Your Kamijiro Diamond IX Roster and Background
"Diamond IX?"
It's once more time for Kamijiro to throw together a roster for their most popular amateur sport, baseball. It's known locally as "Diamond IX" due to a misunderstanding between two departments, Chamonix and Miraisaki. Chamonix had their own rules, called "baiseball" which is a long-dead variant of baseball (although there are 'revivalist movements' for it). It involved seven players, a rubber ball, and no clothes. They accepted an invite to play "baseball" at a university on the outskirts of Miraisaki, and the headlines that a bunch of nude Chamonix 20-somethings generated can still be found in the University archives to this day. Because of this misunderstanding, a placeholder name was created. The shape of the field is a diamond, and there are nine players. So, Diamond IX was supposed to be the placeholder until a name agreement could be reached. However, the name stuck (mostly because nobody could come up with another name for it) and it's been called that ever since. But to the rest of the world, it's just baseball.
Within Kamijiro, the game is still entirely amateur. There is no dedicated professional league and 'teams' are comprised of those with full-time professions that play on the side. However, following the conclusion of the previous edition of the World Baseball Classic, three players from the Kamijiroan representative team were contacted by the manager of South Newlandia's St. Riecarn Saints and offered professional contracts. For the first time in Kamijiroan Diamond IX history, players went pro. Markus "Corner Pocket" Blauuw, Félix "Knee Socks" Cavaco and Howard "Nightfall" Ellis, the three players in question, all return to the national team as the first-ever pros to represent the team. The rest of the team still barnstorms the country on weekends, with ticket sales being used to pay for their next trips. Teams are almost entirely made up of friends, family members or co-workers due to this, as it makes travel much easier. The non-returners for this edition are Miguel "Tiger Claw" dos Santos, who lost thousands of Jirōes while his bakery was closed during the Classic. Also not returning are Hailey "Comet" Fox, who wanted to focus on her career and move from accounting into auditing. Alexander "Elbow Grease" Akerman opened his own garage in Westhampton and chose not to return either for the same reason as Miguel.
The largest dedicated baseball field in Kamijiro was the St. Jerome Municipal Stadium, which seated about 6,000. But the stadium was partially destroyed during the St. Jerome Split, then fully destroyed during the Civil War. The next-largest is a small field on Jirō Island, which theoretically holds about 4,000. That still has never been touched and even then, it's half standing room only. The seats total about 2,000. The field itself is quite small by international standards (dimensions are listed below) and it was only recently fitted with safety nets for the dugouts and behind home plate to meet international regulations.
Unlike other sports in Kamijiro, baseball is all about having fun. Every other sport is about winning all the time. Even the obscure ones can get pretty fiesty. But again, most baseball players aren't in it to win, they're just doing a weekend leisure activity. Teams like to rotate around and make sure everybody gets involved, so sometimes teams will even agree to play fifteen inning games just to allow player rotation. This means games can go four or five hours. Most teams opt for a designated hitter as to ensure everybody can get play time.
The Roster
Starting Pitchers:
Atsuji Akaminai. Handedness: Left. Age: 25. Hometown: Narakugai, Miraisaki. Jersey #: 7. Profession: Unknown (Likely Illegal).
Clarence Bartley. Handedness: Right. Age: 30. Hometown: Laramie, St. Jerome. Jersey #: 76. Profession: Farmer.
Orielle de Côteaux. Handedness: Switch. Age: 22. Hometown: Rém, Belle-île, Chamonix. Jersey #: 42. Profession: Federal Agent.
Howard Ellis. Handedness: Left. Age: 24. Hometown: St. Jerome City, St. Jerome. Jersey #: 14. Profession: Baseball Player (St. Riecarn Saints, South Newlandia).
Adélaïde Mignault. Handedness: Right. Age: 20. Hometown: Giverny, Chamonix. Jersey #: 34. Profession: Student (Académie de Giverny-Sud).
The headliner of this group is the illustrious Orielle "Mains d'Or" de Côteaux. She's a switch-pitcher, the only one in recorded Kamijiroan Diamond IX history to have recorded 200+ strikeouts with both arms. She graduated top of her class at Université de Trèves in criminal justice and criminal psychology. She's the pride and joy of Belle-île. Not a power pitcher by any means, but her slider has some incredible movement on it and fools even the most disciplined of hitters.
