2038 All-Star Game

[Board of the PEBA]

The 2038 All-Star Game will be held as part of Thursday's (7/13) sim and we will have a live broadcast of the game in a special Slack All-Star channel – to then be transcribed here!! Be sure to get in there ahead of time (in case you need an invite) so you don’t miss the action. We will have a special 3:00pm PT cut-off for exports so that I can do all the grunt work of setting up the All-Star teams and do the broadcast. Game time is tentatively scheduled for 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET - but I'll begin when I've got it ready to roll. All-Star rosters will be announce Monday - post-sim.

Grab your tickets, your favorite Scottish lager (be it a Tennents or a Dark Island) and some Deep Fried Mars Bars! Our hosts for this year’s game, the Scottish Claymores, have The Castle’s hallways dusted up and one specific ghost hopefully shackled – hang out in the bleachers for work-out day batting practice or take a field trip to Alnwick Castle and learn how to fly a broomstick like Harry Potter.

[Board of the PEBA]

High above the city of Edinburgh, along the ramparts outside Edinburgh Castle - looking down on St. Giles Cathedral and the Royal Mile - with the Royal Family's home, Balmoral Castle in the distance. Scottish owner Brad Kern – not a Scotsman, was joined by Edinburgh leaders, Scottish GM Sean Bain and manager Sergio Manetti (also not a Scotsman), in welcoming fans to the 32nd PEBA All-Star Game! This year's game will be the first hosted by the Scottish, though the franchise were the hosts in Fushigi Yugi for the 2017 LRS All-Star Game, and is the 5th PEBA Midsummer Classic hosted by a Trans-Atlantic team club – London hosted the 2015 game (an IL 5-0 win, with Connecticut's Ronald Lowery the MVP); San Juan hosted the 2026 game (a SL 4-2 win in 10-innings, with Palm Springs Felipe Dias, the MVP); and Havana hosted twice - the 2033 game (a SL 12-6 win, with Okinawa's Francisco Fernandez, the MVP), and the 2035 game (an IL 8-6 win, with London's Juan Hernandez the MVP). All-Time, the Sovereign League holds a 17-14 as the SL has a two-game win streak and has won 7 of the past 9 games. This is the 7th time a former LRS club has hosted the PEBA All-Star Game (Shin Seiki in 2023, Toyama in 2025, San Juan in 2026, Neo-Tokyo in 2032, and Havana in 2033 and 2035).

Amongst the dignitaries who attended the opening festivities, was PEBA Commissioner ‘Harry’ Castle, London GM Evan Seary, and His Royal Highness, King William V. Social media was quickly ablaze with the question who required more security - the king or Seary and Bain? The front office rivalry between the two UK franchises has become legendary stuff. When asked by the press regarding his appearance in Edinburgh, Seary said "I'm here out of respect for the Commissioner, who invited me - I hate this filthy, smelly city - it just reeks all the time."

[Board of the PEBA]

The Planetary Extreme Baseball Alliance
Announces
2038 Sovereign League
All-Star Team

Manager: Manobu Nagumo – Toyama

Starters
C Claudio Perez, KAL
1B Dave Petersen, DUL
2B Yue-jiu ‘Eagle Eye’ Ts'ong, FAR
3B Bill Phillips, MAD
SS Pablo Ortiz, OKA
LF Ryo Takahashi, SS
CF Angel ‘Otter’ Silva, AUR
RF Juan Carlos ‘Megavolt’ Ornelza, KAL
DH Pablo ‘Mountain Man’ Garza, OKA
SP Jose Ojeda, REN


Subs
C Mauro Mata, BAK
1B Francisco Cabrera, TOY
INF Yoritomo Maeda, TOY
INF Jin-song Zambrano, NII
INF Ricardo Losa, REN
INF Henry Davis, DUL
OF Julio Velasquez, SS
OF Dan Bean, OKA
OF Jiro Murase, MAD
OF Rocky Kowalski, AUR
DH Tony Velazquez, PS
SP Alberto Flores, SS
SP Rene Padilla, KAL
SP Alfredo Vargas, TOY
SP Will Taylor, TEM
SP Sang-ton Kun, FAR
RP Shirai Mori, OKA
RP Shane Perales, TEM
RP Hector Gutierrez, AUR
RP Hideo Miura, TOY
RP Jim Williams, NT
RP Joe Hollins, YUM
RP Alejandro Rojas, CL

Pedro Rodriguez of Okinawa and Alfredo Torres of Reno were voted in, but are injured

[Board of the PEBA]

The Planetary Extreme Baseball Alliance
Announces
2038 Imperial League
All-Star Team

Manager: Salvador Gonzalez – West Virginia

Starters
C Iwao Yamamoto, AMS
1B Vito ‘Drang’ van Wondel, FLA
2B Michael ‘XXX’ Roberts, FLA
3B Pedro Macias, MAN
SS Ricardo ‘Ogre’ Mateo, HAV
LF Gordon ‘Strum’ Knoop, FLA
CF Zak Osmond, LON
RF Sandor ‘Pooky’ Vis, AMS
DH Tomas Martinez, NJ
SP Dong-hak ‘Entrop’ Yi, KTY

