OOTP Blitz 25: Solo RTS meets Moneyball

[Young Drachma]

FINAL DAY FEVER: Multiple Races, Countless Possibilities Mark Season's End
By Buster Olney III
The Sporting News | September 16, 2065

They'll be scoreboard watching in four different cities today, with playoff hopes hanging by threads so thin you can barely see them. But they're there, those mathematical possibilities that keep baseball fascinating until the very end.
In the American League, three teams – the New York Knights (85-76), Kansas City Royals (85-76), and Milwaukee Brewers (84-77) – are separated by one game in the wild card race. A three-way tie remains possible, which would create the kind of chaos baseball executives both dread and secretly love.

"You spend 161 games getting here," said one AL executive, "and it could all come down to what happens in Detroit of all places."
Indeed, the Royals visit the cellar-dwelling Tigers (65-96) while the Brewers face Minnesota (76-85) and the Knights – seeking their first playoff berth after relocations from Mexico City to Vancouver to Indianapolis and finally to Newark – battle the Yankees (88-73) in a game dripping with narrative.

Meanwhile, the Washington Senators and Philadelphia Phillies, both 85-76, face off for the NL East crown in a winner-take-all showdown. The loser goes home, as the Chicago Cubs have already secured the third wild card spot behind Los Angeles and Houston.

"In 40 years covering baseball, I've never seen a final day with this many permutations," said veteran broadcaster Jim Palmer IV.
The day marks the end of several remarkable streaks. The St. Louis Cardinals (82-80) will miss the postseason for the first time since 2061, ending their run of consecutive World Series appearances. The Los Angeles Dodgers (90-71) will return to October for the first time since 2058, while the Yankees could make their first appearance since 2059.
Perhaps most intriguingly, the Oklahoma City 89ers (88-73) – who just five years ago were the Boise Spuds – are playoff-bound for the first time since relocating. The Houston Astros (89-72) end a 14-year drought that dated back to 2051.

"Baseball's changing," said another executive. "The old powers are fading, new ones are rising. Days like today remind you why we love this game."

First pitch in all four crucial games is scheduled for 3:05 ET. By dinner time on the East Coast, we'll know who's in and who's going home.

[Young Drachma]

JERSEY STAKES: Yankees-Knights Showdown at ShopRite Stadium Headlines Season's Final Act
By Jimmy Sullivan
New York Post | September 16, 2065

Today at 1:05 ET, baseball's most complex divorce settlement gets another chapter when the Yankees cross the Hudson to face their unwanted neighbors at Newark's ShopRite Stadium. The stakes? Just about everything.

The Yankees (88-73) and Marlins (88-73) enter the season's final day deadlocked atop the AL East. While both have clinched playoff spots, the division title—and more importantly, that precious third seed in the ladder playoffs—hangs in the balance. The Marlins face Cleveland at the same time, meaning scoreboard watching will be a two-city affair.

But for the host Knights (85-76), this is pure survival. Tied with Kansas City for the final wild card spot and just a game ahead of Milwaukee, Newark's adopted sons need a win in their own building to guarantee at least a tie for that last playoff berth. Lose, and they'll be checking scores from Detroit and Minnesota faster than you can say "PATH train schedule."

"Playing in our house changes everything," said Knights manager Diego Ramirez, whose team has somehow turned their converted warehouse of a ballpark into a legitimate home-field advantage. "The Yankees might have the history, but we've got ShopRite's finest behind us today."

Sam Conteh (20-9, 2.49 ERA) takes the ball for the Knights against Jesús Luna (4-6, 6.43) in a pitching matchup that looks as lopsided as the two franchises' trophy cases. But in 2065's version of baseball, anything can happen—especially in Newark.

"We're not just playing for playoff seeding," said Yankees manager Bubby Waters, probably wondering how his GPS routed to this game. "Any time you play in the metro area, pride is on the line."

The Knights' Raymond Nadeau (.311, 30 HR) has turned ShopRite Stadium's cozy confines into his personal launching pad. The Yankees' Terrance Adkins (54 HR) would probably have 70 if he played here full-time.

First pitch can't come soon enough. The Yankees are playing for division glory and playoff positioning. The Knights are playing for their very survival. And both teams are playing for New York/New Jersey supremacy, whether the Yankees want to admit it or not.

BY THE NUMBERS:
- 2: Cities where the AL East will be decided
- 1: Games the Knights have to win to survive
- 2.49: Conteh's ERA (best in whatever division Newark ends up claiming)
- 3: Potential teams in a wild card tie if chaos reigns
- 1.05: First pitch time ET (so at least traffic won't be terrible)
- ∞: Number of New Yorkers who still can't believe Newark has a team

[Young Drachma]

FINAL DAY DRAMA: Smith's Five Hits Lead Knights Into Game 163
By Tony Chen
Newark Star-Ledger | September 17, 2065

The most important day of the Knights' season turned on the unlikeliest of heroes. Ezra Smith, carrying a .217 average into the final game, channeled his inner Ty Cobb with a franchise record-tying five hits as the Knights downed the Yankees 4-1 to force a Game 163 against Kansas City.

The win, coupled with the Marlins' 4-1 victory in Cleveland that clinched them the AL East crown, sets up tomorrow's winner-take-all showdown at ShopRite Stadium, where another sellout crowd will push the Knights' season attendance past 2.9 million in their cozy confines.

Sam Conteh (21-9) continued his masterful season with eight dominant innings, striking out 10 Yankees and allowing just four hits. The Knights' home field advantage for Game 163 was secured by their superior intra-division record (41-31 vs. the Royals' 36-36), giving Newark one more chance to experience playoff-adjacent baseball.

Game 163: Newark's New Knights Chase Their Own History
By Vincent Scoleri
Newark Star-Ledger | September 17, 2065

Baseball's a funny game. Twenty years after the Marlins' brief but glorious sojourn as the New York Knights ended with a move back to Miami, Newark's newest tenants—a franchise that's hopscotched from Mexico City to Vancouver to Indianapolis—are trying to write their own chapter in Tri-State baseball lore.

Game 163 wasn't in the original script, but nearly 2.9 million fans through the turnstiles of ShopRite Stadium suggests this marriage of wandering franchise and baseball-starved market might just work. Tomorrow's crowd of 36,789 gets to help decide if there's October baseball in their future.

Saul Friedman (12-11, 3.47), who won rings with both the Mets and Cardinals, takes the ball against Kansas City's Mateo Mata (5-7, 4.15). If Friedman delivers, the Knights would turn to Mark Wleh—owner of two Cardinals rings and one Rangers championship—in the ladder playoffs, where teams have been climbing their way to glory since 2059's format restoration.

"This city knows playoff baseball," said Knights manager Joe "Bubby" Waters, though he's talking about a different franchise's memories. "We're trying to make our own history here."

The Royals bring generational hunger to ShopRite Stadium. Kansas City hasn't seen October since 2058, hasn't celebrated a championship since 2026's ladder playoff run. Their drought has outlasted most of their fans' marriages.

The matchup is perfectly balanced—identical 86-76 records, a 3-3 season series split, two franchises trying to outrun their pasts. Only the Knights' superior intradivision record (41-31 vs. 36-36) gives us tomorrow's venue.

For the Knights, it's a chance to prove their nomadic days are over. After struggling to draw flies in Indianapolis, they've found passionate support in a market that's been craving its own team since those other Knights headed back to Miami. For the Royals, it's about ending four decades of frustration.

"Sometimes you have to wander a while before you find home," said Friedman, who's seen enough October baseball to know what this means to both cities.

First pitch is 1:05 ET. Bring your hope. Baseball's newest tenants in the Garden State are trying to grow some roots, one sellout crowd at a time.

[Young Drachma]

OCTOBER KNIGHTS! Newark Celebrates as Game 163 Victory Sends Knights to Playoffs
By Vincent Scoleri
Newark Star-Ledger | September 17, 2065
The roar started the moment Yohanny Almonte's double hit the right field corner and didn't stop until long after John Proulx recorded the final out. Another sellout crowd of 36,689 at ShopRite Stadium created the kind of thunderous atmosphere that only October promises can generate.

