#deadball

Challenge Series Record: 28W - 14L

The first of four teams joining the Outlandish Baseball League this season, the Chaos Emeralds are a team built entirely on taking risks. The combination of Sonic's unrivaled speed, Knuckles's incredible defense, and Tails's steady pitching looks to be able to carry the team far this upcoming season, as the Emeralds were early qualifiers for the first spot in the Challenger Division.

That does not mean they're invulnerable, however. Shadow and Vector, who bat in the key 2nd and 3rd slots in the lineup, show some impatience at the plate, creating outs in key spots and leaving more runners on base than the team would like.

In addition, though the starting pitching looks to be above average for the league, relief pitching looks to be a concern. Sticks in particular can be a very wild pitcher, and has had meltdowns that have given opponents a chance to catch up to the Emeralds when they could otherwise be putting the game away.

That said, the formula worked extremely well despite these flaws in the Challenger Series. It will be interesting to see if this success translates to the much longer OBL season.

Starting Lineup

Sonic the Hedgehog, CF

Shadow the Hedgehog, LF

Vector the Crocodile, 3B

Knuckles the Echidna, SS

Rouge the Bat, RF

Mighty the Armadillo, 1B

Storm the Albatross, C

Tangle the Lemur, DH

Amy Rose, 2B

Bench

Ray the Flying Squirrel, IF

Espio the Chameleon, IF

Jet the Hawk, OF

Big the Cat, C

Starting Pitchers

Miles "Tails" Prower

Silver the Hedgehog

Whisper the Wolf

E-123 Omega

Relief Pitchers

Blaze the Cat

Sally Acorn

Wave the Swallow

Cream the Rabbit

Record: 27W - 19L - 4T

League: 4th, Fantasy Division: 2nd

Playoffs: Won Championship

Nothing came easy for the Crystal Braves in their first season with the Outlandish Baseball League. Their longest winning streak all season was just 4 games. Between their 4 ties and 19 one-run games, nearly half of their games were too close for comfort. And yet, they triumphed, winning the championship series against the Fire Emblems 4 games to 2.

Three players in particular stood out from the rest for the Braves. First was team captain Alphinaud Leveilleur: as a starting pitcher, Alphinaud won 8 of his starts this season, though he did end up picking up 1 loss to blemish his otherwise stellar record.

Second was relief pitcher Coultenet Dailebaure, who consistently pitched well for the team in relief. The Braves would end up winning 8 close games that Coultenet pitched in, as he totaled 2 wins of his own as well as 6 saves, which led the league.

Third was infielder Hien Rijin, who was in the top 10 of the league in Home Runs and Runs Batted in. His 26 RBIs, in paricular, were instrumental to the team's success. Despite not even having the most Home Runs on the team (that would be Estinien Varlineau's 11), Hien's timely at-bats were a reliable source of offense for the team.

Now, it's time to turn the page to next season. No one will be surprised by the Crystal Braves this year, and the target is firmly affixed to their back. Will Alphinaud and the rest of the Braves manage to win another championship? Or will the rest of the league catch up with them?

Lineup

Yugiri Mistwalker, SS

G'raha Tia, LF

Raubahn Aldynn, C

Aymeric de Borel, DH

Estinien Varlineau, RF

M'naago Rhaz, CF

Hien Rijin, 3B

Pipin Tarupin, 1B

Alisaie Leveilleur, 2B

Bench

Hoary Boulder, IF

Lyse Hext, OF

Thancred Waters, OF

Nero tol Scaeva, C

Starting Pitchers

Y'shtola Rhul

Urianger Augurelt

Raya-O-Senna

Alphinaud Leveilleur

Relief Pitchers

Coultenet Dailebaure

Erenville

Cid Garlond

Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn

Record: 26W - 22L - 2T

League: 3rd, Legend Division: 1st

Playoffs: Lost Championship Series

Season 2 for the Fire Emblems was a season to remember after their first season was one to forget. A founding member of the Outlandish Baseball League, their first season as the Emblem Bearers was a catastrophe, with the team finishing last in the 6-team league. The blame was squarely placed at the feet of captain and starting pitcher Alear, who never managed to win a game all season.

