The Re-Introduction of .......

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kiersteadmo
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The Re-Introduction of .......

#1 Post by kiersteadmo »

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Dec 06, 2025

Hundreds of dedicated fans fill the seats as well as media. They sit eagerly awaiting the announcement of the next Duluth GM. Team security seems a bit more prevalent today. Owner Jason Bong has promised that he looked far and wide for the prefect person for the job, even crossing the globe once over.

Duluth owner Jason Bong takes the podium and starts to address the audience. Jason clears his throat as his begins to speak.

“Duluth has always been the most important place in my life. The fans, team and most importantly the community has been my number one concern as our family grows each year. Family is key to a bright future and as with the team. Some years you lose a family member and other you lose a team member to free agency or arbitration. We grieve for a period then we move and make the best of it. We are Duluth or life as my father would tell me day in and out."

The crowd applauds and claps, some fans even stand and yell. ” Duluth for life!” One even rips off his shirt to show a fresh tattoo of the team logo. Mr. Bong continues his conference after he waves the crowd to sit down.

“Yes, I am glad we all agree. I did not want to hire someone without experience. I wanted someone who could handle the pressure, but not implode when the weather gets rough. It can get really cold here and even colder if our new GM does not stay up to par with team and fan expectations. He was not an easy man to track down. I traveled to Seoul, the Steel Coast of Kuwana and small town in Charleston. See these were all teams he had GMed in his tenure before. I talked to many people; the old, young, and even an equipment manager who worked with Kuwana for 25 years. Not a peep out of anyone. It was like he was erased from the books.

The crowd breaks in laughter, but soon an ominous look can be seen on a few faces in the crowd. A small, petite Japanese reporter can be seen leaving the room never to return. Another woman starts to pray and kisses her cross. A man starts to rub off that "Duluth for Life" tattoo we thought was real. Mr. Bong coughs and pulls a piece of paper from his jacket.

“I wanted a face that we knew, a face that was known to take chances and risks in order to get better. Some choices were great and some were not so good. We as a Duluth family would like to introduce Mark Kierstead as the new GM of Duluth.”

Mark Kierstead walks out in a nice black suit, shiny new shoes and a decent haircut. Far removed from his very casual look years ago. Kierstead shakes hands with Jason Bong as the audience is fairly mixed. Kierstead seems lost for a few seconds as he stares into the audience as if looking for someone. As we scan the audience we see a few cheers, spilled beers, and a handful of tears ourselves. Jason Bong leaves the stage and Mr. Kierstead takes the podium.

With a bright smile Kierstead starts to speak. "I have been away a long time. PEBA was my life for many years. We had many ups and down in the LRS and my time with Charleston. I came here not to risk ripping apart a wonderful family that we have in Duluth but bring more to it. I stepped away from the game because sometimes in life we come to a fork in the road. We need to choose if we stay on the path we are on or stray from it.”

A reporter interrupts

“Where have you been?”
Kierstead laughs and drinks a little water

“I have traveled during my absences. Mr. Bong and I had meeting in Beijing about 2 weeks ago and we wanted to keep things hush hush. We know how media can react and with fake news now controlling 90% of all markets we wanted the truth with no twists or turns. I came here to help Duluth win and keep winning. I would love to see a giant banner with the word Champions on it here in Duluth.”

A fan stands up and “shouts how we can trust you? What have you proven?”
Kierstead nods in agreement or sorts then speaks.


“Trust is like a pyramid, you build from the ground up. You have to have your base trust you or you cannot build. I need you the fans to trust me as well as the media and those watching around the league. Mr. Bong trusts me and that is a pretty good start. I wish I had more time but we are in the off season and we have work to do.” I have already been in contact with several GMs for certain trades to improve our team for 2026 and make a run for it. We have an aged team and we want to take advantage of that. I will tell you this; we may move a few players you love but we will be bringing the best possible players to Duluth."

Before Kierstead could leave a reporters asked a question he was not wanting to answer.

Where is Tricia? Have you followed your son Ichiro Takanawa’s progress?

Kierstead stops and turns back around, the smile not as big, but manages to keep it as he speaks.

“I have followed Ichiro’s progress and watched the draft from Beijing. I am proud of him no matter how good or bad he does. Tricia was supposed to be here today as I was sure she would not want to miss it. We are still a family but happened to be a world apart. Thank you for your time.”

Kierstead scans the crowd once more before he heads to the back to meet with Jason Bong. They chat for a few minutes and leave, each going their own way.
Mark Kierstead II
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Re: The Re-Introduction of .......

#2 Post by Akira »

Welcome back.
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Re: The Re-Introduction of .......

#3 Post by Borealis »

Excellent, Mark!!
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Re: The Re-Introduction of .......

#4 Post by kiersteadmo »

I put a lot of Easter eggs in there for those who know of the past when I was with the other teams ;-D
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Re: The Re-Introduction of .......

#5 Post by Leones »

Warriors wrote:I put a lot of Easter eggs in there for those who know of the past when I was with the other teams ;-D
Yep, those were fun! RIP indeed!
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Re: The Re-Introduction of .......

#6 Post by kiersteadmo »

I have been bugging the hell out of the wife about PEBA and telling her old stories and stuff. She is really good at art and I asked hee tonight at like 11:30pm in bed as she is feeding the baby about drawing a baseball player for a future article. I worked with Photoshop for the picture above for about an hour as I had not used it since I left PEBA :lol:
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