The Knights are playoff bound.

Behind Saul Friedman's gutsy seven innings and Almonte's bases-clearing double in a decisive fifth inning, the Knights punched their ticket to the postseason with a 5-1 victory over Kansas City in Game 163. Tomorrow, they'll head across the river to face the Yankees, but tonight belonged to Newark.

"This crowd carried us all year," said Friedman, who scattered seven hits and allowed just one run despite constant traffic on the basepaths. "When this place gets going, there's nothing like it."
The decisive moment came in the fifth. After the Royals pitched around Trent Brooks to load the bases with two outs, Almonte turned on a 1-2 fastball from Mateo Mata, clearing the bases and sending ShopRite Stadium into a frenzy that could be heard all the way to Market Street.

"I've never heard anything like it," said Almonte. "The fans have been incredible all season. This was for them."
The Knights drew 2.9 million fans this season, establishing themselves as one of baseball's strongest markets with consistent sellout crowds. Today's 36,689 might have been the loudest yet, willing Friedman through several jams and erupting when Proulx closed things out in the ninth.

"This city lives and breathes baseball," said manager Diego Ramirez. "Tonight we gave them a reason to dream even bigger."

Mark Wleh (21-9, 2.96 ERA) gets the ball tomorrow at Yankee Stadium as the Knights begin their journey through the ladder playoffs. But for one night, Newark celebrated its team and the promise of more baseball to come.
"Tomorrow's another challenge," said Friedman. "But tonight? Tonight we celebrate with the best fans in baseball. They've earned this just as much as we have."

[Young Drachma]

PinstripeAlley.com | September 18, 2065

So we're really doing this, huh? After blowing the division on the last day, we get to start our playoff journey against Newark in a win-or-go-home game. And if we win? We're still just on the first rung of this ladder nightmare.

Let's talk about what we're facing today. The Knights are throwing Mark Wleh because of course they are. Dude's been absolutely dealing all year (21-9, 2.96) and they got to save him for us thanks to yesterday's Game 163 win. Meanwhile, we're countering with Jason Bates because *looks at rotation* yeah, that's what we've got.

But here's the thing - Bates has actually been decent in the Bronx. And our lineup, when it's clicking, can absolutely wreck even the best pitching. Terrance Adkins didn't hit 54 bombs by accident.

The really annoying part? This is just the start. Win today, and we get the Rangers, then Miami. Win that, and Toronto's waiting. Win THAT and maybe we finally get a real series against Portland. I'm never gonna be used to the ladder, this is so stressful man.

The good news? The Knights had to burn through everyone except Wleh just to get here. Their pen is running on fumes while Broome and Morgan are fresh and ready to lock down anything close.

Look, nobody's happy about being in this position. But you want to win the World Series? Today's just step one of about forty-seven. At least we're starting at home.

First pitch 3:10. Bring your heart medication. This is going to be stressful.

[Young Drachma]

STAGS RULE 2065: Portland Claims Title as New Stars Emerge
Baseball Weekly | October 25, 2065

The Portland Stags punctuated their 99-win season with a World Series championship, defeating the Houston Astros in five games to cap off a postseason run that included victories over Toronto in the Division Series and Miami in the ALCS.

Led by MVP Matías Santana (.381/.452/.616, 28 HR, 108 RBI), the Stags dominated with a combination of offense and pitching. The 21-year-old first baseman's 239 hits and 114 runs scored paced an attack that was complemented by a pitching staff featuring Emil Briones (18-2, 2.52 ERA) and José Bustamante (15-12, 3.78).

AWARD WINNERS

AMERICAN LEAGUE
MVP: Matías Santana, Portland (.381, 28 HR, 108 RBI)
Cy Young: Sam Conteh, NY Knights (21-9, 2.45 ERA, 303 K)
Rookie of the Year: Sam Conteh, NY Knights
Eckersley Award: D.J. Janson, Nashville (40 saves, 2.10 ERA)
Deacon White Award: Edgar Hernandez, Texas (7.85 RNG, 3.85 CERA, 3.1 ZR, 5.8 FRM)

NATIONAL LEAGUE
MVP: Donny Parsons, Houston (.311, 30 HR, 121 RBI)
Cy Young: Ric Maldonado, Tampa Bay (20-9, 3.34 ERA, 367 K)
Rookie of the Year: Walter Huber, Washington (15-9, 3.02 ERA)
Eckersley Award: Lou McNulty, Los Angeles (41 saves, 1.33 ERA)
Deacon White Award: Smokey Gonzales, Mets (6.1 ZR, 1.333 EFF, 3.88 CERA, 18.2 FRM)

The year saw several remarkable individual achievements, including Yankees third baseman Terrance Adkins launching 54 home runs and Tampa Bay's Tadashi Takagi stealing 60 bases while hitting .329/.416/.561.

PLAYOFF RECAP
Wild Card: New Orleans over Chicago
Wild Card: NY Knights over NY Yankees
Wild Card: Oklahoma City over New Orleans
Wild Card: Texas over NY Knights
Elimination Series: Washington over Oklahoma City (2-1)
Elimination Series: Miami over Texas (2-1)
Division Series: Washington over Los Angeles (3-1)
Division Series: Miami over Toronto (3-1)
League Championship Series: Houston over Washington (4-2)
League Championship Series: Portland over Miami (4-2)
World Series: Portland over Houston (5-2)

Among the year's breakout stars were Cincinnati's Artémio Vazquez (8.6 WAR) and Milwaukee's Naci Pasa, who earned a Gold Glove at second base. The Knights' Conteh became just the latest pitcher to claim both Cy Young and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season.

Portland's championship run featured stellar defense from Gold Glove winners Troy Charter (P), Paul Panuellos (SS), and Bucky Aaron (CF), while the offense generated consistent production throughout the playoffs.

The Stags finished the regular season with a 99-63 record before powering through the postseason behind Santana's MVP performance and a pitching staff that limited Houston to just 11 runs in the five-game World Series triumph.

[Young Drachma]

The Knights of New York: A Tale of Two Aces

When Sam Conteh won the 2064 Ahinfo Trophy as the West African Baseball League's top pitcher, leading the Koidu Kings to their third straight Eastern Division title, few expected his next stop to be the New York Knights, playing their home games in Newark's revitalized downtown. But the signing of Mark Wleh – a three-time Cy Young winner and one of baseball's most dominant pitchers of the past decade – changed everything.

"The game in Africa today? It's unrecognizable from when I left," Wleh says from the Knights' clubhouse at their state-of-the-art ballpark. "Back in '53, I had to prove myself in Japan first because scouts hadn't caught up to how much African baseball had grown. Now? The WABL is sending players straight to MLB every year."

Wleh would know. His path from Liberian prodigy to future Hall of Famer included a detour through the Japanese leagues, where he dominated for the Kyoto Apollos before Colorado made him their ace. What followed was one of the most remarkable careers in modern baseball history: five World Series championships – two with Colorado in '54 and '56, one with Texas in '58, and two more with St. Louis in '63 and '64 – three Cy Young Awards, and over 3,000 strikeouts. His 213 wins and career 3.15 ERA have him destined for Cooperstown on the first ballot.

"People thought I was crazy," Wleh admits, reflecting on his decision to join the fledgling Knights – in their 2nd year in the Tri-State area after moving from Indianapolis after six years, now carrying the name of the brief-but-beloved 2040-2043 team that captured both the city's heart and a World Series before transforming back into the Miami Marlins. "But I saw what the Knights could be. There's room in this market for three teams. The fans here remember that 2040 title. They know baseball."

What Wleh couldn't have predicted was how his signing would help land Conteh, who had just completed one of the most dominant pitching seasons in WABL history for Koidu. The 27-year-old had followed Wleh's career closely, watching him rack up accolades across multiple pennant races while African baseball continued its meteoric rise.

