets attention for his great looks, in addition to his flashy defensive plays at shortstop and antics after hitting homers (which he does quite often). His arm accuracy could use a little work, and he needs some more plate discipline, but he's above-average in speed and contact. He could maybe be a starting option for the Corps in a few years ... or he might burn out. For now, he's a nice bench option with opportunities for occasional starts.

Tyler Silvanus - #11
Starting Pitcher, Designated Hitter
Bats: Left / Throws: Right / Team: Bellator Cavaliers [DRK]
4-seam fastball, slider, splitter, curveball, cutter

Tyler Silvanus is a titan of a man. He's become one of the most feared pitchers in the game since his debut. His fastball hits triple digits, his slider has a vicious bite, and his splitter catches even the best off guard. While Silvanus gets plenty of cred for being an All-Star power pitcher, that's not even the best part of his game. He's made his name by being Drawkland's first bona fide two-way player in decades. He hits absolute piss missiles, having eclipsed 40 bombs in over six season (and winning MVP in three seasons). He's simply pure talent, and he proved that by being one of the key players in Drawkland's first-ever Round of 16 series win.

Andrew Boone - #25
Veteran Starter
Bats: Left / Throws: Left / Team: Jaffro Drawks [SNL / DRK]
2-seam fastball, sweeper, sinker, 4-seam fastball, changeup

Andrew Boone is probably the best lefty Drawkian pitcher at the moment. He excels at inducing weak contact and pitching deep into games, mostly due to his deceptive delivery. His main pitches, a flat and sinking 2-seamer plus a sweeper, all come from the same arm slot, traveling in a similar manner until they break just a split second after the batter has to start their swing. He exhibits high 90s velo, but his accuracy and deception is where he gets his success.

Claire Kirkland - #31
Starter
Bats: Switch / Throws: Right / Team: Sadeg Knights [DRK]
4-seam fastball, cutter, slider, changeup, 2-seam fastball

Claire Kirkland had a remarkable rookie campaign with the Sadeg Knights, winning rookie of the year for her elite play on the mound and placing third in voting for pitcher of the year. She's a bona fide power pitcher, with a triple-digit fastball, upper 90s cutter, and a wicked slider in the low 90s. For most batters, that three-pitch mix of movement and speed is enough to put them down, but she also employs a straight changeup from time to time. She's one of the hottest young pitchers in the league, and though her last WBC performance was a bit spotty, she's still a devastating option to have in the middle of the rotation. Did we mention she can hit pretty well? Kirkland isn't exactly good enough to be considered a two-way player, but she puts up numbers around the level of a utility bench bat.

Joseph Shrubbin - #46
Starter
Bats: Right / Throws: Right / Team: Hellenmack Athletics [DRK]
4-seam fastball, sinker, slider, 12-6 curve, changeup

They call him "Joe Shrub." He's a tall and lanky pitcher who came up with the Hellenmack Athletics immediately following WBC 58, and he established himself as one of Drawkland's best pitchers. With a wide delivery and a nasty sinker, he bears a lot of resemblance to former Corps member Jeffry Judd, but pitching from the right side. Joe also has pretty good stamina, often pitching 6 or 7, but he's not prone to shutouts. Unsurprisingly, he was renowned for his quality starts last cycle. He's also decent at the plate, being able to pull balls into shallow left field with regularity. By no means is he a two-way player, but it's always nice to have a guy who can scrap a base hit when the DH is blocked. If his sinker is sinking like it usually does, opposing lineups will have a hard time getting extra base hits.

Stuart Ryland - #28
Starter
Bats: Left / Throws: Left / Team: Waxton Jets [DRK]
4-seam fastball, slider changeup, sweeper

Stuart Ryland (often called Stu) is the latest lefty fireballing sensation in the PBL. A counterpart to Boone's softer, weak-contact inducing left arsenal, Stu is more of a power pitcher who can touch triple digits and embarrass lefties with his slider. He's also great against righties, using his changeup for a good change of speeds to get whiffs. He's been top three in pitcher of the year voting in the PBL with the Waxton Jets, and most fans assume he'll be capturing one sooner rather than later.

Sara Barton - #35
Swing Pitcher, Long Relief, Spot Starts
Bats: Right / Throws: Right / Team: Jaffro Drawks [SNL / DRK]
4-seam fastball, changeup, curveball, 2-seam fastball, sweeper

Sara Barton is normally a starter for the Jaffro Drawks, but she had a long career as a long relief/swing pitcher during her ascent to being one of the Drawk Corps' best rotation arms in her younger years. With the move to a 30-man roster for the WBC, the Base Corps figured a spare arm for spot starts, long relief, or even some high-leverage short relief spots would be a good option. Barton probably won't see a ton of action, but she'll have a couple starts in the group stage and maybe some relief action in between. She's a flexible pitcher who can throw a lot of pitches on relatively short notice, and though none of her stuff is overpowering, her deceptive timing and solid command keeps hitters off guard.

Hugo Sharpe - #27
Long Reliever, Spot starter
Bats: Right / Throws: Right / Team: Darae-Sagut Islanders [DRK]
4-seam fastball, changeup, slider, 12-6 curveball, cutter

Hugo Sharpe is the newest "long reliever but we'll probably give you some spot starts" guy for the Base Corps. He's a solid starter for the Islanders in the PBL, but he is slightly notorious for throwing a lot of pitches in not-so-many innings, so putting him in the actual starting rotation seemed like a risk. Sharpe will absolutely get a start or two and perhaps some action as a long reliever if needed for blowup starts, and hitters will absolutely have to fear his triple-digit fastball and nasty break on the changeup.

Brett Sadler - #71
Middle Reliever, Primary
Bats: Right / Throws: Right / Team: Bellator Cavaliers [DRK]
4-seam fastball, cutter, slider, changeup, 12-6 curve

Brett Sadler is a solid reliever for the Cavaliers, going from fringe spring training selection to hugely reliable relief option in the span of a single season a few years ago. He's gotten a couple All-Star nods since his Corps debut, and has been an excellent option for the Cavaliers in their postseason runs. The Base Corps has seen his wicked fastball/cutter/slider combo be good for an inning or two every day or two, and hope he keeps that going. Remarkably, he's done some of his best work coming in mid-inning to pitch out of somebody else's jam.

Stephanie Bullard - #61
Middle Reliever, Secondary
Bats: Left / Throws: Left / Team: Chelstio Stars [DRK]
Cutter, circle changeup, curveball, slider

Stephanie Bullard's got some stuff. She has an interesting loadout of pitches, known best for getting some swing-and-miss. She's been an important piece for the Chelstio Stars, bridging the gap in middle innings and getting to the scary back-end relievers with great consistency. She can work out of other pitcher's jams, thanks to her ability to miss the barrel and get strikeouts, but she can occasionally allow walks if she's not entirely locked in. Still, when she's on, good luck getting a rally going. Of course, she's also nasty against lefties.

Kirby McKinney - #45
Middle Reliever, Lefty Specialist
Bats: Switch / Throws: Left / Team: Archifel Skippers [DRK]
4-seam fastball, sweeper, curveball changeup, 2-seam fastball

Kirby McKinney is a solid lefty option, and has really blossomed in the last two seasons with the Archifel Skippers. His sudden ascent to the upper echelon of lefty relievers came at the right time. With the departure of Darnell Rivers, the Base Corps was in need of another solid lefty middle reliever, and McKinney was happy to answer the call. He doesn't have lights-out stuff, but his sweeper and curveball both have some pretty ridiculous break that can make even righties look foolish.

Robert Butcher - #32
Short Reliever, high leverage
Bats: Right / Throws: Right / Team: Esmereldane Rebels [DRK]
4-seam fastball, 2-seam fastball, cutter, changeup, slider

Robert Butcher is one of the most feared relievers in Drawkland, serving as the primary high leverage guy for the Rebels in the PBL. Simply put, he throws pure gas. He has multiple fastballs and multiple deliveries, speeds, and breaks on those pitches. He crowds the zone, and most hitters don't have enough time to figure out his stuff before they're sent back to the dugout on strikes. Butcher can be prone to allowing huge solo shots and usually can't throw more than 20 pitches in an outing, but it's nearly impossible for opposing lineups to string together multiple base hits against him.

Dion McDaniel - #70
Short Reliever, Lefty Specialist
Bats: Left / Throws: Left / Team: Vargas City Lions [SLL]
4-seam fastball, slider, 2-seam fastball, changeup

It's important to have a couple lefty arms in the bullpen when the time is right. Dion McDaniel is one of the most fearsome left-handed relievers in Drawkland, serving as a closer for the Cove Port Tankers. He primarily employs a triple digit fastball and wickedly breaking slider, along with a two seamer to back lefty hitters off the plate. McDaniel's lankier frame and odd delivery add to the difficulty of facing him. His issue is his lack of stamina, being elite for about 3 outs and not much more. The Corps coaching staff have decided to invite him to the team to mostly serve as a lefty specialist when the time calls for it, or as a spare arm in case of emergency.

Eddy Keaton - #33
Setup Reliever
Bats: Left / Throws: Left / Team: Raikennax Eruptors [DRK]
4-seam fastball, slider,2-seam fastball changeup

Having a lights-out lefty closer isn't super common, but Eddy Keaton fits that bill. With his long hair and lanky form, he has a certain presence on the mound that opposing hitters fear. He's fearless against even the best lineups in baseball, but he has blown a couple saves in the playoffs for the Eruptors. Surely inviting him to the Corps won't backfire, right? He's so good 95% of the time thanks to his gaseous fastballs and disgusting slider, so Sutton felt it was safe enough to bring him on for a setup role against lineups with several lefties coming up, or with Bell out of commission. He's good enough against righties to warrant play against any lineup normally, so it should be fine.

Trevor Bell - #41
Setup Reliever, Backup Closer
Bats: Right / Throws: Right / Team: Jaffro Drawks [SNL / DRK]
4-seam fastball, circle changeup, slurve, splitter

Franklin Bell may be gone, but his IBS 19 champion Sadeg State alumnus nephew, Trevor Bell, is here to take his place. Trevor has a similar pitch mix to his retired uncle, but with a little more power on it. His fastball reaches triple digits, along with a circle change that can lose anywhere from 15-25mph off the fastball while looking rather similar out of the hand. Since graduating from State and being signed by Jaffro, Bell has also developed his nasty slurve into a more reliable third pitch, and even picked up a little splitter that's reminiscent of his uncle's old forkball. He's a fiery pitcher who loves to pitch in big spots and has yet to horrifically blow an important lead ... though he has gotten close a few times.

Lorraine Lockwood - #60
Closer
Bats: Right / Throws: Right / Team: Gelia Blues [DRK]
4-seam fastball, 12-6 curve, changeup, splitter, 2-seam fastball

What can't be said about Lorraine Lockwood at this point? Domestically, she had a meteoric rise to being a consensus top three closer in Drawkland as soon as she got to the big leagues. She doesn't like to define herself as a power pitcher, but she does have an upper 90s fastball along with a nasty straight curve. Her spinrate and presence on the mound combine for a fearsome pitcher, one who puts down batters quickly, mostly by strikeout. Her accuracy is solid as well, but the stuff is what gets most batters out. She's been the designated closer for the Corps since Franklin Bell's retirement, though she may get action earlier in the game if the situation calls for it, since she works well in high leverage.

MISCELLANEOUS INFO

The Base Corps' home field has been designated as Hydrogen Cyanide Field, a ballpark housing a massive 75,000. It's nestled in the middle of Drawk City, near the Sports Quarter of the city around the Drawkland River. The field is regularly used by the Drawk City Scouts, but in the offseason it's used by the Base Corps and as a stage for events.

The ballpark itself is an elaborate retro-classic jewelbox, with an intricate brick exterior and a tasteful metal interior. From the outside it resembles a scaled-up version of the Scouts' first real stadium back in the early days of the game. The entire stadium itself references the three previous venues the Scouts had called home. The outfield dimensions are split into thirds, with each third exactly matching the dimensions of one of the previous parks. Beyond the outfield there's several standing-room-only decks which help bring the stadium around to fully enclose the field, one of the stadium's most striking features. It plays as a hitter's park, occasionally to the benefit of the Base Corps.

Drawk City is a massive, sprawling city of many millions. Because of this, travel can get congested, but there are lots of options for travelers. For teams, buses can be used, and there are several charter/private bus companies who are welcoming visiting teams. Traveling by airship is the favorable option for those wanting to see a big slice of Drawkian culture, traveling in the city. Trains are commonly used for transportation within the city, and the light rail transit system has been perfected over the course of centuries.

Getting to the city also heralds several options. Drawk City has a space port for those from non-Sonnelian regions, and an airport for more "local" travels (say if a team went to a space port with cheaper rates and flew into Drawk City by plane). You can also travel sans-spaceflight by taking a normal airline flight through the portal in Stratosphere City, Isles of Avon (Rushmore) or Elephant Valley, South Newlandia (Esportiva). When in Drawkland, long distance trains or rental self-driving floating cars are excellent options to get between cities.

Drawkian fans like to make a lot of noise. Obviously part of the vibe at a baseball game is the laid-back atmosphere, but when the game gets interesting the crowd will be on the edge of their seats. At Base Corps home games, the Pep Corps (a small fan spirit band affiliated with the team) will play songs and cadences, alternating with the organist and licensed music played on the PA. Some Drawkian fans are known to heckle opposing players, but most are pretty respectful and just happy to watch a game.

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my runscorers: Yes.
Choose my lineup: No, select the corresponding lineup above.
Choose my pitcher: No, follow the rotation above.
Godmod scoring events: Within reason.
RP injuries to my players: Nothing career-ending. Alert me if it's more than a couple games.
Godmod injuries to my players: As long as it follows the above rule.
Eject my players: Yes, within reason.
Godmod other events: As long as it doesn't destroy my nation or my organization, I'm fine with most things.
Use DH at home: Yes.

As far as permissions go, as long as it doesn't totally wreck me, I don't mind. TG me if you do something major, but don't feel the need to alert beforehand.
As far as lineup/rotation goes, follow the rotation and use the lineup that corresponds with the DH status and pitcher handedness. Slight modifications are fine but keep the core intact.

by **Loyo** » Sat Mar 22, 2025 4:54 pm

Trade Tensions at Loyo Athletic Reds Near Boiling Point

The heat in Qingmedao is increasing day by day, and I'm not just talking about the unusually high temperatures that have the capital city's residents sweating.

No, the strongest heat is emanating from May Revolution Park, home of the Loyo Athletic Reds, Loyo's most successful baseball club, and the only owned by the Communist Party of Loyo. For most of the Loyo Revolution League's history, they've been the undisputed champions.

A Club of Renown

Fans have been satisfied with the team’s recent performance as well. Manager Roscoe Kami has led the team to 6 regular season championships, 3 Sunrise Cups and 6 Sunset Bonanzas over the last ten years, the most of any club. However, the club's connection with the governing authorities has recently come under fire from fan groups, players and even the club's management itself. The club has been at the forefront of Loyo’s goals of exporting players to play in international leagues, losing many of the team’s top talents to the prominent LPB. While Roscoe Kami originally voiced his support for the project, he’s recently been noticeably less enthusiastic about the loss of key players in his squad.

“There’s no shock that when you lose your best players, and can’t replace them with a player of the same standard, the team suffers. There are many shakeups in baseball right now, but I’m hopeful that these tremors will soon come to an end. The people of Loyo are proud of their Athletic Reds, and our team is devoted to continuing our past success. We would hope that the national sporting committee sees it in the same way.”

Rejecting Roster Raiding?

While the Athletic Red’s roster has been raided, other clubs have been saved from the same fate, like their rivals down in Arayoro, United Sugar. There, Chairman Sumida Eisen has done what was once thought impossible: defy a trade request from the PNSC. When the young first baseman Tea Huishan was about to debut, Eisen received notice that several international clubs were interested in signing him. “Interested” was always understood as an insistence, with the chairman’s signature serving only as a formality.

Instead, the chairman made a public show of it, framing the letter in his office and reading it live on his popular radio broadcast.

“What is a nations’ sporting league if it becomes nothing more than a vessel for the desires of a small group of men in suits? Baseball is not just numbers and spreadsheets, but a pleasing hum in the cacophony of life’s busyness," Eisen said. "I’m telling you, the fans of this club, that I will bear the punishment for the rejection of this notice, and we will be back in time to see this team win a trophy this year!”

Confusion within the communications of local and national authorities led to Eisen being detained for several hours following the broadcast, before he was released without charges filed against him.

Some in the Loyo Athletic Reds fanbase condemned Eisen, while others wished that LAR chairman Sun Chungho would act in a similar manner.

Or, take the case of the Sayosona Cockerel. Starting pitcher Rei Uno quickly attracted attention after becoming one of the hottest young talents in the country, and rumors began to circulate in the press that clubs were interested in signing her. The clubs' supporter's union organized a rally at Redwell Park, and after the organizer was struck with a baton following an attempt to enter the club's grounds, a raucous riot resulted in 5 burned vehicles, several thousand Loyomarks of property damage, and multiple injuries, the trade rumors faded away.

A National Shock

Following the People’s National Sporting Committee announcement of the national team lineup, there was much news to be made about how young shortstop Rosa Stadler was the only player from the Athletic Reds on the roster.

“Now, our veteran players wouldn’t make it in any serious professional league in the world. It’s a shame, because alongside the young prospects we gave away, they likely would’ve been able to continue the success this team has seen,” said 47-year old fan Maiya Jusai. “It makes sense that the only player we’d have representing us would be a younger player on the bench, but it doesn’t make the fact any less painful.”

Rosa Stadler herself has spoken about about her displeasure with the existing trade policies, in a demonstration of how many younger Loyon players aren't afraid of speaking their mind about their vision for Loyo's future.

"It's absurd that you can be forced to join a team you've never heard of, in a city you've never been to, with teammates you've never played with, just because someone at the PNSC sees your trajectory improving because of a transfer," Stadler said. "I'm open to discussions with international clubs, I'm open to discussions about my development, but I'm not going to be sent somewhere I don't want to go."

While fan’s opinions are mixed on the matter of player trades, the belief that Loyon baseball needs to improve to be internationally competitive was a common one.

“There’s an obvious benefit to sending our best and brightest players to a country with more resources to support them. Additionally, when looking at our club’s purpose, not only as a ball club, but as a symbol of our nation to the rest of the world, it’s only fair that we should engage in our country’s progression towards openness,” said the club’s manager of youth development, Yoanis Hisahmou. “It will result in long-term benefits that will improve our club, and the LRL overall. But there is room for discussion, as reform is quite clearly needed. I believe the PNSC observes that as well, and change will come in time. What we’re seeing now is momentary disruptions to the durable long-term success of this club.”

To start off their WBC 60 experience, the Loyons look to Busoga Islands, where they’ll play away from home. Pitcher Rei Uno will make his national team debut.

After some good showings in the U-21 squad, Uno has found his footing in one of the Loyo Revolution League’s newest teams, the Sayosona Cockerel. He’s made a lot of folks happy at Redwell Park, and they’ll be cheering for him alongside teammate Reagan Ahadi, a lefty reliever that’s been playing international ball since she was 15.

In their second outing of qualifying, the Sunshine Tigers play the hosts in Qinqmedao, with elaborate decorations already being hung up by fans of the national team to welcome the Banijans to Loyo. There, Seung Hawoo will get the opportunity to face Banjia for the third time. The last two outings ended in losses for the Loyons in the group stage of WBC 57.

Overall, the sunshine tigers have a poor record against the multi-time WBC champions, making the start of the Loyon’s WBC trial a tall task. Fans will be hoping that the home advantage can give their team an edge in what will surely be a crucial matchup to set the tone for the competition.

