The Antarctic Baseball League

[jasg224]

The Plateau Division


Image from Wikimedia

The division is named after the large expanse of flat ice in Antarctica. It includes all teams that couldn't be included in the other divisions.



Lower probabilities of snow and a large expanse of ice means the coldest winds make the harshest conditions in the league.

Casey Huskies

Originally the Washington Huskies logo

Another Australian team, they are named after the dogs that were invaluable for the exploration of Antarctica. The team plays in Wilkes Park, and is owned by British-born Australian Douglas Mawson. Mawson is a very understanding, generous owner who expects the team to play close to .500 ball this year. They are still looking for a manager to make the trip to the south pole.

Starters - League Ranking - Notes
C Ramón Añez - 19th - The Venezuelan catcher is in his prime. Unfortunately for him, his prime is not all that good. Añez struggles with the bat and is an average catcher, though his strong arm makes him the starter here.
1B Wei-Liang Du - 7th - Du puts the ball in play and rarely strikes out, making him an above average hitter. Being used to play 3B, he should make a great defender at first.
2B Kazumi Sato - 18th - Sato is all eye and no swing, which makes his range and arm all that more important. He's not that agile, which would make him better suited as a corner IF.
3B Carlos Dorador - 7th - Just 25, Dorador is above average all around which is not bad. He's good enough to have a long career as a starter.
SS Ryan Engler - 12th - Engler can't hit at this level, but his defense is immaculate and he could be capable of playing a good OF.
LF Drew Lewis - 12th - The Australian is a battler at the plate, along with average defense make him a starter in this league.
CF Sipho Dlamini - 1st - An above average bat with blazing speed and near-perfect defense make "Chippa" the best centerfielder in the league, but will the manager be able to keep his ego in check?
RF Mario Castillo - 10th - Just a tick below the average, Castillo makes no errors on the balls he gets to.
SP Edward Shaw - 14th - The Connecticut native has great control over a range of 94 mph fastballs, though it's not hard to connect on his pitches.
CL Leo Wong - 20th - "Just" 87 mph on a blend of 5 pitches make Wong easy to hit off, and none of his pitches break enough to get swings and misses.

The Huskies have several holes they might want to plug before they compete for the division. It's all up to whoever ends up as the manager.

Amundsen-Scott Explorers

Image generated with AI

Located in the geographic South Pole, the USA's Amundsen-Scott base operates year-round at almost 3 km of altitude. The Explorers are owned by the demanding Richard Byrd, who expects a winning record this year. The club is managed by Isaiah Davis.

Starters - League Ranking - Notes
C Oliver Bennett - 6th - The Australian is an average hitter, but adding that to plus catching skills make him one of the best in the league.
1B Bortolo Cecchetto - 17th - Terrible defense brings down what is an average hitter's skillset. The Venetian is just 23 though and could still improve.
2B Xiang Rui - 6th - "Big X" is a good hitter and an even better defender, but his ego needs to be kept at bay for the good of the team.
3B Matt Gonzalez - 3rd - The veteran from Inglewood might be slightly overrated, but he's still an above average player who could start in all teams.
SS Brent Johnson - 20th - The 17 year old has a long way to go before he becomes one of the best in the league. His speed and defense are ready for this level.
LF Jun-Young Kim - 3rd - Kim is a powerful presence at the plate, hitting it far when he puts it in play. His defense is pretty good though his arm lets him down.
CF Matt Ferrante - 13th - An average hitter, speedy, and a great defender. Ferrante is a low-key player who probably deserves more respect.
RF Håvard Abrahamsen - 9th - The Norwegian is a pretty good defender, but just average at everything else, making him a good starter in the league.
SP Hiroshi Takahashi - 9th - Not the hardest thrower, but immaculate control and good movement on his curve, change and sinker make him a very good starter.
CL Bhavyesh Malik - 11th - Great control though he only throws a plus curveball to go along a below average fastball.

The Explorers have one of the best rosters, which make them candidates to win their tough divison.