"When I was coming up through the Kings' academy system, Mark was already a legend," Conteh says. "The WABL now has analytics, development programs, everything MLB has. But Mark was part of the generation that proved African players could dominate at any level. His success opened doors for all of us."

The Knights' front office had hoped Wleh's presence might help attract other top talent to their new franchise. But landing Conteh, the reigning WABL strikeout king, exceeded all expectations. Their combined success – Conteh's Cy Young Award and Wleh's runner-up finish (21-9, 2.96 ERA season at age 34) – has given the Knights instant legitimacy in the hyper-competitive New York market.

That connection to the community has helped both pitchers thrive. Conteh's historic rookie campaign, featuring a no-hitter against Baltimore and a pitching Triple Crown with 21 wins, a 2.45 ERA, and 303 strikeouts, validated both his talent and the WABL's growing reputation as an elite league.

"Twenty years ago, African players had to prove themselves elsewhere first," Conteh reflects. "Mark changed that. He didn't just succeed – he dominated. Three Cy Youngs, five rings, punched his ticket to Cooperstown. Now the scouts know – the best African players can compete anywhere. The game has grown so much back home, and it's beautiful to see that recognized."

As the Knights head to their first playoff appearance, their two aces have already succeeded in making the franchise feel like more than just New York's third team. In a region known for its baseball passion, they've given fans something new to believe in – and reminded the baseball world that greatness can be found wherever the game is loved.

"Just don't ask them which jollof is better," laughs Mama's Kitchen owner Aminata Bangura from her restaurant in Irvington, where both pitchers have become regulars. "That's the only time I've seen those two disagree about anything."

[Young Drachma]

Alright folks, strap in because I've got some news that's gonna make you spit out your morning coffee. The MLB, in all its infinite wisdom, has decided to kick the ladder playoffs to the curb once again. That's right, the format that everyone loved to hate is getting the boot, and we're going back to the Wild Card Series.

For those of you who haven't been paying attention (and who can blame you, really?), the ladder playoffs have been a thing since 2059. But apparently, seven years is enough for the powers that be to realize that maybe, just maybe, it's not the greatest idea to have the best teams sitting around twiddling their thumbs while the bottom-feeders duke it out.

So here's the deal: starting next season, the three wild card teams and the weakest division champion will face off in a best-of-five series. The winners will then move on to the Division Series, which will also be a best-of-five. The LCS stays at seven games, and the World Series will still be a grueling nine-game affair, because apparently, we all love watching grown men in tight pants play baseball until our eyes bleed.

Now, I know what you're thinking. "But wait, didn't we used to have a Wild Card Series before?" And you're right, we did. But back then, it was only a best-of-three, which was about as fair as a rigged carnival game. Teams complained, and rightfully so, because who wants to see their season end after just three games?

But here's the thing: even with the ladder playoffs, which were supposed to be this great equalizer, the best teams still dominated. They just had to wait around longer to do it. And the networks? They hated it. Turns out, people don't want to watch a bunch of mediocre teams play meaningless games while the big boys sit on their hands.

So, in a move that surprised absolutely no one, the MLB has decided to go back to the "normal" playoff format. And by "normal," I mean the one that everyone was used to before the league started messing with things.

Look, I get it. Change is hard. And the ladder playoffs were supposed to be this revolutionary thing that made baseball more exciting. But let's be real: nothing makes baseball more exciting than watching the best teams go head-to-head in a do-or-die series. And with the Wild Card Series back in play, that's exactly what we're going to get.

So buckle up, baseball fans. The playoffs are about to get a whole lot wilder.

Hank McGuire, Rocky Mountain News

[Young Drachma]

PATH TO GLORY: A Subway Series Unlike Any Other
By Jonathan Katz and Sofia Rodriguez
New York Times

Four years ago, when the Arrows left Indianapolis for Newark, skeptics questioned whether the New York market could support a third team. Now, as the newly-christened Knights prepare to face the Mets in what local wags are dubbing "The PATH Series," those doubts seem quaint.

The symmetry is almost too perfect. The Knights (92-70), playing in their gleaming Newark ballpark, represent the game's future: a relocated franchise finding instant success in its new home. The Mets (92-70), just two titles removed from their 2061-62 dynasty, embody baseball's cyclical nature—rebuild, contend, repeat.

"People forget how hard it is to get here," said Mets veteran SP Taner Peterson (23-3, 2.57 ERA) who was part of the Cardinals most recent back-to-back titles before signing with the Mets and becoming their ace two years ago. "Two years ago, we lost 80 games. Now we're four wins from another title."

The Knights' path through October has been electric. After dispatching the Tigers in the Wild Card round, they stunned Portland and outlasted Texas to reach their first World Series in franchise history—a feat they never achieved in 45 years in Indianapolis.
The Mets, meanwhile, rode Peterson's historic season and CF Vittorio Giancana's (.322, 9 HR, 84 RBI) emergence to hold off Washington in the East. After sweeping past Chicago and St. Louis, they're seeking their third title in six years.

"This city's seen Subway Series before," noted longtime baseball historian Robert Chen. "But a series between Queens and Newark? That's new territory."

The matchup itself is fascinating. The Knights boast baseball's second-best offense, led by SS Samet Daiu (.326) and a deep rotation fronted by reigning AL Cy Young winner SP Sam Conteh (14-8, 3.61). The Mets counter with Peterson, the likely Cy Young winner, and baseball's best defensive outfield.

Game 1 features a pitching matchup for the ages: Peterson versus Conteh at Citi Field. For the first time, the 7 train and PATH train will carry equal weight in October baseball.
"Two New York teams, separated by the Hudson," mused Knights GM. "Sometimes baseball writes its own stories."

The World Series begins Monday night in Queens.
Game 1: Knights (Conteh 14-8, 3.61) at Mets (Peterson 23-3, 2.57), 8:05 PM ET

[Young Drachma]

The Three-Borough King: Baseball's Last Renaissance Man
How a Canadian CPA Became New York's Most Unlikely Baseball Legend

By Gretta Urschel
ESQUIRE Magazine, October 2066

There's something oddly poetic about finding Saul Friedman in the gleaming offices of the New York Knights, the newest jewel in the Big Apple's baseball crown. At 40, his 6'7" frame still cuts an imposing figure, though these days he carries himself with the measured precision of someone who's logged over 3,000 innings across a remarkable two-decade career, and two All-Star appearances.

"Please don't ask me to do your taxes," he says with a laugh that fills the room, before I can even broach the subject of his famous side gig. It's a line he's clearly delivered countless times, but it still carries genuine mirth. Friedman, nicknamed "The Accountant" – a reference to both his CPA license and a now-ancient Ben Affleck film from the 2010s – might be the last true renaissance man in baseball.

His career numbers read like a CPA's dream ledger: 198 wins against 152 losses, a stellar 3.64 ERA across 562 games, and an astounding 2,678 strikeouts. But it's the story behind those numbers that makes Friedman's journey unique, particularly his transformation into a clutch postseason performer.

Before becoming the only player to don the uniforms of all three New York-area teams, Friedman built his foundation in the heartland. His longest tenure came with the St. Louis Cardinals – 227 games over multiple stints, accumulating 59 wins and establishing himself as one of the game's most reliable arms. It was with the Cardinals where he earned his second World Series ring in 2063, coming over in a deadline deal that proved crucial to their championship run.

His time in San Diego was equally impressive, appearing in 128 games and maintaining a solid 3.55 ERA. But it was in New York where Friedman's legend truly took shape. His journey through the city's baseball landscape reads like a grand tour of the sport's most demanding stages: a season with the Yankees (31 games, 3.76 ERA), three years with the Mets – including a memorable World Series title in 2061 – and now, in what might be his final act, steering the upstart Knights.