Lineup for Game 1,2: Busoga Islands, Banija
CF: (CF/LF) #12 Sonny James, 36, R (United Sugar)
SS: #18 Bo Ayoyara, 37, R (SLL’s New Llama Wizards)
3B: #13 Jimi Fiazzo, 38, R (St. Yoosan's)
1B: #2 Tea Huishan, R, 26 (United Sugar)
2B: #11 Ra Min-Joo, 35, R (St. Mianho’s)
DH: (If Applicable) #7 Nika Vulkae, 35 (SNL’s St. Riecarn Saints)
LF: #20 Isabel Morata, 35, R (SNL’s St. Riecarn Saints)
RF: #5 Germaine DiPiccolo, 35, L (St. Hayahoma’s)
C: #4 Misty Sang-Jun, 37, R (Narangara Motors)

Pitching Rotation (Use relievers and closers as needed)
Game One
SP: #5 Rei Uno, R, 26 (Sayosona Cockerel)
RP: #14 Reagan Ahadi, L, 24 (Sayosona Cockerel)
CP: #25 Dewayne Kenny, L, 25 (Kanai Stallions)
Game Two
SP: #15 Seung Hawoo, 36, R (St. Yoosan’s)
RP: #32 Misha Moon, 37, R (SLL’s Vargas City Lions)
CP: #23 Dao Nahass, R, 26 (St. Donghai’s)

by **South Newlandia** » Sat Mar 22, 2025 5:01 pm

When you wake up, you usually don’t know if the day that’s ahead will define you for the rest of your life. Sometimes, though, you have a decent idea that it might happen. If the schedule for the day includes Game Seven of the World Baseball Classic Finals, that might be a clue.
I have always been a late riser, so the evening games, as Game Seven of the Finals of WBC55 against Zwangzug would be, were always more in line with my circadian rhythm. Still, I woke up earlier than usual, because there was still plenty of work to be done before the first pitch. Most importantly, we would be taking a look at the latest things our scouting department had noticed for how the Zebras were approaching us. Since this game would be played with the Designated Hitter, we could easily split apart the scouting for the pitchers and for us. There would be no overlap today, regardless of how out of hand the game would get.
The Zebra starter for this game would be Vincent Chavez. I had gone one for three against him in the narrow win - An infield hit that didn’t really amount to anything. I knew he is a great pitcher, and it felt lucky that we broke through against him in game two; he’s got a bright future. I certainly didn’t envy Ryan [Hunter], who was preparing to take the start for what might just be the biggest game the Elephants have ever played, and maybe ever will.
Ryan Hunter certainly was a good choice for the Elephants to deal with the mental pressure of such an important game. The oldest of the Elephants’ starters, he had already experienced a lot. Like most of the rest of this team, he had been there in the previous Finals, when South Newlandia had captured their first world title, but his WBC experience stretched way beyond that. He also had plenty of playoff experience in LPB play, but this would be something else entirely. It would be just one game, and the WBC would come down to it. One team will add another World Title to its history, and one will fall as short as a team possibly can. After all, this is the first time in a decade there would be a Game Seven at all.

Welcome to South Newlandia One, today with our coverage of a rarity in international sports – Game Seven of the World Baseball Classic Final Series. We’re going to see the Elephants of South Newlandia face off against the Zebras from Zwangzug in an all-or-nothing game. I’m Ilyas Albrecht on play-by-play, and I’m joined by Maya Shinde providing colour.
Welcome to the broadcast from me, too. A Game Seven at the WBC is truly something special – in fact, it is only the seventh in the history of the tournament. That’s fitting given our hosts, and doubly so because the fifth of those also took place in this very stadium. Then, Nova Anglicana won their first world title in epic fashion over Cassadaigua, also here at Seven Stars Stadium, Centivar County.
That was just a few years after your retirement, right? Also, coincidentally, the first WBC that saw the Elephants participate. While we’re obviously rooting for the Elephants to defend their title, the Zebras have an equally interesting story to tell.
Exactly, with first-time manager Griffith Puyo-Sachar leading them all the way here. The Zebras have beaten a number of name-brand baseball nations to get here, including Ko-oren, TJUN-ia, and Cassadaigua. Of course, they forced the game we’re about to watch just two days ago, when Kinnakeet and Donohue forced a blown save from Elephants closer Barnaby Butt to rally back in the ninth.
Are those two also the main threats on the Zebras today?
Of course the middle of the lineup is always a threat, as are Nieves-Gau and Soin-Gardel – there’s a lot of firepower on the Zebras. The WBC rookie Vincent Chavez also deserves a shoutout, he’s had some dominant performances in this Classic, and will make it very tough for the Elephants to score runs; something they’ve struggled to do in some of these games here with the Zebras.
For the Elephants, it is Ryan Hunter starting. He got lit up pretty bad in game three, but the Newport Dolphin will be looking to bounce back – especially now that he doesn’t have to worry about hitting.
Yeah, the stellar group stage from the Elephants is coming in handy, with them picking up the top seed and home advantage in game seven of this series. This means we’ll have Designated Hitters, Minna Soin-Gardel and Adam King in play.
The stadium here in Drawkland is packed; with the Zwangzugian crowd noticeably outnumbering the South Newlandians, who will be the home team only on paper today. There’s many Drawkians here, too; given that the Base Corps will near certainly never make a WBC Championship Series themselves, the fans will be happy to get the final IN Drawkland at least.

Ryan Hunter, the windup, strike one, McHart takes a fastball close to the top edge. Pitch number two, that’s a beautiful take by McHart, spits on the Changeup, arguably the best pitch in the arsenal of the Newport Dolphin. Count’s 1-1, swings, and fouled back. 1-2. Hunter, looking for the early strikeout, and will get it with an excellent front-door Cutter; rings up McHart!
Always good to start off a game with a punchout.
Ryan Hunter now facing Calvin Donohue, Kinnakeet on first after the fielders’ choice; two outs.
His game three home run really signalled the beginning of the end for the Ellies in game three, so Hunter is going to look to dispatch the first baseman.
The 2-1, swing and a miss! Pumps it to 98 with the fastball, and Hunter is back in the count. 2-2 pitch, fastball again, Donohue makes good contact, but gets a little bit under it – Larsen pedalling back, he’s going to make the catch, and Hunter gets out of the first inning without any damage. Still 0-0!

Vincent Chavez looking to sit down the side in order here in the bottom of the first; but Daryl Dunlop keeps battling, fouling off another 1-2 offering. Chavez fires another fastball, swing and a miss, Dunlop goes down trying to catch up to the high heat – excellent inning by the young Chavez in his first Classic, needing just 11 pitches to sit down the Elephants.

I took my usual position in Left Field, and watched the top of the first from afar. Hunter allowed a one-out walk, but quickly pitched out of it, without the ball getting anywhere close to me. The bottom of the first would be my first chance to impact the game, and I struck out on three pitches as Chavez disposed of the top of the lineup with just eight pitches. Fortunately, Ryan Hunter was pitching great; his fastball was touching triple digits; he’s looked as good as ever. The Zebras are very, very good at hitting, though; Jenna McDonough knocked a two-out single into left; the first time I got to touch a ball in this game. Still, a quick groundout sent her back to the dugout.

Bottom of the second now, as the Zebras have failed to score despite making some solid contact. Elephants are threatening to get something going after Adam King, batting cleanup, hit a little single through the left-side gap to give the Elephants a baserunner with no outs. Nicolas Perez is gonna look to get King into scoring position, but Chavez already has him down 0-1. Fastball, swings, bounces to the left, a beautiful diving stop by Cragun! Fires to second from her knees, OUT, to first, and it’s a double play! Cragun with a massive defensive play to erase two baserunners at once, one of the best defensive plays we’ve seen this series – and we certainly haven’t been short on them!
Wow, absolutely brilliant play by the star shortstop – that’s ought to turn the heads of anyone trying to sign her away from the Grey Socks.
A brilliant, magnificent play by Atori Cragun to not only prevent the ball from getting out of the infield, but to quickly get the ball to second against the momentum of her body – absolutely amazing work, and the defense comes up with great plays behind Chavez!

Ryan Hunter is still cruising here in the top of the third, as the game remains scoreless, he’s got two outs and none on here. Zebra Enrico Nieves-Gau is looking to get something going, though. Takes another Changeup below the zone from his Newport Dolphins teammate, and the count is now 3-1. Hunter tries to pump a fastball down the middle, swung on, hit deeeep to Center, high fly ball, does it have legs? Zimmerman going back, drifting, and he makes the catch on the warning track – Nieves-Gau misses a massive dead-center home run by about 8 feet, and the game moves to the bottom of the third with Ryan Hunter knowing he just dodged accountability for a big mistake.
I’ve certainly been there – surely, Hunter knows not to throw a pitch like that to his teammate.

Zwangzug came close to the lead in the third; Shawn [Zimmerman] hauled in a deep fly by Enrico Nieves-Gau at the track. We got a chance ourselves in the bottom of the same inning, even after Chavez started the frame with strikeouts three and four for him. Shawn [Zimmerman] stretched a liner into a double, and after Mike [Larsen] drew a walk, it would be my turn with two outs and two on. After two pitches, the count was even. On the next pitch, Chavez spiked one, it got past backstop Gwen Sae-Hyun to move both runners into scoring position.

Vincent Chavez in some trouble here – Shawn Zimmerman clearly occupying a lot of space in the head of the young starter from the Frischberg Flash after his double down the line.
Yeah, that’s already the second pick-off – Chavez clearly does not want the Elephants to take a lead here, looking to get out of the inning by catching Zimmerman off-guard.
Pitch to Mike Larsen, and that’s high, a four-pitch walk to the Elephant, and that’s now runners on first and second with two outs. Daryl Dunlop has a big opportunity here.
The left-fielder is definitely accustomed to those, playing for the Masmow Dragons – one of the most recognisable South Newlandian teams that I’m sure will continue to exist for the foreseeable future.
The one-time SNL and WBC champion could easily give the Ellies the lead with a single. Chavez, ball in the dirt, gets by Gwen Sae-Hyun! Runners move up ninety feet on the passed ball!
Sae-Hyun, normally a sure-handed defensive catcher, does miss that one, and that makes this a lot more dangerous. Do you ever think the Zebras may consider an intentional walk here, with first now open?
I don’t think you want to pitch to Adam King with the bases loaded. The 1-0, and Dunlop harmlessly rolls it over to Calvin Donohue at first, who steps on the bag to get Chavez out of the jam – we are headed to the fourth inning!

Unfortunate. Really a bad swing; I need to do better than that.

Alyssa Kinnakeet causing some trouble here for the Elephants on the basepaths; the speedy Zebra has stolen second after a leadoff walk, and is now in scoring position for Minna Soin-Gardel with just one out. Hunter, the first pitch, Soin-Gardel attacks it and lines it into Right Field! Kinnakeet, looking to score, is going to round third, Larsen collects the ball and fires home, looks on line, one bounce, and the tag by Brad Moore! Beats Kinnakeet by a couple of feet, extremely close play, and we remain tied here in the fourth as Soin-Gardel has taken second base.

One of the defensive throws of Mike Larsen’s career; he’s not usually that good of a defender, but he put everything into that throw and it worked out. Hunter got out of it with a flyout, again to Larsen, and it wouldn’t be the toughest situation he’d face this game.

Chavez, the 1-2 to Drum, swing and a ground ball to Jenna McDonough, who will complete the play by tossing to Donohue for the final out of the fourth. Chavez has been cruising through four here, six strikeouts, only two hits and a couple walks, as the game remains scoreless here. Coming up is the top of the fifth, bottom of the order due up for Zwangzug.

Sofia Rasmussen is now chatting with Hunter on the mound, who is facing serious trouble again here in the fifth. McDonough and Cragun have both gotten hard-hit singles, putting two runners on with just one out. McDonough chose not to test the arm of Zimmerman, staying on second; but its nevertheless a massive opportunity for Jabez McHart.
I have a feeling that we won’t see many runs in this game, so just one could be the deciding factor.
McHart, swings at the first pitch, rolls it to first base where Perez will get one out – but the runners are able to advance, no chance for a play at second. McHart looks frustrated, that was a good pitch to hit and he just missed it.

Ryan definitely walked a tightrope in the fifth; walking Nieves-Gau to load the bases. Sofia [Rasmussen], bravely leaving him out there, was rewarded in the end - Alyssa Kinnakeet skied one into shallow left, right between me and David [Drum]; fortunately, he’s really good at what he does, so when he called for the ball, I knew I just had to back up the play, and Drum got us out of a tough spot.

Chavez, still looking to keep the Ellies off the board here against Shawn Zimmerman – 1-1, the South Newlandian slaps one up the middle, out of reach of Cragun! Henry was running on contact, rounds second, throw by Jabez McHart, not in time! Elephants put runners on the corners with two outs, and Griffith Puyo-Sachar is coming out now to have a chat with the starter.
You know, before I did research for this series, I didn’t even know that the Zwangzugian league also has a team named the Dolphins. In this case, Logrove. Woad-Kalin and McHart both play there.
That’s interesting. What other team names do you get over in Zebra country that the LPB should absolutely consider stealing?
Well, Mustangs for sure, and I’m also a big fan of the Spenson Worms – not to mention the Weegham Rainmakers, of course.
I definitely agree. Mike Larsen is now at the plate, Chavez still out there. First pitch swinging, swing and a miss; nice work by the Zwangzugian. The 0-1, swung on, high fly ball, settling above McHart – the Zwangzugian center fielder barely had to move in order to haul in this fly ball, and we’re moving to the sixth, still scoreless here in Seven Stars Stadium!

Nothing really happened in the sixth – I extended my bad day to 0 for 3, with both Dhruv [Webber] and Vincent Chavez easily cruising through their frames. Chavez viciously roared back after Nieves-Gau made a rare error on what should have been a groundout, striking out both Nico[las Perez] and David [Drum].

Top of the seventh here in Drawkland – game seven, inning seven, we’ve been scoreless so far, but surely this is where that changes, right?
Seven!
Webber is coming back out after a strong 6th frame, after Rasmussen chose to pull Ryan Hunter after just five innings of work, 4 hits, 3 walks, just two strikeouts and a couple of close calls.
Not the performance he was envisioning, I think, but he held the line, with no runs scored by the Zebras.
Dhruv Webber, payoff pitch to McDonough – lost her, the Zebra battles for a walk, and Zwangzug are in business here in the seventh. First pitch to Joseph Avery, a Curveball, and plunks the outfielder!
That probably didn’t feel very good.
I don’t think so – hit by the pitch, right on the foot. Rasmussen is coming out, I imagine she’s going to go deeper into the pen here, so Avery will have a moment to decide if he can play on.
Despite a very painful ball to the toes.
Come on, Maya, seriously?

Darlene Le is taking the ball as the Elephants look to prevent Zwangzug from taking a lead here in the seventh. She’s going to be facing Atori Cragun, who she’s gotten the best of in their one encounter in Llamaphant Pro Baseball last season. The pitch, swing and a miss, Cragun punches out.

Absolutely heroic effort by Darlene [Le], no doubt, sitting down the side in such a dire situation, forcing two groundouts after the K.

Walked em! Vincent Chavez loses Brad Moore after getting ahead in the count early, and all of a sudden it’s the pachyderms with a runner in scoring position with one out. Griffith Puyo-Sachar is coming out again, I imagine that’s it for the starter?
Yeah, I reckon; absolutely astounding effort by the young starter. 6.1 innings, no runs, against three walks and five hits, opposed to ten strikeouts – absolutely incredible effort.
Shoba Dhamir will be tasked with keeping this game tied at 0 as both teams have now turned the ball over to the bullpen.

Runners on the corners now after the flyout by Zimmerman, two outs, and Mike Larsen is at the plate with the heart of the order due up next. This is the third time this game the Ellies have gotten a runner to third, but they haven’t quite gotten one around yet.

Mike Larsen staying patient again, and the count runs full – Dhamir has really been forced to work here in the seventh. Full count pitch, Larsen takes, and the Banijan umpire sides with the Elephant – bases loaded for Daryl Dunlop! Great opportunity for the South Newlandian to break through here, any way to get on base.
Larsen with his second walk this game, exercising great patience on that borderline ball, that could’ve otherwise ended the inning.
Daryl Dunlop is quickly ahead in the count here, 2-0, as Dhamir fires again – swung on, grounded to short, Atori Cragun has it, throw to first, and the Zebras get out of a rough situation. Coming up is the eighth inning, we remain tied scoreless here in Drawkland!

Rats.

Darlene Le has given the Elephants another clean frame, picking up six outs without allowing a baserunner is phenomenal. In response, the Elephants have done little, with Leslie Caell-Amoy coming in to the game and dispatching the middle of the South Newlandian lineup despite issuing a walk to David Drum – so the Elephants will have 8-9-1 up in the ninth.
Probably going to see some pinch-hitting there?
Probably. But first, it’s the Zwangzugian attempt to break this deadlock in the ninth. Gwen Sae-Hyun is due up, who nearly gave the Zebras the lead back in the fourth.

Abby Conrad will take the ball here in the ninth. The Monarchs isn’t usually a player the Elephants go to in high leverage, but they’ve exhausted a lot of other options, and at least Abby Conrad is an experienced pitcher.
Do you think we’ll see Barnaby Butt in this game later, given his blown save in game six?
I don’t really think so.

Two down for Conrad, and the Zebras will go to the bench – Curtis Koralov will pinch-hit for Avery, who fought on through the pain of the hit-by-pitch earlier. Conrad, slider, swung on, and caught! Koralov hits the ball hard, but right into the glove of Malika Bains – the game remains tied, still 0-0, as we head to the bottom of the ninth.
Excellent showing by Conrad, sitting down the Zebras in order.

Jeremiah McHubert, star reliever of the FTC Mustangs, will take responsibility as the Zebras look to push this game into extra innings.
Phoebe Roth will be pinch-hitting, it seems, for Malika Bains – seems like Rasmussen is trying to force the issue and walk it off right here?
I think that’s reasonable – I think the Zebras pen is slightly deeper, and I think the Elephants are in a good position to put pressure on the slightly less experienced Zebras.
I agree. Roth, swing and a miss, McHubert grabs the first out in just three pitches. Looks like Rasmussen keeps going to the bench, with Emil Hurley pinch-hitting for catcher Brad Moore.
If this does go to extras, then, the Elephants will go to backup catcher Fred Burn.
Hurley just spits on that pitch, its 2-1. McHubert with the next pitch, again taken for a ball – Hurley has not taken a swing yet, and I’m sure the Zebras know how quickly the speedy Kingfishers star could be standing on second after a walk. 3-1 pitch, swung on, and lined into center-right! Hurley rounds first, he’s gonna end up with a stand-up double into the gap!
With their speedster in scoring position, the Elephants may be one hit away from a World Championship!

The Zebras have elected to intentionally walk Shawn Zimmerman.
I think that makes a lot of sense – put the double play on, try to get out of this with just one ground ball. Facing Zimmerman is a bad idea, anyway – he’s already 2-4 tonight with a double.
That means Mike Larsen is coming to the plate here, with two on and one out in the bottom of the ninth.

When Mike [Larsen] went out there and I was on deck, I had a feeling it was going to come down to me, and I tried my best to focus – while also hoping Mike would find a hit here to end it before I had to step into the box with the highest leverage of my career by far.

Mike Larsen, 1-1 count for McHubert, as we remain tied in the ninth. The pitch, swung on, lined to third! Caught by Nieves-Gau, beautiful stab, quick throw back to second, but Hurley manages to get back to the base by just a fraction of a second! The Zebras nearly found another beautiful defensive double play here to get themselves out of the inning, but Hurley manages to get back to second to give Daryl Dunlop a shot with two outs and two on.
And they will be forced to pitch to him – facing Adam King with the bases loaded is definitely not an improvement.