Instead of languishing in a division filled with familiar foes from season 1, the Emblems came into season 2 with a renewed purpose. Sigurd, Lucina, and Marth all finished in the top 20 of batting average in season 2 en route to winning their division.

This offensive spark helped Alear win 6 of their games during the season, finishing in the top 10 in wins. In addition, Soren and Eirika turned out to be solid relief pitchers for the Emblems, with Soren earning 5 saves during the season while Eirika gave up just 2 runs in her 25 innings pitched.

The Emblems then went on to defeat Midgar Station in the first playoff round 2 games to 1, with all 3 games being low scoring affairs. The team then had to turn their attention to season 1 champions Shards United (more on them later), where the Emblems offense sprang to life like never before. The Emblems won their semifinal series 3 games to 1, outscoring the defending champions 23-15 across the 4 games.

They then fought valiantly in the championship series, ultimately losing to the Crystal Braves 4 games to 2. When the offense was working, the Emblems could not be beat, winning their 2 games by scores of 7-2 and 5-0. However, the Crystal Braves were able to shut down that offense for the rest of the series, only allowing the Emblems to score 2 runs in the other 4 games of the series.

The Emblems now turn to season 3 ready to prove they are still the best of their division. The top 3 of their lineup are ready to repeat as top-20 batters, while Alear is prepared to maintain their season 2 form. Consistency will be key for the Emblems, though, as the rest of the league now knows what to expect from them going forward.

Lineup

Sigurd Chalphy, 2B

Lucina Ylisse, LF

Marth Lowell, 1B

Roy Pherae, DH

Leif Claus, CF

Anna Feh, 3B

Ephraim Renais, SS

Lyn Hausen, RF

Vander Jagen, C

Bench

Camilla Nohr, IF

Hector Ostia, IF

Corrin Hoshido-Nohr, OF

Ike O'Greil, C

Starting Pitchers

Alear Leuer

Celica da Zofia

Micaiah Dawn

Robin Reflet

Relief Pitchers

Soren Daein

Byleth Eisner

Clanne Steward

Framme Steward

Record: 30W - 17L - 3T

League: 1st, Fantasy Division: 1st

The best team in the Outlandish Baseball League during the season, the Baron Red Wings had everything going for them after their rebranding from the Fantasy Alliance in Season 1. Their defense and pitching, led by the stellar Terra Branford, held opponents to a league low 2.1 runs per game, beating the next best team by 0.54: an extra 27 runs during the season.

Terra in particular was incredible, and it was just a continuation of what she showed in Season 1. After finishing the season as the best pitcher with at least 1 inning per game despite being a relief pitcher, she was moved into a starting role in Season 2. Terra proceeded to become the best pitcher in the league again, allowing less than 1 run a game, and never losing a game, both of which were clearly league-leading marks.

The relief pitchers for the Red Wings were also great, with the two standouts being Cid Pollendina and Krile Baldesion, who combined only gave up 3 runs over 42 innings. Rosa Farrell and Relm Arrowny were also great, holding leads in close games when the team needed them most.

Unfortunately for the Red Wings, their main weakness was their average batting. The team was 6th in runs scored over the season, but not for lack of trying. Outfielder Faris Scherwiz was the most consistent of the group, finding herself in the top 25 of three separate categories. However, a distinct lack of home runs and a lot of runners left on base for the team would doom them in the playoffs, where they lost in the semifinal to their division rival, the Crystal Braves.

Hoping to lean on the success of their pitching once again, the Red Wings are aiming for another playoff run. This time, they hope to bring an improved offense along for the ride.

Lineup

Locke Cole, CF

Cecil Harvey, C

Cyan Garamonde, RF

Sabin Figaro, 3B

Edgar Figaro, 2B

Faris Scherwiz, DH

Yang Leiden, SS

Kain Highwind, LF

Bartz Klauser, 1B

Bench

Gau, IF

Galuf Baldesion, IF

Lenna Tycoon, OF

Celes Chere, C

Starting Pitchers

Setzer Gabbiani

Edward von Muir

Edge Geraldine

Terra Branford

Relief Pitchers

Relm Arrowny

Cid Pollendina

Krile Baldesion

Rydia