Qinling Dragons

Logo created by 20_range

The only Chinese team in the league, they are based out of Qinling Station and Inexpressible Stadium. The club is owned by the demanding Guo Kun, who expects a profit out of doing all this. He expects Jared Paradis and the squad to play at the .500 level this year.

Starters - League Ranking - Notes
C Omar Moreno - 12th - A fragile Chilean, Moreno is actually a pretty alright hitter. His defense is great, particularly in the framing department.
1B Raúl Gómez - 13th - Another Chilean, Gómez is just average and should have 1-2 good years left in the tank.
2B Alberto Álvarez - 10th - Alberto is a great defender, capable of turning even the toughest of double plays. His bat is average at best.
3B Shoichi Arita - 14th - An average bat barely makes up for an error-prone defense.
SS Walter Sanchez - 1st - "Bullets" is one of the best hitters around, with an eye that surpasses the usual limits. His defense is plus-plus, with a strong arm the best of his ratings.
LF Alexis Marquez - 7th - Just 24, Marquez is a good teammate and a good ballplayer. Expect modest but consistent performances.
CF Wilfredo Flores - 10th - Flores is good at putting the ball into the gaps, making full use of his speed. His speed makes him a rangy defender, though he's average at everything else.
RF Omar Lopez - 6th - Lopez puts the ball in play more often than not and rarely strikes out. His outfield throws make the highlight reels as often as his errors make the blooper ones.
SP Orlando Farias - 10th - A young Argentinian leads the rotation for the Dragons with great control on an assortment of fastballs he can throw in the mid 90s. He has the talent, but does he have the physicallity and mentality to go deep into games?
CL Hikaru Oshima - 18th - Oshima's pitches are not good enough for this level, and throwing slow aids his control but makes it easy to get hits.

The Dragons have a somewhat balanced roster with enough talent to make a run for the division title.

Concordia Meteors

Logo originally from Team Meteor esports

The French-Italian base Concordia is home to the Meteors, playing in Dome C Park. The club is owned by Jean Vernin, who's not liked by the fans, management or players due to his demanding and penny-pinching antics in order to squeeze as much profit as he can from the club. He expects manager Nate Smith to end up around the .500 mark.

Starters - League Ranking - Notes
C José Capellán - 13th - Average but hard-working, the Dominican is good enough to start regularly.
1B Jake Strickland - 20th - Would make a better DH, though his bat is around league average.
2B Ramón Ramírez - 8th - All around above average, he rarely makes fielding errors.
3B Nate Rojas - 19th - Below average hitter, good defender, specially in the arm department.
SS Salvo Palmieri - 6th - Palmieri continues the trend of the league having excellent defensive shortstops, which helps him as his bat looks just around average.
LF Humberto Vera - 8th - The Chilean gets on base, he should also hit a decent number of homers. Not the most rangy left fielder.
CF César Quintero - 4th - Not the greatest contact hitter, but he uses great speed and baserunning instincts to get the extra base. He also goes hard with the glove, putting full effort into making every play.
RF Matt Young - 15th - His strong throwing arm doesn't translate well into his hitting power, besides, he also struggles with putting the ball into play.
SP Marcel Dupont - 15th - The French pitcher will have to justify his big contract, and it looks like he will, with a little help from his defense. Not a lot of swings and misses in his 5 pitch repertoire, but plus control and plus movement will draw a lot of weak contact.
CL Erik Johansen - 1st - The best closer in the game draws a lot of groundballs with amazing control over his slider and sinker, wich also get plenty of awkward swings.

Despite a few glaring holes, the Meteors have one of the best lineups in the league. Should they score consistently, they'll have no trouble competing for the division title.

Showa Samurai

Logo created by 20_range

The Showa or Syowa Station is the only Japanese station participating in the league. The club is owned by Takesi Nagata, who's understanding, charitable and balances the sporting achievements with profit. He's expecting the team, managed by Kelly Schneekloth, to achieve a winning record.