I stepped into the box and I knew this would be the plate appearance to define my life. It does not matter now that I'm o-for-4 in this game - this is my moment. I could barely sort out my thoughts when McHubert had already thrown a fastball about halfway between the zone and my face – which, I think, paradoxically helped me to focus in on the battle. It was simple, I had to get a hit. McHubert hit me with a slider, and I helplessly swung and missed. 1-1 count. I needed a hit, desperately, but I knew McHubert needed to prevent one even more desperately. He didn’t want to be Barbaby [Butt] in game six, the face of your nation failing to capture glory. 1-1 pitch, up high, and I took it to regain the advantage. You don’t have many chances to win a World Baseball Classic, and you have even fewer chances to walk them off. I knew I wanted it, right now. The 2-1, fouled back, a good fastball. I really wanted to see that slider again. 2-2 offering, fouled off again; Hubert kept going to the fastball, this time near the top of the zone. And then, when I saw the next 2-2 leave his hand – somehow, I knew. I knew this would be the slider I was sitting on. Time seems to slow down as the baseball approaches, and I’m trying to put everything into this swing. I made contact, getting a little bit under what was an excellent slider, and I watched the ball float in the air for what seemed like ages as I dropped my bat and begin sprinting to first. I saw Atori Cragun, leaping, trying desperately to reach the ball, stretching her arm with every single inch her body could give her. The ball flew over her glove by what seemed like micrometers. The outfield was playing shallow, but the ball was hit shallow into the left-center gap. I looked to the left, seeing out third-base coach almost taking flight in his efforts to signal Emil [Hurley] to go home – and Hurley is not the type of guy you need to tell that twice. Alyssa Kinnakeet came up with a beautiful throw – actually even better than the one by Mike [Larsen] that had hosed her way back near the start of the game – but Emil Hurley was too fast, sliding into home plate in time. It was over. South Newlandia are champions once again.

by **The Kytler Peninsulae** » Sat Mar 22, 2025 5:29 pm

The Kytler Peninsulae "Phoenix" National Baseball Team
Official team information for World Baseball Classic 60

Background information
Named the Phoenix in this incarnation after reforming following the Kytlerian Isolation, the Kytlerian national baseball team have shot into the upper echelons of the sport in very little time at all. Only a Game 5 loss to Eshialand stopped them from becoming the first Kytlerians ever to make the last four of a "Big Five" (WC, WB, WBC, IBC, WCoH) team sport event. As it was for the Green Machine gridiron team - who narrowly missed out on claiming that distinction for themselves at World Bowl L when Sarzonia edged them out on a walk-off FG - the target is now very simple; some day, there will be Kytlerians in a semi-final.

Kytlerian baseball has evolved in a distinctive direction, and the origin story for this was the unique way the DH debate was settled here. Under the "Kytlerian Compromise," pitchers bat, but managers have one opportunity per game to sub in a pinch-hitter for the pitcher but not remove the pitcher from the game (the use of this must be declared at the time of the substitution). The pioneering manager Angufams Apyrphung reasoned that if he used this opportunity on the starting pitcher's first plate appearance, then immediately pulled the pitcher on the second, his starter would not only never need to bat but would almost certainly have a low enough load to be able to start on shorter rest next game. After Apyrphung's Clifford Milliners won three national titles in a row, his methods became increasingly popular across the league, and now it is absolutely standard practice for Kytlerian teams to use a three-starter rotation on very limited pitch counts, roughly along the lines of Bill James' proposal for a three-man rotation but with less defined parameters (the most common one is to pull the starter no later than the end of the at-bat in which they threw their 75th pitch, and this is the one used by Phoenix manager Kevin Anderson).

Phoenix Roster
All players have handedness listed as bats/throws.
All ages are +2 from the last WBC.
All teams are from the Kytlerian Baseball League unless stated.

Catchers
C/DH #3 Sven Magnusson S/R, 26, Santa Mordana Stars
C #25 Telma Eyjólfsdóttir S/R, 25, Vengife Legends
C #28 Ryan Marshall R/R, 32, Rüsselsheim Blue Sox (LPB)

Infielders
1B/RF #5 Egill Njálsson L/L, 25, Carroll Lewiston Thrillers
SS/2B #11 Wecoisus Dotos R/R, 26, Zube Nationals
1B/DH #12 Magnus Álfarsson S/L, 24, Zeiven Hawks
2B/SS #15 Zoe Anderson S/R, 27, Icenbrook Foxes
3B/RF #23 Benjamin Ígorsson R/R, 27, Rüsselsheim Blue Sox (LPB)
SS/3B #31 Alexander Fox R/R, 29, Icenbrook Foxes

Outfielders
RF/LF #6 Arndór Asbjørnsson R/R, 29, Santa Mordana Stars
LF/RF #18 Rich Bolton S/R, 23, Ceuran Blasters
CF/SS #20 Oscar Lopez R/R, 27, Santa Mordana Stars
RF/RP #21 Dings Whosash L/L, 33, Alaer Angels
CF/LF #29 Fyls Minanad R/R, 22, Zube Nationals

Starting pitchers
SP #1 Cedric Lundy L/L, 30, Apple Valley Vipers (LPB)
SP #2 Shrifflu Whootung L/L, 27, Rüsselsheim Blue Sox (LPB)
SP #4 Frepresis Whaariny R/R, 33, Alaer Angels

Relief pitchers
RP #7 Park Sung-Jae R/R, 26, Ceuran Blasters
RP/SP #8 Edward Marshall R/R, 33, Bay City Falcons
RP #16 George Walton R/R, 32, Zube Nationals
RP #19 Aaron Clark R/R, 28, Icenbrook Foxes
RP/SP #25 Brian O'Carroll L/L, 23, Carroll Lewiston Thrillers
RP #27 Marvin Vatnarsson R/R, 29, Magstone Rattlers
RP/SP #30 Fyls Mopukest R/R, 29, Zube Nationals
RP #33 Zoe Young L/L, 25, Edencliff Magicians
RP #35 Wecoisus Hottotelen L/L, 25, Roddens Tigers

Potential lineups
vs. RHP, no DH: SS Fox, LF Bolton, 3B Ígorsson, 1B Álfarsson, RF Asbjørnsson, 2B Anderson, C Marshall, CF Lopez, pitcher
vs. LHP, no DH: SS Fox, LF Bolton, 3B Ígorsson, RF Asbjørnsson, C Marshall, 1B Álfarsson, 2B Anderson, CF Lopez, pitcher
vs. RHP, DH: SS Fox, LF Bolton, 3B Ígorsson, DH Álfarsson, 1B Njálsson, C Magnusson, RF Asbjørnsson, 2B Anderson, CF Lopez
vs. LHP, DH: SS Fox, LF Bolton, 3B Ígorsson, DH Magnusson, RF Asbjørnsson, C Marshall, 1B Njálsson, 2B Anderson, CF Lopez
These are extremely subject to change, feel free to make some of those changes yourself!

Scouting report
Position players: The two Blue Sox players are the stars here. Marshall, who broke out immediately in LPB to the point of winning a Golden Glove and an All-Star alternate slot on his debut season, is a glove-first catcher who sometimes hits homers; Ígorsson, one of several Græntfjaller-Kytlerian dual nationals on this team who are often referred to as "BFGs" (the B is for Big, the G is obvious, and you can decide for yourself what the F is), takes massive hacks when he finds the right pitch and is also increasingly diligent in holding off the wrong ones, and though he's far too slow for an up-the-middle position his cannon arm can yeet baserunners from third base or right field.

The switch-hitting Bolton, who can play anywhere in the outfield, and the slick-fielding Fox (part of a fine double-play-inducing duo with Anderson) are classic top-of-the-order speedsters whose slugging percentages would be way higher than their batting averages if a single and a steal of second counted as a double, but it doesn't, so they aren't. Lopez is as good defensively as he is bad offensively, which is very; if young gun Minanad continues on his ascending trajectory and can cut out the strikeouts, he might slot into the starting lineup instead and leave Lopez as the elite defensive replacement he's meant to be at this level.

Starting pitchers: The fixed rotation order for the group phase is Lundy, Whaariny, Whootung. (This may vary in the playoffs, should the Phoenix get there.)
Lundy does his best work with his four-seam fastball, which he consistently locates well, and pairs it with (in decreasing order of usage) a slider, cutter, and changeup. Second in the rotation at WBC58 and technically still there for WBC59 despite the retirement of veteran ace D.L. Miller, he's now finally the actual honest-to-goodness ace, starting His move to an Apple Valley Vipers team who have committed to a short-rotation policy of their own has so far been slightly overshadowed by his role as the face of that policy and the debate over it, but he's proven capable of the step up to the highest club level in the sport.
Whaariny is noted for his slurve, which has vicious two-plane movement; he pairs it with a two-seam/split-finger fastball mix (which also grade stronger for movement than anything else) and sporadically uses his changeup, most often as a surprise strike-stealer. Whilst arguably the weakest of this rotation (and the only one not in LPB), it's awfully marginal, so as the one righty in the rotation his place is simply determined to maximise how many home starts go to the southpaws for reasons you'll see in the "home field" bit below. In fact, five of his seven scheduled starts are on the road, whereas the other two starters will each take four turns on the mound in Zube.
Whootung is a fastball-slider power pitcher whom many Kytlerian analysts have expected to move into relief due to his limited repertoire and low lefty arm slot, but he's been highly productive with both pitches (the slider and his less-used, less-controlled changeup getting huge whiffs from hitters cheating on the fastball) to the point of not only getting an LPB gig with the Blue Sox (under the management of the former Phoenix bench coach Angufams Pentove) but thriving in it, his first season seeing him average a 2.85 ERA that was actually above his 2.67 FIP. Safe to say there's no easy opponents in this rotation, the only escape being that you won't be facing the starter for too long.

Relief pitchers: Marshall, Mokupest, and O'Carroll operate as starters for their KBL clubs and are designated as swingmen for the Phoenix; if a starter gets injured, one of them will step into the rotation. Marshall has a traditional starter look and a similar pitch mix to Lundy, though he uses his cutter more, controls his four-seamer less, and is a righty not a lefty. O'Carroll, by contrast, is a lefty, and a towering one at 205cm; hyped as the potential saviour of a terrible Thrillers team from the moment he was the #1 draft pick, he's started living up to that hype with the help of a wipeout sweeper that he probably throws too often even to righties but ends up setting up his high-90s four-seamer very well indeed. Mokupest's profile is driven by his strong clutch tendencies and two excellent heaters - a hard four-seamer full of rise from his vertical arm slot, and a two-seamer that trades that speed and rise for confounding arm-side run. His offspeed pitches - a curveball that plays down because batters can spot it out of the hand too easily, and a changeup that he's still getting feel for - aren't nearly as good, but he blows most KBL opponents away with heat as a starter and can do the same to international adversaries out of the pen.
There's no out-and-out hierarchy in this pen, but Sung-Jae, a Quebecois dual national, has been first pick for saves in the team's two WBC cycles to date; his splitter has scary late movement and tunnels beautifully with his four-seam fastball, while he also has a slider that surprises the unprepared. Other contenders for close-and-late situations are Harper (who gets a ton of strikeouts by combining a 12-6 curveball with a fastball with rising life) and Whosash (a two-way player who was a starter early in his career before elbow surgery and has reinvented himself as a fastball-slider power reliever who can also take his rocket arm to right field). Daniels is a groundball machine with a sinker/slider/curveball mix and a tendency to just plain avoid the top of the zone, and he's most often deployed when there's traffic on the bases with the hope to get a rally-killing double play. Young is the other intriguing pitcher in this pen; only the fifth woman in the KBL when called up, she rapidly ascended to second banana in the Magicians pen behind Harper and then got the 14th-inning save in a WBC playoff clash with Ko-oren; her trademark dastardly screwball draws all kinds of whiffs and her sinker is a groundball machine.

Home field: EyeEye Field @ Donaldson Olympic Park, Zube (capacity 25,143).
The diamond-shaped secondary stadium in the capital city park that hosted part of the Games of the IX Olympiad has recently been re-renovated with an extra 1,093 seats added to its former 24,050 capacity - mostly near the first and third base lines, reflecting a commitment to a baseball-first use rather than doubling as a rectangular-sports field that regularly got used for lacrosse. While those renovations greatly reduced foul territory, the asymmetrical shape that stemmed from that rectangular use remained, not only to allow for continued sporadic multi-sport use but because it's part of the park identity. Hence, 109.3m (359ft) to left, 98.4m (323ft) to right (where the foul pole is on the left edge of a curved landscaped wall and tunnel), and at 129m (423ft), the left-centre power alley is deeper than the 125m (410ft) to straightaway centre. This results in a park that suppresses right-handed pull power, is modestly but not drastically favourable to southpaw sluggers, and (sneakily more significant) where you won't easily get away with hiding a slowpoke in left field. And because power hitters in particular have a platoon split in this park, by implication so do pitchers; southpaw starters do better here because they have the platoon advantage over hitters the ballpark favours, and therefore the Phoenix make a point of setting that three-man rotation to maximise how often they get one.

Choose my lineup: Y
Choose my pitcher: N, but you can choose how my relievers are handled.
Choose my runscorers: Y
Choose other statistics: Y
Use DH at home: N
RP injuries to my players: Y, but TG first
RP ejections to my players: Y, but TG first
Godmod events: N

by **Vaishnavaria** » Sat Mar 22, 2025 5:39 pm

RP Permissions
Choose my runscorers: Y
Choose my lineup: Y
Choose my scoring events: Y
Follow my pitching rotation: Y
Use DH at home: Y
Eject my players: Y but only two at a time and TG me so I know
Godmod scoring events: Y
RP injuries to my players: Y but only two at a time and TG me so I know
Godmod Injuries to my players: Y but look above
Godmod other events: Y
Godmod other events: Y

VAISHNAVARIAN NATIONAL BASEBALL TEAM

NATION INFO
Region: Concord
Trigramme: VAI
Capital City: Vikramndayu
Largest City: Jozan

TEAM INFO
Manager: Maxwell Brussiler (First Year)
Stadium: Sevio Field
Hitting Coach: Frankie Gonier
Pitching Coach: Nikolai Petronolovski
Bench Coach: Jonas Berg
First Base Coach: John Venacruz
Third Base Coach: Jackson Jerrion
Style Mod: +1 [/size]

Baseball In Socialist Vaishnavaria hasn't always been popular. Sharing slots with sports like basketball and football, Baseball was forced to rise in a way where sports like hockey and tennis had risen (And still were): regionally. With Masilian and Islander immigrants spreading the game to immigrant rich yet complex Sassan Island. Sassan was a lock for cricket but many people who couldn't cut it in cricket or quit found more solace in baseball and it grew slowly with small academies and clubs popping around the island.

Coincidentally this was around time of the Tanzak-Pallistan border war so Immigrants were desperate to escape the chaos and a new rising sport helped them buy into it. Eventually it became popular on the island with mens leagues and school teams forming.

However it stayed mostly grounded in Sassan and was relatively unheard of on the mainland for a long time. The cricket craze on Vaishnavaria was still high and American Football was also taking form as a controversial yet entertaining pass time after being invented by Masilian Milllionare Shalter Namp. It stayed like that for decades until the Vaishnavarian Revolution.

When the rebels launched the civil war back on the mainland many fled to the offshore Sassan islands, who had immediately used the bulk of the Vaishnavarian Navy to shield itself and declare independence. Backed by the Republic of the 50 Islands and The Sherizian Kingdom many took to Sassan to escape the brutality of the war. And that's when they started playing baseball, taking solace in the game and its similarity to cricket.

Once the war ended in a republican victory the refugees went back home to the mainland and spread the sport around and it started catching attention of a decent bit of people. When the Vaishnavarians launched an armed Invasion of the Provisional Republic of Sassan and the Droncoc War is when it caught fire back home. During the 8 month long seizure the soldiers started playing it and brought it back home where it caught like wildfire.

Today baseball is one of the big 4 sports in Vaishnavaria, beating out many periods of isolation with the richest most player friendly domestic sports league in all of the Vaishnavarian sporting world. The Coralo Cup is one of the most watched sporting periods in the nation and the regular Professional league the MVBA is pretty good in quality

In WBC 59 the tigers saw good yet mixed results with Ravi Deshakum smashing his way through all the pitchers he locked through and the top 5 batters dominating but the rest being absolute garbage with the 5th Hitter going on and off while the cleanup also was on and off. The pitching was really good at times but crumbled under pressure in some times. They made it to the Ro16 but were beaten in a 4 game series to Quebec and Shinorgeyro 3-1. Now their looking to make it far with Guptill fired and a fresh staff and newer roster to face the competition and hopefully go big.

Vaishnavarian National Baseball Team Roster

Starting Lineup

Leadoff Hitter (Center Fielder):    Kai Nakam  
Second Hitter (Second Baseman):     Ravi Deshakum  
Third Hitter (Right Fielder):       Miguel Santos  
Cleanup Hitter (First Baseman):     Dante Russo  
Fifth Hitter (Left Fielder):        Jayson Mulls  
Sixth Hitter (Shortstop):           Savin Jones  
Seventh Hitter (Third Baseman):     Jamal Jaegar  
Eighth Hitter (Catcher):            Hiro Tanaka-Smith  
Ninth Hitter (Pitcher):             Sanjay Iyengar  

Bench Players

Utility Infielder:      Felix Johansson  
Utility Outfielder:     Emilio Perez  
Backup Catcher:        Liam Chin
Pinch Hitter:          Noah Steinmeir  
Defensive Specialist:  Amir Haddad  

Starting Pitchers

Ace:             Sanjay Iyengar  
Second Starter:  Alejandro Martinez  
Third Starter:   Ethan Carter  
Fourth Starter:  Ravi Patinanda  
Fifth Starter:   Kenji Yamamoto

by **Dhemixia** » Sat Mar 22, 2025 6:48 pm

Your WBC 60 Dhemixian National Team

Stadium: Brigantine Park, Columbus (also known as "The Brig"), capacity: 54,387
Dimensions:
Walls are 12ft (4m) tall in Left and Left-Center, and 8ft (3m) tall in Center, Right-Center, and Right.
Left Field: 343 ft (105 m)
Left-Center Field: 364 ft (111 m)
Center Field: 403 ft (123 m)
Right-Center Field: 370 ft (113 m)
Right Field: 343 ft (105 m)

Coaching Staff:

Manager: Neil McCarthy
Assistant Coach: Theo Porter
Hitting Coach: Emmanuel Cooke
Pitching Coach: Amari Browning
Bench Coach: Erik Hardrada

Roster
For Hitters: (Batting Handedness/Throwing Handedness)
For Pitchers: (Pitching Handedness/Hitting Handedness)

Schedule
*blue signifies a home game
----------------------------------
@ Chobotan (Jack Guzman vs. ___________)
vs. Nova Calania (Morgan Andrews vs. Juan Diego Salazar Valenzuela)
@ Mt. Panorama (Cael Robertson vs. __________)
vs. Cardenao (Hayden Young vs. _________)
@ Quebec and Shingoryeo (Jack Guzman vs. Isaiah Baek)
vs. Chobotan (Morgan Andrews vs. __________
@ Nova Calania (Cael Robertson vs. Juan Diego Salazar Valenzuela)
vs. Mt. Panorama (Hayden Young vs. _________)
@ Cardenao (Jack Guzman vs. _________)
vs. Quebec and Shingoryeo (Morgan Andrews vs. Isaiah Baek)
@ Chobotan (Cael Robertson vs. ___________)
vs. Nova Calania (Hayden Young vs. Juan Diego Salazar Valenzuela)
@ Mt. Panorama (Jack Guzman vs. __________)
vs. Cardenao (Morgan Andrews vs. _________)
@ Quebec and Shingoryeo (Cael Robertson vs. Isaiah Baek)
vs. Chobotan (Hayden Young vs. __________
@ Nova Calania (Jack Guzman vs. Juan Diego Salazar Valenzuela)
vs. Mt. Panorama (Morgan Andrews vs. _________)
@ Cardenao (Cael Robertson vs. _________)
vs. Quebec and Shingoryeo (Hayden Young vs. Isaiah Baek)

RP Permissions
-----------------
Choose my runscorers: Yes
Choose my lineup: Yes
Follow my pitching rotation: Yes
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes, within reason. tg/dm me beforehand
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Eject my players: Yes, also within reason. tg/dm me beforehand
Godmod other events: No
Use DH at home: No
Style modifier (if used): +2
Trigramme: DHE
Nickname: Serpents

by **Drawkland** » Sat Mar 22, 2025 8:33 pm

It's an unprecedented time in Base Corps history.