Subs
C Yoshiyuki Takahashi, ARL
1B Rock Nichols, LON
INF Joe Riley, NJ
INF Louis Kossan, KTY
INF Dave Pacheco, WV
INF Katsunan Ichihara, GLO
OF Pedro Bermudez, KTY
OF Zhao-dao Lew, WV
OF Felix Rodriguez, ARL
OF Bob Dodson, NO
DH Dan Gore, KTY
SP Aaron Goater, HAR
SP Thibaut Dejean, HAR
SP Andres Suarez,, SCO
SP Juan Rodriguez, SCO
SP Chris Brown, SA
RP Blaine Julien, ARL
RP Jorge Ruiz, LON
RP Kenji Honda, SCO
RP Manual Avila, HAR
RP Ryan Tate, SJ
RP Scott Courtier, NJ
RP Josh Vazquez, CST

Jose 'Smoke' Rios, of Florida, was elected, but is injured

[Borealis]

The long tradition of PEBA All-Star events including a regional sporting competition brought a new level of hilarity to the All-Star festivities, much as the frisbee golf, bull riding, deep sea fishing, and road bowling had in the past. This year in true Scottish fashion the PEBA held an Highland Games, which were held at Cowal Highland Gathering, where the Firth of Clyde meets Holy Loch in Dunoon. Though 2.5 hours outside of Edinburgh, the facilities can handle the masses expected, and special ferry services treated fans who choose that mode of transport with stunning views of the Scottish coastline.

Festivities began with a traditional Highland Fling Dance competition, which players were given a demonstration and then given the chance to show their styles. Some, like San Juan closer Ryan Tate appeared to have rhythm, while others - Hartford's Aaron Goater being the best example, stumbled throughout his effort, suggesting that some time doing yoga in the offseason might improve his balance - a shocking discovery for one of the bright pitching stars in the PEBA. It was Okinawa's Pablo Ortiz who brought the crowd to their feet in applause with a rousing performance of an Highland Reel, with surprising grace, leaping about the stage.

Of course no Scottish event would be complete without bagpipes, and often Highland games will have piping competitions, and the PEBA Games are no different. Aurora's Angel Silva struggled with figuring out how to hold one - much less play it. Claymore closer Kenji Honda - who should have no excuses after 8-seasons in Edinburgh, tried playing his pipe by blowing in one of the squeakers, and London's Zak Osmond had the crowd chanting 'Blow Harder' as he flailed in his efforts to get any air into his bag. It was New Orlean's Bob Dodson - confidently wearing a kilt, who mastered the bag pipe the best - managing a ragged 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' to take home the PEBA Games ribbon.

Haggis Hurling may have begun as a joke, but it has become a fan favorite event. Organizers invited Scottish-born and bred Lewis 'Haggis' Uige - a youth haggis hurling champ and Aurora reliever, to show the competitors how to do it. As the players lined up for their tosses, Ryosei Takahashi asked, "Is this really a thing? Tossing food?" and Uige replied "It's been an Olympic sport for generations!" With that, the Evas outfielder picked his up and hurled it 150' - flat footed, of course, but it landed with a splat - knocking Takahashi out of the competition. Some did not take the event seriously - such as the Florida pair of Vito van Wondel and Michael Roberts - with 'XXX" running a deep post pattern and van Wondel hitting Roberts in his hands - only for it to splatter all over Roberts - to the great displease of the Farstriders 2B -but to the great pleasure of the crowd. In the end, it came down to Louis Kossan - Kentucky's 2B, starring down the leading throw from a fellow infielder, Reno's Ricardo Losa. The Zephyrs' 3B - whose arm is probably better suited for the outfield, had his best throw land at 185', so when Kossan's throw landed at 192" the crowd went wild - until close inspection showed the smallest of splits in the casing - disqualifying the throw, giving Losa the Haggis Hurling title.

The center piece of any Highland Games is, of course, the Caber Toss. The competition used the smaller, lighter variety of caber - 16' and a 'trim' 85 lbs, so as one might expect, it was the muscle men of the PEBA who lined up to 'toss one up'. Needless to say, the first player to step up - with a world of expectations to live up to, was Pablo 'Mountain Man' Garza. Okinawa's brutish slugger - with 33 HR already, engaged in a classic Royal Raker Chase of Taste - power v. speed, with Aurora's Angel Silva, bent over and niftily swept up his caber and ran - all in one motion, as if he'd been doing it for years, and launched it in the air - high it went, straight up... and straight down, teetering before it fell back towards the Shisa star. Not to be outdone, Rocky Nichols stepped up for a try - as the crowd hissed, and jeered, and cat called 'wanker' - the Scottish fans making no bones about their feelings for the All-Stars from London. While Garza moved fluidly and quickly, Nichols' movements were deliberate and as he began to run it was slowly at first before reaching a crescendo of speed (as much a crescendo the plodding Nichols may have), then with a massive grunt he heaved the caber and it somersaulted in air, landed on end - but lacked the momentum to finish the flip, falling to the ground with a thud.

Next up was Bureaucrat closer Blaine Julian, whose moment in the sun came to an end all to quickly, as he lifted his caber and before he could control it, saw it crash behind him and nearly take out one of the judges! As was the case throughout the day, each player either failed to get it up, much less high enough for an effective throw - until the other Rocky, Aurora's Rocky Kowalski - the free agent signing who is having a banner year with the Borealis. He moved deliberately, lifting slowly, building up speed and with near perfect form, flipped his caber - which gracefully landed with enough momentum to turn over and earn the native of Toronto the first place ribbon.