Starters - League Ranking - Notes
C Matt Guerrero - 14th - Guerrero is a fantastic catcher, blocking, framing and throwing. It's too bad he can't hit.
1B Nikolai Kapitanov - 18th - The 41 year old former second baseman still has some left in the tank, at least he must have, since his contract has two years left on it.
2B Kyle Meakin - 12th - Meakin strikes out a lot, but makes up for it with nice power and exemplary patience at the plate, which seems like a contradiction. He rarely makes errors with the glove, though there is something to be said about his off-field demeanor...
3B Fabien Renard - 5th - Renard is a solid third baseman, dedicated and passionate, and should make a decent career in Antarctica.
SS Giorgino Fei - 4th - Fei is a good hitter and a reliable defender, making him a very popular player!
LF Hai Bai - 4th - The Chinese LF is a great hitter with good patience. He's just good enough fielding to avoid DH duties.
CF Álvaro Ayala - 8th - An aggressive hitter, very hit-or-miss. Speedy, not afraid to get dirty both running and fielding.
RF Lemuel Green - 8th - Another player who's just sort of average, but not in a bad way, Green makes some fielding errors but at least he makes the effort to get to every ball.
SP Dong-won Park - 7th - Park throws a mid 70s changeup with amazing precision. His pitches tumble with the Antarctic wind, making it easy for fielders to get to the resulting groundballs.
CL Shen Da - 12th - His best pitch is a cutter, which he throws accurately at 94 mph. Average everywhere else.

The Samurai have a great squad, and they might even compete for the Antarctic Championship!
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That's the field set! Let's play ball in the snow!

[Hageneezz]

This is awesome!

Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-A346E met Tapatalk

[jasg224]

Antarctic October Training



Bogdashka stood in the box, bat up, ready for Farias' pitch. The Russian hitter was expecting a sinking fastball, low 90s. The Argentinian pitcher was leaning over, looking at where the catcher was patting himself. Of course, wearing mittens made it impossible to relay signs the usual way. Orlando Farías kicked back, with Bogdashka Goldobenko tightening his body in anticipation. The pitcher slung his arm as hard as the bulky winter clothing he was wearing would let him, with Omar Moreno receiving the ball with a satisfying pop. "Strike one!" The Antarctic Baseball League was officially underway, with the first pitch of October Training being a called strike.

The Qinling team had arrived by boat three hours before the game was set to begin. It was then that the players were called into the locker room from the common area on Davis Station. Bogdashka took his glove, specially made to fit a hand wearing inner gloves and mittens, and sat in front of the locker that held all his gear. He started getting ready. He was already wearing thick wool undergarments, a wool sweater and insulated pants, standard for anyone staying in Antarctica, even when inside. He added his parka, with a large #13 and GOLDOBENKO sown into the back, and a penguin wearing a baseball cap on the front left chest. He put on his third pants and swapped his comfortable boots for the special made cleats. They looked like boots, they were lined with fur on the inside, with the outside tough leather. Hard steel spikes allowed them to trot, some might say run, in the snow with little risk of injury or slipping. He put on his balaclava, wool beanie (also featuring a penguin), mittens, anti-glare goggles and headed off into the field.

If you could even call it a field. There was of course no grass, just a flat enough space with 3 bright orange bases set 90 feet apart from each other. Most snow had been removed in preparation to the game, and it was a blessing there was no wind on this cloudy September day. Bright orange flags marked important spots: the pitcher's mound, and where foul ground began, with them being set every 50 feet. There was no outfield wall, but hardly anyone was strong enough to hit it that far, while wearing all this gear. The baseball was also heavier, a bright orange rubber monster that seemed to have a life of its own when it was windy outside. It had no seams, but these pitchers still found ways to make it move in certain ways with its spin and the cold wind. Baseball in Antarctica is truly an odd sight!