Drawkland's four main national teams all have varying levels of success. The Grid Corps is renowned for their success. Twenty-two consecutive playoff appearances and counting, ten semifinal appearances, seven championship games, three championships. The Net Corps may not be so consistent, but even they had a five-cycle stretch of consecutive semifinal appearances and two rings to show for it. The Kick Corps has a much more complicated history, but more than a handful of World Cup qualifications and a sort-of-regional tournament title proved that their national team has worth. The Base Corps, meanwhile, have been synonymous with failure for pretty much their entire nationstatal tenure.

See, each national team has had its share of disappointments. Four final appearances ending in losses for the Grid Corps. Before the semifinal streak, the Net Corps lost in four straight Rounds of 16. Since the semifinal streak, they've been unable to surpass the quarterfinals. The up-and-down qualifying woes of the Kick Corps are well documented, and their inability to win a knockout game in the World Cup proper has been chided again and again. None of those teams can touch the level of failure the Base Corps hit. Over twenty cycles, with barely half of them even making the playoffs, and none of them ever reaching the quarterfinals. The repeated chokes were the stuff of legend for the World Baseball Classic community.

Now, that glass ceiling is shattered. Yeah, the Base Corps got humbled by South Newlandia in the quarterfinal immediately after breaking the Round of 16 curse. Yeah, they then lost to Ko-oren in the next Round of 16. But this wasn't a story of a fluke to break the curse before returning to mediocrity. It was merely a taste of things to come. Two cycles after losing to South Newlandia in the QFs, the Base Corps lost to them again ... but this time, it was in the WBC championship series. They may have been outplayed, but they were also the only team to beat the Elephants that cycle, and they did it TWICE. A 4-2 performance in your first-ever final series appearance isn't bad at all.

So the question now burns in everyone's mind. With Drawkland now ranked #3 in the tournament, with the Base Corps now looking like actual contenders, with expectations somehow above the bare minimum, how will the team perform? This level of relevancy is something completely unknown by Drawkland's national baseball team.

Most key contributors from the WBC 59 silver medal squad have returned. The "Core Four," formerly of Sadeg State fame, are obviously back. Entering their true prime as players, the group of Houston, MacBay, Honeycutt, and Gates now leads off the Base Corps lineup in every situation. They're too good to sit, and their chemistry is so excellent that it seems stupid to break them up. Looming behind them is the fearsome two-way power threat of Tyler Silvanus, here to DH all but one game in each round of the pitching rotation. The newlyweds of Aaron Frost and Richelle Shard Frost have returned as lineup mainstays, with Richelle getting more starting opportunities than last cycle. Of course, Lane Kavana remains in the lineup. However, due to his declining skills in his old age and apparent preference for contact hitting, he's now a switch-hitting trap late in the lineup for pitchers that don't do enough homework. The catching duo of Calebs and Top Jimmy returns as well.

Some longtime Corps contributors did decide to hang it up after nearly reaching the peak last cycle. Most notable was Abram Kavana, the younger brother of Lane, who decided that he was too old to keep at the national team thing. Despite still playing in the PBL, Abram figured that appearing in the championship series was enough, especially since he went yard and had a couple nice highlights in the losing effort. It helps that a lot of new talent was cropping up. With the Base Corps now being considered some sort of a success, it now isn't seen as a career death sentence to appear on the roster. Just as Lane Kavana predicted and hoped, the last decade of actually contending in the playoffs, plus breaking the curse, plus making it to the biggest stage, really resonated in the minds of kids watching at home. Now some of those kids are starting to reach the bigs, and want their chance to play in black and red.

Of course, it'll probably take awhile for those fruits to really ripen. Regardless, the Corps is getting some healthy turnover on a cycle-by-cycle basis. The big contributors are still here though, and more than ready to make things happen.

It can be difficult to prepare for a schedule when the rosters for some opponents aren't available, but returning Corps skipper Glenn Sutton has made do with what's available.

WBC 60 Group Stage
Tentative Match Schedule

match    opponent               DRK starter   DH  opp starter
MD1:  at StrayaRoos             Silvanus (R)  DH  Eratel (?)
MD2:  at Oscioru                Boone (L)     DH  Ostea (L)
MD3:  vs Abanhfleft             Kirkland (R)  DH  ??
MD4:  at Kelapa                 Shrubbin (R)  ??  ??
MD5:  vs The Mind Corporation   Ryland (L)    DH  Theodora (L)
MD6:  vs StrayaRoos             Barton (R)    DH  Eratel (?)
MD7:  vs Oscioru                Sharpe (R)    DH  Rama (R)
MD8:  at Abanhfleft             Silvanus (R)  DH  ??
MD9:  vs Kelapa                 Boone (L)     DH  ??
MD10: at The Mind Corporation   Kirkland (R)  no  Wyrd (L)
MD11: at StrayaRoos             Shrubbin (R)  DH  Eratel (?)
MD12: at Oscioru                Ryland (L)    DH  Abreu (L)
MD13: vs Abanhfleft             Barton (R)    DH  ??
MD14: at Kelapa                 Sharpe (R)    ??  ??
MD15: vs The Mind Corporation   Silvanus (R)  DH  Reeka (R)
MD16: vs StrayaRoos             Boone (L)     DH  Eratel (?)
MD17: vs Oscioru                Kirkland (R)  DH  Cavallo (R)
MD18: at Abanhfleft             Shrubbin (R)  DH  ??
MD19: vs Kelapa                 Ryland (L)    DH  ??
MD20: at The Mind Corporation   TBD           no  Casablanca (R)

With the 20-team non-series format, a 5-man rotation isn't necessarily a good idea. That just results in the same pitchers seeing the same teams 4 times. With the depth the Base Corps suddenly has available, switching to a 4-man rotation and stressing the arms of the aces also seems suboptimal. Now that the Corps expects to be more than just one-and-done in the playoffs, getting the big boys at the front of the rotation enough starts to get acclimated but few enough to not be overworked is paramount. Instead, a few spot starts by long relief bullpen pitchers will be on the table, actually building what amounts to a 7-man rotation.

That seems like overkill, but Sutton insisted that he'd rather have his best starters available for a potential first round playoff series. In a 6-man rotation, the #1 and #2 would be used right before the playoffs. It wouldn't be the end of the world since #3 and #4 are damn good, but you want to have your best players ready to go. Sutton has implied that the final day of the group stage may be given to Tyler Silvanus if that game ends up being crucial for playoff seeding purposes.

Ultimately, it's an air of timid excitement for Base Corps fans. Some of the foolish among them are even starting to Believe. Hopefully the group stage provides some illumination as to whether last cycle was a fluke or an indicator of things to come. What do you think?

by **Ranoria** » Sat Mar 22, 2025 8:44 pm

Notes: If you just need the batting order or pitchers, scroll to the bottom! Thanks! :lol:

The Federation of Ranorian Baseball Is Proud To Present:
The Ranorian Krauts,
the international arm of the Federation of Ranorian Baseball.

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my run scorers: Yes
Choose my lineup: No
Follow my pitching rotation: Do what you want with it! Have fun
Godmod scoring events: Yep
RP injuries to my players: Yep, shoot me a DM or TG please!
Godmod injuries to my players: Yep, shoot me a DM or TG please!
Eject my players: Yep, shoot me a DM or TG please!
Godmod other events: Get in touch with me first, including for no hitters/perfect games, etc, thanks!
Use DH at home: Nope
Special Note: No Covid stuff. There is no COVID in Ranoria, just like there is no war in Ba Sing Se

Records:

WBC 44: 12-18; Team MVP: Leonardo Harrison
WBC 49: 15-15; Team MVP: Leonardo Harrison
WBC 50: 19-11; Team MVP: Leonardo Harrison
-Playoffs: 3-5-
WBC 51: 14-16; Team MVP: Nicholas Lux     
WBC 52: 13-17; Team MVP: Leonardo Harrison
WBC 53: 18-12; Team MVP: Nicholas Lux     
WBC 54:   9-1; Team MVP: Nicholas Lux     
-Playoffs: 8-3-
WBC 55:  13-7; Team MVP: Julian Breit     
-Playoffs: 11-8-
WBC 56: 18-12: Team MVP: Jesse Griffith   
-Playoffs: 7-4-
WBC 57: 22-18: Team MVP: Jesse Griffith   
-Playoffs: 13-6 Champions-
Group Stage: 153-117
Playoffs: 42-26
Overall: 195-153

Background

The Ranorian Krauts are a privately funded team, supported by the joint funds of the middling Federation of Ranorian Baseball. Their first attempt, in the 44th edition, was a disaster. None of our biggest stars agreed to sign up with the exception of Leonardo Harrison, though overall the team consisted of our upper-end talent. Predictably, the team finished a paltry 12-18 record, with Harrison being the only bright spot, 19 at the time. However, five years later, they fielded a stronger squad, with star players from home along with Ranorians playing abroad. As such, the team gave us a better showing with a somewhat successful 15-15 campaign in the World Baseball Classic 49, garnering some momentum going into WBC 50 and some interest from Ranoria as a whole.

World Baseball Classic 50 was something else entirely. Our Krauts went on a 10-1 tear on the back of Leonardo Harrison to end the group stage and even win a knockout series - despite starting a tradition of Ranorian teams being steamrolled any time they had the audacity to look at a TJUN-ian squad earlier in the campaign. With a ton of buzz surrounding the team going into WBC 51 though, they suffered three straight seasons of playoffless baseball. Just when fans began to give up hope though, the Krauts came in hot in WBC 55, reaching the quarterfinals as the third seed in the playoffs before being eliminated in 5, and then giving the reigning back-to-back champion Elephants all they wanted in the semifinals. And then in 56, we again came oh-so-close to the summit before Banija knocked us off in four en route to a championship. Of course -we got another crack at our biggest rivals in World Baseball Classic 57, taking on the Lions in Concord Heights en route to our Ranoria's first non-football international championship!

This team isn't what it was - It's basically the same team, they're just a bit older is all.

Note: If you wanna ignore the multiple home fields thing that’s fine!

Coaching Staff:

Manager/HC/Batting: Leonardo Harrison, 42 years old
Bench Coach, Assistant Manager: Jonas Nuhl, 51 years old
First Base: Brandon Bolan, 39 years old
Third Base: Justin Cruz, 40 years old
Pitching: Alfred Arnoldi, 54 years old
Bullpen: Hugo Fromm, 49 years old

Team Doctor: Melina Fulches, 73 years old
Head Trainer: Marty Zane, 41 years old
Trainer: Frank Schottenheimer, 38 years old
Trainer: Eddie Walker, 36 years old

Position    Number     Name            Ht.     Wt.   Age           Team                       Batting
Catcher      28    Lukas Valentine      6      200    26     Kyrinson Cosmos (SLL)           Contact
1st Base     12    Vincent Veltrone    5-11    195    34     New Llama Wizards (SLL)          Contact
2nd Base     10    John Solomons       5-9     165    26     Elephant Valley United (SNL)     Contact
Shortstop    20    Clark Weaver        6-1     190    28     Denison Dynamos (SLL)            Contact
3rd Base     99    Jesse Griffith      6-5     215    32     Jaffro Drawks (DRK)                 Slugger
L. Field     23    Julian Breit        6-3     235    34     Elephant Valley United (SNL)     Slugger
C. Field      1   Rylan Rodgers Jr     6-1     225     27    Sierraville Farmers(RFL)        Slugger
R. Field     87      RJ Hall           6-2     195    27     Nikcoro Suns (SLL)     Slugger
DH           44    Grant Faulkner      6-4     230    31     Jaffro Drawks (DRK)               Slugger

Starter Notes:

Jesse Griffith: Do you believe in taking chances? That's what the Krauts did with this signing. Griffith is the youngest man (er, boy?) to ever play professional Ranorian baseball, at just 15 years old. Griffith was streaky in his first pair of seasons on the team, but he's really come into his own as one of - if not the - the best players in Ranorian baseball. He had an illustrious career in Ranoria, capping his time there off with one of the most dominant campaigns in Federation history with a ring and an MVP in his resume, but contract talks stalled with his Cincinnati Warbirds after seven years with the team. Played for a few years in Quebec and Shingoryeo, as it would allow he and his then fiancé Astrid Verona to each pursue their respective sports at a high level, but he and Astrid eventually moved to Drawkland, with her playing at Cove Port - basically because Griffith's Jaffro Drawks of the LPB were allegedly footing part of her salary to keep Griffith on the team.

Vincent Veltrone: Veltrone is a solid youngster who took his talents to Llamaphant Pro Baseball to get the publicity and money he is worth before coming back to participate with the Krauts. Fluid athlete and current LPB All-Star for the New Llama Wizards. Along with Julian Breit, the Krauts are pinning their hopes on these two young guns - and the ascension of Jesse Griffith - to help propel this crew to the next level.

Julian Breit:Breit was in the same high school class as Veltrone, and also plays in South Newlandia, where he earned an all-star nod this year and was a candidate for the silver slugger award the season prior. Breit, if that didn't clue you in, is a big power swinger. With Nicholas Lux and Leonardo Harrison aging out, many speculate that he and Jesse Griffith will be taking the reins as the best players on the Krauts. He's one of the best in the world, or was. Might be a bit long in the tooth, but he's got a bat.

Lukas Valentine: A younger who was turning heads coming out of high school, it’s a gamble throwing the young buck in at catcher after the retirement of Nicholas Lux, especially with Ranoria City Sluggers veteran Philbert Kelsin still on the roster after having proven effective in his starts during WBC 55. Expect the two to split time to an extent, but the younger is the starter. Big arm to catch prospective base stealers, and an almost obnoxious tendency to frame horrendously bad pitches as strikes.

John Solomons:

An undersized veteran, Solomons is going to take a key role this season with the teams’ best two contact hitters in Nicholas Lux and Leonardo Harrison retiring. The Elephant Valley United Veteran is used to the spotlight, having played for a long time in the best league in domestic baseball, expect a seamless transition.

RJ Hall: A wide receiver for the NSCF’s Elephant Valley University Red Elephants, RJ Hall is in his second campaign after taking the place of veteran speedster Rubin Graves. Exciting but young, it’s reasonable to expect some growing pains from the 2 sport athlete.

Rylan Rodgers Jr: How much information do you need? An NSCF, World Bowl, Winter Bowl, and World Baseball Classic Champion, Rylan's somehow made time to come back to the WBC after his electric campaign led Ranoria to her fourth World Bowl. A slugger with game breaking speed, RRJ is this team's x factor. But he's been playing in Ranoria's Federation - and dominating - but he may need some time to get back up to world class speed.

Back-breaking speed and if he can find a way to make solid contact, he's got jaw-dropping power.

Position    Number     Name            Ht.     Wt.   Age           Team
Infield      14    Justin Derrick      6-1    190    32    Elephant Valley Snow Bears (SNL)
Infield      7   Abraham Leinhardt      6     205    41    Vricksinburg Blaze
Infield      19    Arthur Jackson      5-9    175    38    Vricksinburg Blaze
Outfield     30  Stephen Reichenbach   5-10   185    39    Nashville Maestros
Outfield     59   Tristen Feng         6-1    205    40    Cincinnati Warbirds

Reserve Notes:

Starters
Role       Number        Name            Ht.     Wt.   Age         Team
Rotation     90      Yahweh Bohannon    6-1      190    27    Elephant Valley Snow Bears (SNL) - Out for remainder of WBC 60 (finger)
Rotation     86       Jorge Billing     6-1      215    32    Elephant Valley Snow Bears (SNL)
Rotation      1     Jacklyn Flowers     6-2      175    25    Nikcoro Suns (SLL)
Rotation     62      Brady Behringer    6-2      190    37    New Llama Wizards (SLL)
Rotation     71       Parker Majors     6-4      215    40        Banija

Reserve

Reserve      70       Erin Phelps       6-2      215    42    Cleveland Rebels

Bullpen
Role       Number        Name            Ht.      Wt.   Age         Team
Closer      68      Miellen Walker       6-3      215    31    Elephant Valley United (SNL)
Reliever    73      Thomas Barnet        6-1      200    39    Nashville Maestros
Reliever    64      Corey Nielman        6-3      195    37    Vricksinburg Blaze
Reliever    61      Alabaster Cappa      6-3      190    42    Nashville Maestros
Reliever    72      Bonnie Oliviera      6-2      190    29    Ranoria City Sluggers

Pitching Notes

Normal Starting Lineup

DH Starting Lineup

Vincent Veltrone
John Solomons
Julian Breit
Jesse Griffith
Grant Faulkner
Lukas Valentine
Clark Weaver
RJ Hall
Judas Acker Rylan Rodgers Jr.

Vincent Veltrone
John Solomons57
Julian Breit
Jesse Griffith
Lukas Valentine
Clark Weaver
RJ Hall
Judas Acker Rylan Rodgers Jr.
Pitcher

by **Ranoria** » Sat Mar 22, 2025 9:13 pm

Ranorians, Assemble!
Somewhere in Elephant Valley, South Newlandia

Julian Breit was munching on a sauerkraut-lathered hot dog, absentmindedly swinging his controller around to his dingers on his TV. Sure, there were things he could turn on, but this was about as relaxed as he got. The sounds of elephants playing in the mud not a half mile from his house in the background, the lightbulb that he was way too lazy to fix flickered, and his phone rang just as he swung the bat again.

Breit started, and watched as the ball went right into the opposing fielder's hand, then looked down to one of his favorite names - Leonardo Harrison - on the line.

And a selfie Leo had taken with Breit. While Breit was asleep. Whatever.

"Leo! What can I do for the best coach in the Big 14?"

"They're calling us Jules, gear up."

"What are you talking about? Gear up? Do you know what they did to Tarry Tonds dude?"

"What? No! The Classic! We're going back!"

"Ooooooh..."

Sierraville, Ranoria

It hadn't taken Isaiah Hunter and Rylan Rodgers Jr to get back to work following the latter's World Bowl win - they weren't resting on their laurels. The two Winter Bowl champions were already out running routes, getting ready for the next season, even if it wasn't at half speed - Rylan was pretty beat up from back-to-back long football seasons, after all.

So he was a bit shocked when his phone started vibrating for a third straight time, and tossed the ball back to Isaiah Hunter, "One sec, this might be important." He tapped on his earbud, "Rylan Rodgers Jr, how can I help you?"

"The Classic? We haven't done that in six years. Is this a scammer?"

"Oh shit. I mean yeah why not right. I'm there."

Jaffro, Drawkland

Jesse Griffith was in a bit of a tough spot. His wife was pregnant, apparently craving some kind of local melon that he wasn't exactly familiar with, and even his six foot five self was having trouble reaching some things around here. He loved the city of Jaffro, loved the nation of Drawkland, but he'd be lying if it wasn't emasculating going from being the tall guy to begging strangers to grab things off the high shelves.

He rubbed his neck with a groan, then craned back up half an aisle later when it hit him. Of course last time he'd come back with the wrong fruit, and decided he'd facetime her to be sure.

ring-a-ring, ring-a-ring

Please pick up.

ring-a-ring

"Hey, why aren't you answering my dad? He's been trying to call you for the last hour!

"What?" Jesse pinched his nose, "It's two in the morning! I've got everyone else muted! Why would he be calling me anyway?"

"Well, it's like four in Ranoria. I guess the Federation didn't have your number or something, so they had him reach out. They've invited you to play for that stupid baseball team of yours again.

