The Ross Division
Image from Wikimedia
This division is named after the Ross Sea, which itself is named after British explorer Sir James Clark Ross, who commanded his own Antarctic expedition between 1839 and 1843. This division contains bases near and around this portion of the continent.
These are the typical conditions in this part of the world. Despite the summer months being the warmest, they are also the ones with the highest chance of snow.
Note: In general, because of the cold, players will hit for contact and play station to station. There's very little running in the league, few homers and, because the pitchers don't want their hands to fall off, less strikeouts.
Davis Emperors
Image generated by AI
Based in the Australian Davis Station, the Emperors play in Cooperation Field. They are named after the famous Emperor Penguins, a staple of the Antarctic lands. They are owned by a John Biscoe, a 50 year old Australian who is an unmerciful penny-pincher, who tends to meddle in team affairs. (Note: You will find the owners are named after Antarctic explorers.) He expects the club to reach the playoffs this year, which is a tough ask for unproven manager Levushka Shipnevsky.
Starters - League Ranking - Notes
C Dwaine O'Rourke - 7th - A veteran English catcher, O'Rourke will do a good job behind the plate. Not much of an arm, but it's not like he needs it.
1B Ryan Black - 13th - Another English veteran, Black is an average hitter all-round, though he lacks some skill to play defensively.
2B Gabriel Menéndez - 6th - The Argentinian is in his prime, putting in extra time in the gym makes him an alright base stealer and great defender.
3B Chris Blowers - 20th - Coming all the way from Illinois, Blowers does a great job covering third and has a fantastic arm. He lacks discipline with the bat though, with his approach being swinging (and often making contact) at everything.
SS Henry Lawson - 14th - The Oregon native is a below average shortsop, and he sometimes gets on base despite struggling to put the ball in play.
LF Mike Fidler - 18th - He gives his all, though lacks the talent to be truly good. He's a surehanded defender with a good eye at the plate.
CF Themba Ndlovu - 8th - The speedy South African has gotten used to running in the snow, both with the glove and on the basepath. Has average bat skills.
RF Donald Graham - 6th - The Englishman is a very selective hitter, his average defense should be enough to keep him in the lineup most of the season.
SP Enrique Molina - 4th - Throws pitches that move in many different ways, though he's not able to put enough speed on them to make hitters guess. However, his control is impeccable and the movement tends to draw groundballs more often than not.
CL Pablo Ortiz - 7th - The Chilean throws an assortment of groundball-inducing fastballs.
Let's also add SP Louis Thibodeaux, who left the warmth of Lake Charles, Louisiana to pitch in Antarctica. He has plus control paired with plus sinkers and cutters that will get him some swings and misses.
Overall, the Emperors will definitely be fighting for the top spot in the division, but their opponents might be tougher than they think.
McMurdo Penguins
Image generated by AI
The Penguins are based in McMurdo Station, the biggest station in the entire continent. They play at Nathaniel Palmer Park. The team is owned by James Eights, who will be demanding as to how his generous investments are used in order to build a winning team. He expects the club to have a winning record this year, and manager Jon Morris will use all of the talent at his disposal to do so.
Starters - League Ranking - Notes
C Hernán Araya - 1st - The Chilean has one of the best eyes in the league, which also helps him behind the plate, where he's probably the best in blocking the ball as well as framing.
1B Mike McCall - 9th - The Houston native is a pretty selective hitter, but average otherwise and just below average defensively.
2B George Thompson - 17th - Thompson is very good with the glove, but his arm lets him down a bit. Average eye, rarely puts the ball in play.
3B Makio Ishii - 7th - Makio will cover good ground and throw the ball hard, whenever he doesn't drop the ball. Good eye but rarely puts the ball in play.
SS José Gaona - 5th - Also from Chile, Gaona is a very versatile defender who can do an excellent job in all positions but catcher and pitcher. He likes hitting the ball into the gaps.
LF Hal Quinn - 7th - "Scorpion" is a good player. That's it. Other than a plus-plus eye and good defense at LF, there's not much to write home about.
CF DeVos Krug - 20th - The young speedy German might not be ready to go pro yet, but the Penguins don't have a better option.
RF Tommie Brazeal - 17th - Adding to the young, speedy Krug, Brazeal might be one of the best base stealers in the league. He'll run well IF he gets on base.
SP Pedro Millán - 18th - Nothing outstanding, but not a bad pitcher. Questions remain about his ability to go deep in games.
CL Xun Li - 14th - The Shandong lefty throws a nasty curveball with the finest of controls. If he can stay healthy and use his fastball effectively, he can be better than expected.
McMurdo have an above average rotation with star talent in some spots and clear holes in others, but it should be enough for a record above .500 without truly challenging for the playoffs.
Scott Kiwis
Image from Pinterest
The New Zealand team operates in Scott Base, very close to the McMurdo Station. The team play their home games in Erebus Field. They are owned by New Zealander Edward Evans, who's lenient, charitable and prefers not to be involved with the day-to-day of the team. He expects the squad to achieve a winning record this inaugural year, leaving Mike Hepner in charge of the team.
Starters - League Ranking - Notes
C Scott Kinkela - 5th - Hailing from the Arizona heat, Kinkela is a plus catcher with an average bat.
1B Raúl Correa - 1st - How does average all-round hitting skills get 1st place? Well, Correa has elite patience at the plate and the ability to hit for power. Being a below average 2B makes him a plus 1B.
2B Germán de Alba - 20th - Overall a below average player, could grow a bit as he's still only 23.
3B Galtero Carta - 11th - The veteran Italian has elite arm strength, though it doesn't really translate into hitting power. His specialty is putting the ball in play.