There was a scary moment during the day's event, and it happened during the Sheaf Toss. West Virginia's Zhao-dao Lew, prepared for his throw his bag of straw, and with a heave got it six feet in the air, only to come crashing back to the ground, missing his head by inches. The startled Zhao leapt and hopped about in fear in front of the hushed crowd - while London's young, 23-year old reliever Jorge Ruiz stepped up and shouted - "Let me show you how to do it", grabbing the pitch fork, taking a couple of practice swings, and swung it high in the air and over the bar. He put his arms out wide to his side, pitch fork still in hand, and as the crowd booed loudly, he proceeded to drop the pitch fork and walk off the field, head held high!

The festivities finished with a tug of war between All-Stars from Sovereign League and Imperial League - and if you blinked, you would have missed it. The SL, with Bakerfield's Mauro Mata and Kalamazoo's Claudio Perez anchoring the back, and quick moving Julio Velasquez of Shin Seiki and Fargo's Yue-jiu Ts'ong up front, they caught the more balanced IL line-up by surprise and they could never recover. Florida's Gordon Knopp - who lost his balanced and pitch forward into the mud on the decisive pull, jumped up and began screaming about the SL side 'jumping the gun'. The judges would hear nothing about it and already had glasses of Scotch whiskey in hand.

As the fans slowly left western Scotland for their return trips to Edinburgh - those who took the special ferry service were treated to whiskey tastings, it was agreed by all that this was a special day in Scottish sporting history.

[Borealis]

The Office of the Commissioner and, Toyama and Sovereign League All-Star manager Manobu Nagumo, are pleased to introduce the starting line-up for tonight’s 2038 All-Star Game:

CF Angel 'Otter' Silva - AUR
DH Pablo ‘Mountain Man’ Garza - OKA
1B Dave Petersen - DUL
RF Juan Carlos ‘Megavolt’ Ornelza - KAL
SS Pablo Ortiz - OKA
C Claudio Perez - KAL
3B Bill Phillips - MAD
LF Ryo ‘Chifu’ Takahashi - SS
2B Yue-jiu ‘Eagle Eye’ Ts’ong - FAR

Tonight’s starting pitcher is Jose Ojeda of the Reno Zephyrs.

Jose Ojeda, originally an international free agent signed by Reno, is making his third consecutive All-Star appearance and currently is 7-5 with a 3.30 ERA over 17 GS. He was a Short A and AAA All-Star and currently is the SL reigning Golden Arm...
Aurora's young CF, 'Otter' is making his third consecutive appearance with a PEBA-leading .378 average and 60 SB... Pablo Garza, Okinawa’s star will take part in his sixth straight All-Star game, missing out last year with an injury. He is hitting .287 with 30 HR, leading the PEBA in HR and RBI… Dave Petersen, Duluth’s 39-year old 1B is riding a renaissance year – hitting .340, to his fifth All-Star appearance – the first three coming in the mid-2020’s… Juan Carlos Ornelza of Kalamazoo is making his third All-Star team and was the 2033 Royal Raker in the SL. He is hitting .307, with 26 HR… Pablo Ortiz, Okinawa’s fine shortstop is in his 6th All-Star game thanks to a .298 average, 22 HR and 36 SB first half of the year… Kalamazoo catcher Claudio Perez is appearing in his 3rd All-Star game in a row. He is hitting .281 and thrown out 33.3% of base stealers… Madison’s Bill Phillips will be appearing in his first All-Star game, hitting .296 – earning his first professional All-Star nod… ‘Chifu’ makes his first All-Star game and is hitting .297 with 17 HR. He was a 2-time minor league All-Star and twice a Platinum Bat in the minors... Yue-jiu Ts’ong, Fargo’s 2nd-year player will be on his first All-Star team, after being a RML All-Star last year. He’s hitting .278 with 31 SB in 34 attempts…

[Thoroughbreds]

Can't believe Ojeda is still only 23....

[Warriors]

Fans in Duluth are delighted that Dave Petersen was named as a starter in his fifth all-star game. After missing nearly the entire 2037 season nursing a ruptured medial collateral ligament, the 39 year old veteran has rebounded with an outstanding season performance to lead the Warriors.

[Borealis]

The Office of the Commissioner and, West Virginia and Imperial League All-Star manager Salvador Gonzalez, are pleased to introduce the starting line-up for tonight’s 2038 All-Star Game:

RF Sandor ‘Pooky’ Vis - AMS
2B Michael ‘XXX’ Roberts – FLA
1B Vito van ‘Drang’ Wondel – FLA
DH Tomas Martinez – NJ
SS Ricardo ‘Ogre’ Mateo - HAV
LF Gordon ‘Strum’ Knopp - FLA
C Iwao Yamamoto – AMS
3B Pedro Macias – MAN
CF Zak Osmond - LON

Tonight’s starting pitcher is Dong-hak ‘Entrop’ Yi of the Kentucky Thoroughbreds.