Next up is her boyfriend, who is the opposite of her in terms of personality. Atsuji "Red Wolf" Akaminai throws absolute heat into the corners, likely honed from his days cutting class to play ball with the grown-ups at a local field. He has a nasty temper to go along with his laser-beam fastball, and he doesn't take kindly to batters pimping homers. He's been ejected from several games for pitching high and inside, gaining a reputation as a bit of an enforcer. He had done a mini-takeover of the downtown district of the city of Miraisaki, the area known as Narakugai. He and his men expelled the police following an attempt by the government to ban alcohol and enforce a curfew. The bootlegging business has done his pockets wonders. He's well-known as a mob boss, but he's paid enough people to ensure his safety for the Classic. Expect him to appear at games he's not playing in draped in a crimson suit, and the games he is playing in with a sleeveless jersey. It will be extremely interesting to see how he and his ex - Orielle - get along considering their... different occupations.
Clarence "Sunrise" Bartley and Howard "Nightfall" Ellis are pretty much identical in terms of pitching ability - just mirrored, with Clarence being a righty and Howard being a lefty. Their upbringings could not be any more different if they tried. Clarence is a farm boy who trained his aim by throwing balls into tiny squares painted onto a barn and Howard is a city kid who practiced with friends at a high school field under bright lights and plays baseball for the Saints in South Newlandia.
Then, there's the newcomer. Adélaïde "Poignard" Mignault, a fiery pitcher out of one of Chamonix's best sporting academies. Her temper isn't as hot as Atsuji's, but it may give it a run for it's money. She won't throw the ball directly at your head, but she will curse you out to the point where you genuinely can't think anymore - she drowns out your thoughts. But either way, as expected, that makes her a bit of a loose cannon. The team is hoping that having older pitchers around will help guide her a bit... unless it's Atsuji.
The starting pitcher rotation simply runs through those five in the order of Orielle, Atsuji, Clarence, Howard and Adélaïde. So, Orielle takes game one of a series, Atsuji takes two, Clarence takes three, then Howard takes game one of the next series, Adélaïde takes two, so on.
Bullpen:
Joaquim Gomes. Handedness: Right. Age: 18. Hometown: Cascais, Porto de Kamijiro. Jersey #: 37. Profession: Student (Universidade de Porto).
Tenshi Hikari. Handedness: Left. Age: 25. Hometown: Narakugai, Miraisaki. Jersey #: 30. Profession: Unknown (Likely Illegal).
Devyn Navire. Handedness: Left. Age: 19. Hometown: Jourdain, Chamonix. Jersey #: 88. Profession: Dispensary owner.
Shousuke Takagi. Handedness: Right. Age: 26. Hometown: Ōzu, Miraisaki. Jersey #: 44. Profession: Video Game Programmer.
Ellie Xanthe. Handedness: Right. Age: 28. Hometown: Spolia, Jirō Island. Jersey #: 35. Profession: Restauranteur.
The primary closer is Tenshi "Death's Hand" Hikari. He's the best friend of Atsuji (although Atsuji insists the correct term is 'right hand') and, much like Atsuji, is another fireball pitcher who loves trying to shatter the catcher's glove hand. His specialty is the four-seamer, which he regularly throws at over 98 miles an hour. His distinctive ice-white hair coming out of the bullpen usually means that his team is looking to end the game quickly - he's a ninth inning specialist. He had a historically bad meltdown against Eshialand during the playoffs to cost Kamijiro a potential 2-1 series lead and spent most of the time between then and now practicing his pitching along with running Narakugai's "import/export business" for alcohol. He's raring to go.
Shousuke "Ice Cold" Takagi is a slow-pitch king. His control is spectacular and his pitches rarely get over 85 miles an hour. He gets a lot of batters to ground into double plays and is often brought in to bail somebody out of an inning where there's multiple runners on base and the starter is getting tired or is just letting it slip a bit. He gained the name "Ice Cold" after coming in with no warm-up and getting his team out of a bases-loaded, no outs situation without giving up a run. His debut at the Classic was wonderful... his last time out at WBC60 was a bit of a mess. Here's hoping he bounces back.
Ellie "Shadow Dancer" Xanthe is... well, she's Ellie. A former escort (and current restauranteur), she's mastered the art of teasing just enough to get what she needs. Both on the diamond and off of it. She usually puts pitches wide and low with extra spin, trying to get undisciplined batters to swing at what's essentially a shadow. Her body control while pitching is something to behold, despite her unorthodox windup and pitch style. She didn't have much practice during the off time, but she should still be good to go.