9 innings and 9 runs later, the Davis Emperors beat the Qinling Dragons 5-4 in the first October Training game. Elsewhere, all other teams began their action as well, beginning a 30-game preseason. Here are the results:



Top Hitters
CF Sipho Dlamini - Casey - 19-56, 4 2B, 6 HR, 10 RBI, 1 SB
3B Huang Lian - Qinling - 16-53, 3 2B, 5 HR, 9 RBI
1B Fabien Renard - Showa - 21-69, 2 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 16 RBI
LF Chi-ju Yun - Rothera - 20-63, 2 2B, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 9 SB
CF Humberto Olivares - Scott - 23-85, 4 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 7 SB

Top Pitchers
RH Nicolas Bocquet - Qinling - 25 IP, 1 ER, 14 HA, 8 BB, 7 K
RH Salvador Meneses - Carlini - 24.1 IP, 2 ER, 13 HA, 6 BB, 15 K
RH Rogelio Baza - Scott - 23.1 IP, 1 ER, 11 HA, 11 BB, 18 K
RH Marcel Dupont - Concordia - 23.2 IP, 1 ER, 10 HA, 3 BB, 15 K
RH Waldo Fleming - Davis - 24 IP, 1 ER, 19 HA, 6 BB, 16 K

And here are what the experts predict for the Antarctic Baseball League's maiden season:



It looks like we're in from some excitingly close fights for the Ross, Weddell and Plateau divisions. The Krakens are projected to be the best team in the league, or is it just their weak division? This and more as we head into Opening Day!

[jasg224]

November 1961

Image from: Gary Danvers Collection on Flickr

Crystal clear water, a long beach with yellow sand and a cold beverage in your hand. That's probably a common sight in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, where 22 year old Wilfredo Flores was born. Baseball is popular in Puerto Rico, but professional opportunities in the sport are found far from this tropical paradise. At Scott Base we have quite the opposite of a tropical paradise in fact, Wilfredo Flores has 4 layers of clothing on and his 2 pairs of gloves give him an awkward grip of the bat. Standing on the mound is another 22 year old, Oscar Herrera. Herrera is from a place that's 5,000 kilometers closer to Antarctica than Vega Baja, but not any colder. Tucumán is the biggest city in the Argentinian north, with a metro population of 830 thousand people (which also makes it almost 10x bigger than Vega Baja). The city is the capital of a province with the same name, and its climate has been classified as humid subtropical, with daily averages around 23° C this time of year. Herrera is also clad in 4 layers of clothing, with a baseball glove on top of a mitten on his left hand. His right hand holds the bright orange baseball. Oscar chose to wear inner gloves and wool-lined outer gloves that allow him to have somewhat of a grip on the baseball. It's -17° C out here and the wind is blowing at 43 km/h, Herrera kicks back and deals, Flores swings as hard as he can and the crack of the bat makes the 45 people sitting around the field cheer. A flash of orange headed towards 3B Galtero Carta loses its speed as it bounces in the snow three times, Carta easily gets to it and slings it over to first base for the first out of the inaugural Antarctic Baseball League season!


(OOTP presents weather in Fahrenheit)

ABL "Firsts":
First hit: SS Walter Sanchez, double on a line drive to LF (Qinling, vs Scott)
First double: SS Walter Sanchez
First triple: RF Jun-young Kim, on a hit to left-center (Amundsen-Scott, vs SANAE IV)
First homer: 1B Gareth Ising, 413ft bomb to right-center off Hiroshi Takahashi (SANAE IV, vs Amundsen-Scott)
First stolen base: CF Matt Ferrante (Amundsen-Scott, vs SANAE IV)
First Win: Concordia Meteors 1-0 Rothera Orcas
First Winning Pitcher: RHP Marcel Dupont - 7 IP, 4 HA, 0 ER, 3 K (Concordia, vs Rothera)
First Losing Pitcher: LHP Ramil Safin - 7 IP, 9 HA, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (Rothera, vs Concordia)
First Save: LHP Erik Johansen (Concordia, vs Rothera)