Jesse's eyes went wide as saucers, and the phone started shaking, "The Krauts? We're coming back to the Classic!?"

"Yeah, that, whatever. Hurry up and get home.

He saw her hand moving, "Wait babe is thi"

Beep.

"Ugh," he groaned, but then pumped his fist not too long after.

Banija, here we come.

by **Milchama** » Sat Mar 22, 2025 9:37 pm

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

Sports Section

So Who We Got?

You know something I've noticed over the past few months or so is that our headlines have gotten significantly less professional. Why is that? Who is making this crap? I really should edit that to make it better to something like "Group Preview" or "Milchama Favored in Group B" but nope we're going "So Who We Got?" as our headline because why the heck not? It's pretty bad, really what a terrible headline. I know the paper is in charge of the headline and not the writer but since we're basically the same is there really anything different here?

Anyway, we should probably stop complaining about the headline and actually do a real preview. We might have wasted a whole paragraph complaining about the headline instead of doing what we're supposed to be doing but we are capable of focusing on two things at once, at least I hope, so we can complain about the headline and also preview our group. So let's talk about our group. Milchama, despite a horrid performance in WBC 59, actually gained in rank. Was this mostly because several better teams didn't sign up? Yes. Do we care? Not at all. We're still in semis or bust mode and so having an easier draw just makes our life easier but we still need to perform. Let's see what this looks like by looking at our opponents.

Group B
The Kytler Peninsulae(8) - KP has been in baseball for awhile but due to their small size and, I believe, the general national bias towards cricket as the national bat and ball sport has meant some stagnation of the Kytlerian national baseball team. This will still be some close contests but we fully expect the Warriors to pull ahead and win some.

Visayas Islands(UR) - Unranked with baseball not a big sport on the islands. Two easy victories. Count it now.

Liventia(21) - I will not be doing research for this preview, or at least I won't check previous tournaments, but I feel like we always end up in a group with Liventia in baseball and then we destroy them in baseball. Like our record against Liventia is shockingly good considering that they are actually not bad at baseball. We expect the same here, hopefully we can continue to be the bogey team for Liventia.

HUElavia(UR) - Ooooh we've played them in soccer! I think we beat them in soccer, there is absolutely no way I am looking this up. Either way, no way that we're losing to an unranked unrostered team in baseball. It's baseball man.

Milchama(5) - That's us! We're on the downward slope as a team and need a deep run in this WBC real bad or everybody involved will commit seppuku so no pressure. We expect big things.

Ingont(UR) - See HUElavia above but we've never played in soccer. Unranked + unrostered = victory for Milchama. God it would be so embarrassing if we lost. Almost as bad as Crpostan. Watch us lose. I'm already angry about this. Hopefully I'm not in the camp that has to commit seppuku.¹ Ugh, that would suck, I'm too young to die.

If anybody is interested in how Milchamians feel confident in their national teams right now, please read that last sentence again. It's not great Bob! But soon things might turn around, who knows, crazier things have happened. We almost have home field advantage, the best team in the group, and a really crazy bet going around. What could go wrong?

¹ Important note: The seppuku here is metaphorical.

by **Banija** » Sat Mar 22, 2025 10:05 pm

Say it aint' so- Banija and Ranoria renew baseball rivalry on Opening Day at the World Baseball Classic

ISTRIA, MORAVICA- World Baseball Classic 56, Banija and Ranoria met in the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic, with a spot in the World Championship Series on the line. The Banijans picked up a victory there, winning the best of five series three games to one, en route to our third ever World Baseball Classic title. And in World Baseball Classic 57, we tried to go back to back- once again, with Ranoria as the opponent. And this time, in 6 games, in a best of 7, it was the Krauts who would triumph- as the Ranorians simply outclassed the Banijans on the occasion.

And now, time for the rubber match. Well, kind of. These two archrivals meet again- and this time, its in the group stage of the World Baseball Classic. But, an even better stage- Opening Day. "We're going against Griffith, Rylan Rodgers, and the rest of those bastards on opening day- what more could I want as a competitor? What more could the fans want?" Said Banijan ace, Odongo Lutaakome. "Matchups like these really drive the home field advantage. The atmosphere is going to be insane in Istria, and we're gonna put these guys in their proper place- at the bottom of the table."

Sadiiq Xoosh, who very famously does not get along with Ranorian superstar Rylan Rodgers Jr., said that this game in particular, and this tournament in general, was a chance for Banija to make a statement. "Many people talk about how we have 'gone backwards' in this sport, like we aren't competitors for a world title or anything." He told reporters. "I know, I know- South Newlandia are the legitimate favorites, and Drawkland are a reasonable #2 behind them. But hey- why not us? We've got championship pedigree, title level talent, dudes balling out in both the MBL and the LPB." When asked about how he felt about Rodgers' World Bowl title earned at the Stadium of the restoration, he simply spit into his cup and asked for the next question.

Kingston Jassey, the manager, spoke about it as well ahead of the game. "Look, obviously we know the overarching goal- get top two in this group, punch our ticket to the Round of 16, and then go from there. But our mini goal? We've got to outclass each of our opponents in this group- especially the Busogans, and those freaking Ranorians. But this... This is fun. This group is good from top to bottom. But to start the process of climbing back to the top? First, we've got to beat our rivals, and the way the scheduling worked out- we're doing that as the first damn thing. It's time to crush some souls out here in South Moravica."

by **Banija** » Sat Mar 22, 2025 10:31 pm

Hello folks! Welcome to the first cutoff for World Baseball Classic 60! Good luck to all!

Let this sea shanty carry you forward!

RP Prompt: Tell us about your nation's geography. What are the major geographical features of your nation? Are there important rivers, lakes, mountains, etc.. And other topographical features? Do you have any geographical features that are unique to your nation? Everything that you could possibly want somebody to know- now's your chance. Tell the world!

(Reminder that RP Prompt can be amended or ignored by users at their choosing. There is no punishment for ignoring the prompt, nor any bonus for following it).

OOC reminder that penalties have started for not having your roster in, so if you haven't yet, get those rosters in!

Matchday 1 Scores

Group A
Tarcena                     0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
Kamijiro                    1 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 X  5

Ranoria                     0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Banija                      1 0 0 3 1 0 0 3 X  8

Loyo                        0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  2
Busoga Islands              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Group B
The Kytler Peninsulae       0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  2
Ingont                      0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 X  4

Visayas Islands             0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 1  5
Milchama                    0 2 1 0 0 5 0 0 X  8

Liventia                    0 2 2 1 0 2 2 0 4 13
HUElavia                    0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

Group C
Circola                     0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  4
Zwangzug                    0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  3

Eshialand                   0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1  3
Vaishnavaria                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

Crpostran                   1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2
Woodsmere                   0 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 X  5

Group D
Drawkland                   0 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  5
StrayaRoos                  0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

Oscioru                     1 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0  5
The Mind Corporation        3 0 6 0 0 1 0 0 X 10

Abanhfleft                  0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0  3
Kelapa                      0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 X  4

Group E
Mt Panorama                 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 6 11
Quebec and Shingoryeo       1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  3

Cardenao                    1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Nova Calania                0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 X  4

Dhemexia                    0 0 0 0 1 0 4 1 0  6
Chobotan                    0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  2

Group F
TJUN-ia                     0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
Ko-oren                     0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 X  2

The Kaisers Syndicates      0 6 0 0 1 1 1 0 0  9
Equestria                   0 2 1 1 0 2 0 0 4 10

New Umoja                   1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0  4
Oateria                     0 0 3 0 1 0 2 1 X  7

Group G
Natkr                       1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1  6
Sarzonia                    2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1  5

Tikariot                    0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
South Newlandia             0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 X  4

Valanora                    0 7 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 11
Thaeloria                   1 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0  5

Matchday 2 Scores

Group A
Kamijiro                    3 0 0 2 0 2 3 0 0 10
Busoga Islands              2 0 5 2 0 0 0 0 0  9

Banija                      1 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 3  9
Loyo                        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

Tarcena                     0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0  4
Ranoria                     0 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 X  6

  Group A                    Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Banija                       2    2   0    17    2  +15
2 Kamijiro                     2    2   0    15   10   +5
3 Ranoria                      2    1   1     7   12   −5
4 Loyo                         2    1   1     3    9   −6
5 Busoga Islands               2    0   2     9   12   −3
6 Tarcena                      2    0   2     5   11   −6

Group B
Ingont                      0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  5
HUElavia                    0 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  6

Milchama                    0 6 0 1 2 0 0 0 0  9
Liventia                    0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

The Kytler Peninsulae       0 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 0  5
Visayas Islands             0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0  3

  Group B                    Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Milchama                     2    2   0    17    6  +11
2 Liventia                     2    1   1    14   10   +4
3 HUElavia                     2    1   1     7   18  −11
4 Ingont                       2    1   1     9    8   +1
5 The Kytler Peninsulae        2    1   1     7    7    0
6 Visayas Islands              2    0   2     8   13   −5

Group C
Zwangzug                    0 0 0 0 1 6 0 0 0  7
Woodsmere                   0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

Vaishnavaria                0 0 1 1 0 0 3 0 0  5
Crpostran                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Circola                     2 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 1  8
Eshialand                   5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  7

  Group C                    Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Circola                      2    2   0    12   10   +2
2 Zwangzug                     2    1   1    10    5   +5
3 Eshialand                    2    1   1    10    9   +1
4 Vaishnavaria                 2    1   1     6    3   +3
5 Woodsmere                    2    1   1     6    9   −3
6 Crpostran                    2    0   2     2   10   −8

Group D
StrayaRoos                  0 1 0 0 1 4 1 2 0  9
Kelapa                      0 0 0 7 0 0 0 5 X 12

The Mind Corporation        0 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 4  8
Abanhfleft                  0 0 2 1 3 3 1 0 X 10

Drawkland                   0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 7  9
Oscioru                     0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  2


  Group D                    Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Drawkland                    2    2   0    14    3  +11
2 Kelapa                       2    2   0    16   12   +4
3 Abanhfleft                   2    1   1    13   12   +1
4 The Mind Corporation         2    1   1    18   15   +3
5 StrayaRoos                   2    0   2    10   17   −7
6 Oscioru                      2    0   2     7   19  −12

Group E
Quebec and Shingoryeo       0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  4
Chobotan                    2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  3

Nova Calania                1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0  3
Dhemexia                    0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 X  4

Mt Panorama                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  2
Cardenao                    0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 X  4

  Group E                    Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Dhemexia                     2    2   0    10    5   +5
2 Nova Calania                 2    1   1     7    5   +2
3 Cardenao                     2    1   1     5    6   −1
4 Mt Panorama                  2    1   1    13    7   +6
5 Quebec and Shingoryeo        2    1   1     7   14   −7
6 Chobotan                     2    0   2     5   10   −5

Group F
Ko-oren                     0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1  4
Oateria                     0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Equestria                   0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  2
New Umoja                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  3

TJUN-ia                     0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 1  6
The Kaisers Syndicates      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0


  Group F                    Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Ko-oren                      2    2   0     6    1   +5
2 Oateria                      2    1   1     7    8   −1
3 New Umoja                    2    1   1     7    9   −2
4 TJUN-ia                      2    1   1     7    2   +5
5 Equestria                    2    1   1    12   12    0
6 The Kaisers Syndicates       2    0   2     9   16   −7

Group G
Sarzonia                    0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1
Thaeloria                   0 0 0 1 0 0 1 7 X  9

South Newlandia             0 2 0 1 0 0 3 1 3 10
Valanora                    0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Natkr                       0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1  5
Tikariot                    0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0  3


  Group G                    Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 South Newlandia              2    2   0    14    1  +13
2 Natkr                        2    2   0    11    8   +3
3 Valanora                     2    1   1    12   15   −3
4 Thaeloria                    2    1   1    14   12   +2
5 Tikariot                     2    0   2     3    9   −6
6 Sarzonia                     2    0   2     6   15   −9

by **Circola** » Sun Mar 23, 2025 12:59 pm

Here are the positions for the Circola Moons

1. CF - Tyler Andrews (Elite speed, .290 AVG, 35 SB)

2. SS - Miguel Castillo (Gold Glove defense, .275 AVG, 20 HR)

3. LF - Jordan "J-Rock" Ramirez (Power/speed combo, .285 AVG, 30 HR, 25 SB)

4. 1B - Brandon Foster (Cleanup hitter, .310 AVG, 40 HR, 120 RBI)

5. RF - Xavier "X-Factor" Brooks (Slugger with a cannon arm, .270 AVG, 35 HR)

6. 3B - Anthony Delgado (Clutch hitter, .280 AVG, 25 HR)

7. 2B - Jake Montgomery (Utility infielder turned starter, .260 AVG, 15 HR)

8. C - Ryan "Iron Wall" Parker (Defensive anchor, .255 AVG, 12 HR)

9. SP - Justin Reynolds (Ace of the staff, 2.85 ERA, 220 K)

Pitching positions are the same numbers

by **The Mind Corporation** » Sun Mar 23, 2025 7:54 pm

Motivator

OOC: Randomly generated number (between 300 and 500) for this matchday: 462

Raoul

Since this is the second tournament that The Mind Corporation has entered - notice the WCoH as the first - things have changed, especially with Motivator X-329 in charge of "Indigo". Therefore, specific Pilot(s) have been assigned to each Unit, at least for the duration of the tournament. The World Baseball Classic is probably the best tournament to have specialized Pilots, as the positions are extremely specialized.

Take the Unit called "Raoul" for example. First Baseman requires hitting, fielding, and making sharp decisions. Piloting "Raoul" will be the duo called The Madeira and The Vincente. A tandem since the early days of being Pilots since the days when they were in an iteration as Fighter Pilots, they can almost finish each other's sentences. It will be interesting to see if one can take over for the other without much issue - but even if it turns out one is better than the other, the other will support whoever wins.

They'll focus on the defensive side than the batting, per recommendations from Motivator X-329. The goal is to commit no errors while playing First Baseman while contributing just enough on the batting side. They were successful through the first two games, getting all the outs that they were supposed to while getting on base three times. It wasn't the best of offensive showings, but that's not what is expected of them, anyway.

The Madeira piloted "Raoul" for the first game, while The Vincente did the second game. There wasn't much difference in how they fared as Pilots, and Motivator X-329 didn't have any note on who should be the Pilot heading into the next set of matches. So, The Madeira will take over for Game 3, and The Vincente for Game 4. It may be a few rounds before they decide what is best for "Raoul" going forward.

According to the pair, a sporting event is a different kind of battlefield. Sure, you aren't out there taking people's lives, but you are taking their dreams and dashing them against the heavy truth of reality. Never the idealistic type, The Madeira and The Vincente couldn't care less about finding The Answer to determine what The Question was, the purpose of The Network, or why they exist in The Mind Corporation. No, they're all about the next job, the next thrill, the next item getting completed off of the check list.

Everyone and anyone that has worked with them in the past is absolutely aware of this fact. When used properly, there is nothing like this duo in getting results - and with Motivator X-329 in charge of this team, it made sense to grab these two into this contest.

For as long as you can hold their attention and convince them it's for their own benefit, that is.

by **Visayas Islands** » Sun Mar 23, 2025 11:54 pm

A DISAPPOINTING START FOR THE WHITE LIONS
by Lorenzo Miguel Entrata
Autonomous City of Iloilo, Visayas Islands and The Kytler Peninsulae

In the Alberto Castañeda Field, the White Lions are up against the Milchamans, where they went on to take out the White Lions without a doubt. Things have gone well for the boys in the second inning, where Heriberto Osmeña gave the run to the White Lions, scoring the first run on the match. But in the bottom second, a Milchaman humiliated Abando-Echeverría with a double to score for the Milchamans. This wasn't looking good for the Visayans out there. But Marcelo Caadlawon came in as the designated hitter to score a home run for the White Lions and drawn 2-2. But a Milchaman responded with a homerun of his own and bringing the lead to 3-2. And they went on to humiliate the Visayan infield for a 5-run score, making it 8-2. But the Visayans never gave up in the 7th inning with some of the double runs scored by Chito Regencia alongside Duhaylungsod. And also ending the game with a solo run by Dalaguitnon, leading to a loss for the White Lions. But the biggest challenge will be The Kytler Peninsulae in their own backyard where they would go on to smash them with some of their star players' runs in the 2nd to 4th innings until captain Suenaga scored the first Visayan run, then came Osmeña scoring a double run against the Kytlerians. But the Kytlerians responded with a home run to end the game. "Well, it wasn't go well for us to face against the two.", says JM Mendoza. "But I hope there would be a way to win some games against Ingont and Liventia." The White Lions will face both Ingont and Liventia at the Alberto Castañeda Field again and hopefully, record their first WBC win.

by **Valanora** » Mon Mar 24, 2025 9:00 am

Well, that was a rather painful reintroduction back to the world of the World Baseball Classic as the game against South Newlandia went about as well as you might have hoped and it looks like it could be the sort of game that completely demoralizes the team for the rest of the competition. We always knew that trying to take on the number one ranked team was going to be a difficult task but the way that the team crumbled once the starting pitcher was pulled could not have been expected. Livia Lundin giving up only three runs through six innings of work was a fairly respectable outing for the thirty-five year old, you would take that if offered all seven days of the week against the best team in the sport. However the bullpen completely blowing up and not being able to get outs against the same team you had limited for nearly two thirds of the game is not what you would come to expect from the Empire team. Our team is built on elite pitching, as elite as bunch of semiprofessionals playing out of city parks at night and fallowed fields on the weekends can be and to falter so heavily and give up seven runs in the last three innings is a bit of a nightmare.

There is also the other side of the equation, the team's ability to manufacture runs with the small ball approach simply did not materialize at all here at home. A solitary run scored in the second off back to back doubles by Frans Lindström and Nora Lundström was all the offense that the team could muster, finishing with just four hits with a single from Mirjam Johnsson in the fourth and Petter Blomqvist in the seventh. Ten to one at home is the sort of game that makes you realize just how far away you are from the top of the sport, puts into perspective the gravity of the situation that our bunch of for the love of the game players have to deal with every time that we send them to one of these tournaments. It adds fuel to the fire among the most outspoken and skeptical of the team that they should not be competing in tournaments like the WBC and that baseball does not have a place in the Empire, that the Elven Baseball League went inactive for a reason. Unless you enjoy the pain and suffering that these sort of lopsided games bring when you are on the wrong side of them, it is hard to silence or disagree with them.

For all the negative of that game against South Newlandia, there was a bit of good coming from the opening pair of games, as the Empire went away from its shores to take on Thaeloria and after putting up a seven spot in the second inning would cruise along to an eleven to five victory by the time the game would come to an end. It was a rare instance of the team batting around in that second and the highlight of it was Sigurd Larsen hitting a three run blast with one out to open up the scoring. The team would then string together several singles and doubles before ending the inning with a seven spot and giving Tiril Olstad a comfortable lead to work with after surrendering a run in the first inning. She would give up three runs in five innings of work and like the second game the bullpen made a bit of a mess of things, giving up two runs the inning after Olstad had been pulled. If it continues to be a trend, the coaching staff might have to weigh the costs of leaving the starters in for seven or eight innings to try and get to Caspar Axelsson, as the closing ghost looks to be the only pitcher in the bullpen right now that can reasonable be relied upon to get outs.