Dong-hak ‘Entrop’ Yi, in his fourth full season was a deadline pick up for Kentucky last summer and has had an amazing 1st half – 13-2, and a 2.06 ERA. He is making his first All-Star appearance… Sandor ‘Pooky’ Vis of Amsterdam is making his third All-Star appearance. He is hitting .341 – 2nd in the IL and his 45 SB are also second in the IL… Florida’s 2B, ‘XXX’ Roberts will be in his 5th All-Star game in as many seasons, but is having an off-year by his standards, hitting .292 with 46 SB… ‘Drang’ van Wondel surprisingly makes his 3rd All-Star team, after missing last year with injury with a .356 average and 20 HR… Tomas Martinez, the New Jersey Hitmen DH, is making his 6th All-Star game . The former-Royal Raker is hitting .273 with 22 HR and 64 RBI… 31-year old SS Ricardo Mateo of Havana will be making his ninth All-Star game – after his 8-straight starting streak was broken by Antonio Gallo last year. ‘Ogre’ is hitting .268… ‘Strum’ is participating in his sixth straight All-Star game as a 5-time Royal Raker, hitting .330 on the year… C Iwao Yamamoto is appearing in his second All-Star game and is hitting .278 and has nailed 24% of all base stealers… Mauler 3B Pedro Macias will be making his 2nd All-Star Game, getting the nod with a .308 average and 11 HR… Zak Osmond, London’s young outfielder, the 2037 Wunderkind and All-Leather in the IL, will be making his All-Star debut after a first half hitting .340 for the Underground…

[Board of the PEBA]

The 2038 PEBA Prospects game was played today and this game was over before it had much of a chance to get started. After Manchester’s Jose Martinez pitched a perfect top of the first, the IL sent 12-men to the plate in the bottom of the inning that included a Noel Dulihanty (LON) lead off homer and then a 3-run blast of Dulihanty’s bat - and for good measure Juan Borges (SJ) followed the second homer with a solo shot as the IL scored 9 R in the first, enroute to a 23 H barrage and a 16-2 win. Bakersfield’s Don Darragh was the unfortunate SL pitcher who allowed 7 R in 2/3 of an inning. Needless to say, Dulihanty, who was 3-3, scored 3 and had 4 RBI was the game’s MVP.

[Board of the PEBA]

The PEBA HR Challenge pitted some of the big names in the PEBA - starting with the first matchup, which saw ‘Mountain Man’. take on ‘Drang’ in the first round marquee match. Garza was up first and pounded 10 deep shots, while the FLA MAN, van Wondel struggled early - even popping up some balls, before getting in a groove and netting only 8… Also stroking 10 homers was London’s Big ‘Clogger’, who squared off with Fernando Valdez - Fargo’s star who has 26 on the year, and he took it to the last swing, topping Eremintani 11-10… Long-time SL foes - now on opposite sides - Tomas Martinez and Claudio Perez were in pair #3, and Martinez started strong, but faded to finish with 8. Perez took his time - taking fewer swings, but more consistent strokes, taking advantage of Martinez’ low total to sneak by, 9-8… The final pair saw Yuma’s Vincent Powell taking on Badger star Juan Carlos Ornelza - and it was Powell, in an upset, who had the high total of the first round, topping the Kalamazoo slugger 12-8….

Garza and Valdez looked like men possessed in round two - inspired by the efforts by Powell - Garza smashing 13 HR with his consistent swing, but it was Valdez who would swing quickly, encouraging his pitcher to move more quickly, winning 14-13… The other semi final was a snoozer by comparison, with Perez managing just 8 HR - but Powell, perhaps showing his age, looked worn out and could only manage 6…

That set up a final between Fernando Valdez of Fargo and Claudio Perez of Kalamazoo…

The All-Great Lakes final saw Valdez coming up short with many balls - and Claudio ended up much the same, but in the end it was the Badgers catcher who came through - 9-8, to take home the HR Challenge crown!!!

[Board of the PEBA]

The fans settled into their seats, haggis crisps and favorite beer in hand – in full throat as they collectively sang the Scottish Anthem – Flower of Scotland, followed by their favored ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie – interrupting the start of the Anthem of the United States – The Star Spangled Banner. Lastly God Save the King, the Anthem of the United Kingdom.

[Board of the PEBA]

Mike - Borealis
4:21 PM
The managers are at home plate… the player introductions have been made, and the anthems have been played - it’s time to play ball!!





4:22
The IL takes the field - with former-Eva and now Thoroughbred ace Dong-hak Yi taking the mound for warm-ups….
4:23
And the crowd erupts into a coordinated series of jeers as Zak Osmond - the London outfielder, takes his spot in the outfield - and the fans are throwing things on the field…
4:24
RATS!!! Plastic rats, 100's of plastic rats descending upon Osmond - that’s going to delay the start of the game…
4:25
And not a security guard in sight… One was even spied throwing a rat on the field…

Sean - Claymores
4:25 PM
rat (2 MB)
https://media0.giphy.com/media/3oEdv9pg ... d.gif&ct=g

Posted using /giphy | GIF by WNYC


Mike - Borealis
4:27 PM
Now that the field has cleared, we can begin the game. Yi is 14-2 with a 1.97 ERA and appears an early lock for the Golden Arm Award. It’s Aurora’s Royal Raker candidate, Angel ‘Otter’ Silva stepping up tp the plate…

