[SYSTEM UPDATE…

Please wait…

Calculating…

Here are the player rankings based on performances thus far:

RANKING

Level 2 Players:

* Harold Grey (CF) 45 XP

* Adam Bridger (RP) 16

* Eldric Hinn (IF) 15

Smith Reeve (RP) 15

* Aston Bale (RP) 14

* Woodrow Irvine (LF) 10

Level 1 Players:

* Allis Derry (SP) 70 XP

* Landyn Barnette (SP) 55

* Edward Kin (3B) 40

* Gerard Plunkett (2B) 35

* Wyer Denman (SP) 30

Ead Yellow (C) 30

Clifford Summers (IF) 30

* Leonard Weaves (RP) 28

* Auden Hale (SP) 25

Alfie Alvin (SP) 25

Jeremiah Quallon (C) 25

Barnard Wastewell (3B) 25

* Ulrich Farrowhill (RP) 19

* Proctor Smythe (SP) 15

Oswald Chester (C) 15

* Dyer Thickenburg (RP) 14

* Emerson Iler (RP) 12

* Grinth Done (RP) 11

* Jux Quallon (RF) 10

Reilly Blackburn (SS) 10

* Bern Kinley (RP) 9

* Wynn Willowby (RP) 8

* Stanley Axel (CF) 5

Dillard Coal (1B) 5

Kimball East (2B) 5

Stuart Manetten (RP) 5

* Monty Holt (RP) 1

* Torag Gill (SP) 0

Dalen Edwardstone (SP) 0

Denton Carkner (LF) 0

Gak Bar (RF) 0

Cedric Harlane (OF) 0

Wulf Stanston (C) 0

Beckett Akin (SS) 0

Further updates will be provided as additional performance results are posted.]

Never did it cross my mind I might be ranked second overall for the entire team where the 40 man roster was concerned. In fairness, I had a leg up given I was designated a Level 2 player from the start - but still, I was pretty surprised.

I tried to play it off as Proctor and I prepared ourselves for the fielding drills.

“Fourteenth isn’t bad,” I said to him.

He threw me a smirk. Clearly, he wasn’t buying it.

“Be proud of second place,” Proctor said. “Own it.”

“I only scored one extra Experience Point over you,” I said. “It’s no great shakes. If it wasn’t for the System saying I’m a Level 2, and you’re a Level 1-”

“But, they have,” Proctor said. “Don’t concern yourself with it to any great degree. If it comes to pass I don’t make the final 26 man roster before the tourney begins, I’m fine with that.”

He raised a good point. I didn’t really relish being a player either. The tasks of owning and running the franchise interested me more than being an every day player. That said, I wasn’t about to tank my on field performances either. I’d do my best, and let the chips fall where they may.

“I’m not purposefully lessening my efforts either,” Proctor said. “I will try my hardest to perform well. The team only benefits as a result.”

He had a good attitude about it all, which shouldn’t have come as a surprise given what I knew of the man.

Barkley met us all as a group of forty men gathered around the home dugout.

“We shall have baseballs hit to each one of you,” Barkley said. “You will have an opportunity to field thirty times, and we shall see how you fare. Best of luck to you all. Let us begin with the pitchers. Starting pitchers, and then relievers.”

Barkley walked toward home plate to speak with Wulf Stanston whom he had playing catcher for the bulk of these drills, until it would come time for the catchers to run their own fielding drills as well.

For the purposes of the exercise, Wulf would simulate batted balls with his throwing arm. He’d toss a series of balls in the direction of the pitcher, and the pitcher would have to react from the mound, and either field a ball (i.e. catch it) cleanly from the air, or field it from the ground (again, cleanly), and throw it accurately to first base to simulate throwing out a batter.

Wulf was tasked with mixing up his throws to give a well rounded assessment of each player’s fielding ability. There’d be simulated pop ups, line drives, ground balls right up the middle toward the pitcher’s mound, and also ground balls on either side of the mound forcing the pitcher to range to their right or left.

Dillard stood on first base, his designated position on the team, ready to receive throws from the players participating in the drill.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

To get a better angle while watching the starting pitchers field balls from the mound, I took up a spot behind home plate in the bleachers. Same place I’d been while watching the position players take batting practice earlier.

Proctor was up first for the starters, and I’d hoped he wouldn’t feel self conscious with me sitting straight across from him, within his line of sight. In a way though, it might’ve made for good practice when we were in real games, and the bleachers were full of people whose very presence could prove distracting.

If Proctor was nervous at all, he didn’t show it, and he kicked off the pitchers’ fielding session in fine style. Wulf Stanston did a decent job throwing him various simulated hits, and he did well with probably half of the thirty he saw, in my estimation. Sure, it meant half overall were less than stellar, but he made a couple of really impressive fielding plays that I thought the System would reward him for, giving him more Experience Points than he might lose on the others.

When he was done, we met over near the dugout. His chest heaved, and sweat soaked his forehead.

“That was great,” I said. “A couple of those were pro worthy.”

Proctor laughed. “Let’s not get carried away,” he said. “Overall, it was enjoyable. Wulf put me through my paces.”

The catcher wandered over to us, and he and Proctor shared pats on the back.

“Well done,” Proctor said to Wulf.

“You too,” Wulf said with a smile. “You showed us what to do.”

“Now, now,” Proctor said, and he began to blush.

Barkley had Jeremiah Quallon toss balls to the next starting pitcher on the list, Torag Gill. During the morning pitching drills, Torag hadn’t performed well. When I’d glimpsed the rankings in my vision which the System had sent me, I could see he was toward the bottom. It was likely he knew he’d under performed, so in the fielding drills he’d want to show us something.