The next two games will be a large factor in showing if the team still has the belief that they can compete with the rest of the group or if they are going to be in for eight more games of suffering before unceremoniously returning to the Empire after another group stage exit. It first starts with a trip to Natkr, the second of the two unranked teams, and considering how well the team played at Thaeloria, you would want to believe they can replicate that sort of success against another unranked opponent. The bullpen will be monitored and while it is premature to ask the starters to go extended innings yet, it will definitely be on the minds of the coaching staff if they fail to perform again. It will hopefully be a good bounce back win for the squad before they head home to face off against another top ten opponent as Tikariot makes their way to the Empire. Despite the lofty ranking, Tikariot started with an awful showing in South Newlandia before being completely stunned at home by the aforementioned Natkr. Should Tikariot still be winless when they visit the Empire, it will be a team desperate for a win that the team will be coming up against and those sort of desperate teams can be difficult to try and navigate, though a win over a top ten team would do wonders to boosting what is surely a mixed morale at the moment within the team.

by **Loyo** » Mon Mar 24, 2025 1:03 pm

Loyo’s WBC Return Marked By Disastrous Injury

Well, the first two bouts of WBC action are over, and the Loyon Sunshine Tigers split the results, with a solid pitching performance from Rei Uno against Busoga Islands helping a shaky offense edge out a victory. Batting success was limited. While Sonny James and Tea Huishan managed to generate hits, with a crucial RBI double from Huishan giving the Loyons the lead in the top of the 4th, their success wasn't contagious across the team.

Star hitter Ra Min-Joo went 0/4 with two strikeouts, and Germaine DiPiccolo only managed to generate 1 hit from 3 plate appearances. Pressure built into the latter innings of the game as the Loyon offense went silent, but Uno managed to scrape the team out of several innings with significant threats left on base.

The rest of the game went by quickly, with batters on both teams unable to meet the challenge of two excellent pitchers. Sonny James riled up the Loyon offense during the 9th with a solo home run, and Dewayne Kenny performed admirably in the 9th, ending the game with just 12 pitches, and a single hit allowed.

While the team was able to win the game without conceding a run, the victory was not won without a loss. In the bottom of the 7th, catcher Misty Sang-Jun was hit hard by a low, wild pitch that bounced off the plate and hit her in the throat.

She fell to the ground and had to be taken off the field to be checked out by the team's medical staff. The manager called in bench catcher Tiff Vandusen, who proved vital in a bases-loaded situation in the same inning, catching a foul ball for an out and keeping Busoga Islands runless.

Following the game, manager Chase Min-Son told the media that Sang-Jun was undergoing further examination, but that she would likely miss the next game against Banija. "Misty's broken up about her injury, she's eager to rejoin the team," Min-Son said. "We want to make sure that she's not at risk of further injury, so I can't make any statements regarding her condition at this time."

Rei Uno also appeared to be shaken up following the incident, apologizing to her catcher and remarking on how it was a poor ending to what was an excellent showing.

"I don't throw many wild pitches, but the game was wearing on me more than I expected, and I lost control of the ball," Uno said. "Unfortunately, it ended up hitting Misty pretty hard. You always feel bad when anyone gets injured, but it's especially hard when you injure a teammate during what might be their last international competition. I wish her a rapid recovery, and hope the injury isn't serious."

This event seemed to rattle the team, as the Loyons looked nervous during their next contest versus Banija. 38,000 fans shouting from the stands probably didn't help their nerves, as May Revolution Park was filled with supporters' groups from around the country to cheer on their team during the first home contest of the WBC 60 qualifying period. Jackson Free made his national team debut in place of the injured Sang-Jun.

Banija battered the home squad from the first pitch, after a thundering triple from Sadiiq Xoosh sent in Atla Gadifele, who singled and stole second base in her first at-bat.

Threats continued from the reigning champions, dominating the Loyons on both sides of the field. The Loyons went through the lineup and then some before getting so much as a single against Kigongo Namatiwa, with Jimi Fiazzo managing to make it to first on his second at-bat to break the streak in the 4th inning.

By then, the Banijans had increased their lead to 4, with hitters slamming Seung Hawoo with 5 hits in the top of the 3rd. It appeared that the Banjians played small ball better than Loyo, losing 3 bases to steals, frustrating the Loyon ace.

While the game started with clouds overhead, by the start of the 7th inning, the sun was making itself known, and further demotivated the struggling home side.

An uncharacteristic error from Sonny James let a pop-fly from Ugonna Akachi drop in the outfield, allowing Gouta Rehana to score, and setting up Tombe Namukoka for a 2-run homerun on the next at-bat, slamming the ball into the stands and giving the away team a 6-run lead.

The manager pulled Hawoo, who was clearly frustrated with his performance, throwing his glove at the bench wall. Misha Moon filled in as relief for the 7th and 8th innings, and stemmed the flow of runs, before switching with Dao Nahass (another debut) in the 9th with one out, and Xoosh and Akachi on 3rd and 1st. Batter Tombe Namukoka took the young closer to a full count, accumulating 4 foul balls in the process, before finding a critical strike with a slider.

Nahass didn't continue his success, as Mutebi Nvunyi hit a ball in between first and second, sending Xoosh home and Akachi to third. Akai Nameleego managed an RBI single off another Nahass slider to make the total 9-0, before Rosa Stadler, subbed in during the 7th, caught the final out to stem the bleeding.

The only run came far too late for the Sunshine Tigers, with Isabel Morata sending Nika Vulkae home with her first hit of the qualifying period.

The fans were left unsatisfied with the Loyons performance, and the pain continued after the game when Chase Min-Son revealed that Misty Sang-Jun's health examination came back with bad news: the veteran catcher would miss the rest of the competition, and would remain in Loyo for surgery.

The strike had damaged her spinal cord, and would require extensive recovery. Narangara Motors, her LRL club, issued a statement penned by Sang-Jun a day following the announcement, where she announced that she would retire due to the injury.

"It was not my intention to leave this competition as my last international showing, but sometimes life throws you a curveball when you're expecting a fastball. I had a very successful career with Narangara Motors, and I've been satisfied with what I've accomplished on the field during my career," she wrote. "I wish that I could stay with the team, but I need to focus on myself now, and my recovery."

The team’s mentality following the announcement was focused, using the tragedy to refocus on their objectives.

“You're nervous, it's the last thing you want to happen when you're trying to get into the groove,” said Ra Min-Joo. “We're just going to have to lock in and play for Misty, we can't let it keep us down. I think we all were focused on her condition going into the Banija game. You can't beat the best in the world if you're focusing on something off the field. We've got to turn this ship around. We all wish for her rapid recovery, and thank her for her incredible contributions to this team.”

Next up, Loyo heads to Tarcena to face an unknown side that's struggled through their first two games. Still, Loyo and Tarcena share the same run differential of -6, and the Loyons have generated fewer runs. The Sunshine Tigers will need to find ways to get on base and avoid the defensive mistakes that cost them in the last game if they hope to remain in the middle of the pack in Group A.

Following that, the Loyons return home to play Ranoria, who currently sit just above them in the group table, following a similar battering from the group leader, Banija. The Ranorians won the title back in WBC 57, which means a victory is unlikely to be won easily. With an older team as well, the Krauts are a good measuring stick for the quality of Loyo’s mettle.

“They have a great team with a lot of experience. I think there's a lot we can learn from that game, about what's expected of us and what our limits are,” said manager Chase Min-Son. “I've repeated again and again that we need a breakout moment to make success contagious. We're hoping to show that in these next games to set the standard for the competition. We're not there yet, not close.”

Lineup for Game 3,4: Tarcena, Ranoria
CF: (CF/LF) #12 Sonny James, 36, R (United Sugar)
3B: #13 Jimi Fiazzo, 38, R (St. Yoosan's)
1B: #2 Tea Huishan, R, 26 (United Sugar)
RF: #5 Germaine DiPiccolo, 35, L (St. Hayahoma’s)
SS: #6 Rosa Stadler, L, 26 (Loyo Athletic Reds)
2B: #11 Ra Min-Joo, 35, R (St. Mianho’s)
DH: (If Applicable) #7 Nika Vulkae, 35 (SNL’s St. Riecarn Saints)
LF: #20 Isabel Morata, 35, R (SNL’s St. Riecarn Saints)
C: #31 Tiff Vandusen, R, 24 (Marraya Lions)

Pitching Rotation (Use relievers and closers as needed)
Game One
SP: #23 Kyla Maccz, 36, L (SNL’s (St. Riecarn Saints)

RP: #22 Falco Wissan, R, 27 (Odonhai Bulls)

CP: #10 Ari Mun, 38, R (SLL’s Denison Dynamo)

Game Two
SP: #56 Amon Zao, 34, R (SLL’s Vargas City Lions)

RP: #15 Muhammet Songbai, L, 25 (Red Cloud)

CP: #39 Kuma Pordazi, 32, R (St. Yoosan’s)

by **Banija** » Mon Mar 24, 2025 3:11 pm

Sadiiq Xoosh, sitting on the plane after Banija's victory on Matchday 2 in Loyo

Sadiiq Xoosh, Banija's star player, had gotten off to a hot start at WBC 60- and as Xoosh goes, the team goes. A RBI triple in Game 2, against Loyo. But even more impressively- a dominant performance against the Ranoria Krauts, a performance at the plate for the ages. Opening Day, against a huge rival, a rematch of a World Championship Series a few cycles ago- and Xoosh, who was out for blood, was going to get some no matter what. He had actually gotten off to a slow start, going 0-2 to start the game. But it wasn't like he was seeing the ball poorly- he had gotten a little bit unlucky. A deep, deep flyout to center field in the first inning, one that went 400+ feet, but was caught by Rylan Rodgers Jr. on the warning track. And then, in the second inning, he had hit a line drive fairly well, trying to line one into the gap in right-center field. But, of course, that was not going to happen for him- as Rodgers Jr., his nemesis, had robbed him of a RBI and an extra base hit, with a brilliant diving catch to rob him of a double in center field.

A tough one for Xoosh- he had been wheeling around first, thinking he might have driven in a couple. As Rodgers jogged back to the dugout, he flipped the ball at Xoosh as he was running by him. Xoosh simply stared at him- giving him a death glare. The glare of the century. He didn't even need to say anything this time. It was Rodgers Jr. who had one up on him- Rodgers Jr. had been a key contributor for Ranoria beating Banija in the World Championship Series at WBC 57, and then Rodgers Jr. had just won a World Bowl at the newly expanded Stadium of the Restoration. And while a single group stage match wouldn't change that calculus, Sadiiq Xoosh was pissed off enough to know that he was going to take these opportunities as they came.

And he has his moment- twice in the game. The first, he was rewatching right now, with a smile on his face- he usually didn't like to watch his own highlight reels, but this one had brought a smile on his face. He didn't mind having the call with the clip too- he always appreciated that.

"It's a 1-2 curveball and... Just outside! The Krauts catcher was looking for a called strike 3, and the Quebecois ump didn't give it to him."

"It's a 2-2 count, in a tight ballgame. Yahweh Bohannon has been struggling in this one- but somehow, has only allowed a single run so far. But with Xoosh at the plate, things are a little intimidating here. Two on, two out, and the Banijans up 1-0. Bohannon's got himself out of jams in three straight innings- can he do so again in the fourth? The pitch count is rising, but you don't want to reach too early for your bullpen on opening day. So I understand they've got to leave Bohannon out there.

"It's a 2-2 count.. AND XOOSH GOT ALL OF IT! A FLY BALL, TO DEEP LEFT FIELD... AND IT'S GONE! A THREE RUN BOMB FOR SADIIQ XOOSH HAS MADE THIS CROWD COME ALIVE, AS THE BANIJANS OPEN UP A 4-0 LEAD ON THE KRAUTS!"

He smiled, as he moved forward to the next clip. As he was aging, his range, even in left field, was shrinking. But his arm- well, it was as strong as ever.

"Here in the 6th inning, the Banijans are up 5-0, but the Ranorians are finally putting some runners on base. They've got Rodgers Jr. on second- he had hit a single, and then stole second. Making the Banijans a little bit nervous. Speed kills, especially when aligned with his swagger and confidence. A single almost certainly scores the runner.

The pitch from Lutaakome.. Is knocked into left field for a base hit! Rodgers Jr. is taking a wide turn around third base, as the single is on one hop towards Xoosh. Sadiiq Xoosh guns it to the plate and.. RODGERS IS OUT! WHAT A THROW!" (The announcer shuts up for a second as he lets the cheers of the crowd bellow in, with MVP chants directed at Banija's star player). "What a throw! Xoosh has ended that specific scoring threat, and the Banijans add some defense to this Lutaakome pitching showcase!"

Now, of course, a lot of analysts, from both countries. had explanations. Rodgers Jr. is a little rusty, having been focusing on football- so he got a little bit of a late jump leaving second, which was critical. Also, the ball was hit basically perfectly for Sadiiq Xoosh- hit sharply, on a line drive, on a perfect hop towards the Banijan left fielder. It went straight to glove, and he was able to launch that throw like a cannon pretty quickly, without breaking stride. So a little bit of luck on both counts. But Xoosh was ear to ear, watching that replay. He had gunned down Rodgers Jr, and it had been a highlight reel play.

He then put his headphones back in. He needed to get sleep before Banija's next matchup with the Busoga Islands, on Matchday 3. More big games lied ahead for these guys...

by **Drawkland** » Mon Mar 24, 2025 4:46 pm

7,000

History of the Hit Record - The Contender - Glenn and Gelia - The New Fire

The dust had settled. The improbable run to the WBC championship series from the Base Corps had finally ended, with South Newlandia winning the series 4-2. Drawkland had battled valiantly, but the miracle Corps didn’t have enough to take down the juggernaut.

Despite having to swallow that tough final pill, morale wasn’t that bad as the Corps geared up to leave Spenson. Second place was a hell of a lot better than anything the Corps had ever done before. They had taken two gutsy games from the best team in baseball, on the biggest stage. Before that, they outlasted Super-Llamaland in the semifinal during a win-or-go-home Game 5. Three cycles ago, the concept of the Base Corps playing in a WBC semifinal was laughable. Now it was fact.

Among all the members of the Base Corps roster, Lane Kavana was perhaps the least heartbroken of anybody on the team bus. As they traveled to the airport that would take them out of Zwangzug and eventually back home to Drawkland, Lane’s mind began to drift to the upcoming PBL season for the first time since he’d decided to sign with the Gelia Blues at the beginning of the WBC playoffs.

“I’ve changed my mind.” Lane said quietly to his brother Abram, sitting in the seat next to him.

“Oh?” Abram said, the disinterest radiating off his body.

“Yeah. You noticed how I was hitting during the playoffs, right?”

“Slapping fluky singles to pad your stats, uh huh.” Abram did a faux yawn as he continued scrolling through the feed on his phone.

“I had a dozen extra base hits, man.” Lane rolled his eyes and prepared himself for a few more lazy verbal jabs.

“And still fewer homers than Tyler Silvanus hit in half as many games.”

“That’s my point, though.” Lane jumped to change the subject back in its intended direction. “For really the first time since we’ve been on this team, I didn’t have to be the featured guy. I wasn’t the only one providing a consistent spark in the offense. I could rely on my teammates.”

“Thanks man, that means a lot. Glad you don’t appreciate anything I did before this cycle.” Abram said, with a questionably low amount of sarcasm apparent in his voice.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Lane sighed. “You know how long I’ve been hoping for the day where I don’t have to be The Guy. Where I can play my own game, the game I want to play.”

“If I have to listen to you do the ‘my game’ rant again, I’m throwing you out of that window. Did you start talking just to stroke off your ideal offensive approach again?”

“No, no.” Lane paused to collect himself. “Listen. All this offseason, I’ve been a little worried. My hitting approach in Raikennax was, let’s face it, not ideal. I was trying my best to be more contact-heavy without sacrificing my home run hitting, because I knew everybody expected that of me. It wasn’t working, though. If anything it just hampered my power while resulting in a bunch of awful fly balls that could’ve been line drives instead.”

“You were still averaging over 200 hits a season in Raikennax though.”

“But it’s not enough. You said it yourself,” Lane said, referencing what Abram said in the Drawk City diner at the beginning of the cycle, which felt like an eternity ago at this point, “I’ll need to average about 250 hits per season. If I’m going to make a run at the record, I need to give up power hitting entirely and just focus on ball placement.”

“You are going to get absolutely fileted by the Gelia sportswriters. If you thought people found you annoying now, they’re going to be absolutely merciless if you stop going yard at all.”

“That’s what’s changed in my mind.” Lane pointed at Abram for emphasis. “That’s what I tried this tournament. I wasn’t trying to hit homers. I knocked a few out, but it was the result of a few lucky barrels. I was hitting over .430 for the course of the WBC, and I was just trying to get hits. It’s a proof of concept.”

“You don’t seriously believe you’re hitting .400 this year just because of a 30-game sample size, are you?” Abram shook his head. “That’s ridiculous, even for you.”

“Never say never.” Lane shrugged. “That’s not my goal though. The point is that I think I’ve refined an approach that should work at the plate. I’ll be able to get the hits I want and remain an extra base threat, and I know it’ll work.”

“It’s a long season.” Abram pursed his lips. “You don’t know if a 30 game sample approach will end up being sustainable through 176 games. Or considering your current defensive aptitude, more like 150.”

“I’m going to play as much as I can,” Lane countered. “Every at-bat is going to count in the end. 3 or 4 per game is going to add up if I’m missing a dozen or more games per season.”

“We’ll see how your skipper and physio feel about that.” Abram looked over at Lane for the first time since the conversation started. “You can try all you want, bro, but you can’t control everything. We know what happened during your fifth year in Bellator. On pace for a monster steal season, then jacked up your knee and missed the rest of the year.”

“Thanks for bringing that up. Love reliving that.”

“I’m just saying, don’t get your hopes too far up. You never know what’s lurking around the corner.” Abram turned his attention back to his phone.

“Uh huh.” Lane rolled his eyes and looked out the window. “I’m just saying, I think I’m in the right spot mentally and physically. I feel better now than I did three weeks ago.”

First Season Blues

The “right” mentality lasted about a month. For the first month of the season in his new Gelia Blues getup, Lane Kavana was hitting out of his mind, just like the playoffs of WBC 59. He was slugging, belting a dozen homers, but hitting nearly .400 as well. Then it all stopped.

After the first month ended, Lane fell off a cliff offensively. The ball wasn’t popping off his bat like it was previously. He was swinging more, missing more, and not taking any walks. He’d always been known as an aggressive hitter, but he’d been even more so as this season began. After a month, teams realized he wasn’t walking nearly as much as he was the previous seasons in Raikennax, so they stopped giving him pitches to hit. Suddenly he was reaching, overcompensating, and his batting average dropped nearly a hundred points by the all-star break. Maybe it was arrogance, maybe it was obstinance, but the adjustments weren’t made quick enough.

The wakeup call came following the last game before the All-Star Break. The Blues team gathered in the airport in Esmereldane, partially celebrating their away series victory against the division rival Rebels, but mostly celebrating their two All-Stars: closer Lorraine Lockwood and third baseman Paul Cameron. Those two were heading on a different flight to attend the All-Star Game and related festivities.

Lane was somewhat close to Lorraine, as they’d both played together on the Base Corps, so he spent an extra moment with her before she went with Paul to the other terminal to catch their All-Star flight. It was a sort of melancholy. Lane had been to 8 of the last 9 and 13 of the last 15 All-Star Games in the PBL. It’s not like he’d taken the all-star selections for granted, but he did feel a little left out having the week to himself.

As he headed home for the long week, Lane decided it was time for serious action.

Bookworming

It wasn’t something Lane felt often, but there was a tinge of panic coursing through him. On Day 1 of the break, he did some light batting practice at the cages in his backyard. The session didn’t last long, though. Something felt wrong. It wasn’t necessarily an injury, but something felt out of sync. Maybe it was his hands, his hips, or his eyes. Lane wasn’t sure, but felt that plugging away against the machine for the rest of the day would be counterintuitive. It was time to chill out a bit and retreat to the lab.

Day 2 was spent in the office. Lane had spent the previous evening beginning to compile film from his first-half plate appearances, and completed the process in the morning. He spent the day studying not just his own strategy in retrospect, but dissecting the attack plan from each pitcher that faced him. Of course, most players did that at some level throughout the season, including Lane, but today he looked through the trends obsessively. After a few hours, he was certain he found the culprit.