1



Mike - Borealis
4:32 PM
He swings and misses at a 1-2 pitch to start the game…
Next up is ‘Mountain Man’ Garza - and he has something to prove after his poor showing in the HR Derby… He lines a 1-1 pitch up the middle for the first hit of the game…
Dave Petersen, the Duluth 1B and long-time Codger comes to the plate… BALK!! and Garza takes second… Petersen gets it to a 2-2 count before grounding it to Roberts, with Garza taking third…
Juan Carlos Ornelza has a chance to put the SL on the board early, but he looks at strike three, to end the inning…
After the top of the first…
SL - 0
IL - coming up…
4:34
Reno’s star pitcher, Jose Ojeda is on the mound, with a 3.63 ERA and a 7-5 record for the Zephyrs, and he’ll face ‘Pooky’ Vis to start things for the IL…
4:36
‘Pooky’ works the count to 2-2, then grounds one hard to third, Madison’s Bill Phillips scoops it up and fires to first - OUT!
’XXX” - Michael Roberts is next… Ojeda get’s him in a hole, 1-2… Robert’s swings - CRUSHED!!!
4:36
A 400' home run for the Florida 2B - and it’s the IL on the board first…
4:39
That brings up his teammate, Vito van Wondel… He, too, sees the count go to 1-2, then lashes it towards the hole at second, but Petersen niftily grabs it and races ‘Drang’ to the bag for the out…
Tomas Martinez hits a hard bouncer up the middle, but Okinawa’s ‘other’ Pablo is there to grab it and fire to first, to end the inning…
That’s a run for the IL… heading to the second…
SL - 0
IL - 1


Mike - Borealis
4:40 PM
Coming into pitch in the second is the Hartford Phenom - The Goat - Aaron Goater, and he’ll face Ortiz to start the second…


2 replies
Last reply today at 4:47 PMView thread


Jay - Farstriders
4:45 PM
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Mike - Borealis
4:46 PM
Ortiz swings at the first pitch and rolls it down the first base line - easy play for van Wondel for the first out…
The HR Champ is up next - Claudio Perez, Kalamazoo’s catcher… Perez works the count full, then swings and misses for the second out…
Bill Phillips is next, the Madison 3B… He, too makes Goater work for it - SMOKES a liner up the middle, but Goater SNARES it!! The DROPS it… it rolls away from him and Phillips is safe at first… and they are calling it a base hit, and rightfully so…
Ryo Takahashi, the Shin Seiki Eva outfielder looks a a ball, then with a big swing pops it high in the air, above 3rd, and Macias reels it in for the 3rd out…
Heading to the B2…
SL - 0
IL - 1
4:49
It’ll be Evas starter Alberto Flores coming on to pitch the second and he’ll face the ‘Ogre’ to start things off…
Havana’s long-time SS continues his All-Star legacy, WITH A BANG!!! Skying it high down the left field line - above the foul pole - but FAIR!!! a 370' home run - it’s now 2-0 IL…

2



Mike - Borealis
4:58 PM
Flores does not look happy as Gordon Knoop steps in… and Flores throws a ball in the dirt on a 3-1 pitch - Knoop is aboard with a walk…
Iwao Yamamoto, the Amsterdam Lion catcher is up and on the first pitch Knoop breaks for second - but Perez is quick with it - strong throw - OUT!!! What a throw, and a better tag by Yue-jiu Ts’ong - the Dinosaur 2B… Flores can be seen mouthing ‘Thank You’ to Claudio Perez…
After all that excitement, Iwao Pops up a 2-2 pitch that is corralled by Phillips as he nearly collides with Perez…
Manchester Mauler 3B Pedro Macias looks to reignite the rally - as the crowd’s voice rises in boos - and when he takes an inside pitch, with the count full as ball four - he has done just that…
The boos only intensify as Zak Osmond comes to the plate - the ump calling time as a rat finds it’s way onto the field, in front of home plate… Once play resumes, Osmond looks to impress the crowd with some wicked hacks - but the best he does is a lazy fly to left for the third out…
The IL get’s a second run… After two…
SL - 0
IL - 2
5:01
And those jeers become cheers, as the Scottish’s own, Andres Suarez comes on to pitch in the 3rd, with Ts’ong at the plate…
Suarez looks in and begins his windup - but the ump has called time as yet another rat has appeared in left field… and now it’s a fresh beer that has been hurled at Osmond - who is standing out there - hands out, asking what’s going on and what security is going to do about it…
5:02
Finally, after a line of police officers position themselves in the front row, forming a barricade much like they are used to doing for football matches, allowing Ts’ong to step in…
5:07
Suarez struggles to find his control, but manages to get Ts’ong to roll one to Mateo, and the sure handed, strong armed Leone fires it to first for the first out…
That brings us to the top of the order and the Borealis Man, Angel Silva… ‘Otter’ watches two strikes go by before he swings and lifts a shallow ball to center - and easy play for ‘Strum’ for the second out…
Pablo Garza is next… and he walks on four pitches…
Dave Petersen is up next, and with Garza going no where, Suarez works the count to 2-2, before getting the Duluth 1B looking at a fastball inside for the third out…
We move to the bottom of the third…
SL - 0
IL - 2
5:10
Tempe’s young arm, Will Taylor takes the mound and he’ll face the top of the IL order, and Sandor Vis…
Vis fouls off a number of pitches before taking a full count ball four to start the inning with a walk - definitely not what Taylor wanted to do…
And to add gasoline to the fire, Will Taylor misses badly on four-straight to Michael Roberts - and the IL is in business, 1st and 2nd and no outs…
5:11
Vito van Wondel takes a strike before he CRUSHES a ball to center - Silva races back… reaches up… AND MAKES THE CATCH… with ‘Pooky’ tagging and going to third - man, what a play by Silva - how did Vito not hit that one out??
5:14
Tomas Martinez is next, and with a ball, Roberts breaks for 2nd - and Perez, again, with the strong throw - nailing ‘XXX’ - and perhaps saving the inning for his pitcher…
But no - Martinez swings - it’s a deep liner to left-center - Silva races over and leaps - GONE!!! The ball started low and kept carrying up and over the wall - a 2-run homer and now it’s a 4-0 lead for the IL…

