The Unified Middle East Baseball Association!

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The Unified Middle East Baseball Association!

Post by recte44 » Thu Jan 10, 2019 6:44 pm

BBA Player Turned President Achieves Peace In Middle East, New League Is Born

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If you were a casual BBA fan in the late 2000's and early 2010's, you probably didn't know who Bernard Addison "Barney" Bancroft was. After all, he was just a borderline bench infielder who played in just 357 BBA games for Valencia, Madison and Omaha. "My baseball career wasn't much to speak of," said Bancroft. "I loved the game, though, and I wouldn't trade those years for anything." Bancroft was a smart player, who knew his role. "Mr. Wilson once referred to me as the resident defensive replacement," laughed Bancroft. "I could live with that, honestly. I was happy to be in the big leagues, playing with the likes of Charles Puckett and Bopper Kengos. Clearly I wasn't going to beat those guys out!" Bancroft also was once the #1 overall pick in a Rule 5 Draft. Hawaii chose him in the 2004 Rule 5 Draft, looking again at his defense. "Bancroft shows superior skills at shortstop and sports a gun of an arm. Barney won two Glove Wiz Awards and appeared in two All-Star games in the minor leagues. Des Moines drafted Bancroft out of high school in 1999, and the Florida native had been in
the Kernels farm system since then. This winter Hawaii granted Bancroft time to work with a personal trainer to improve his work ethic. It is already paying benefits. The Personal Training department is led by Hawaii-born Lenn Sakata, who was the last shortstop to play for the MLB Orioles before Ripken started his consecutive game streak." -Al Hoot, then-Hawaii GM.

"That was the kick I really needed in life," admitted Bancroft. "No one had really talked to me about my drive before, I had been doing well enough just cruising by. Sakata really changed my life, made me see the bigger picture in baseball and beyond." The plan for Bancroft to be the Tropics starting shortstop didn't work out as he started just 32 games and batted .210 in the 2004 season, which would prove to be his only year in Hawaii. The Valencia Stars would be his next stop, and he would be with them from 2006-2011. In the early part of the 2011 season, he was waived by the Stars and then claimed by Madison where he would see his most extensive BBA playing time. After spending the 2014 season in the minors, he resurfaced with the Omaha Barnstormers for the 2015 season, playing in 40 games. Bancroft would spend the entire 2016 season back in the minors and it would be the best season he's had in pro ball. "I figured that if I wasn't going to get a call to the majors after playing the best I could possibly play, it was time for me to start the next chapter of my life," said Bancroft. "My favorite part of my baseball life was all of the great charities that I was able to be a part of. I thought that maybe I could help people on a bigger scale, and with that goal in mind, I went off to Harvard to get a law degree."

At Harvard, Bancroft became a leader among his class and one of the most respected people on campus. "He just amazed me with how much he put himself out there to help others," said classmate James Bottomtooth III. "It was amazing to see how he could be one of the best students in our class and also have time to not only help his fellow classmates, but participate in all of the charities he did." Bancroft decided that he would spend a summer working abroad, and settled on working with the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP). His time in the Middle East became much more than a summer. Bancroft came back over immediately following his graduation and began working to achieve the groups goal of peace in the region. "Something inside me told me that this was my chance to be the change I wanted to see in the world," explained Bancroft. Ultimately Bancroft became fully entrenched in the region, developing deep seeded friendships with people of many different countries and religions. While he felt he as making progress with individuals, he could only watch as the regions larger political divide was becoming increasingly volatile.

Back in the United States, after Donald Trump was impeached from office in 2019, and then his successor Mike Pence was defeated in the 2020 election by Kamala Harris (SEN, CAL-D) the world view began to improve. U.S. Relations were improved world wide and things began to look up. However, the ongoing Middle East issue was not improving. Harris, with limited foreign policy experience, was unable to improve the situation and it continued to escalate. In 2023, Palestine and Egypt aligned with Romania and Ukraine. Ukraine, having retained some of the USSR's nuclear stable, was the key in this alignment, as it now signaled immediate nuclear danger for Israel. Despite Harris' best efforts to calm the situation, it was still unresolved going into the 2024 U.S. Presidential election and became the major issue of the election. The Republican Party chose Kentucky Senator Rand Paul as their nominee, and despite his past history of isolationism and the stance of his father, he was now fully involved in the Foreign Policy Committee and thus viewed by the American populate as the right man for the job. He won handily and as President vowed to fan the flames of the Middle Eastern conflict. While he was able to get the Ukraine and Romania to back down, new problems arose as the Arabic states of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Lebanon, and Egypt called for the immediate surrender of Jerusalem from Israel to Palestine. President Paul called for a summit of all Middle Eastern nations in 2029 (his second term) and there was no resolution. This stalemate continued for several years, after Paul's two terms were up and his successor, Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse (R) was elected President in 2032. Sasse was immediately over-matched in this struggle. Not only had the Arabic States Alliance not cooled, but now the state of India with a full nuclear arsenal was threatening to end the conflict once and for all by destroying Jerusalem. The now progressive countries of Sudan and Algeria intervened with India, ultimately getting India to agree to stand down, but only temporarily. The region appeared destined for an endgame that would be catastrophic.

