Charm City 2057.2 - Where'd He Come From

[DaveB]

In today's edition of Works Slow so let's write a team news, if you've seen our recent box score of the 15-8 victory over Montreal you might have noticed a strange name OF: Rene Rolandsen. Rolandsen was named the player of the game for that victory by going 3-5 with a homer and 5 RBI. Okay, okay, but other than having an extremely generic name who is Rene Rolandsen? Rene was the single child to Dean and Erlene Ronaldson, who was born was both June 26th, 2025 in Oslo Norway. Growing up in Norway Rolandsen's favorite things to do were selling yellow snow cones (rumor has it they weren't lemonade flavored as advertised), playing Sega Genesis games on a system purchased from the antique store by his father, and skiing. Rene was named cross country skier of the decade at his high school Elvebakken High School in 2044. It's this sport that helped propel Rolandsen to the BBA.

While discussing his childhood with Rolandsen, I asked "You were a top cross country skier in Oslo, your coach felt you could have made the Olympic team one day. How did you come across baseball?" A slight blush spread across his cheeks as did a smirk. "You know my mom wasn't an athelete, but she was very competitive. My father was very creative and that would help sometimes. The best example of that I can give was when my uncle Sven entered the Gardermoen 125 at the Gardermoen Raceway. My family didn't know anything about how to make cars go fast. My father however was pretty smart he figured out a way enlarge the gas tank in uncle Sven's car so he wouldn't have to pit if the race stayed green. We went to the Salvation Army looking for parts for Uncle Sven's car. I saw the PC Game Season Ticket Baseball and thought it sounded fun so my dad bought it for me along with some auto parts for Uncle Sven's car. Uncle Sven finished 7th in his race after starting 23rd. He was able to pass about 12 cars that day because of the tricked out fuel tank. I was hooked on baseball after that day. After getting Inside the Park Baseball I was enamored with the dynamics of baseball and statistics. I eventually discovered Out of the Park Baseball."

In his senior year of high school between skiing practices, Rolandsen's ski coach Erik Berg saw him horsing around swinging a ski pole at a handmade snow ball. "I thought what on earth are these kids horsing around with now? I looked out the window and Rolandsen had a nice swing. After practice I asked Rene where he picked up on the swings he was taking. His eyes grew when I asked him. He talked about Season Ticket Baseball, watching players like Adam Backhouse and Raúl Hernández and UMEBA baseball. I realized then that while he's one of the best skiers I've ever met his heart was on the diamond." After making a few phone calls Berg made a few phone calls and heard the local Oslo Kings junior team was having tryouts. Rolandsen attended those meetings and would have been the final cut if not for a tree. "As you may know skiing in Norway is huge. It's my understanding that I was supposed to be cut from the Kings in 2045, but our starting center fielder Oleg Nedved broke his leg in skiing accient. He lost the edge of his ski around a turn hit a tree and I became the center fielder. I was used as an outfielder because my legs were in such great shape due to all the cross country skiing I did in high school, I had such great speed because of how well toned my legs were I could cover the most ground" recalled Rolandsen.

"The first year with the Oslo Kings was tough, I was alone when we were on the road missing my family. I was struggling at the plate, a lot of the kids had been playing ball coming out of the womb, I started swinging at snow balls with a ski pole" laughed Rolandsen. "In August the game finally started to slow down for me and I hit .260 with 6 homers in September and August. I kept improving until a scout noticed me for the Bucharest Impalers. I signed with them on a minor league deal worth a little over 2 million dollars. It was the happiest day of my life to go professional with baseball."

Rolandsen spent 2 in Bucharest, winning the United Cup in 2049, but was unable to nail down a starting job initially. "When I got to Bucharest in 2048 it was an exciting time for me. I was in the 2nd highest baseball league in the world. I wasn't happy though because I bounced around between AAA and the UMEBA in 48-49. In 2050 I spent the entire season in AAA. I didn't become a full time player until 2051 after Bucharest moved to San Paulo and became the Pilots. After that year it was back to part time status and a trip to Buenos Aires. I was miserable with Buenos Aires as I was stuck in AAA. I thought about retiring, but my agent received a call from America...

Rolandsen said "Charm City called and wanted to sign me to a minor league deal. I thought if I continue playing in the GBC I might be a minor league player, at least if I move to America I might still be in the minors, but it'll be the best league in the world and could open a lot of possibilities. I quickly signed the minor league contract with the Charm City Jimmies that paid me a 300,000 signing bonus. Miguel Martinez, Jimmies first base coach, actually mentioned my name to assistant GM Chris Bennett to get the ball moving." "I saw Rene when I was with Riyahd he showed good range and a pretty decent bat. I thought at worst why not bring him in as depth for the 2057 season" said 1st base coach Miguel Martinez. Jimmies Manager Pedro Medina "We had a hold on our roster at backup centerfielder. Last year we had Chuck 'Pip' Dickens and Tristan Colenutt cover the backup center field job last year. I had thought about Colenutt reprising the role this year, but he was traded before spring training. I was impressed by the range Rolandsen showed, he hit well in batting practice, but struggled in spring training. As we were constructing the roster I wanted a more defensive minded centerfielder so we went with Rene over Miguel Rodríguez. He's looked good so far.

[RonCo]

Thanks for this. Lots of fun and interesting stories coming into the league these days.

[trmmilwwi]

Fun read, love the writeup. I imagine Oleg could be Petr's son who chose skiing over hockey.

[DaveB]

Fun read, love the writeup. I imagine Oleg could be Petr's son who chose skiing over hockey.

Pete was actually the inspiration for Oleg’s name. Good eye! I loved Pete Nedved with the Penguins in the 90’s.

[Jwalk100]

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[Krathan]

Nice story