1

5:16
‘Ogre’ is next - and Taylor shows some composure, as he strikes out the Havana shortstop on three pitches…
But it’s the big blow by Tomas Martinez - and all three SL SP have allowed a home run…
Heading to the 4th…
SL - 0
IL - 4

2

1

2

5:18
Chris Brown comes on for the IL in the 4th. The San Antonio of Laredo Calzone is 5-8 with a 3.33 ERA and he’ll face ‘Megavolt’ - Juan Carlos Ornelza to start the fourth…


Mike - Borealis
5:24 PM
‘Megavolt’ get’s a pitch up on 1-1 and lines it to left-center, but Knoop catches up to it in front of the wall for out #1…
Pablo Ortiz is up next, and he’s swinging at the first pitch and SMASHES it down the line, past Macias - but it takes a hard bounce off the base of the stands and ricochets hard and right to Osmond who picks it up - rat free - and holds Ortiz to single; it was just hit too hard… while the crowd cheers sarcastically at the good play by the London Man…
Claudio Perez is up next, and after taking two balls, he starres at two strikes before swinging out of his shoes and lining one right at Osmond for the second out…
Bill Madison is next, and with the count 2-2, he swings and misses for strike three…
The SL had a hit! But we head to the B4…
SL - 0
IL - 4
5:26
Fargo vet Sang-ton Kun will come on - much to the pleasure of Will Taylor, and he’s greeted by the presence of Gordon Knoop in the box…
5:30
And for the second time in two ABs, Knoop walks…
Yamamoto is next… and with 2-strikes he hits a hard grounder to short, Ortiz dives, snatches it, but can’t get to his feet fast enough to make the play. That’ll be an infield single…
The IL is once again threatening as Pedro Macias comes to the plate… Macias lines it to left-center - it looks like trouble as the runners expect it to hit the gap…
5:31
Takahashi makes a one-handed catch - whirls and fires to second - Ts’ong with the catch - OUT!!! Ts’ong turns and he fires to first and Yamamoto is slow getting back to the bag - OUT!!!
5:32
THAT’S A TRIPLE PLAY!!!

3

3



Michael - Hitmen
5:32 PM
How about that Martinez? Having a royal raker type of season. Remember his name come voting time at year end!


Mike - Borealis
5:33 PM
WOW!!! and Kun get’s out of the inning in an unconventional manner!!!
We move on to the 5th, and the managers look like they are getting busy down in the dugouts…
SL - 0
IL - 4


Mike - Borealis
5:40 PM
Lots of changes for the IL in the top of the 5th - as the fans cheer the arrival of Claymore pitch Juan Rodriguez, but those cheers are tempered as many fans are booing the presence of Rocky Nichols, London’s 1B taking over on the infield - along with Kentucky’s Louis Kossan at 2B, Dave Pacheco, the Allegheny SS, Bob Dodson of the Trendsetters at 3rd, West Virgnia outfielder Zhao-dao Lew in RF and Kentucky’s Dan Gore in RF…
5:41
And now the rats are coming from behind first base as the security detail rushes over to prevent further delays…

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Sean - Claymores
5:45 PM
rat (563 kB)
https://media4.giphy.com/media/i0RmgkrZ ... y.gif&ct=g

Posted using /giphy | GIF by GIPHY News
5:48
rats (1 MB)
https://media3.giphy.com/media/lwNTZQcy ... d.gif&ct=g

Posted using /giphy | GIF by GIPHY News


Mike - Borealis
5:48 PM
With everything secure, it’s Ryo Takahashi at the plate to face Rodriguez… Ryo makes Rodriguez work - getting the count full, before he rolls one to Kossan who smoothly makes the play for the first out…
Yue-jiu Ts’ong may have been involved in a number of excellent plays - including the triple play, but he strikes out swinging for the second out of the inning…
That brings us to the top of the order and Angel Silva - probably his last action of the game… Rodriguez tries to sneak a fastball past him on the inside corner, but misses for ball for and ‘Otter’ walks…
With Garza up, Silva breaks on a 3-1 pitch - Rodriguez didn’t even glance to first, and Angel has second stolen easily…
Garza swings at a full count pitch and lines it - a looping drive down the left field line, but Osmund makes a shoestring catch just heading into foul territory for the final out…
On to B5…
SL - 0
IL - 4
5:53
It’s wholesale changes for the SL in the 5th - with Badgers pitcher Rene Padilla coming on to pitch, with Toyama 1B Francisco Cabrera, 2B Henry Davis of Duluth, the Ghosts Jin-song Zambrano at short, Wind Dancer Yorimoto Maeda at 3rd, Rocky Kowalski of Aurora in left, Malt CF Jiro Murase in center and Shia outfielder Dan Bean in right…
5:55
Zak Osmond - for what surely will be the last time, comes to the plate with louder boos than earlier in the night… and Zak wastes no time - DEEP!!! LONG!!! UP WITH THE GARGOYLES!!! Zak Osmond crushes it into left center…

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5:55
AND…
5:55
The Scottish crowd boos LOUDER!!!!