Enter Bancroft. By 2035 he had established his own organization focused on world conflicts and bringing people together. His organization, One World, were working diligently in the Middle Eastern conflict and making more progress than the previous three U.S Presidential Administrations had been able to. This progress was not publicized until June 2035 when a story was broken in the New York Times showing Bancroft and leaders from twelve of the primary involved nations at an unlikely place- a baseball game in Mumbai. The story included a now iconic picture of Bancroft and the twelve leaders all standing and cheering a play on the field, united in a moment of pure joy and shared experience. It became a worldwide story of interest and overnight Bancroft was a worldwide hero. The more the American public learned about Bancroft, the more they wanted to know.

They learned of his heritage. They learned about William Bancroft, his forefather who created the Naval Academy. They learned of his baseball career and what kind of a person and teammate he was. They learned of his Harvard years, about his incredible work ethic and ability to bring people together. Finally they learned of the selfless work he chose as his life path, and how by simply getting to know people, learning common interests of groups in conflict, and then bringing them together to those shared interests can make the world a better place.

After centuries of conflict, ultimately it was baseball that began the healing in the Middle East. Bancroft was the right man at the right time, with the right message. The walls of division began to break down. India stood down shortly after the "Bancroft Game" and issues a full apology to not only the other countries, but to the world as a whole. The Arabic states worked to facilitate an understanding between themselves, Israel and Palestine. Finally the Israeli-Palestinian Treaty was signed on September 23, 2035 at the People's Ballpark in Jerusalem. Facilitating the signing was Bancroft. These people, so alike but so different, finally seemed unified.

After winning the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in unifying the Middle East, a grassroots campaign for Bancroft to run for President in 2036 took flight and quickly became too large for him to ignore. He agreed to run for the office, but refused to align with a political party and ran as an independent. "Political parties look for the differences in people and beliefs," Bancroft explained in his announcement to run for President. "My mission in life has been to bring people together. I am answering the call of the American people who have asked me to continue my work as their President."

He defeated the incumbent Sasse (R) and the Democratic nominee Joe Kennedy III in grand fashion, doing something an Independent candidate had never done before in winning 52% of the popular vote. With new challenges to take on in the United States, he still didn't forget that there was more work to do in the Middle East. Building on the famous baseball summit, he had already began to lay the groundwork for a new baseball league for the region. Current players in the Brewster Baseball Association system were advocates for a new league as well, the most prominent of which was Israel's Adel Bin Ibrahim who had played for the Wichita Aviators in their inaugural season of 2035 and is now in the Brooklyn Robins system. "I've played with teammates from all different backgrounds, and we all come together for the same goal," said Bin Ibrahim. "It's important for this region to come together in a spirit of teamwork and I think that a league of this region is a grand idea." Bancroft summoned his Madison teammate, Brodie Burt , who had been one of the stars of the European Baseball Alliance, and asked him to take a leadership role in the formation of a new league in the region. Not only did Burt have experience in seeing what a pro league can do for baseball in a region that historically wasn't one of its most popular sports, he's also experienced what division can do to a country. "I'm Irish," Burt said in a press conference on April 30, 2036 in Jerusalem, Israel. "My family and many others has seen what damage division can do to a country and its people. To be a small part of moving this region forward is an honor for me. With that, I am honored to announce the formation of the Unified Middle East Baseball Association, or UMEBA."

There will be twelve teams in the league (six major league and six minor league), with each team located in a country involved in the conflicts over the past decades. "These countries are moving forward as one region, and this league will be a small part of that," a proud Burt explained. Plans are to launch the new league this summer. Players from overseas will initially fill most of the rosters, but ultimately the goal is to grow the natural talent in the region much as the European Baseball Alliance did for talent in Europe.

Teams in the UMEBA will be in the following cities, with nicknames and more coming soon:
Major League: Cairo, Egypt; Istanbul, Turkey ; Baghdad, Iraq; Jerusalem, Israel; Beirut, Lebanon; Mumbai, India
Minor League: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Tehran, Iran; Khartoum, Sudan ; Algiers, Algeria; Kiev, Ukraine; Bucharest, Romania

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Re: The Unified Middle East Baseball Association!