"The championships in St. Louis and with the Mets, they're different flavors of the same joy," he reflects, his Canadian accent still detectible after two decades in the States. "But there's something special about winning in New York. The energy, the scrutiny, the passion – it all adds up to something bigger than just baseball."

That mathematical mindset has served him well across his career. Born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, his parents insisted he continue his studies even as he worked his way through the minor leagues. "Baseball isn't guaranteed," they told him, words that would prove prophetic in the most unexpected way.

"I'd study balance sheets on the team bus," he recalls. "My teammates thought I was crazy. Maybe I was. But there's something about understanding numbers, about making them work for you, that translated to the mound in ways I never expected."

Now, in what he acknowledges might be his final season, Friedman finds himself with the Knights, trying to bring a championship to Newark. At 40, his fastball doesn't have quite the same zip, but like any good accountant, he's learned to make adjustments.

"Baseball's a game of numbers," he muses, "but it's also a game of stories. Every pitch, every inning, every season – they're all entries in a ledger that adds up to something bigger than just wins and losses."

As our conversation winds down, I ask him about the pressure of potentially closing out his career with New York's newest team. He smiles, the kind of smile that suggests he's already run the numbers and likes what he sees.

"You know what they say about accountants – we're at our best when the pressure's highest. April 15th, October baseball... it's all the same. It's just about making the numbers work in your favor."

For Saul Friedman, baseball's most numerically-inclined philosopher king, those numbers have added up to something remarkable: a career that's spanned three boroughs, two professions, and countless memorable moments. As he chases one final title with the Knights, it's clear that regardless of the outcome, his ledger is already rich with the kind of stories that make baseball magic.

This story appears in the October 2066 issue of Esquire Magazine.

[Young Drachma]

2066: The Year Baseball's Numbers Told Unexpected Stories

In the climate-controlled confines of modern baseball stadiums, 2066 produced a season where traditional powers were challenged, new stars emerged, and the game's statistical boundaries were pushed in ways few predicted.

The Three-Way Dance in the NL Central

Perhaps no division better exemplified 2066's competitive balance than the NL Central, where the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs finished in a dead heat at 91-71, with the Cardinals technically claiming the division through tiebreakers. The Cincinnati Reds (85-77) kept the pressure on well into September, creating a three-team race that captivated the midwest.

"You couldn't take a day off," said one NL Central manager. "Every series felt like October baseball."

Rangers' Offensive Revolution

The Texas Rangers (93-69) didn't just win the AL West – they revolutionized offensive baseball. Their league-leading 931 runs scored represented a perfect marriage of analytics and execution. More impressively, they did it with remarkable balance: six different players drove in at least 80 runs, with J. Major (115 RBI) leading a deep lineup that wore down opposing pitchers.

The Peterson Paradigm

The Mets' Taner Peterson didn't just dominate – he redefined pitching efficiency for the modern era. His 2.57 ERA led baseball, but it was his microscopic 1.02 WHIP that turned heads. "He's eliminated the concept of a comfortable at-bat," said one opposing manager. In 210.1 innings, he struck out 170 while walking just 46 – the kind of control that analytics departments dream about.

The Rise of Nweke

Vancouver's Shola Nweke brought back memories of Rickey Henderson, swiping 75 bases with an efficiency rate that made analytics departments reconsider the value of speed in modern baseball. More impressively, he did it for a Vancouver Angels team (89-73) that stayed in the NL West race all season.

Tajti's Double Vision

While home runs dominated headlines, Salt Lake's Kozma Tajti mastered the art of the double. His 72 two-base hits didn't just lead baseball – they represented a throwback to a different era of hitting. Combined with 229 total hits, Tajti proved that gap power still has a place in modern baseball.

Eastern Promises

Both New York teams won 92 games, with the Knights taking the AL East and the Mets claiming the NL East. But it was the Washington Senators who provided the surprise, pushing the Mets until the final week and finishing with 91 wins. The three-team race between the Knights, Tigers (90-72), and Brewers (90-72) in the AL playoffs added another layer to an already compelling October story.

Statistical Anomalies

- Salim Demir's .495 OBP represented the highest in either league
- The Rangers scored 931 runs despite not having a 40-home run hitter
- Joe Sheridan's 37 homers led all of baseball in a year where power numbers were surprisingly modest
- Portland's Matias Santana hit .376 while only hitting 14 home runs, proving contact hitting isn't dead

The Next Frontier

As teams head into the offseason, the 2066 season offered a glimpse of baseball's evolving future. Whether it's the Rangers' balanced offense, Peterson's precision pitching, or Nweke's baserunning renaissance, the game continues to evolve in ways that both honor its past and push toward its future.

The numbers tell stories, but in 2066, they told us something more: baseball's golden age isn't behind us. It might just be beginning.

[Young Drachma]

The afternoon sun slants through Dodger Stadium's left-field pavilion as Urban Henry, age 43, throws his trademark cut fastball in the bullpen. His nephew Diego, barely half his age at 22, watches with the same wonderment he had as a child in their backyard in New York. The scene seems implausible, yet here they are—baseball's most decorated active pitcher and his protégé, now teammates in Dodger blue.

"I still can't believe it sometimes," Diego says, his Puerto Rican accent mixing with New York cadences. "Growing up, he was already a legend. Now we share a rotation."

Urban's journey to Los Angeles reads like magical realism. After 17 seasons, 341 wins, two MVPs, and an unprecedented ten Cy Young Awards, he shocked the baseball world by signing with the Dodgers just before Opening Day 2067. The team that had gone from perennial contender to occasional playoff participant suddenly had baseball's most dominant arm of the past quarter-century.

"The game gives you maybe one or two moments to write your own ending," Urban reflects, wiping sweat from his brow. His 6'2" frame, still carrying a solid 195 pounds, shows little sign of age. "When I heard Diego was here... well, some things mean more than just adding to your statistics."

The family connection runs deeper than most realize. Diego's mother Letitia, Urban's half-sister, moved from Puerto Rico to New York when Diego was young. Urban became not just an uncle but a baseball mentor, teaching Diego the intricacies of pitching in the same Queens neighborhood where he himself learned the game.

"Every kid dreams of throwing like Urban Henry," Diego says, now sporting a 3.76 ERA in his sophomore season. "I just had the advantage of him actually teaching me how."

The Dodgers' gambit has paid early dividends. They've only made the post-season once in the last 9 years, and they lead the NL West at the trade deadline. Urban, displaying his characteristic efficiency, has posted a 14-6 record with a 3.65 ERA. More telling is his 1.24 WHIP—at 43, he still ranks among baseball's most precise practitioners.

"Age is just a countdown someone else keeps," Henry says, a sentiment that echoes through his career statistics. His 341 wins place him 11th all-time, alongside names like Young, Johnson, and Mathewson. But it's the modern context that staggers: in an era of five-inning starts and bullpen specialization, Henry has remained a throwback to when pitchers were expected to finish what they started.

The possibility of bringing the Dodgers their first title since 2042 alongside his nephew seems almost too scripted. Yet in baseball, as in family, the most meaningful stories often write themselves.

"Every time I see him on the mound," Diego says, watching his uncle prepare for another start, "I remember being that kid in the backyard. Only now the whole world gets to watch too."

Urban adjusts his cap, ready to take the field for another start in his storied career. The shadows are growing longer at Dodger Stadium, but baseball's ageless wonder isn't done writing his story. And this time, it's a family affair.

[Young Drachma]

Editor's note: I didn't create Diego Henry or even edit his name, he was just apparently a prospect from Puerto Rico on the Dodgers unbeknownst to me. When I decided to unretire Henry, I wanted to make sure he went to a good team since it didn't make sense for him. Since the San Francisco Giants, his original team moved to Tampa -- and aren't very good -- I opted against that idea, and the Seals, their successors were also in my head, but the Dodgers having not won a title in a while made me think they were a good place to send him and so, I did that without knowing if they'd be any good or not.

Seeing another Henry in the rotation made the whole thing an absolute no brainer and I just retconned their connection. Sometimes, the game just makes magic happen.