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5:57
And with that, Zak Osmond comes out of the dugout for a curtain call and he… curtsies to the crowd - and the hometown crowd goes insane - with chants of ‘Wanker’ breaking out all around The Castle… now it’s 5-0…

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6:00
With Osmond back in the dugout - and no doubt into the locker room for a stiff whiskey, Zhao-dao Lew is up… Padilla takes a deep breath and delivers a 1-1 pitch that Lew lines to the opposite field, down the left field line and races into second with a double…
That brings up Rocky Nichols and the incensed Scottish fans - who by now would likely fail a sobriety test - turn their attention to the other Underground player…

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6:04
Padilla throws a 2-2 back-door slider that catches Nichols by surprise for the first out…
Next up is ‘Jim 7’, the former-Trendsetter infielder who signed with the T-breds during the offseason… He lifts a lazy ball into right for the second out…
Next up is Tomas Martinez, and like Kossan, swings at the first pitch and bounces it to 2B, Davis gathers it in and throws to first, to end the inning…
On to the 6th…
SL - 0
IL - 5
6:08
It’s the top of the 6th and the most vocal and raucous crowd in All-Star history is cheering again as their own Thibaut DeJean comes on to pitch and he’ll face Toyama’s Francisco Cabrera to start things off as the SL looks to get something happening…
6:12
Cabrera swings at the first pitch and grounds it to Dodson, who makes the easy play to first…
Dan Bean, the Okinawa outfielder swings at a 0-1 pitch and LINES it to the gap in left… but Osmond makes the play…
That brings up Ghost SS Jin Zambrano… and Jin grounds it up the middle towards second, but Kossan ranges to his right and grabs it, sets and fires to first - OUT!!!
We head to the bottom of the 6th and the SL has just 2 hits…
SL - 0
IL - 5

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6:14
Don’t look now, Folks - there’s a Yuman Being on the mound, and he goes by the name Joe Hollins - who is 1-5 despite a 3.15 ERA, and he’ll face first Dave Pacheco of West Virginia…


Michael - Hitmen
6:14 PM
2 hits, that’s impressive
6:15
IL rules!


Mike - Borealis
6:18 PM
Pacheco pulls a 1-0 pitch softly down the line - with Bean gliding in for the easy catch…
Dan Gore swings at the first pitch and loops it behind 2B - and there is Bean again, as he jogs in and makes the catch…
Arlington’s Yoshiyuki Takahashi is up next, and he swings at a 1-0 pitch and grounds it to second, where Henry Davis makes an easy play…
That’s a 5-pitch inning for the Yuma pitcher! Time is getting short for the SL as we move into the 7th…
SL - 0
IL - 5
6:20
Charleston reliever Josh Vazquez comes on for the 7th and he’ll face Bakersfield Bear catcher Mauro Mata…
6:24
Mata is down 1-2 and swings and misses at strike three - as Vazquez comes off the mound and struts around to the back of the mound - much to the delight of the Scottish fans…
That brings up Yoritomo Maeda, the Wind Dancer 3B… and Vazquez makes quick order of him - three pitches, three swing and misses…
That brings up Rocky Kowalski, the free agent signee who seems to have made a world of difference in the Aurora lineup… Vazquez serves up a 2-2 pitch… Rocky swings… he hits it HIGH…
6:25
He hits it DEEP… HE HITS IT OUTTA HERE!!!
6:26
Rocky Kowalski, breaks up the shut out with a 396' home run to just left of center - the SL is on the board and it’s 5-1…
6:27
And here comes the West Virginia manager, and he’s going to make a change… It’s New Jersey’s Scott Courtier coming in to try and keep it to just a run…
6:28
Henry Davis is at the plate to greet him… But Davis lifts a lazy fly to left for the final out of the inning…
But the SL avoids the shut out thanks to Kowalski…
SL - 1
IL - 5
6:28
Time for the 7th inning stretch…

1

6:28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afF1JBPli8w

YouTubeYouTube | SPRBagpiper
Take Me Out To The Ball Game (bagpipes)

6:30
Neo-Tokyo reliever Jim Williams will come on for the SL and he’ll face New Orleans 3B Bob Dodson…
6:35
Dodson checks his swing on a 1-2 pitch, but the 3rd base ump calls it a swing - that’s one down…
Next is Kentucky outfielder Pedro Bermudez… he gets a 2-2 pitch and he YANKS it down the left field line - no one is going to get it - GONE!!! Bermudez gets that run back - and it’s now 6-1 - that was a laser!!
Zhao Lew swings at a full count pitch that is out of the strike zone and lifts it to Jiro Murase in center, who hauls it in…
And here comes the Toyama manager and he’s looking to make a change… and he’s bringing in his own man - Hideo Miura…
6:39
Miura will face Rocky Nichols, looking to end the 7th… AND NICHOLS GOES YARD AS THE SCOTTISH FANS LOSE THEIR S**T!!! 7-1…

2

6:39
That’s two HR for the Underground at The Castle!!!