Post by usnspecialist » Thu Jan 10, 2019 7:16 pm

this is great, although I was hoping to see a team in Manama, Bahrain considering that is where I will be spending the next 3 years!! I wasnt here for the EBA but im curious to see how this works out. What do you need from us as league members in order to make this work?
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Re: The Unified Middle East Baseball Association!

Post by Rubaboo » Thu Jan 10, 2019 7:56 pm

Does this mean some flavor of the Rule 6 is coming back?
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Re: The Unified Middle East Baseball Association!

Post by recte44 » Thu Jan 10, 2019 8:14 pm

Yes after one season

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Re: The Unified Middle East Baseball Association!

Post by bschr682 » Thu Jan 10, 2019 8:15 pm

im around... just sayin...
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Re: The Unified Middle East Baseball Association!

Post by usnspecialist » Thu Jan 10, 2019 8:20 pm

bschr682 wrote:
Thu Jan 10, 2019 8:15 pm
im around... just sayin...
flash the brett signal!!
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Re: The Unified Middle East Baseball Association!

Post by Lane » Fri Jan 11, 2019 10:37 am

This article is amazing! So much new stuff for BBA "canon."

I'm very excited about the UMEBA and the extra dimension it will bring to the league.
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Re: The Unified Middle East Baseball Association!

Post by bcslouck » Fri Jan 11, 2019 11:01 am

Lane wrote:
Fri Jan 11, 2019 10:37 am
This article is amazing! So much new stuff for BBA "canon."

I'm very excited about the UMEBA and the extra dimension it will bring to the league.
Same. Love the article and can't wait. Also wondered what the canon is since people have written stuff like that all over. It'd be interesting to try and come up with a canon timeline that people can use for articles.
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Re: The Unified Middle East Baseball Association!

Post by Lane » Fri Jan 11, 2019 11:06 am

bcslouck wrote:
Fri Jan 11, 2019 11:01 am
Lane wrote:
Fri Jan 11, 2019 10:37 am
This article is amazing! So much new stuff for BBA "canon."

I'm very excited about the UMEBA and the extra dimension it will bring to the league.
Same. Love the article and can't wait. Also wondered what the canon is since people have written stuff like that all over. It'd be interesting to try and come up with a canon timeline that people can use for articles.
Sounds like a fun project!
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Re: The Unified Middle East Baseball Association!

Post by Ted » Fri Jan 11, 2019 11:16 am

Are we letting BBA GMs run open teams until we get real people? I always enjoyed that.
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Re: The Unified Middle East Baseball Association!

Post by Lane » Fri Jan 11, 2019 11:25 am

Ted wrote:
Fri Jan 11, 2019 11:16 am
Are we letting BBA GMs run open teams until we get real people? I always enjoyed that.
That's what I'd assume.
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Re: The Unified Middle East Baseball Association!

Post by GoldenOne » Fri Jan 11, 2019 1:00 pm

Kyiv and Bucharest have always been in the top 5 of cities I've visited....... :bye:
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Re: The Unified Middle East Baseball Association!

Post by jiminyhopkins » Sun Jan 13, 2019 10:27 pm

BREAKING NEWS:

Just got word from Nick Spitulski ("salas") that he is interested in the Mumbai franchise, to be named the Mumbai Bicycle Club.

More to come!
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Re: The Unified Middle East Baseball Association!

Post by Ted » Sun Jan 13, 2019 11:23 pm

jiminyhopkins wrote:
Sun Jan 13, 2019 10:27 pm
BREAKING NEWS:

Just got word from Nick Spitulski ("salas") that he is interested in the Mumbai franchise, to be named the Mumbai Bicycle Club.

More to come!
Yes!!!!! Tell Nick hi for me.
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Re: The Unified Middle East Baseball Association!

Post by Fat Nige » Mon Jan 14, 2019 6:20 am

Is the ootp uniform designers capable of showing turbans and robes? :P

Looking forward to this next adventure in the BBA universe. Can I add to my collection of BBA & EBA franchises managed?
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Re: The Unified Middle East Baseball Association!

Post by recte44 » Mon Jan 14, 2019 5:20 pm

umeba.png
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Re: The Unified Middle East Baseball Association!

Post by Rubaboo » Mon Jan 14, 2019 5:34 pm

I dig it. Looks great.
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Re: The Unified Middle East Baseball Association!

Post by Fat Nige » Thu Jan 17, 2019 10:43 am

Definitely looks good and I love the colour scheme
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Re: The Unified Middle East Baseball Association!

Post by bcslouck » Thu Jan 17, 2019 11:46 am

Yeah it's a sharp logo. Retro feeling to it. Really nice.
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