SS Matt Erpenbach - 13th - Only 21, Erpenbach might be the best shortstop in the league, at least defensively. His bat is at best average right now.
LF Shi-Young Han - 11th - Rarely strikes out, Han goes fast even with a coat on. This speed is also seen reflected in his range in LF, but he's not the strongest.
CF Humberto Olivares - 6th - The left handed Argentinian battles in every single at bat. His speed and explosiveness means he has plus-plus range, but lacks strength.
RF Illarion Golenischev - 15th - Average bat and defense at best, though the Russian has the ability to throw strikes from the outfield.
SP Oscar Herrera - 12th - Not the hardest of throwers, but has plus control and movement, particularly on a deadly changeup that pairs well with a curveball and splitter.
CL Vusi Mkhize - 16th - "The Voice" might be a better singer than pitcher, but he'll get some outs with an average skillset and a nice curveball.
The Kiwis have a somewhat balanced base, but their pitching is a weak link that should be improved. With consistent pitching, they could reach their goal of a winning record.
Troll Ice Giants
Image AI generated
Harald Sverdrup owns the club from the only Norwegian base that operates all year round. He won't be much involved aside from giving the team charitable amounts of money, though he does extreme to get a lot of money back from his investment. Texan Beau Perry will manage the squad, expected to make the playoffs come January.
Starters - League Ranking - Notes
C Tommy Behr - 20th - "Little Bear" is a great catcher with a terrible bat.
1B Eduardo Rojas - 4th - Very patient at the plate and with some power potential if he puts it in play.
2B Klaus von Hohenberg - 7th - Average bat skills, but his range makes him a great 2B. Turns even difficult balls into double plays despite a lack of arm strength.
3B Dustin Hyatt - 12th - Capable of throwing out even the fastest of runners when he gets to the ball might compensate for being average at everything else.
SS Kevin Oliver - 8th - Oliver is good but not outstanding, perhaps his best skill is being able to fight off difficult pitches.
LF John McAllister - Another candidate for "best eye", the Texan has an average bat otherwise. Defensively solid, though struggles getting to the tough ones.
CF Christian Alexandre - 19th - Besides his below average bat, Alexandre is most definitely not suited for center field. He'd make an above average corner outfielder though.
RF Javier Benavidez - 7th - It's amazing the andean's bat still holds up at 37, but his defense is starting to let him down.
SP Colin McKenzie - 11th - With plus control, the New Zealander throws a heavy sinker-slider combo that gets easy groundballs.
CL Jeff Bart - 5th - Has pinpoint control on an assortment of effective mid 90s fastballs.
The Ice Giants might be the most talented team in the division, but they're very defense heavy and will need to prove they're also capable of scoring runs if they are to have success.
Zucchelli Seals
Lastly, we have an Italian base which only operates in the summer. The base is named after Mario Zucchelli, who was the director of its operations for 16 years since its opening in 1985. The Seals play their home games at Terra Nova Field. They are owned by a Mr. Umberto Cagni, who will be very demanding of manager Danny Perry where he not to meet his expectations, which are to be a .500 club.
Starters - League Ranking - Notes
C Luis Vázquez - 10th - The 21 year old Argentine is a pretty good catcher and an alright hitter.
1B José Rivera - 12th - Rivera is also capable of playing very well at 2B, but his bat is very unspectacular.
2B Dmitr Tlevtsejev - 3rd - Dmitr is top 3 based on glove alone, considering he's an elite defender in all infield positions and can hold his own in the outfield. His bat is also below average.
3B Justin Engle - 16th - Truly nothing to write home about. Bang average skills.
SS Antonio Salazar - 17th - Salazar is another elite defender in all infield positions, arguably even better than Tlevtsejev. His bat is very below average however.
LF Yasuaki Kubota - 2nd - "YaKu" gets on base, either by hitting or getting 4 balls. His defense in the corners is also pretty good, mainly due to his surehandedness.
CF Sam Kine - 16th - Somewhat underrated, Kine is very good with the balls and strikes but not very good at hitting the ball well. You can expect a 15 pitch battle to end with a weak groundball. However, he has the speed to turn some of those weak groundballs into singles, and then even into doubles with a stolen base. Great defense, but his arm knocks him down a few tiers.
RF Chris Cleland - 11th - Cleland is just another league average player, but his defense in right is worth noting, particularly a very strong arm.
SP Pedro Sosa - 3rd - Despite only having one real plus pitch (though it's a plus-plus changeup), Sosa could dominate on the mound with amazing control and groundball inducing movement.
CL Manuel Vergara - 13th - "El Chacal" has plus control on his sinkers and cutters that will surely get some hits and misses.
We can add SP Antonio Greco, an Italian with amazing control on a 90 mph splitter that pairs well with his fastball.
Overall, the Italian club has some talent, but are overall average at best. They'll do well to avoid being the division punching bag and being closer to the expected .500 record.
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Hopefully whoever reads this enjoys this format, expect 3 more divisions! A note on the logos: I have a handful of AI created logos because the Ice Giants' is the first one I did and I think it turned out fantastic. From then on, I decided to just look up some logos using google and only generated 5 more AI logos for a couple concepts I didn't get satisfying results for using the image search. These teams are the Auroras (because how do you get an aurora logo for a baseball team), the Sentinels (because I had a specific sort of concept for this one in mind), the Crabeaters (because I just wanted to see what DALL-E had in store for them), the Storms (which I'm now realizing I have 2 teams with the same name but in different languages, oh well) and the Explorers (because all explorer logos I found were focused on like colonialist figures, wooded mountains, the woods, etc. and I didn't find a concept I liked). Anyway, you'll get to see these and other logos I found online in the next posts. Thanks for reading!