SIP and ALE: A fictional world

tylertoo · 10-01-2011, 11:02 PM

SIP and ALE: A fictional world

SIP and ALE Leagues Website

tylertoo · 10-01-2011, 11:06 PM

egend told of a mythical land called ‘America’ where giant men played the game. But parents warned their children not to mind such fanciful tales. In truth base-ball has its roots in the stick-and-ball game that the children of the Continent of Setheridge had played thousands of years before the Insurrection. Ancient scrolls unearthed by scholars showed pictures of the game, and though the rules were unknown, it is clear that there are bases, and a pitcher, and a batsman.

Yes, base-ball is as every bit as native to Setheridge as the pulpar fruit.

he Insurrection divided the continent of Setheridge geographically and pyschologically. The Helderen people -- who trace their ancestry to the large Island off Setheridge’s southeastern coast -- tired of their second class treatment by the ruling Setheridge race. The Helderen took up arms, and thousands throughout the continent died.

Eventually the Helderen prevailed, claiming control not only to the Island of Helder but to nearly half of the Setheridge continent. Thus was born the Nation of Helderan, and its first Chief Minister was Frantel Lempreth, who had led the Insurrection.

Defeated but not vanquished, the Setherian people consolidated their nation onto the western portion of the continent. The minor races -- the Monystian, Rebular, Foel, Krelp and Amandian peoples -- were able to remain in their native region.

n the end, the Insurrection had lasted 52 years. The death toll was put at 48,000, with many left wounded and irreprably maimed. The animosity between the two major races simmered, though clearly not extinguished.

In 2290, Dolent Resing, who had been a semi-successful promotor of sporting events before the war, proposed a simple solution: a confederation of base-ball leagues, one comprised of cities in the Nation of Setheridge, the other from the Nation of Helderan. The two peoples, tired of war, but not of their hatred, readily agreed.

Resing named it the Setheridge Island Professional League of Base-ball, or SIP, and he found investors for teams in each of the sixteen major cities in the neighboring nations. The inaugural season, with Resing himself as Commissioner, was held in 2293.

tylertoo · 10-01-2011, 11:12 PM

This being my first from-the-ground up fictional league, I made use of many of resources on this forum. I would particularly thank Gern44 for his logo tutorial, and cephasjames for his 4500+ Generic Logos Free for the Taking..

Also helpful was Jon Johnson's Metro League, from which many of my league's concepts were 'borrowed,' and this thread, Getting Immersed in Fictional Worlds, in which I found many useful ideas.

"SIP" and "ALE" League logos are modified versions of logos created by Justafan. Great stuff, thanks.

Thanks to this great community for getting me going.

tylertoo · 10-01-2011, 11:14 PM

tylertoo · 10-01-2011, 11:15 PM

Eugene Church · 10-01-2011, 11:28 PM

This looks to be a very fine dynasty.
Great map, fine logos and good back story.
Go to it, tylertoo.

hawaiiansky · 10-02-2011, 02:13 AM

Well it's a been awhile since someone had the imagination to create a completely new fictional world (and not yet another historical replay). You better deliver on this fantasy dynasty! We're becoming an endangered species.

Good luck and I'll be reading along.
Mike

CatKnight · 10-02-2011, 02:41 AM

Tyler:

VERY nice start! I'm very curious about the world you're developing here, for example the differences between Sethridge and Helderan culturally and what technical level they boast.

I need to hear a little more before I pick a team, but I'll definitely be following.

Kobeck · 10-02-2011, 04:37 AM

I am assuming there is an unwritten rule against letting Krelps pitch or catch? - lol

Nugget699 · 10-02-2011, 06:07 AM

Nice logo and backstory. I'll be reading, mate

joefromchicago · 10-02-2011, 01:00 PM

I'm concerned about the Sick Monkeys. Aren't there any veterinarians in your world?

tylertoo · 10-02-2011, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joefromchicago

I'm concerned about the Sick Monkeys. Aren't there any veterinarians in your world?

Lol. Actually the Sick Monkeys, in the thirty years I've simmed to get started, have been in the postseason 11 times and won the championship three times. So no doctors needed.

More to come

.

Corsairs · 10-02-2011, 02:52 PM

I love the detail and the back story here. You've definitely got my attention!

tylertoo · 10-02-2011, 06:15 PM

fter word spread through the continent of the creation of SIP, a clamor arose amongst the smaller cities of the land -- for they too were tired of the five-decade-long Insurrection, and they too longed for organized base-ball.

SIP Commissioner Dolent Resing seized upon the opportunity, soliciting and receiving commitments from twenty other cities to a second, lesser league. It would be called the Amandian League of Everyman, for the salaries of the ball-players would be more in line with those over the common worker.

Like the loose amateur base-ball confederations that had peppered the land during the Insurrection, the SIP and ALE leagues would use wooden bats and small leather gloves; even pitchers would be expected to take a turn at bat. Likewise, those pitchers who began the game would be strongly urged to finish; most squads would only have two to four so-called "relievers" -- pitchers called upon in the later innings.