And, he did. Only, it wasn’t great. Probably half of the balls he’d fielded he bobbled the ball in his glove. He threw a few straight into the dirt while trying to make a play at first base too. It was a dismal performance. The thought of cutting Torag from the team when it came time to pare the roster down from 40 men to 26 had me giddy.

The rest of the fielding displays from the starting pitchers were unremarkable. Proctor probably performed the best of them all, though Alfie Alvin may have given him a run for his money.

Then it was our turn, the relief pitchers. I was up first, and Barkley paired me with catcher, Ead Yellow. He was an interesting young guy. Short, squat in stature, and someone who rarely spoke. But, he seemed friendly enough. It was hard to know because he was so introverted.

“Please begin,” Barkley instructed the catcher.

Ead tossed me a few groundballs to start our session. The first grounder rolled to my left, and I strained to reach it, backhanded with my glove. I didn’t take it up off the infield grass cleanly. The ball struck the edge of my glove, so I had to make two attempts to grab it off the ground.

Kimball East, the second baseman was standing at first base with his glove ready to receive my throws. I tossed him that first grounder giving me trouble, and my throw was a bit off the mark. But, Kimball made it look pretty good, and he reached to his right, and caught the ball without too much fuss. Still, it was a poor way to start.

Please don’t let the whole thing go like this, I remember thinking. Concentrate. Relax.

Before Ead threw another simulated hit, I took a minute at the back of the pitcher’s mound breathing in and out with a deliberate effort to slow my heart, and calm my nerves.

In all of the thirty fielding plays I’d made off the mound, I think I’d counted three, maybe four that were any good.

It was awful. I was awful.

Great, I thought. Am I going to wind up being demoted to Level 1?

You lose enough points in the System’s eyes, and it could happen.

Proctor recognized I was upset with my performance, and he came over to lend a few encouraging words, but I think I was too dejected to truly hear them.

We both took seats at the bleachers behind home plate again. I wanted to try and put my poor performance out of my head, and observe the rest of the team field balls. I was happy to have Proctor join me, so I could hear whatever thoughts he’d had regarding the players, but for the first little while watching the rest we didn’t speak much at all.

Once every pitcher had gone through their drills, Barkley had the outfielders take their turns. And, in all honesty, they were pretty fun to watch.

Stanley Axel, the centerfielder, went first. He ranged all over the outfield grass chasing down high fly balls. Aaaaannnd… yeah, he’s not great. He dropped more than half the balls that came to him. He flat out missed at least two pop flies. I did my best to stifle my laughter, not that he’d likely hear me from that far away.

“I wouldn’t do any better,” Proctor said.

“Not sure you could do a lot worse,” I said, chuckling.

“Now, now.”

Harold Grey, a Level 2 centerfielder, showed top form once again. He’d been quite good during batting practice, and he proved pretty adept at fielding too. There were a few impressive catches where he had to run into the gaps between centerfield, and left field or right. He even had a couple of diving catches that brought the guys to their feet in the dugout.

Watching Harold got me excited, because on those few electric plays of his, I visualized the whole village gathered at the park, and loudly cheering. That was a memorable aspect of watching ball games on TV, the noise of the crowd, especially in big games. And, given how important it was to Moonlight that we win, every game would be massive.

The fielding drills dragged on a while. There were some dull spots as we watched the guys go through the motions. But, a couple of stand out surprises made it all worthwhile.

Our friend, Dillard. He showed a lot of promise fielding grounders and line drives over at first base. Gerard Plunkett, our new second baseman from Blue Lake. He also impressed us a great deal.

“What’d ya think of that ya morons?” Dillard shouted at Proctor and me from the dugout.

He was cocky, and he deserved to be. We flashed him a thumbs up, and though I wasn’t sure the gesture translated to medieval folks, he held a thumb up back at us.

“I’m pleased for him,” Proctor said. “The System should look kindly on his fielding performance.”

“Agreed,” I said. “Yours too.”

“We’ll see.”

[ATTENTION!

SYSTEM UPDATE…

Fielding Experience Points rewarded…

Starting Pitchers:

Proctor Smythe +20 XP

Torag Gill 0

Landyn Barnette 0

Auden Hale +5

Alfie Alvin +20

Dalen Edwardstone +5

Allis Derry -5

Wyer Denman +5

Relief Pitchers:

Adam Bridger +10 XP

Ulrich Farrowhill +5

Bern Kinley 0

Leonard Weaves +5

Aston Bale -5

Grinth Done +15

Smith Reeve +30

Wynn Willowby +10

Emerson Iler +20

Dyer Thickenburg +10

Stuart Manetten +10

Monty Holt +20

Centerfielders:

Stanley Axel +5 XP

Harold Grey +30

Left fielders:

Denton Carkner +10 XP

Woodrow Irvine +20

Right fielders:

Gak Bar -10 XP

Jux Quallon +10

Outfielder:

Cedric Harlane +10 XP

Catchers:

Jeremiah Quallon +20 XP

Wulf Stanston +10

Ead Yellow +10

Oswald Chester +25

First baseman:

Dillard Coal +35 XP

Second basemen:

Gerard Plunkett +35 XP

Kimball East +5

Third basemen:

Edward Kin -5 XP

Barnard Wastewell +30

Shortstops:

Reilly Blackburn +15 XP

Beckett Akin +35

Infielders:

Eldric Hinn +25 XP

Clifford Summers +20

UPDATING…

Level up detected!]