[Young Drachma]

THE RENAISSANCE OF JESÚS DÁVILOS
By Bob Ryan (Special to The New Yorker)
September 16, 2067

NEWARK, N.J. — In the visiting clubhouse at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Jesús Dávilos sits in front of his locker, a small smile playing across his face as he reflects on a journey that would make Joseph Campbell proud. The hero's journey, they call it. Well, this one's got enough plot twists to fill a dozen mythologies.

The story begins in Baltimore, where from 2061 to 2063 and led them to the 2062 World Series title, Dávilos authored one of the most dominant three-year stretches in pitching history. Three straight Cy Young Awards. A perfect game against Seattle with 17 strikeouts. A devastating five-pitch arsenal anchored by a triple-digit fastball and a splitter that disappeared like a magician's handkerchief. He was the game's most complete pitcher, equally capable of painting corners or powering through lineups.

But baseball, as it often does, had other plans.

"You never expect to reinvent yourself," says Dávilos, now 27, his voice carrying the weight of wisdom earned the hard way. "But sometimes the game chooses your path for you."

The transformation from ace to closer wasn't exactly planned. After Baltimore, there was the ill-fated stint in Philadelphia, where his ERA ballooned to 5.80. A trade to New Orleans was supposed to be the reset button, but Dávilos found himself in setup purgatory, his golden arm tarnishing in the seventh inning.

Enter the Knights, defending American League champions, playing in their adopted home of Newark. Their scouts saw something others missed: the makings of an elite closer in the way Dávilos had simplified his approach, ditching his secondary pitches to focus on a devastating fastball-cutter combination.

"He reminds me of Rivera," says Mark Wleh, himself a three-time Cy Young winner. "Different borough, same story — a power pitcher who found his true calling with two pitches that nobody can square up. When he comes in for the ninth, you can feel the energy change in the ballpark."

Since joining the Knights, Dávilos has posted a microscopic 0.87 ERA in 41.1 innings, converting 23 of 24 save opportunities. The velocity is still there — touching 100+ mph — but now it's the late movement on his cutter that leaves hitters muttering to themselves on the way back to the dugout.

The Knights' pitching staff reads like a Cooperstown ballot. Their six-man rotation features Wleh, four-time Cy Young winner Taner Peterson (fresh from leading the Mets to a World Series title), and Sierra Leone native Sam Conteh, who captured last year's award after dominating the West African Baseball League. But it's their closer, the former ace who found his second act in the ninth inning, who might hold the key to avenging last year's heartbreaking Game 9 World Series loss.

"There's something poetic about it," Dávilos reflects, watching his teammates prepare for another day at the office. "I used to overthink everything, trying to set up hitters across multiple at-bats. Now it's just me, two pitches, and three outs to get. There's a beautiful simplicity to it."

In baseball, as in life, the most interesting stories aren't about avoiding falls. They're about what happens after you get back up. Just ask Jesús Dávilos, who's writing his own comeback story, one save at a time, in the shadow of the Big Apple. And if the Knights' crystal ball is right, this October might just add the sweetest chapter yet.

[Young Drachma]

Urban Legend: Henry, 43, Outduels Former Team in Playoff Masterpiece

By Marcus Wheeler
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The rain fell steadily at Busch Stadium Sunday evening, but it couldn't wash away the inevitability of what 47,554 fans were witnessing: Urban Henry, at age 43, was about to beat his former team in the playoffs.

Henry, who dominated for the Cardinals from 2061-2065, returned wearing Dodger blue to deliver seven gritty innings in a 6-3 victory, putting Los Angeles within one win of advancing. While the box score shows three runs allowed, it belies the maestro-like control Henry exhibited in neutralizing the dangerous Cardinals lineup.

"He's seen us in October before," Cardinals first baseman Jon Gallegos said, shaking his head. "Usually he was doing it for us, not against us."

The storylines wrote themselves. The aging legend, back in St. Louis where he crafted so much of his Hall of Fame resume. His nephew Diego, watching from the Dodgers dugout. And Asher Novak playing hero with two home runs and 3 RBIs to support the man who now sits 11th on baseball's all-time wins list.

Henry worked through early trouble, surrendering a double to Gallegos in the first and a bases-clearing double to Salim Demir in the third. But like he has done countless times in this ballpark, he settled in. From the fourth inning on, he allowed just three hits while striking out six Cardinals.

"That's why he's Urban Henry," Dodgers manager Manny Rodriguez said. "Even at 43, even against a lineup that knows him as well as anyone, he finds a way. He's not the same power pitcher he was a decade ago, but he's maybe even more dangerous now. He's an artist."

The victory was Henry's first postseason win since 2064, when he helped lead these same Cardinals to the NLCS. The symmetry wasn't lost on anyone in attendance, especially when Henry tipped his cap to the standing crowd as he walked off after the seventh.

"This place will always be special," Henry said afterward, his graying temples betraying his age even as his performance defied it. "But today I had a job to do for Los Angeles. Baseball's funny that way. Sometimes the best stories are the ones you never saw coming."

For seven innings in the rain, Urban Henry reminded St. Louis why he'll be in Cooperstown. The only difference was the uniform, and the hearts he broke belonged to his former team.

The series continues Tuesday in Los Angeles, where his nephew Diego Henry takes the mound for the Dodgers. His uncle will be watching, as he has since Diego was a child. Only this time, they're both wearing the same uniform, chasing the same dream.

"Some things are bigger than baseball," Urban said, glancing at his nephew across the clubhouse. "But winning in October? That's pretty special too."

On this night, in the stadium he once called home, baseball's ageless wonder proved he still has some magic left. The only question now is how much further he can take it.

[Young Drachma]

The Trade That Worked for Everyone: Revisiting the Asher Novak Deal Five Years Later

As Asher Novak takes the field at Busch Stadium for Game 2 of the 2067 NLDS, it's hard not to reflect on the seismic trade that sent him from St. Louis to Los Angeles five years ago. The then-22-year-old prospect was the centerpiece of a deal that saw the Cardinals acquire Luke Legler, Irv Daniels, and Micah Sheehy.

With both teams facing off in October, it's time to revisit one of the most fascinating trades of the decade – one that, contrary to conventional wisdom, might have actually worked out for both sides.

The Immediate Aftermath
When the Cardinals shipped their #8 prospect to the Dodgers in November 2062, the baseball world was split. The analytically-inclined crowd saw the potential superstar they were giving up in Novak, while others understood the Cardinals' urgency to maximize their competitive window. St. Louis, sitting at 100-62 and coming off another dominant regular season, was dealing from a position of "win-now" strength.

The Return Package
The Cardinals' haul was a mixed bag of immediate help and unfulfilled potential:

Luke Legler: A steady veteran arm who posted a respectable 3.50 ERA over 221.0 IP in his first season with St. Louis
Irv Daniels: The middle infield stabilizer who, while never living up to his offensive potential (.285/.358/.446 in his first season), provided valuable clubhouse leadership
Micah Sheehy: A project that never quite materialized, now plying his trade in Taiwan

The Novak Factor
For the Dodgers, Novak has been everything they hoped for and more. His development curve proved steep but rewarding, as he's emerged as one of the National League's premier bats. The 14.0 WAR he's accumulated since the trade speaks volumes about his impact.

The Bigger Picture
But here's where it gets interesting: while Novak blossomed into a star, the Cardinals' gambit paid off in its own way. During the five years since the trade, St. Louis captured three NL pennants and two World Series titles. As former Cardinals GM Wookie Rogers, now a television analyst, puts it: "It's hard to really evaluate a trade based just on math. Some of this is psychological, some of it is finding your window. Asher was always gonna be great, but I'm not sure it would've happened with us, he needed to go elsewhere to find that and we needed guys to help maximize that win window. Not to be glib but flags fly forever."