“It’s the low stuff,” he muttered to himself. It was a heartbreaking realization. Like many power hitters, Lane was adept at elevating anything high in the zone. He did a great job at covering both sides of the plate, turning on inside pitches and waiting on outside pitches. For many years, he also had a penchant for scooping balls low in the zone for extra bases. This season, though, he was ice cold around the knees. It had been a point of pride in being able to cover all sides of the plate equally, but for the first time Lane truly had a hole in his swing. Pitchers across the league had figured this out, and thus they’d taken full advantage of the weakness.

On Day 3, Lane watched back a little more footage after sleeping on the idea. He figured the true culprit was his age. To be able to lift balls low in the zone, it requires a hitter to swing a hair earlier, to “beat the ball to its spot.” Doing this with precision without popping up or fouling out is difficult, but Lane realized his hands were just a little too slow down low. He decided that trying to speed up his low swing could mess up his timing elsewhere, so he decided the best idea was to pivot. He immediately began researching some of the PBL’s more famous “low-ball” hitters to try and glean their strategy.

When he woke up on Day 4, Lane’s eyes wandered across the Titus Kash book he had left on his nightstand at the beginning of the weekend. It was the same one he’d been reading during downtime at the World Baseball Classic, an autobiography by Drawkland’s all-time career hits leader. He felt almost foolish for not thinking of it sooner. Who better to learn from than the man who last went through this ordeal? Kash had become a notoriously effective ground ball hitter in his twilight, and his ghostwritten life story had plenty of information about his approach. Lane dove in, and tried to apply some lessons immediately.

Of course, a hitting approach can’t be changed overnight. Day 5 was the last one of the All-Star Break, and Lane had to fly out to Gelia to meet back up with the team that evening. The morning, though, he worked himself hard in the cage. He had his pitching machine set to pitch around his knees, and he worked on topping the ball effectively. If he could at least get somewhat consistent, he could continue redeveloping that part of his swing during team practices. When he left for the airport that afternoon, Lane made sure to bring the Kash autobiography with him.

Bounding

It did take a few weeks, but Lane started to get his new approach figured out. High in the zone he was still effective, he was still turning on the inside pitches and poking the outside ones effectively, but the low pitches were starting to be hit with authority again. Now, instead of being scooped for extra bases, they were being planted into the grass through the infield gaps for singles. Lane had always prided himself for hitting laser line drives into the outfield, but he was starting to enjoy the metagame of finding the space between the infielders and getting the ball just out of their reach.

Slowly, the pitchers attempting to get the better of Lane by throwing low were starting to pay the price. It wasn’t that Lane was striking out a ton in the first half, even during his slump, but now his already-impressive strikeout rate dipped even lower. Even so, few took notice of the rebound. After his hard crash in the first half, many pundits and fans had written him off. Age was finally catching up. Being on a new team in a new situation was proving to be too much of an adjustment once the World Baseball Classic momentum wore off. Whatever the excuse people justified to ignore his progress, it started to get whittled away.

By the end of the season, the propaganda from Gelia Blues fans and Lane Kavana fanboys who were still actually paying attention had finally kicked in. People took notice when Lane’s batting average shot back up over .360 in the final two weeks of the season. In a season where people thought he was cooked by the All-Star Break, Lane Kavana won another batting title for his extensive collection. Of course, there were plenty of naysayers pointing out that, despite the nice batting average, his OPS had dropped 40 points since the previous season.

There would be time to figure that out later, of course. Lane cared more about the fact that he racked up 237 hits, putting him well over 5,700 on his career total. There was far more left to accomplish.

by **South Newlandia** » Mon Mar 24, 2025 4:51 pm

Llamaphant Pro Baseball Season 8 - Previews

Newport Dolphins Preview

Starting Pitchers
SP Althea Bronca-Steat (Zwangzug)
SP Erin Snair-Gannof (Zwangzug)
SP Lily Kirkpatrick (Super-Llamaland/South Newlandia)
SP Benadita Wright (South Newlandia)
SP Nicholas Cox (South Newlandia)
6th SP Daniel Price (South Newlandia)
Bullpen
RP Ellen Poiger-Snast (Zwangzug)
RP Tenli Food (Milchama)
RP Jolene McIntyre (Zwangzug)
RP Boom Tekblam (Milchama)
RP Emilia Fuchs (South Newlandia)
RP Matt Decker (South Newlandia)

Starting Fielders
C Lucas Jena (South Newlandia)
1B Tommy Gulnoi-Kedren (Zwangzug)
2B Tali Mironer (Milchama)
SS Jake Persson (Super-Llamaland)
3B Angela Bengtsson (Super-Llamaland)
LF Keenan Cooley (Osterhalten)
CF Batya Jones (Milchama)
RF Bradley Petre-Sherman (Zwangzug)
DH Tiffany Grey (South Newlandia)
Bench players
C Eva Mercier (South Newlandia)
2B Maxine Eckstein (Super-Llamaland)
CF Alice Hansen (South Newlandia)
UTIL Francis X. Buntazzo (Super-Llamaland)
DH David Schulze (South Newlandia)

Last season marked the first season in nearly a decade in which the Dolphins were not absolutely dominant. Finishing with a 78-82 record, the Dolphins missed the playoffs for the first time in the LPB era. Treating 78 wins as a floor is highly encouraged. Ultimately, the main reason for missing the .500 mark was a complete lack of a supporting cast – after 6 consecutive seasons of surrounding their star Zebras (and Warriors) with stars, funds and trade assets ran dry, and the Dolphins were forced to start retooling. Nevertheless, the team around one of the best managers in the game, Ernest Telyatin, was still competitive, and they look to remain in the hunt for the playoffs, even as their championship window seems closed at this point.

The most notable retirement by far was one of their leaders on the defense, Zwangzugian shortstop Atori Cragun, after a pretty amazing career. Other losses include Ballin and Gestetner from Ha’Yarok, who return to their homeland, and some pitching depth in Yash Bauer, who signed with the Vargas City Lions. Long-time Llamanean outfielder Erin Guthrie also chose to call it a career.

The core stars still remained in Newport – the stars are still here, and that’s not a short list – Batya Jones in particular signed an extension to remain in Newport, and Jolene McIntyre also chose her player option to remain with the Dolphins. In Free Agency, the Fins further chose to re-sign veteran shortstop Jake Persson. The defensive-minded infielder will take on a bigger role in the absence of Cragun.

There are new players in the building, too; the headliner being Ellen Poiger-Snast, yet another Zwangzugian Zebra to add to the ranks. The reliever previously played with the FTC Mustangs, and will be the latest superstar pitcher from Zwangzug to play for Newport. The Dolphins also chose to give a contract to Maxine Eckstein in Free Agency, who had previously been with the Snow Bears; the Llamanean continues to scratch and claw herself into a big league career despite her short stature. To replace Gestetner as the starting catcher, the Fins swung a trade with Jaffro, sending a second-round pick to Drawkland in exchange for Lucas Jena, despite some struggles in his rookie campaign with the AAA Trunkst Grizzlies at the plate. The remaining new faces are all internal, with right-hander Daniel Price, pure hitter David Schulze and Center Fielder Keenan Cooley all elevated from AAA Lexen City. Cooley is especially notable; the Osterhaltian has proven to be an excellent defender with the AAA Rebels, despite being picked quite late out of Rüsselsheim EU.

The biggest problem the Dolphins face is how extremely top-heavy the rotation is. They have arguably the best one-two punch in the entire LPB with right-hander Althea Bronca-Steat and Erin Snair-Gannof, two zeeba neighbas. Snair-Gannof is the reigning Evan Masorka winner of the South Newlandian League and shows no signs of slowing down. Behind that, the Dolphins have Lily Kirkpatrick. The lefty is embarking on her first full season in the majors after a promising 8 starts in the bigs late last season, having impressed with her off-speed stuff especially – the late first round pick should be a valuable asset for the Dolphins for the foreseeable future. But beyond these three, the Dolphins aren’t really working with much; Wright and Cox haven’t been good despite in theory having some nasty stuff, and rookie Daniel Price is highly unlikely to set the world on fire either.

The bullpen looks much better. With four elite relievers, the Dolphins should be in very capable hands when they take the ball away from their starters. That starts with their new closer, Ellen Poiger-Snast, who is sure to make an immediate impact, and Tenli Food, who’s coming off an All-Star season and looks to continue feasting on batters. Veteran presences Jolene McIntyre and Boom Tekblam, of Zwangzug and Milchama respectively, also should have another good season in the tank – but long-term, the Dolphins bullpen is a little questionable. Emilia Fuchs has been decent for the team, but she’s far from elite.

The Dolphins have four players in the line-up that were All-Stars last season; again evenly split between Zwangzugian Zebras and Milchamian Warriors. Considering the former, Tommy Gulnoi-Kedren remains an anchor for the team on and off the diamond, having excelled defensively at first base. Bradley Petre-Sherman isn’t the youngest anymore, likely about to embark on his final season, but he’s still a productive hitter. Looking at the Warriors, 2B Tali Mironer just keeps getting on base and plays solid defense, and Batya Jones is very similar. Jones is about to play her fourth season in light blue, still at the top of her game. In the middle of the order, the Dolphins also have a pair of underrated Esportivans; Elephant Tiffany Grey isn’t very good in the field anymore, but can still rake quite a bit, and Llamanean Angela Bengtsson is one of the most underrated players in the league, with solid pop and sufficient defense even in her mid-30s. Otherwise, the squad is rounded out by some rookies and solid bench options, but the depth is relatively unremarkable. One common theme for the Dolphins is that a lot of their stars are getting up there in age – with Bengtsson, Grey and others all on the last legs of their career, the Dolphins might soon regress further.

Given the Dolphins’ focus on winning in the present, the AAA Lexen City Rebels had been somewhat neglected; with Kevin Taylor the only notable prospect carrying over from last season; a promising right-handed reliever the Dolphins took a late-round flyer on – he may be appearing in the bigs this season if the Dolphins compete for the playoffs. Finishing below .500 at least presented the Dolphins with the 13th-overall pick, which they spent on a local product – right-hander Ryan James-Harrison out of NCfIR. With a fastball touching triple-digits, many thought the South Newlandian should have gone even earlier, but there is some reliever-risk attached. Still, he’s among the Top 10 Prospects according to EVSM. In the second round, the Dolphins added Britt Ashton, a rangy Llamanean center fielder – a draft selection that doesn’t exactly reflect confidence on rookie Keenan Cooley, given their fairly redundant skillsets.

Newport Owls Preview

Starting Pitchers
SP Hannah Gray (Eshialand)
SP Todd Pearson (Cassadaigua)
SP Alex Mann (Eshialand)
SP Leonidas Coates (Tikariot)
SP Kyler Graham (Super-Llamaland)
6th SP Aayat Shanaya (South Newlandia)
Bullpen
RP Daniella Arenta (Eshialand)
RP Ryan Halamer (Eshialand)
RP Royston Hodgson (Tikariot)
RP Xanthippi Zurlalli (Vdara)
RP Sally Rivera (South Newlandia)
RP Adam Leone (South Newlandia)

Starting Fielders
C Wyatt Carew (Eshialand)
1B Drew Adrian (Super-Llamaland)
2B Jordan Kühn (South Newlandia)
SS Kevin Dunbar (Eshialand)
3B Varun Patel (South Newlandia)
LF Nolan Ramsey (South Newlandia)
CF Evelyn Brown (Eshialand)
RF Alexander Chand (South Newlandia)
DH Harry Brentwood (Eshialand)
Bench players
C Morgan Hunter (Super-Llamaland)
3B Basile Hubert (South Newlandia)
1B Ronald Pozzi (South Newlandia)
UTIL Kassandra Galanalli (Vdara)
RF Rayan Rana (South Newlandia)

Last season finally marked the first time the Newport Owls ever won the Central division in the LPB era – one of three franchises that had never done so before. The Owls finished with a strong 94-66 record, one of the best in the SNL, also setting a franchise record for wins in a season. Perhaps even more importantly, they finally managed to finish ahead of the crumbling Dolphins, who had to watch the Owls in the playoffs from their couch. Unfortunately for the team of Terry Stryre, Eshialand were swept in the SNLDS by the Jaffro Drawks, so the Owls are now looking to run it back and defend their division crown.

Fortunately for the team in white, they managed to retain the services of basically all their key talent. There were some retirements, including Brenecian fan favourite Morrigan Lyall and former Llamanean Tiger Tyson Long, who had been the oldest player in the SNL last season, but neither of them had made a massive impact for the Owls. 1B Gaia Bianco did choose to leave in Free Agency, signing a contract with the Cyclones and marking an unceremonious end with the Owls. The former third-overall selection out of Walstreim had never quite delivered at an elite level for the Owls, who have since been happy to replace her. The main Eshian talents, many of which were on the teams that have won medals at both of the recent high-profile* baseball tournaments (WBC and EBT) are back, and Elephant Nolan Ramsey also signed an extension with the Owls – the outfielder/first baseman had previously played for the Dolphins.

It’s been a quite quiet offseason for the Owls in general – they evidently were very concerned about not trying to do too much, not trying to rock the boat, and calmly developing their own players already in the organisation. With that in mind, all four new players on the 25-man roster are rookies. That includes three Chinchillas – infield depth in Basile Hubert and Ronald Pozzi, as well as former first-round pick Rayan Rana. The outfielder out of Kinjestad is going to debut for the Owls, after the Newport franchise had declined their option to call him up at the deadline last season, presumably in order to gain another season of control on his contract. The last player added was Adam Leone, a lefty that had previously been in the Monarchs system, who the Owls acquired in a pick swap.

Given the team is basically unchanged, the team is looking to basically run the last season back, when the Owls comfortably won the SNL Central. The Starting Rotation can stand up to any in the LPB, headlined by veteran Cassadaiguan former WBC champ Todd Pearson. They have three NT Owls behind him, two of the Eshialandian variety and one of the Tikariotian one – again, unchanged, with all of them playing for national teams ranked in the top 10. Then, there’s lefty Kyler Graham, who will be playing his first full season. The former 13-overall selection has made a reputation for himself as a soft-tossing lefty that’ll jeep you off balance – a similar pitcher to Aayat Shanaya, who’s very similar and is an excellent 6th option.

The bullpen is quite lopsided towards Southpaws, led by, again, three NT Owls. Here, too, the mixture includes two Eshialandians, with a veteran in Arenta and a youngster in Halamer, as well as a Tikariotian with Royston Hodgson. The depth is not too shabby either, with Vdaran swiss army knife Xanthippi Zurlalli and South Newlandian veteran Sally Rivera.

The lineup feels upgraded despite the fact the Owls haven’t really added to the core. The Eshialandian Quartet, although aging, is still holding strong, although Carew and Dunbar are definitely starting to decline at this point. The same applies to Elephant Nolan Ramsey, who’ll also get to return to his more familiar position at first more often. The team also has two underrated South Newlandians knocking on the door of the national team, with Jordan Kühn and Alexander Chand each former first-round picks thriving. Alexander Chand in particular has a real case as the best South Newlandian to never be an Elephant. Newport is hoping Rayan Rana joins that club. The depth also includes Morgan Hunter, who somewhat surprisingly got appearances at catcher for the Tigers, as well as Vdaran Utilitywomen Kassandra Galanalli, who set a record last season for most beans consumed during a nine-inning game.

The AAA Wanatown Chinchillas have been somewhat depleted, without a top talent remaining on the roster. The Owls still held their first-round pick in the last draft, spending it on Llamanean right-hander Selina Middleton. She’s impressed with solid stuff she still cant quite control, but the 21-year-old was widely considered a bit of a reach. The franchise also added a South Newlandian Left Fielder out of local NPI, who’s proven to be a good defender but hasn’t really been hitting well, and a Llamanean reliever out of Kinjestad, but it seems unlikely that any of these players will contribute on the Owls this season.

The Owls enter the season as the clear favourites to repeat as Champions in the Central division – now, they just need to figure it out in the playoffs. In theory, this team has what it takes for a deep run, but the team of Terry Stryre doesn’t have the playoff experience many other squads have. They’ll still need to prove they have what it takes to win a pennant.

(O.O) · by **TJUN-ia** » Mon Mar 24, 2025 5:37 pm

After a campaign that didn't deserve a playoff appearance and an EBT that was certainly wacky as hell, where do the Battin' Jagaurs of TJUN-ia stand entering the Diamond Jubilee Edition of the WBC? I mean, we are a good baseball nation in all terms of the word - we have made deep playoff runs before, once upon a time, we were once the Esportivan Champs at this sport...but are we elite? Or are we just pretending to be elite? After the failure of last time out, Vojtěch Heyrovský is the new man in charge of this program - and he's brought the legendary Bryce Calhoun back as a Batting Coach. That's certainly one way to get the fans on your side, marking a rare moment of a former player joining the coaching staff of a national side in TJUN-ia, but can this new regime mend the mistakes of the old? Or are we just cursed to be "good, but not great?"

We play the five opponents four times each across this group stage, hosting everyone in both of our WBC stadia...but for these first two games, we would start out on the road...starting with the #2 Dragonflies of Ko-oren. Facing an opponent of that calibre early on isn't exactly fair in terms of expectations on a new regime, but the point was to try...and we certainly did. Kimi Holvanen would start vs Bieito Vasquez and, to the shock of the casual baseball fan, the first six innings of this new era were scoreless - with the less run-reliant playstyle of the hosts coming to the fore - but we were fine to just let the game play out and get used to this new era we found ourselves in. The 7th ended up being the turning point as Len Pijpenbroek brought home two runs and while Martina Andrade de Souza got one back in the 9th, we couldn't get that tying run. We lost 1-2, but we will certainly take that.

After that, we headed over to The Kaisers Syndicates for Game 2 and that would see Maddison "Missy" Jembembe start what would end up being a pretty good game by her standards. Things were quiet for the first four innings of this game, but Fernando Rodrigo Viera would wake everyone up in the 5th and from there, there was no going back. The killing blow would end up coming in the 7th as Khin Marlar Tun managed to bring the house down with a Grand Slam before Li Chen Sho added a cherry on top in the 9th to complete a 6-0 shutout for Missy and the Jaguars.

1-1 to start, but we have a lot of road still to cover. New Umoja will be first in our joint, at Rounders Field in Portside, before we head out to Oateria. This road has started in this brand new era, so buckle up for the ride. GO BATTIN' JAGS!

SCHEDULE (Group F)
MD1: @Ko-oren (2) L 1-2
MD2: @The Kaisers Syndicates (UR) W 6-0 (4th)
------------------------Batter Up!------------------------
MD3: vs New Umoja (UR) - Rounders Field, Portside
MD4: @Oateria (UR)
------------------------Batter Up!------------------------
MD5: vs Equestrian States (32) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington
MD6: vs Ko-oren (2) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington
------------------------Batter Up!------------------------
MD7: vs The Kaisers Syndicates (UR) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington
MD8: @New Umoja (UR)
------------------------Batter Up!------------------------
MD9: vs Oateria (UR) - Rounders Field, Portside
MD10: @Equestrian States (32)
------------------------Batter Up!------------------------
MD11: @Ko-oren (2)
MD12: @The Kaisers Syndicates (UR)
------------------------Batter Up!------------------------
MD13: vs New Umoja (UR) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington
MD14: @Oateria (UR)
------------------------Batter Up!------------------------
MD15: vs Equestrian States (32) - Rounders Field, Portside
MD16: vs Ko-oren (2) - Rounders Field, Portside
------------------------Batter Up!------------------------
MD17: vs The Kaisers Syndicates (UR) - Rounders Field, Portside
MD18: @New Umoja (UR)
------------------------Batter Up!------------------------
MD19: vs Oateria (UR) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington
MD20: @Equestrian States (32)

by **Eshialand** » Mon Mar 24, 2025 5:49 pm

Is this an End?
Eshialand 3-1 Vaishnavaria
Circola 8-7 Eshialand

There were too many questions abounding around this Eshian baseball team, and just about none of them were anything good. They were really living up to the Screwballs name this year, and all of it started at the end of the Esportiva Sporting Festival.