Team mascots were based upon the animals indigenous to the Continent. Most of the organizations hired entertainers to delight the crowds between innings in costumes fashioned after their mascots. The parks would offer an array of native foods, including every child's favorite, Patch Pie. Libation of any sort would be prohibited in the more conservative SIP league, though many fans would likely be inclined to carry flasks under their sporting coats. The ALE league had no such prohibition, understandable given its acronym and working class roots.

nd so it was it in the year 2293 N.I. that the first professional base-ball leagues debuted on the Continent of Setheridge. In both the nations of Setheridge and Helderan there was much rejoicing; indeed at moments leading up to the First Opening Day, one could even feel the animosity between the two nations easing somewhat. But only somewhat.

The Chief Ministers of both lands declared Opening Day a state holiday; schools, banks and businesses were closed. All 36 stadia and ballparks were sold out, and larger crowds gathered at nearby parks to watch the games on the televisor panels. Parades featured both home and visiting teams; politicians made grand speeches in support of sport over war.

o it was that on May 2 throughout the Continent of Setheridge the muskets were silenced, the swords put away. And precisely at noontime in thirty six cities across the war-torn land, umpires dusted the plates, pointed at the home town starting pitchers and uttered the two words that thousands had longed to hear:

"Play Ball!"

tylertoo · 10-02-2011, 06:18 PM

kq76 · 10-03-2011, 04:56 AM

Some interesting people names there. Are you using a downloadable public names file?

tylertoo · 10-03-2011, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kq76

Some interesting people names there. Are you using a downloadable public names file?

--I completely rewrote names.txt and first_names.txt to have unusual player names. As a starting point, I used the Games of Thrones/Song of Ice and Fire names.txt created by railroad_ross and stored at this link on padresfans. I then greatly expanded these files by manually adding fictional fantasy names, 50 at a time, created at the Dragon's Mark fantasy name generator site. In the end, I had a very otherwordly set of names. I pasted the names into a google.docs spreadsheet, randomly set the frequencies and ethnicities of those names, then exported to text files.

--All the city names were created using davwms's City Name Generator (the only exception being Kendall, carried that over for sentimental reasons from an online league I was in). Thanks for this handy utility, davwms.

tylertoo · 10-03-2011, 02:42 PM

SIP

THE SETHERIDGE ISLAND PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE OF BASE-BALL

16 teams, four divisions, no wildcards
25 man active roster, 15 man reserve roster, no minor or feeder leagues
Reserve clause abolished 20 years after Inaugural season
Free Agency eligibility after six years of service
Arb eligible after three years

Team Finances

Average game attendance: 30,000
Average ticket price $2.50
Visiting Team's gate share: 20%
Average media contract $420,000
Average merchandising revenue $140,000
No revenue sharing
Cash carryover max: $2M

Player Finances

Salary range (poor to superstar): $80,000 to $200,000
Average team revenue: $5.26M
Average team expenses (inc. player payroll): $3.76M
Average team profit: $1.5M
Scouting on
All-Star Game On

Scheduling

120 game schedule with spring training
No regular season play between Setheridge and Helderan Leagues
No fall roster expansion
First round of playoff: best of seven
Championship: best of nine

League strategies**

Use of Relievers - Rarely
Use of Closers - Rarely
Pitcher Endurance - Very High
Typical Starting Rotation - 4 Men
Starting Rotation Mode - Default
Pinch Hit for Pitchers - Normal
Pinch Hit for Position Players - Very Rarely
Defensive Substitutions - Rarely
Stealing Bases - Normal
Hit & Run - Normal
Bunting - Normal
DH: What's a DH?

League Totals**

At Bats - 167355
Hits - 44522 (.880)
Doubles - 8919 (.980)
Triples - 898 (1.450)
Homeruns - 5451 (1.250)
BB - 16222 (.700)
HBP - 1850 (1.150)
Strikeouts - 31828 (.800)
BABIP - .296

Other

Fans are expected to wear semi-formal attire: sport jackets for men, skirts and blouses or dresses for women, knickers and caps for children.
Most fans arrive by the Continent's intricate, electrical cable-car system
Food is to be purchased at kiosks throughout the ballparks and stadia. No food may be brought in.
Alcohol is strictly prohibited, though men commonly carry small flasks in their jacket pocket, to be sipped then passed down the row and shared, even among security guards. Hence the acronym, SIP.
Gambling on games is common, despite the best efforts of law enforcement agencies. Political leaders fear that gambling activity may fuel the Setherian-Helderan tensions.

**Lifted wholesale from Jon Johnson's Metro League, many thanks.

**League logos are modified versions of logos created by Justafan. Great stuff, thanks.
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tylertoo · 10-03-2011, 03:43 PM

ALE
The Amandian League of Everyman

20 teams, four divisions, no wildcards
25 man active roster, 15 man reserve roster, no minor or feeder leagues
Reserve clause remains in effect
Guaranteed and multi-year contracts given only to star players
Players with expiring contracts are free to sign with teams in SIP