Rogers' point about flags flying forever isn't just a convenient rationalization – it's backed up by the hardware in the Cardinals' trophy case. While the combined WAR of Legler (-5.9), Daniels (-0.4), and Sheehy (0.9) doesn't come close to matching Novak's production, the Cardinals' championship success suggests they achieved their primary objective.

The Verdict

Five years later, this trade stands as a fascinating case study in how baseball deals can't always be evaluated purely on statistical returns. The Dodgers got their ace of the future, while the Cardinals parlayed their return into crucial pieces of two championship runs. As Novak takes the mound tonight against his former organization, both sides can look back at the 2062 trade with a sense of satisfaction – a rare win-win in a sport where most deals produce clear winners and losers.

The results are a reminder that sometimes the best trades aren't about "winning" the deal, but about each team getting what they needed at the right time. For St. Louis, it was about maximizing a championship window. For Los Angeles, it was about acquiring and developing a foundational piece for the future. In that light, perhaps this trade worked out exactly as it should have.

As Rogers noted, flags do indeed fly forever. And while Novak's return to Busch Stadium in October 2067 might stir up "what-if" scenarios for Cardinals fans, those two World Series banners floating above the stadium serve as a pretty compelling answer.



Asher Novak Just Crushed His Former Team's Dreams (and Two Baseballs) in NLDS Game 2

There's something poetic about baseball's ability to craft the perfect revenge narrative. Five years ago, the St. Louis Cardinals shipped a raw but promising 22-year-old prospect named Asher Novak to the Dodgers in a win-now trade that actually, you know, helped them win. Now, on a rain-soaked Sunday evening at Busch Stadium, Novak reminded his former team exactly what they gave up—and put the Dodgers up 2-0 in the NLDS in the process.

The numbers are gaudy enough on their own: 4-for-5, two homers, three RBIs. But it's the timing that makes this the kind of story that has baseball writers reaching for their favorite metaphors. Novak's seventh-inning blast off Cardinals reliever C. Bilh gave the Dodgers their first lead of the game. His ninth-inning insurance shot? That was just turning the knife.

"Sometimes the baseball gods have a sense of humor," a drenched Manny Rodriguez said after the game, probably fighting the urge to look directly into the camera like he's on The Office.

Here's the thing about the 2062 trade that sent Novak to LA: it wasn't bad. The Cardinals parlayed their return into three NL pennants and two World Series titles. Flags fly forever, as former Cardinals GM Wookie Rogers loves to remind everyone from his cushy TV analyst chair. But watching Novak torch your pitching staff in October has to feel like running into your ex at a party and discovering they've become impossibly successful and apparently figured out how to stop aging.

The numbers since that trade tell a story that's less "one that got away" and more "mutual glow-up." Novak has racked up 14.0 WAR in Dodger blue, developed into an All-Star caliber outfielder, and now, at 26, is having his best season yet (.303/.388/.469 with 37 stolen bases, because apparently that's a thing he does now too). The Cardinals got their rings. But on this rainy night in St. Louis, with the Cardinals' season on the brink, it was Novak who looked like the one wearing the crown.

As he rounded the bases after his second homer, Novak kept his game face on. No bat flips. No pointing to the dugout. Just business. But somewhere in the visiting clubhouse after the game, you have to imagine he allowed himself a smile. Sometimes revenge is best served not with a point or a taunt, but with the quiet confidence of someone who knows they just wrote themselves into October lore.

The series heads back to Los Angeles with the Dodgers up 2-0 and the Cardinals reeling. And while St. Louis fans can comfort themselves with those recent World Series banners, they'll have to spend at least the next few days wondering if maybe, just maybe, they should have held onto that kid from Daytona Beach.

But hey, flags fly forever. Even if sometimes they have to wave through tears.

[Young Drachma]

The 2067 World Series Is Pure Baseball Chaos, Just As We Like It

If you had told baseball fans at the start of the season that the Vancouver Angels—a team operating on the kind of budget that makes Oakland's "Moneyball" era look like the Yankees' Evil Empire—would be going toe-to-toe with the powerhouse New York Knights in Game 7 of the World Series, they'd have laughed you out of the room. Yet here we are, and holy shit is it glorious.

The series, knotted at three games apiece, has been an absolute fever dream. We've had everything: blowouts, nail-biters, and the kind of managerial chess matches that make baseball nerds vibrate with delight. The Angels, transplanted from Anaheim and operating on a shoestring budget that would make a minor league team blush ($36 million!), have somehow matched the mighty Knights punch for punch.

The real story here is how this series has become a masterclass in baseball's beautiful unpredictability. Take Game 6, which played out like a acid-trip version of baseball. Three home runs from Tom Garabedian? The same Garabedian who's been crushing Knights pitching like they personally insulted his mother? Sure, why not! And let's throw in a Joel Bolio homer for good measure, because this series apparently needed more chaos.
The Knights, trying to shake off the ghost of last year's nine-game heartbreaker against the Mets, have looked simultaneously unstoppable and completely vulnerable. Their $200 million-plus payroll (my rough estimate, but come on, look at that roster) has produced moments of brilliance, like Mark Wieh's masterful Game 3 performance, and head-scratching collapses, like watching their bullpen implode in Game 5.

Game 7 sets up as Chris Hodge (0-1, 5.62 ERA in an admittedly small sample size) against Mark Wieh (14-7, 2.79 ERA), which on paper looks like a mismatch. But if this series has taught us anything, it's that paper means absolutely nothing. The Angels have been giving the middle finger to probability all season long, led by their absurd collection of overachieving youngsters and the kind of veteran cast-offs that make you go "oh yeah, that guy!"

The fact that Max Guzman is slashing .309/.354/.766 while making probably what I spent on lunch today is the kind of story that makes baseball beautiful. The Angels have turned into the kind of plucky underdog story that Disney would reject for being too unrealistic, yet here they are, one game away from shocking the baseball world.

Meanwhile, the Knights, loaded with stars like Joel Bolio (.305, 26 HR) and Chase Burns (.296, 20 HR), are trying to avoid becoming the latest victim in Vancouver's improbable "David vs. Several Goliaths" playoff run. Their fans, still nursing the hangover from last year's loss to their crosstown rivals, are collectively stress-eating their way through Newark's entire supply of comfort food.

Whatever happens in Game 7, this series has already cemented itself as an all-timer. It's got everything: the massive payroll disparity, the defending AL champs trying to finally get over the hump, and the team that basically nobody outside of British Columbia (and maybe some nostalgic Orange County residents) believed in.

Baseball, you beautiful, nonsensical sport. Never change.

[Game 7 starts at 7:05 PM EST. Bring booze. Lots of it.]

[Young Drachma]

The Knights Just Reminded Everyone Why They're The Damn Knights
Well, that was a masterclass in October baseball from Mark Wleh, and suddenly the Vancouver Angels' Cinderella story is on life support. The Knights' ace hurled 7.1 innings of one-hit baseball in a crisp 2-0 victory that felt like watching a python slowly squeeze its prey, giving New York a 4-3 series lead and pushing Vancouver to the brink in this best-of-nine saga.

The game turned into exactly what the Knights wanted: a low-scoring affair where their superior talent could grind down the plucky Angels. Joel Bolio, who's been hotter than a Times Square pizza oven this series, drove in both runs because of course he did. The man is hitting .355 in the World Series, which is the kind of thing that gets you a statue outside Shoprite Stadium if the Knights can close this out.

The real story, though, was Wleh's absolute dominance. The Angels' bats, which had been surprisingly potent throughout the series, looked about as threatening as a butter knife against kevlar. One hit. One! The same Vancouver offense that had been giving Knights pitchers nightmares for six games suddenly couldn't buy a base knock with all the money they're not spending on payroll.

Poor Chris Hodge pitched his ass off for Vancouver, giving up just six hits over eight innings in what should have been a career-defining performance. Instead, it'll go down as a footnote because Wleh decided to turn into Bob Gibson 2.0 for an evening. Baseball can be cruel that way.

