The Reveal Heard ’Round the BBA

[Graham]

Graham Luna landed at Thurgood Marshall Airport under gray Baltimore skies, his collar turned up against the wind. Waiting just past security was Erwijn Pellenaars, the Jimmies’ assistant GM, tall and efficient, with a team cap in one hand and an iPad in the other. “For optics,” Pellenaars said, passing Graham the hat. “And for substance,” he added, handing over the device. It was pre-loaded with analytics, salary projections, and a neat “state of the franchise” summary to crib from during the press conference. Graham slipped the cap on, trying to look like he’d been wearing Charm City colors his whole life.

The ride into downtown was quiet except for Pellenaars occasionally clearing his throat, as if rehearsing how he’d introduce Graham to the rest of the front office. Outside, the skyline unfurled: the cranes, the warehouses, the glow of the Inner Harbor. Graham kept his head down, staring through the glass like the answers might be written on the water. Already, local radio was buzzing: an outsider parachuting into one of the BBA’s crown franchises.

* * * * *
Inside Camden Center, cameras and notepads crowded every aisle. Commissioner Matt Rectenwald fiddled with his prepared remarks; owner Cemal Jirecek smoothed his tie like he was about to negotiate peace. The Charm City coaching staff—Craig Bass, Lachlan McQuinney, Domingo Aquino, Frank Bud—filed in, each measuring their new boss with a ballplayer’s practiced squint.

And in the third row, just another notebook among many, sat Will Bigby. His résumé didn’t spell it out, but he carried a history no one else in the room shared. Bigby had made his bones writing for Treasure Valley Sports, chasing box scores and interviews left him with a knack for hearing what others missed. Now covering the BBA full-time, he had the look of a man who’d come to listen more than to write. His pen scratched steadily across the page, his ears tuned sharper than most.

The press conference opened with boilerplate. Rectenwald promised stability. Jirecek rambled, weaving metaphors about pride, championships and Nutella-infused recipes.

Then Graham stepped to the mic. He adjusted his tie, cleared his throat, and leaned in.

“Great to be back in the BBA,” he said.

A ripple cut the room. Reporters tilted their heads. And in the third row, Bigby’s pen froze.

“Back?” Bigby said aloud before he could stop himself. The single word hung like a stone in still water. Graham’s eyes darted, then narrowed.

“I meant,” he said quickly, “back in Charm City. Haven’t been here in, oh… almost ten years. Great town.” Cameras flashed. Some reporters nodded, satisfied. Bigby didn’t move. He just wrote one word in his notebook: slip?.

The questions flowed. Payroll flexibility. Farm system direction. Player development philosophy. Graham's thoughts on Ackerman and Silva. Graham handled them with a mix of polished jargon and careful deflection. But under the hot studio lights, sweat collected on his upper lip. And then, almost comically, his mustache—glued with the subtlety of a high school theater prop—slid two centimeters down, hanging awkwardly over his mouth.

Most in the room missed it. Bigby did not. He leaned forward, eyes narrowing, as if the stage makeup itself had whispered a secret. He scribbled a second word: mask?

By the time Jirecek finished another ramble about patience and destiny, Bigby was already standing. He didn’t raise his hand. He didn’t need to. His voice cut the room.

“Excuse me, but I just have to say this, even if this isn't the time or place."

Graham loosened the collar of his dress shirt, giving him ample room to inaudibly gulp.

"You’re not Graham Luna, I know you!” Bigby shouted, pointing. “You’re Joe Lederer.”

Gasps. Reporters spun in their chairs. Cameras clicked like machine guns. The man of the hour in his new Jimmies ball cap froze, every escape route blocked by microphones and stares. Jirecek, after a single stunned second, clapped his hands together and laughed.

“Ah! So my GM is a man of mystery. Good! The BBA needs mystery!”

Rectenwald’s expression was stranger: not horror, but something almost like relief. He adjusted his jacket, cleared his throat, and said into the mic, “Sometimes the past has a way of finding its future. Today, so has Charm City.”

The room collapsed into chaos. Shouts, questions, phones dialing editors before the sentence was even finished. PR staff hustled Joe—no longer Graham—to a side door, his fake mustache finally slipping fully off, dangling in his hand like a surrender flag.

* * * * *
The next morning, the papers were merciless. "Charm City’s Secret GM!" screamed one. "BBA Cover-Up?" howled another. Jirecek doubled down in interviews, calling his new General Manager a “phoenix who has risen.” The commissioner’s office issued a terse statement about “eligibility, continuity, and confidence.”

Lederer sat at his hotel window, breakfast untouched, staring at the Inner Harbor lights. The Baltimore Sun lay folded beside his plate. His phone buzzed without stopping—Rosario, Mal, reporters, old numbers he hadn’t seen in years.

And for the first time since Darryl’s threats began, he realized he didn’t need to call the Palm Beach Police anymore. His secret was out. The mask was off. Publicly, irreversibly.

And all he could do was wonder if the job he had just been given was already slipping through his fingers.

[Dington]

I feel shocked…

[recte44]

Oh yeah!!!

[BTuck2112]

[jleddy]

Great article. Caleca nominee.

[trmmilwwi]

Didn't see that one coming. Well done, well done.

[BTuck2112]

Great article. Caleca nominee.

No seriously, Caleca nomination for sure. I was on the edge of my seat, and I didn't even know you before you were Moonlight Graham lol.

[Lane]

whaaaaat!!!

[jleddy]

Great article. Caleca nominee.

...and I didn't even know you before you were Moonlight Graham lol.

Good catch! Some Moonlight Graham references, including the name Graham Luna, sprinkled in my application. Chad figured out the name was fake a month back or so but not sure if he knew was behind it...

[RonCo]

After a while, I was pretty sure it was you but didn't want to say anything in case I was right.

Welcome back, my friend. You have been missed.

[Dington]

Great article. Caleca nominee.

...and I didn't even know you before you were Moonlight Graham lol.

Good catch! Some Moonlight Graham references, including the name Graham Luna, sprinkled in my application. Chad figured out the name was fake a month back or so but not sure if he knew was behind it...

Once I figured out the name was fake I was pretty certain it was you, though I never made any accusations. I just prayed I was wrong.

[Trebro]

Wait! You, a far better GM than I will ever be on the best day of my life, asked me in detail everything about Johannesburg. My God man! Patience of Job there.

I should have known something was up when you were unusually active for a new GBC guy.

Welcome back man!

[mragland]

Heh.

[ae37jr]

What in the Al Hoot is going on here.

[Chuck V]

I have zero idea what is going on. Plus this article.

[lordtoffee]

Welcome back Joe, and well played.