Then, there's the fresher faces in the bullpen. Two teens, Joaquim "Quinho" Gomes and Devyn "Oisiveté" Navire, both of whom debuted at the last Classic. Joaquim is graduated from Tavira Upper and went to Universidade de Porto to play baseball for their school team. He's pretty run-of-the-mill, a steady hand with good aim, but it's his antics that make him good enough to play on the national team. He does tricks with the ball to distract batters, his wind-up varies between short and long and he generally is just a hassle to deal with if you're trying to hit against him. Then there's Devyn. He's possibly the most sluggish-looking person you'll ever see. Built like a stick, pale as a sheet, the bags under his eyes large enough to be checked at the airport, and shaggy black hair that goes down to his shoulders. But those pitches? They're fast. Very, very fast. He recorded a 102 MPH pitch in warm-ups one time, but he says that wasn't even the fastest he'd thrown. He's gone from being a pot-smoking part-timer to a pot-smoking dispensary owner.
Batting Lineup (w/ Designated Hitter):
1st: (1B) Félix Cavaco. Handedness: Switch. Age: 21. Hometown: Relâmpago, Porto de Kamijiro. Jersey #: 7. Profession: Baseball Player (St. Riecarn Saints, South Newlandia).
2nd: (RF) Ryuji Phaëthon. Handedness: Left. Age: 25. Hometown: Spolia, Jirō Island. Jersey #: 1. Profession: Male Model.
3rd: (SS) Emi Phaëthon. Handedness: Right. Age: 25. Hometown: Spolia, Jirō Island. Jersey #: 11. Profession: Botanist.
4th: (DH) Napoleon Sarre. Handedness: Right. Age: 30. Hometown: Trèves, Chamonix. Jersey #: 50. Profession: Painter.
5th: (2B) Lucian Belvedere. Handedness: Left. Age: 27. Hometown: Croydon, St. Jerome. Jersey #: 29. Profession: Historian.
6th: (3B) Markus Blaauw. Handedness: Switch. Age: 23. Hometown: Kustplaats, Nieuw Volendam. Jersey #: 21. Profession: Baseball Player (St. Riecarn Saints, South Newlandia).
7th: (CF) Daijiro Kamada. Handedness: Right. Age: 28. Hometown: Iyo, Miraisaki. Jersey #: 17. Profession: Chef.
8th: (LF) Maou Ashiya. Handedness: Right. Age: 19. Hometown: Aoshima, Miraisaki. Jersey #: 99. Profession: Unknown (Likely Illegal).
9th: (C) Magurix Gaëtan. Handedness: Left. Age: 22. Hometown: Île de Jeux, Chamonix. Jersey #: 39. Profession: Aerial Photographer.
Note: when playing without the designated hitter, everybody slides up one and the pitcher goes to ninth.
Félix "Knee Socks" Cavaco is probably one of the best contact hitters Kamijiro has to offer. He doesn't get much power, but he gets on base a lot. The kind of player you love to have first. Got his nickname from the one time he forgot his socks and was forced to play in knee-highs for a game. Recently signed professional and has trained his eye for the ball quite a bit since last Classic.
Ryuji "Sun King" Phaëthon and Emi "Sun Queen" Phaëthon are twins who were born on the exact stroke of noon on the Summer solstice. Their family name literally comes from the son of Helios, the Greek god of the sun - they are half-elf refugees (their ages have been adjusted to their approximate age in human years) and have lived on Jirō Island for some time now after immigrating to Kamijiro. They are naturalized citizens. Both of them have a good amount of power on their swings, but it's their eye for the ball that really stands out. They rarely swing at anything silly. They recently fell on hard times and Ryuji had to go from being a priest to being a male model. The money's good, but he's still quite upset at 'debasing himself.' The closest thing he's done to nudity is a singular shirtless swimsuit advertisement, so most people think he's overreacting.
Napoleon "Little Emperor" Sarre is a child of Chamonix old money - he spent his youth playing catch with his dad and his teen years sneaking off of his family's property to go play games at the local field. He's grown up now and paints for a living. He does Baroque art and one of his paintings recently broke the Kamijiroan record for an art sale. "Little Emperor," of course, comes from his namesake, but it also fits his play. He's a bit short, but boy can he hit the ball. A true cleanup hitter.
Lucian "Silk White" Belvedere is forever 27. At least, that's what he says. Nobody can really figure out what that means, as he usually avoids the question. He lives alone in a big house, doesn't go out except to play night games. He doesn't have great plate discipline, but if he makes contact, that ball is as good as gone - he lead his team in home runs last season, despite only playing night games. He's also a half-elf, and his age has been adjusted to human years. He was also the one who bought Napoleon's painting for a whopping 6,666,666 Jirōes. When asked about why he bought it for that amount, he simply just ignored the question. The painting may (or may not have...) been a boudoir painting of himself, which Napoleon had planned to give to him. That was until a collector saw it and started an insanely high bidding war. Either way, that painting is up in Lucian's chambers.