Standings


Remarkable Games
- 23 year old RHP Hiroshi Takahashi no-hits the Scott Kiwis in -30°C weather, his line: 9 IP, 0 HA, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. It is the first no-hitter in ABL history!
- Between Opening Day and November 14th, Davis DH Ryan Black hits safely in 12 consecutive games. He is then sat in favor of Mike Fidler/Dwaine O'Rourke and goes hitless in his return on November 29.
- Escudero C Arnaldo Mariano was as hot as you can get from November 24 to the 27th, collecting hits in 7 consecutive at-bats. His streak began in the bottom of the 8th against the Auroras, when he hit a single (and was then caught stealing, Mariano went 3-4 that game). He then had a hit in all of 4 his at-bats against SANAE IV on the 26th, including his second homer of the season to lead off the 5th. On the 27th, Arnaldo singled in the 1st, had another RBI single in the 3rd and finally had his streak snapped in the 5th after flying out to center.
- Escudero CF Manuel Díaz steals 8 from 8 between November 10th and the 22nd before finally being caught by Novolazarevskaya's Ernesto Saavedra.

- In more unfortunate news, a pair of pitchers were forced to retire before their career even began. Novolazarevskaya's RHP Javier Dávalos and Qinling's LHP David Rodríguez were both forced to retire following rupturing their UCLs within 12 days of each other. Neither of them threw an official pitch, but they did participate in "Spring" training.

Award Races
Roald Amundsen Award (MVP - Named after the Norwegian explorer who led the first expedition to reach the south pole)
RHP Enrique Molina - Davis - 6-0, 47.1 IP, 0.76 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 20 K, 13 BB
RHP Oscar Herrera - Scott - 2-2, 44 IP, 1.02 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, 23 K, 10 BB
LHP Mark DeVault - Esperanza - 3-0, 43 IP, 1.05 ERA, 0.58 WHIP, 17 K, 6 BB
RHP Yin-ti Weng - Dumont d'Urville - 3-1, 41 IP, 0.88 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 19 K, 16 BB
RHP Luis Rodríguez - Casey - 1-0, 32.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 19 K, 10 BB

Ernest Shackleton Award (Best Hitter - Named after the British explorer who led 3 expeditions to Antarctica and is a "role model for leadership in extreme circumstances" according to Wikipedia)
1B Adrisa Sasi - Escudero - .353/.461/.541, 7 2B, 3 HR, 12 RBI
RF Jun-young Kim - Amundsen-Scott - .228/.357/.557, 6 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 14 RBI
LF Håvard Abrahamsen - Amundsen-Scott - .230/.374/.527, 5 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 11 RBI
C Arnaldo Mariano - Escudero - .351/.393/.494, 5 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI
CF Christian Alexandre - Troll - .284/.360/.473, 1 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 8 RBI

[RainWolf]

Hi! I found a thread on the forum with the Winter League you created in 2020. Do you still have it? I need more real teams for my super league in the Last Survivor project and you would help me a lot.

[Antonin]

This is a fascinating idea! I had to smile when you wrote "attendances will be low." Are any game settings modified because of weather conditions?

I have a long-running league that exists in the opposite climate extreme: it's based in the Sahel, a region in Africa that is mostly desert.

[jasg224]

Originally Posted by Antonin

This is a fascinating idea! I had to smile when you wrote "attendances will be low." Are any game settings modified because of weather conditions?

I have a long-running league that exists in the opposite climate extreme: it's based in the Sahel, a region in Africa that is mostly desert.

Thanks for following along! I've modified the weather in the stadiums of course, for example they were playing at 1 degree Fahrenheit on Opening Day. I've also messed around with player creation and league totals. For players, I've reduced pitching stuff because how are you going to throw a 92mph slider with nasty movement while wearing like 3 coats and that. I've also pretty much killed power, increased patience and increased fielding errors. In summary, it should be a less offensive league but also with a lot of balls in play.


The Sahel league sounds interesting as well, how'd you edit your game settings?

[Antonin]

Originally Posted by jasg224

...The Sahel league sounds interesting as well, how'd you edit your game settings?

I didn't edit any game settings. I just don't know enough about the nuts and bolts of OOTP to be confident doing that, even though I have played the game for many, many years. Or maybe I'm too lazy to dive into it.

I think I changed the season start date to correspond to the least hot part of the Sahel year, but I don't remember.