The Angels now face the unenviable task of needing to win both remaining games in New York, where 38,421 Knights fans just remembered what it feels like to believe again. The Knights, meanwhile, are two wins away from erasing the bitter taste of last year's nine-game loss to the Mets and finally claiming their first title since relocating to Newark 4 years ago.

But let's not write Vancouver's obituary just yet. This is the same team that's been giving probability the middle finger all season. They're still the same group that walked into the playoffs with a payroll that wouldn't cover the Knights' clubhouse coffee budget and proceeded to tear through the National League like they owned the place.

Game 8 looms large, and if this series has taught us anything, it's that these Angels don't know how to do anything the easy way. The Knights might have the momentum, but momentum in baseball is about as reliable as a politician's promise.

One thing's for certain: the few thousand Vancouver fans who made the cross-continental trek to Newark are getting their money's worth. The rest of us? We're just lucky to be watching.

[Game 8 starts tomorrow night at 7:05 PM EST. Stock up on antacids accordingly.]

[Young Drachma]

KNIGHTS SLAY ANGELS, BRING TITLE HOME TO NEWARK!
BOLIO, WLEH LEAD STAR-STUDDED STAFF TO GLORY
By Jimmy Edwards
Newark Evening Sun Sports
NEWARK, NJ — Break out the champagne, Newark! Your Knights are 2067 World Series champions!

In a nail-biting 1-0 victory that had 38,170 fans at Shoprite Stadium holding their breath, the New York Knights clinched their first title since relocating to Newark, downing the upstart Vancouver Angels to take the series 5-3.

MVP Joel Bolio, the 23-year-old sensation who hit .364 in the series, could barely contain his emotions. "I could live to 1,000 years old and I'd remember this moment," the West Bloomfield native gushed while dodging champagne sprays.

But the real story? A pitching staff that reads like a Cooperstown ballot.
Mark Wleh, the ageless wonder who's now won SIX rings with FOUR different clubs, showed why he's the best big-game pitcher alive. Taner Peterson, who broke Newark's heart last year with the Mets, pulled the ultimate heel-turn by joining forces with his former rivals to get ring number five.

"Sometimes you can't beat 'em, so you join 'em," Peterson smirked after throwing seven shutout innings in Game 8.

And how about Jesus Davilos? The former three-time Cy Young winner rebuilt himself as a $16 million closer and made it look like a bargain, slamming the door on Vancouver's Cinderella story.

Let's not forget Sam Conteh, last year's Cy Young winner who battled back from injury, or 37-year-old Rudy Hutchinson, who finally got his ring after 12 frustrating years with the Carolina/Miami franchise.
"This one's special," said hitting coach Braxton Woodley, who was part of Newark's last championship team during the Knights' brief first incarnation in 2043. "That team was magical, but this? This is permanent. We're home."

The Knights did it with arguably the worst offense to ever win it all (16th in AL runs scored). But when you're trotting out a rotation full of Cy Young winners and World Series heroes, who needs runs?

For a city that's seen its share of sports heartbreak, this one's sweet. The Knights aren't going anywhere this time, folks. And neither is that shiny new trophy.

[Young Drachma]

The Potato Kings: Baseball's Great Small-Market Experiment
The New Yorker, December 2067

On a crisp autumn evening in downtown Boise, Idaho, the lights still shine at Memorial Stadium, where Mason Raymond once launched forty-five home runs in a single season and Yuriy Kazan terrorized pitchers during the franchise's improbable 2048 World Series run. The stadium, now home to the Diamond League's Spuds, stands as a monument to baseball's boldest expansion experiment—a twenty-year Major League sojourn that produced two World Series titles, countless improbabilities, and a lesson in the economics of modern baseball.

The original Spuds' story began in 2040, when a consortium of technology millionaires and agricultural magnates brought Major League Baseball to the Treasure Valley. The team's finances were always precarious, despite Boise's explosive population growth during the mid-21st century. The ownership group, led by local tech entrepreneur Barrett Rogers, operated on a shoestring budget that would have made "Moneyball" seem extravagant.

Yet somehow, the team won. Behind the transcendent hitting of Mason Raymond—an Australian left fielder whose .344/.435/.648 slash line in 2047 remains one of the finest offensive seasons in franchise history—and the power of Yuriy Kazan, the Spuds captured World Series titles in 2044 and 2048. They did this while maintaining one of baseball's lowest payrolls, leading then-Commissioner Gio Bartozzi to declare it "the greatest small-market success story since the twentieth century."

The miracle couldn't last. By 2053, the consortium's internal conflicts and chronic underfunding forced the team into the Federal League, baseball's ill-fated third major league. Though they would win a Federal Series title in 2054 and return to the majors until 2060, the writing was on the outfield wall. The team began a nomadic journey: first to Louisville as the Spires, then to San Antonio as the Missions, before finally settling in Oklahoma City in 2063 as the revived 89ers.

"We were always pushing against gravity," says former manager Troy May, now a Diamond League scout. "The talent was there—look at Raymond's numbers, look at what Kazan did in the power alleys. But you can't run a Major League franchise on dreams and potato futures."

The stadium hasn't stayed empty. The Diamond League's Spuds, established in 2064, won their league championship in 2066. The team features a mix of former major leaguers and prospects, playing before crowds that still remember when Enrique García posted a 1.14 WHIP in 2048 and Ian Kelly dominated hitters across multiple seasons.

Now, Macau billionaire J. Jackson Chaung sees in Boise what the original consortium couldn't sustain. With MLB expansion from 36 teams being debated in owners' meetings, Chaung has positioned himself as the potential savior of Major League Baseball in Idaho. "The infrastructure exists," he argues. "The fan base is proven. Baseball needs to return to markets that have shown they can support the game."

Critics point to the dilution of talent and the cautionary tale of the original Spuds. But supporters argue that the demise of the Federal League and the increasingly global nature of baseball talent necessitates expansion. Former Spuds great Mason Raymond, speaking from his home in Queensland, Australia, sees both sides. "We proved you could win in Boise," he says. "The question was never about the baseball. It was about everything else."

In the meantime, Memorial Stadium hosts Diamond League games, its outfield walls still bearing the marks where Raymond and Kazan's home runs once landed. The ghosts of those improbable championship seasons linger in the thin mountain air, waiting for Major League Baseball to, perhaps, give the Potato State one more chance at the big leagues.

[Young Drachma]

The Old Man and the Arch: Urban Henry's Last Dance Has To Be In St. Louis
By Marcus Denton
Defector | January 2, 2068

The last time Urban Henry pitched against the St. Louis Cardinals, it was weird as hell. Not just for him—though watching the 44-year-old knuckleballer stare in at the birds on the bat from the wrong side of Busch Stadium had its own surreal quality—but for baseball itself. Some things just look wrong, like Pete Rose in a Montreal uniform or Willie Mays stumbling around the Shea Stadium outfield. Henry, in Dodger blue, qualified.

He shut them out that day, because of course he did. Eight innings of four-hit baseball that probably cost the Cardinals home field advantage in the NLCS, which they would eventually lose to the Vancouver Angels in six games. The Angels, who would go on to lose to the New York Knights in the World Series, also dispatched Henry's Dodgers in five, but by then the old man had already made up his mind. If he was coming back—and after 573 starts, 345 wins, and a frankly stupid 5,155 strikeouts, nobody would have blamed him for staying retired—it would be in Cardinal red.

"You spend enough time in one place," Henry told me over the phone from his home in St. Lucia, where he's been working on his knuckleball with local kids, "you start to realize it's not just a place anymore. It's home."

The Cardinals announced yesterday that Henry signed a three-year deal worth $16.8 million, which in baseball terms is basically minimum wage for a future Hall of Famer. But Henry, who first arrived in St. Louis in 2061 and promptly led them to a World Series title, isn't here for the money. He's here because watching the Cardinals fall short last year—their first missed pennant in three years—made him realize he had unfinished business.