Markus "Corner Pocket" Blaauw gained his nickname from his excellent defensive work on third base. His hitting leaves a lot to be desired, but he's good for the occasional base hit. He's particularly good at staying alive, fouling off a lot of pitches. He's also quite valuable for driving up opposing pitchers' pitch count. He signed pro with the Saints and has made his pro debut. He's worked on his hitting a bit, but it still has plenty of room for improvement.
Daijiro "Island" Kamada does a really good job of expending the least amount of energy - he can almost sense where batters will send their pop-ups. He calls the defensive shifts and is the captain of the outfield. As a batter, he's middling-to-bad, but his feel for the game on defense is second to none. He often plays on an 'island', separate from the rest of the team, as they rotate around him and he doesn't really move unless he absolutely has to. He one time caught three runners out in the same inning by walking to a spot in the outfield before the pitch was even thrown and waiting there. All three batters popped up to the spots he had walked to.
Maou "Devil King" Ashiya is another one of Atsuji's boys that got brought along. He's a high-school dropout who spends all of his time playing baseball or committing felonies. He's quoted as saying "If I can hit a homer and be home in time to bootleg with the family, it was a good day." He bats really well considering his age and is lightning quick around the bases. He bats near the bottom of the lineup so that the top of the order can drive him in later. He outran a police chase after almost getting caught smuggling through the Miraisaki border. He had an active warrant out for his arrest until Atsuji made some phone calls and they dropped the case.
Magurix "Wings" Gaëtan is a half-fey, half-elf refugee of war who lives on an island by himself. He has wings, hence the nickname, and they do work, he can fly for short periods. However, in order to promote fairness, he plays catcher, a position where jumping isn't really in the job description. His age has also been approximated to a human's lifespan. His batting is pretty solid and he's a contact hitter. Much like Maou, he plays at the end of the lineup so that he can be on base for the top of the lineup. He recently graduated college (he went back because he was bored) and is using his wings as a business, taking stunning aerial photographs. If you ever need a picture taken from way up high without a plane shadow in frame, he's your guy.
The team still does not employ backups. Aside from the three pro players who are coming back to join the team, the team is entirely amateur and if injuries do happen, then new players will be called up. The team also does not employ a manager. Instead, team captain Orielle de Côteaux makes the team decisions - she has the full respect of the squad and her elegant, flowing speeches help the team find their identity before each match. It'll be very important for her to reel in Atsuji and his squad early because they are likely not very happy about the fact that she became a federal agent while dating the largest mob boss in Kamijiro... and then dumping the guy. This will be the first time they've seen each other since the break-up. Could be trouble.
And now, the field's dimensions and information. Both the left and right foul poles are at 315 feet and center field is 400. It's symmetrical, so the left-center and right-center are at 357.5 feet. It's small by modern standards, but it's a very home-run friendly field and that helps get all of the fans excited. The grass is Kentucky Bluegrass (not the genre of music) and it's maintained daily during the season. The dugouts are at field level with nets in front of them.
There are various concession stands with every flavor of Kamijiroan cuisine imaginable! The main concourse has a Jiji's Ramen, which is a fast-casual (but not fast food) restaurant that offers classic ramen. Next to it is Shepherd's Crook, which offers classic dishes like fish and chips, along with savory pies and beer. Lots of beer choices there. There's also Le Pâtisserie, which, you gussed it, has a ton of pastries on offer along with coffee and wine. They employ a maître pâtissier and are licensed by the Chamonix Association des Pâtisseries. To top it off is a classic fast food joint which offers classic ballpark snacks, to include burgers, hot dogs and fries. Oh, and more beer. Although Miraisaki outlawed alcohol, it's more than free-flowing everywhere else in the country, this being a prime example.
And, for those who just want the RP stuff...
Choose my run scorers: Yes.
Choose my lineup: There really isn't a lot of variability to it, but sure. Note that the starting pitchers have been somewhat penciled in.
Follow my pitching rotation: Yeah. Just remember that Tenshi "Death's Hand" Hikari is the closer.
God-mod scoring events: Yes.
RP injuries: Yes, but bear in mind that, as this is an almost entirely amateur team, there are no back-ups. Players will play through injury or a bullpen pitcher will be used if direly needed.
God-mod injuries: No, thanks.
Eject my players: Atsuji "Red Wolf" Akaminai, Tenshi "Death's Hand" Hikari, Maou "Devil King" Ashiya and Adélaïde "Poignard" Mignault would be the most likely to be ejected, for RP purposes.
God-mod other events: Yeah, just don't blow up the stadium or something like that.
We use a designated hitter & the Ohtani rule applies, although we don't use it.