[jasg224]

December 1961


Icebreakers!
- Playing at -8°C, Mark DeVault no-hits the Davis Emperors! The Delfines pitcher walked 4 and struck out 3 in the complete game. It's the second no-no in league history, the first one for a left handed pitcher as well as for the Esperanza club.
- On the 14th, the Showa Samurai end Kiwis 1B Alfredo Rosado's hitting streak after 15 games. In that stretch, Rosado went 22-59 (.373) with 3 doubles, a homer and 8 RBI.
- Following the no-hitter, DeVault goes 5.2 hitless in his next start for a total of 14.2 consecutive hitless innings.

Award Races
Roald Amundsen Award
LHP Mark DeVault - Esperanza - 6-1, 84.1 IP, 0.75 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 36 K, 21 BB, 3.6 WPA
LHP Viktor Petrov - SANAE IV - 5-5, 101.1 IP, 1.15 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 45 K, 21 BB, 3.5 WPA
RHP Enrique Molina - Davis - 8-1, 88.2 IP, 1.12 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 36 K, 29 BB, 3.4 WPA
RHP Luis Rodríguez - Casey - 5-1, 73 IP, 0.37 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 30 K, 26 BB, 3.3 WPA
RHP Flavio Galbiati - Dumont - 6-2, 85.2 IP, 1.05 ERA, 0.69 WHIP, 44 K, 11 BB, 2.9 WPA

Ernest Shackleton Award
2B Raúl Correa - Scott - .319/.462/.399, 10 2B, 1 HR, 19 RBI, 1.7 WPA
CF César Quintero - Concordia - .251/.369/.413, 12 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 15 RBI, 1.4 WPA
LF Jun-young Kim - Amundsen-Scott - .245/.399/.552, 7 2B, 2 3B, 13 HR, 27 RBI, 1.3 WPA
LF Hai Bai - Showa - .255/.358/.402, 10 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 1.3 WPA
3B Mingyu Chung - Escudero - .307/.447/.454, 7 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 27 RBI, 1.3 WPA

[jasg224]

January 1962


Icebreakers!
- On January 16th, C Enrique Ortega of the Carlini Crabeaters went 5-5 against SANAE IV. Ortega had 4 singles and a double, scoring 2 runs from the 7 spot. This sets the record for most hits in a game!
- Carlini 1B Henry Beauregard wins the Batter of the Month award after hitting .351 with a homer and 12 RBI.
- Esperanza's Yao-Bang Pi wins the Pitcher of the Month award with his 4 wins, 0.76 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 8 starts.

Award Races
Roald Amundsen Award
RHP Luis Rodríguez - Casey - 7-2, 111 IP, 0.49 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 44 K, 40 BB, 2.7 WAR
RHP Matt Wright - Amundsen-Scott - 11-2, 122 IP, 0.95 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 59 K, 49 BB, 2.6 WAR
LHP Mark DeVault - Esperanza - 8-4, 120 IP, 1.12 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 52 K, 24 BB, 3.7 WAR
RHP Orlando Farías - Qinling - 5-5, 126.1 IP, 1.28 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 62 K, 32 BB, 3.4 WAR
LHP Viktor Petrov - SANAE IV - 7-6, 147.2 IP, 1.52 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 63 K, 36 BB, 3.8 WAR

Ernest Shackleton Award
1B Henry Beauregard - Carlini - .270/.401/.427, 16 2B, 6 3B, 5 HR, 25 RBI, 2 SB, 3.5 WAR
CF César Quintero - Concordia - .240/.356/.378, 15 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 21 RBI, 46 SB, 5.9 WAR
SS Walter Sanchez - Qinling - .257/.422/.339, 9 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 1 SB, 3.2 WAR
2B Raúl Correa - Scott - .281/.419/.352, 15 2B, 1 HR, 26 RBI, 2.0 WAR
LF Jun-young Kim - Amundsen-Scott - .230/.380/.480, 9 2B, 3 3B, 16 HR, 38 RBI, 1 SB, 4.9 WAR