Evan - Underground
6:40 PM
Only Dingers


Mike - Borealis
6:40 PM
That is the 6th home run of the game for the IL - gotta be a record - and 7 in the game…


Sean - Claymores
6:41 PM
Who knew there were that many rat toys in Scotland. (edited)


Evan - Underground
6:41 PM
image.png

image.png


Mike - Borealis
6:41 PM
Miura - looking distracted by the noise going on in the stadium - Nichols at the top of the dugout steps, egging the fans on - walks Kossan on four pitches…


Sean - Claymores
6:42 PM
Winning is winning…


Mike - Borealis
6:43 PM
Katsunan Ichihara comes up in place of Tomas Martinez… and he lines a single to center - with Kossan racing around to 3rd…


Evan - Underground
6:43 PM
On that we can agree


Mike - Borealis
6:44 PM
Dave Pacheco, looking to join the party crushes a 1-0 pitch - but right to Davis at 2nd - to end the inning…
But the hits and runs keep on coming for the IL… On to the 8th…
SL - 1
IL - 7

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6:46
It’s time for more Scottish cheers as Kenji Honda comes on to face Jiro Murase, Madison’s outfielder…


Evan - Underground
6:47 PM
C'mon Kenji, show him the V-TEC!

2

1



Mike - Borealis
6:47 PM
Murase swings at a 1-0 pitch and grounds it to Nichols, who flips it to Honda covering, and that’s a London to Scottish put out!

1

6:48
And now it’s a nice moment as the manager is coming out to get Honda and the crowd gets to it’s feet to cheer their home town hero as Ryan Tate comes in from the bullpen…
6:49
Tate, a 2nd time All-Star - previously for Aurora, now doing stellar work in the San Juan ‘pen… and it’s Palm Springs’ Tony Velazquez due up…
6:51
Velazquez swings at the first pitch and lines it to Gore in center for the 2nd out…
That brings up Francisco Cabrera… and on a 1-1 pitch the Toyama first baseman fists the ball up the middle for a base hit… bigger rallies have started with less…
6:52
But Dan Bean lines one down the left field line and it’s gobbled up by Bermudez to end the inning…
One last chance for the SL as we head to the bottom of the 8th…
SL - 1
IL - 7


Michael - Hitmen
6:56 PM
IL rules, IL rules!

3



Mike - Borealis
6:56 PM
Tempe’s Shane Perales comes in to start the 8th, and he’ll face Dan Gore… and he walks Gore on a 3-1 count…
Arlington’s catcher Takahashi is up next… and he goes out of the strike zone for a swinging strike three…
6:58
It was supposed to be Bob Dodson, but here comes Joe Riley to pinch hit and likely stay in at 3rd…
6:58
And on a 3-2 pitch, Perales walks Riley… (edited)
7:00
Pedro Bermudez is next and he taps one to the left of the mound - Perales pounces on it, whirls and throws to second - just in time, with Gore moving over to third… (edited)
7:00
Out comes the Manager and it’s Alejandro Rojas of Crystal Lake coming in now for the SL…
7:01
Zhao Lew is the first batter for Rojas as he looks to keep the deficit at 6…
7:03
And he walks Lew… That brings up Nichols…
Rocky rolls it to third - and easy throw for Maeda and the inning is over…
7:03
And… For the first time, the Scottish fans are cheering a London player!!
7:04
Last chance for the SL…
SL - 1
IL - 7
7:05
It will be Arlington’s Blaine Julian coming in to start the 9th… and he’ll face Zambrano to start things off…
7:07
Zambrano swings throw a nasty curve for strike three…
Mauro Mata is up next… and Mata drives one over Gores head in center - but he races back and MAKES THE CATCH!! 2 down…
Up now, pinch hitting for Maeda is Reno 3B Ricardo Losa…
7:08
Losa looks at two strikes then loops one to left… Bermudez races in… and he has it!
The IL wins the game - 7-1!!

2

7:09
It’s 7-runs on 9-hits and no errors for the IL, 1-run, 4-hits and no errors for the SL…


Michael - Hitmen
7:09 PM
Yay! Go IL!
7:10
Thanks again Mike for another great and engaging All Star game!

1



Mike - Borealis
7:10 PM
The winning pitcher is The Goat and the losing pitcher is Reno’s Jose Ojeda.
7:11
There were home runs by Roberts, Mateo, Martinez, Osmond, Bermudez and Nichols for the IL and Kowalski for the SL…
7:12
The MVP goes to Michael Roberts, for his homer in the first that gave the IL a lead they never surrendered.
7:13
The win snaps a 2-game losing streak for the IL and closes the gap all-time - with the SL having won 17 games and the IL now with 15…

3

7:15
As the fans file out of The Castle, a lone piper stands on the mound and plays a Lament for a Friend…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FRfLspEyh4

YouTubeYouTube | bloodybill44
Bagpipe lament for a friend



Evan - Underground
7:17 PM
Awesome job Mike, thanks!

4