"The thing about Urban," says former Cardinals manager Troy May, "is that he's one of those rare players who actually gives a shit about the name on the front of the jersey as much as the one on the back. Maybe more."

That's the kind of quote that usually makes me want to vomit up my morning bourbon, but with Henry it rings true. This is a guy who threw 269 complete games in an era when most pitchers need a therapist to get through the seventh inning. A guy who retired in 2065, came back in 2067 just to see if he could still do it, and then decided that if he was going to keep playing this stupid game into his mid-40s, he might as well do it in the place that matters.
The knuckleball helps. Henry developed it late in his career, and now it's his primary weapon—floating up there at 65 mph like a butterfly with vertigo.

The Cardinals are betting $16.8 million that the pitch will keep dancing for three more years. Henry's betting that it'll be enough to bring one more pennant back to the foot of the Arch.

Either way, at least he'll look right doing it.

[Young Drachma]

SPUDS COMING HOME! BASEBALL'S GREATEST CINDERELLA STORY GETS NEW CHAPTER
Macau's J. Jackson Chaung Brings MLB Back to Potato Country
By Wally Marshell
Idaho Statesman Times Sports
BOISE, IDAHO — The house that Mason Raymond built is getting its tenants back.

In a landmark announcement that electrified the Treasure Valley, Macau billionaire J. Jackson Chaung confirmed his purchase of the Oklahoma City 89ers and their return to Boise as the Spuds for the 2070 season, reviving one of baseball's greatest small-market success stories.

"The infrastructure exists. The fan base is proven. Baseball needs to return to markets that have shown they can support the game," said Chaung, whose acquisition ends a disastrous decade of private equity ownership that saw the franchise bounce through Louisville, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City like a ground ball on Memorial Stadium's infield.

The move returns professional baseball to the city where Australian slugger Mason Raymond blasted 45 homers in a single season and Yuriy Kazan terrorized pitchers during the magical 2048 World Series run. It's a far cry from the original consortium led by tech entrepreneur Barrett Rogers, who operated on a shoestring budget but somehow delivered two World Series titles.

"We were always pushing against gravity back then," says former manager Troy May, now a Diamond League scout. "But the talent was there – look at Raymond's numbers, look at what Kazan did in the power alleys. Now Boise's grown into a major market, and they've got an owner with real resources."
The team will join the AL West, with the Texas Rangers moving to the NL Central. Memorial Stadium, which has hosted Diamond League baseball since the Spuds' departure, will undergo extensive renovations while maintaining the outfield walls where Raymond and Kazan's home runs once landed.

Speaking from his home in Queensland, Australia, Raymond himself endorsed the move. "We proved you could win in Boise," the slugger said. "The question was never about the baseball. It was about everything else. With Chaung's backing, they can finally do it right."

For a generation of fans who grew up watching Enrique García post his brilliant 1.14 WHIP in 2048 and Ian Kelly dominate hitters across multiple seasons, this feels like more than a homecoming. It's redemption.

The potato is back where it belongs. And this time, it's got the financial backing to stay firmly planted in Idaho soil.



PIRATES SET SAIL FOR STEEL CITY RETURN
Historic Franchise Ends New Orleans Sojourn, Returns to New Riverfront Park
By Enid Marcotte
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
PITTSBURGH, PA — The Pirates are coming home, and this time they've got Sidney Crosby Jr.'s gold-plated backing.

In a seismic shift that realigns baseball's landscape, the New Orleans Pirates will return to Pittsburgh for the 2070 season, docking at the newly constructed Riverfront Park after a decade-long southern excursion that produced more questions than playoff appearances.

"Pittsburgh is Pirates baseball," said Crosby Jr., part of a star-studded ownership group bringing the Bucs back home. "The city has never been the same without them, and now we're giving them a cathedral worthy of 138 years of history."

The return ends a frustrating New Orleans chapter that saw just two playoff appearances (2065, 2068) and failed to recapture the magic of Pittsburgh's glory days. The franchise hasn't won a division title since their back-to-back crowns in 2051-52, and their last World Series triumph in 2027 feels like ancient history.
Riverfront Park, a $1.2 billion marvel rising along the Allegheny, promises to blend the intimacy of old PNC Park with modern amenities. The left field view still features Pittsburgh's iconic skyline, but now includes climate-controlled seating and what ownership claims will be "the most technologically advanced fan experience in baseball."

"We're not just bringing back baseball, we're bringing back hope," said Mayor Wally Harper Jr., who spearheaded the stadium project. "The Pirates belong on the three rivers. They always have."

The move comes as baseball experiences a return to traditional markets, with the Boise Spuds also announcing their homecoming today. But Pittsburgh's baseball heritage – dating back to 1882 – carries a different weight.

For a franchise that's seen more downs than ups since their last championship, this feels like a fresh start. The question now: Can Crosby Jr. and company do what the New Orleans ownership group couldn't – build a winner?

The Steel City is ready to find out.

PIRATES BY THE NUMBERS:

• 138: Years of franchise history
• 43: Years since last World Series title (2027)
• 19: Years since last division title (2051)
• 2: Playoff appearances in New Orleans (2065, 2068)
• 5: World Series championships
• $1.2B: Cost of new Riverfront Park
• 10: Years spent in New Orleans

[Young Drachma]

THE KNIGHTS' NEW YORK EXODUS: BASEBALL'S TERRITORIAL WAR CLAIMS A VICTIM
By Rachel Hammond
Wall Street Journal
The New York Knights' fairy-tale run in Newark has come to an abrupt end, not with a pitch but with a gavel.

In a landmark ruling that sent shockwaves through Major League Baseball, Federal Judge Eleanor Katzmann ordered the Knights to vacate the New York metropolitan market by 2070, siding with the Yankees and Mets in their joint territorial rights lawsuit. The decision, which includes $480 million in damages if the Knights remain in the market, effectively forces the defending World Series champions to relocate to Charlotte, North Carolina.

"The repeal of baseball's antitrust exemption in 2065 didn't nullify existing territorial agreements," explained sports law expert Martin Chen of Columbia Law School. "The court found that MLB's approval of the Knights' move to Newark in 2064 materially damaged the Yankees' and Mets' market share."

The ruling marks a bitter end to the Knights' brief but spectacular tenure in Newark, where they captured the 2067 World Series behind Joel Bolio's MVP performance and assembled one of the most decorated pitching staffs in baseball history. Their departure leaves a $1.2 billion hole in Newark's downtown redevelopment plan, centered around Shoprite Stadium.

"This isn't just about baseball," said Newark Mayor James Wilson. "The Knights represented Newark's renaissance. Now we're losing them because New York's billionaire owners couldn't handle the competition."

The team's ownership group, led by tech entrepreneur Victoria Chang, initially planned to appeal but faced a stark financial reality. The damages would have exceeded the franchise's estimated value of $3.8 billion, forcing a choice between bankruptcy and relocation.

Charlotte, which has aggressively pursued MLB expansion since 2060, emerged as the obvious landing spot. The city's new $2.1 billion uptown stadium project, originally intended for an expansion team, will instead host the relocated Knights.
"While we're devastated to leave Newark, Charlotte offers an exciting new chapter," Chang stated. "The infrastructure is ready, the market is untapped, and the Knights' winning tradition will continue in North Carolina."

The ruling raises questions about baseball's post-antitrust landscape. With territorial rights now enforceable through federal courts, similar suits could reshape MLB's geography. Industry insiders suggest there could be other suits.

For Newark, the loss cuts deep. Season ticket holders have filed a class-action suit, and local businesses near Shoprite Stadium estimate $200 million in lost annual revenue.

Meanwhile, Yankees president Brian Cashman IV defended the lawsuit: "The New York market has supported two teams for over a century. A third team wasn't sustainable for anyone."

The Knights will play their final Newark season in 2069, ending a brief but memorable chapter in baseball history. Their departure marks not just the end of MLB's three-team experiment in New York, but potentially the beginning of a new era where baseball's territorial battles are fought in courtrooms rather than boardrooms.