This was a tournament that went just about as well as anyone could've hoped, with only one loss to South Newlandia before the finals, which was even offset by a semifinals win. And then... everything went to shit, and nobody knew quite who to blame. The finals ended in an absolutely embarrassing twelve to one loss. It was completely unknown whether such an awful result had ever been seen before in Eshian history, or whether such an astronomically bad scoreline could ever be seen again. Especially with a loss like this coming to an unranked team with no international baseball experience at all, this was the exact opposite of a strong finish to the tournament.

Immediately, the conversation turned to "which heads must roll for such an awful thing coming to pass?" Of course, there were two main culprits being pointed to: Manager Terry Stryre, and that final's starter Paul Haskell. The Eshian Baseball Association was fully ready to fire the both of them... until better news came around in the form of great success for the football team in the Campionato Esportiva. This shouldn't have distracted the baseball execs, but it somehow did, and both manager and player remained on the team... whether this would end up costing would only be seen later.

The start of the WBC seemed to be looking up for the Owls, as they put up a nice 3-1 score in Vaishnavaria. It wasn't a huge margin, but a huge margin was far from necessary here. What they needed were all the wins they could get, and this one certainly did get the job done. Hannah Gray, as usual, put up an incredible performance, pitching 7.2 scoreless innings, only ruined by WBC rookie Matt Hallyer allowing a run in the bottom of the ninth. Everything was going exactly how it was supposed to go. Exactly as it was supposed to...

This is a narrative device known as foreshadowing. I think you know what happens next.

There is literally no easier win to get than one in your home opener against an unranked team which appears to only have one pitcher on it. No easier win! Especially when your team gives you the run support it needs by slamming in five in the first inning. Absolutely nothing can go wrong, nothing!

Except when your starting pitcher is named Paul Haskell. When Paul Haskell is on the mound, what can go wrong will go wrong, and dear Margaret did literally everything go wrong. The 5-2 lead decayed to 5-3, then 5-4... before anyone knew it, it was tied. Haskell was pulled after just 4.1 innings, and that did seem to contain the bleed. Ani'a Fa'anerafa even got an RBI in the bottom of the fifth to give the Screwballs back their lead, 6-5. Maybe, just maybe, they could keep it together and not screw everything up...

Yeah, no. Eshialand is where hope and idealism go to die. A two-run honer from Xavier Brooks and all of a sudden it was 7-6, Circola's first lead since that five-run bottom of the first. Another run in the ninth made it 8-6, and despite the Owls' best attempts, nothing was going to save this game. They got one run in the bottom of the ninth to try and save it, but it was too late. 8-7 for Circola.

For Circola, this was an insane victory. Coming right off the heels of a 4-3 victory in Zwangzug... had this team that came from nowhere just managed away wins against the top two seeds back to back? What is this sorcery? As for Eshialand, however... fingers were starting to be pointed again, and understandably a lot of those fingers were being pointed at Haskell. 5 earned runs in 4.1 innings is not the sort of pitching line anybody wants to see, and there were serious questions as to what his future on the team should be... or if he even had one at all. He really did seem to be the root of all evil for this team right now.

The good news? There was a lot of baseball left to be played, and this was a very interesting group to be a part of, and the Screwballs' next road trip proved exactly why. First, the Owls would be headed to Zwangzug. While Eshialand may have been the higher ranked team on paper, in all matters except the hypothetical it seemed like Zwangzug would be the favourites to win this one... however there was no history either backing that up or showing otherwise, as these two teams have somehow never faced each other in Eshialand's eight previous appearances in this tournament. The odds of that seem astronomically low, but sometimes things like that happen. Now, however, was finally the time for these teams to meet, and something magical was going to happen.

As for their second stop on this road trip, it would be to much more recent opponents... those being Crpostran, who also happened to be in Eshialand's WBC 59 group! The Screwballs' last match in Crpostran ended in a heartbreaking twelfth-inning loss, while the return match in Eshialand had been 1-0 for Crpostran until the 7th inning stretch... after which the Owls scored 6, securing second in their group. There was a score to be settled between these teams, and it would be interesting to see how it would all play out... and yes, you aren't hallucinating, Crpostran is still using only one pitcher for this campaign. They were the original Circolas, after all.

While Terry Stryre may not have had all the answers to his Paul Haskell problem, he need only worry about the problems lying ahead, and he was fully ready to face them head-on: "These are obviously two very good teams, you know... we have to be prepared, and we have to shut them down. We can't be dropping any more nonsense games if we wanna finish in the top two in this group, and that has to be our goal."

by **The Kytler Peninsulae** » Mon Mar 24, 2025 5:52 pm

After the infamous Brendan Thompson "slam the trunk" incident (and even more infamous home-run-interrupted apology) at the last WBC, Kytlerian baseball radio rights had been yoinked from right-wing gabber network RTX Radio and to national broadcaster NBO. Which was a controversial move amongst the... let's just say RTX-sympathetic parts of the Kytlerian baseball audience (which isn't nearly all of it, and indeed the announcement explicitly stated a desire to move on from any association to the contrary).

The first Phoenix game of the NBO Radio era, with a symbolic mixed-gender commentary booth of Jonathan Temple and Jennifer Harper-Barnes, set up to be a comfortable on-paper win against debutants Ingont. Cedric Lundy got the start and was able to claim seven strikeouts in four scoreless innings, but it took him 75 pitches, and so the top of the fifth saw the introduction of Zoe Young. Who promptly saw one anonymous Ingont batter reach on a rare error from Zoe Anderson, before seeing the next one launch a letter-high fastball directly over her head and into the batter's eye. 2-0 to the literal no-names. Young escaped the rest of the inning, came back for the sixth, walked the leadoff batter, then gave up another two-run homer to another no-name.

Meanwhile, Ingont's mystery starter went 8.1 scoreless innings before finally giving up a pair of runs on a two-run homer from Wecoisus Dotos, pinch-hitting for Anderson. It was a genuinely brilliant pitching performance, one worthy of the 4-2 upset victory, and NBO coverage put the emphasis firmly on it; "I'd say 'remember the name' if I could," Harper-Barnes opined, "but we don't even have a name to remember!" There was frustration at the result, emphasis on the relatively long group stage in this competition, and a general sense that there was nothing wrong that couldn't go right in the future. This was, after all, a team that in this incarnation has never not been a playoff team and are already considered a top-ten team.

On RTX Radio? Glee. Untold glee.

"So, thanks to the hippies who run baseball in this country, you didn't get to hear today's game here on RTX Radio," began Kevin Arlott at the top of his 9pm weeknight show. Arlott is perhaps the most well-known shock jock on the RTX Radio roster at this point, and is notorious for literally cheering Kytlerian sporting defeats in the name of his anti-RPD crusade. "And I'm delighted to say, that in one of my favourite pieces of karma you will ever see" - the fact that this self-proclaimed Christian would yeet a concept from another religion is probably only the tenth-worst thing that will come out of his mouth in the next 93 seconds, but it bears mention nonetheless - "the first game of this new hippy-dippy lazy-girl era has finished The Kytler Peninsulae 2, INGONT FOUR! And who are Ingont, I hear you ask? All I know about them is THEY DON'T USE THE SLANI DRUGS! THE DRUGS DON'T WORK! THEY JUST MAKE YOU WORSE!"

If that was a callback to his previous most infamous broadcast to date - and the fact he'd kept his star role for the best part of a decade since then says a lot about RTX priorities - things would get arguably even uglier after that. "And you know why they - that's 'they' as in 'not us' not 'they' as in 'fake gender' - why they lost? All four runs were given up by that pitch bitch Zoe Young!" Well, technically there were only three earned runs off her pitching, but don't worry, the source of the fourth fits this narrative too. "Two two-run homers, and you know where the runner for the first came from? An error by another girl!" Never mind that this "girl" turns 28 in three months, he's already the most notorious shock jock in the nation and he's not gonna blow this lead.

"This is what happens when you get girls to do a man's job, and when you don't allow critical media to cover you and instead hand over jobs for the girls to the hippie state broadcaster!" (NBO is still only partially owned by the government; a public-private consortium arrangement has now survived governments ranging from the right-wing isolationists of Arlott's political hero Thomas Anderson to the Clituleng Giisost administration behind the Kytlerian Reopening. As for "hippie," that seems to be what Kytlerian fascists use for anyone to their left. Which is anyone with more than 10.93 shreds of humanity.) "They deserve all the hate that's gonna come their way from true Kytlerian patriots who no longer have a team to cheer." Two minutes later, he then flip-reversed on that by bigging up the Borlfield Victors KBL team based on their apparent refusal to provide players to the Phoenix - and never mind that none of their roster would realistically make it on merit anyway - and the whole idea of being "true Kytlerian patriots" whilst supporting a team whose identity is wrapped up in Varnian separatism.

The second contest - against another debuting side, Visayas Islands - went rather better, the Phoenix busting into a 4-0 lead and holding on to win 5-3. The first blow struck in that contest? A drive into deep left field by Asbjørnsson. It's as if the baseball gods wanted you to remember why these games were on NBO Radio and not RTX Radio in the first place.

Liventia come to Zube for the Phoenix home opener next, an appropriate first visitor to the Donaldson Olympic Park this cycle. Win that, win in HUElavia afterwards, and the opening blip could be quickly forgotten ahead of Milchama's arrival.

Well, unless you're Kevin Arlott.

by **Sarzonia** » Mon Mar 24, 2025 6:12 pm

The scenarios were very different and the teams were from completely different sports, but Desmond St. John couldn't help the dread he felt when he saw his mobile phone ringing.

His Sarzonian national baseball team just dropped two matches, against teams the prognosticators believed Sarzonia would have the best chance of beating in the early going of the 60th World Baseball Classic.

Not only that, but the bullpen had to work overtime, so to speak in the opening match, a 6-5 defeat against Natkr. The second match wasn't close, but Sarzonia starting pitcher Marcus Greenberg pitched seven innings of two-run ball before the bullpen completely fell apart in the eighth inning.

St. John essentially stage-whispered, "should I answer it?" when he saw the phone number belonged to Stars technical director and St John's former teammates Jeff Parrish.

"Yes, Jeff?"

"Hey Desi," Parrish said. That's a good sign, St. John thought. He figured that if he were in trouble that Parrish would address him more formally. He'd prove to be right.

"Did you see the news about Tom Brown?"

"Yes, Jeff," St. John said with his voice trembling ever so slightly. Parrish heard the uncertainty in St. John's voice and decided he needed to reassure his young manager.

"Don't worry, Desi," Parrish said. "That's not going to happen to you." St. John exhaled ever so slightly, but Parrish picked up on the clear implication it was a sigh of relief.

"I wanted to tell you the [Incorporated Baseball Federation] recognizes that this is a process," he said. "We realise you're in a tough group and a tough format with a team that's still building. We're not expecting miracles. We believe in you. Hang in there."

It was easier said than done for St. John, even though he received the assurances that the IBF wasn't considering any changes to the team or the managerial staff, and St. John would have an opportunity to put his stamp on the team. Whether that would lead to success in the future was anyone's guess, but the IBF understood that Sarzonia's 44th rank in baseball didn't rank them as a favourite to win Sarzonia's second World Baseball Classic trophy.

All the Stars could do was get back out there and get their job done, no matter how difficult that job was.

by **Tikariot** » Mon Mar 24, 2025 6:30 pm

Tikariot
Trigramme: TKT
Nickname: The Owls

COACH
Manager: Jonathan Villiers, 50 - Taking over from Graham McCrory in an attempt to break the Round of 16 curse, Villiers is a former national team first baseman, who has made a name for himself for thinking outside the box and sometimes refusing to acknowledge the existence of a box.
Bench Coach: Rachel Monroe – Analytical mind who specializes in game theory.
Hitting Coach: Carlos Reyes – Former slugger, emphasizes plate discipline and power.
Pitching Coach: Hans Ekström – Master of pitcher development, renowned for control drills.
Strength & Conditioning: Mia Åkerlund – Fitness guru who keeps the team in peak shape.

ROSTER
Starters
1. CF | Riley Thompson – 27 - Morannon Militia
Attributes: Elite speed, sharp reaction time, great arm.
Playing Style: Aggressive baserunner and has mastered the art of tracking down deep fly balls.
Quality: Top-level defence and a consistent .300 hitter.
Personality: Laid-back but fiercely competitive. Loves pranking teammates during warmups.

2. SS | Freja Nyström – 25 - Dhun Lagarr Bulls
Attributes: Quick hands, excellent range, and a rocket arm.
Playing Style: Slick fielder with a knack for turning double plays. Switch hitter with good contact.
Quality: All-Star potential with defensive wizardry.
Personality: Analytical and composed. Always studying pitcher tendencies. Known for her love of crossword puzzles.

3. 1B | Marcus Lindström – 29 - Avanaroch Nightwatch
Attributes: Towering power, solid glove at first.
Playing Style: Power hitter with gap-to-gap power, capable of clearing the fences regularly.
Quality: Middle-of-the-lineup masher with 30+ homer potential.
Personality: Gentle giant. Off the field, he’s the team’s unofficial chef and known for his signature smoked ribs.

4. 3B | Isabella Parker – 26 - Seycardhu Saints
Attributes: Quick reflexes, raw power, and leadership skills.
Playing Style: Clutch hitter who thrives in pressure situations. Solid at the hot corner.
Quality: All-Star calibre with a flair for late-game heroics.
Personality: Bold and fearless. Loves hyping up the dugout and leading the charge.

5. C | Lars Edgren – 31 - Fort Viljan Northmen
Attributes: Strong arm, elite game-caller, and powerful bat.
Playing Style: Defensive rock behind the plate, with a knack for controlling the running game.
Quality: Veteran leader who adds stability and knowledge.
Personality: Cerebral and detail-oriented. Loves strategy discussions and chess.

6. LF | Hannah Sullivan – 24 - Pyathora Sailors
Attributes: Blazing speed, exceptional baserunning IQ.
Playing Style: Slap hitter with gap power. A constant threat to steal bases.
Quality: High OBP and a menace on the base paths.
Personality: High-energy spark plug. Loves inspiring teammates with her relentless hustle.

7. 2B | Erik Holmberg – 28 - Fort Viljan Northmen
Attributes: Smooth footwork, reliable glove, and solid bat control.
Playing Style: Defensive anchor with a knack for timely hits.
Quality: Above-average contact hitter with Gold Glove potential.
Personality: Calm and collected, Erik loves fishing and always brings home-caught salmon for team barbecues.

8. RF | Tessa “TNT” Morgan – 22 - Valghis White Eagles
Attributes: Cannon arm, quick first step, and raw athleticism.
Playing Style: Power-speed combo with strong defensive range.
Quality: Rising star with potential for a breakout season.
Personality: Fiery competitor, always pushing teammates to excel.

9. DH | Viktor Blomqvist – 33 - Ilmarcess Inishmores
Attributes: Veteran power, clutch performer.
Playing Style: Power hitter who thrives against righties, crushing off-speed pitches.
Quality: Still dangerous in key situations despite age.
Personality: The clubhouse jokester with a penchant for dad jokes.

Reserves
UT | Liam “Taxhavn Army” Andersson – 26 - Soharr Highlanders
Attributes: Versatile, solid contact hitter.
Playing Style: Reliable off the bench and solid defensively anywhere.
Quality: Perfect utility player who can step up in key moments.
Personality: Easygoing, always ready to contribute.

C | Maja Jakobsson – 23 - Alcassar Eagles
Attributes: Strong arm, good game awareness.
Playing Style: Reliable backup catcher who calls a smart game.
Quality: Strong potential as a future starter.
Personality: Determined and loves cracking jokes in the bullpen.

INF | Chloe Bennett – 24 - Oriannor Mountaineers
Attributes: Excellent glove, strong situational hitter.
Playing Style: Defensive specialist with a knack for clutch hits.
Quality: Late-inning defensive replacement with pop.
Personality: Loves team traditions and organizes post-game karaoke.

OF | Jesper Karlsson – 22 - Port Rhovanyon Paladins
Attributes: Blazing speed, solid contact hitter.
Playing Style: Pinch-runner extraordinaire with plus defense.
Quality: Speed threat who changes the game in late innings.
Personality: Quiet but focused. Loves track and field in the off-season.

DH/PH | Olivia Magnusson – 28 - Samakar Sabreheads
Attributes: Raw power, great pinch-hitting instincts.
Playing Style: Power threat off the bench who thrives against lefties.
Quality: Veteran pinch-hitter with a big bat.
Personality: Friendly but ultra-competitive when it matters.

Pitchers
Starting pitchers
1. SP | Sebastian Forsberg – 30 - Avanaroch Nightwatch
Attributes: Pinpoint control, devastating slider.
Playing Style: Strikeout machine who works the corners.
Quality: Best pitcher in Tikariot at the moment, known for pitching deep into games.
Personality: Cool under pressure. Loves strategy games and is a master of poker.

2. SP | Gabriella Reyes – 28 - Baraldhur Behemoths
Attributes: Explosive fastball, wicked curve.
Playing Style: Power pitcher with a fearless attitude.
Quality: Strikeout artist capable of dominating lineups.
Personality: Intense and focused on the mound but full of humour off it.

3. SP | Noah Eriksson – 27 - Eivora Cropdusters
Attributes: Sinker specialist, efficient groundball inducer.
Playing Style: Master at keeping hitters off balance.
Quality: Consistent innings-eater who gives the bullpen a rest.
Personality: Quiet but fiercely determined. Passionate about photography.

4. SP | Amanda Sagubrio – 25 - Emerald Coast Phantoms
Attributes: Excellent changeup, elite command.
Playing Style: Crafty lefty who keeps hitters guessing.
Quality: Future ace with sky-high potential.
Personality: Analytical and always looking to improve. Loves reading sports analytics.

5. SP | Henrik Lundqvist – 32 - Ceramadhion Vipers
Attributes: Veteran with an effective cutter and curveball.
Playing Style: Experienced workhorse who knows how to outsmart hitters.
Quality: Reliable starter who thrives in big moments.
Personality: Wise mentor for younger players. Loves Swedish folk music.

Bullpen
CL | Ellie Callahan – 29 - Paladon Sorcerers
Attributes: High-velocity fastball, devastating slider.
Playing Style: Fearless closer with ice in her veins.
Quality: One of the league’s top closers.
Personality: Adrenaline junkie who thrives in high-stress situations.

SU | Viktor Söderlund – 26 - Xanark Sluggers
Attributes: Sinker/slider specialist, works fast.
Playing Style: Groundball machine who induces weak contact.
Quality: Reliable setup man with a sharp mindset.
Personality: Strategic and tactical. Loves high-speed thrills.

RP | Natalie Burke – 24 - Imyalore Archers
Attributes: Great control, effective changeup.
Playing Style: Middle-inning specialist who neutralizes lefties.
Quality: Future All-Star with the potential to close games.
Personality: Cool and collected. Enjoys yoga and meditation.

RP | Sebastian Farnerud – 27 - Fort Cafragilis Warriors
Attributes: Power pitcher with a nasty slider.
Playing Style: High strikeout rate but occasionally struggles with control.
Quality: Electrifying but unpredictable.
Personality: Fun-loving and thrives on big moments.

RP | Kaitlyn Ramirez – 23 - Anhedron Arrowheads
Attributes: Unpredictable movement, sharp breaking ball.
Playing Style: Mixes speeds to keep hitters guessing.
Quality: Up-and-comer with a strong work ethic.
Personality: Fiercely competitive and never backs down.

RP Permissions
My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my runscorers: Yes
Choose my lineup: Yes, within reason
Follow my pitching rotation: Yes
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes, within reason
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Eject my players: TG for approval
Godmod other events: How about, uh, no?
Will we use DH? You betcha!

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