Arucian Baseball League

Arucian Baseball League

Most recent season or competition: 2022 Arucian Baseball League Season
Sport	Baseball
Founded	November 3, 1876 (1876-11-03)
Commissioner	Claude Blanc
No. of teams	20
Countries	Bonaventure Carucere Eldmark Gaullica Imagua Île d'Émeraude Sainte-Chloé Satucin
Most recent champion(s)	Sainte-Chloé Sunshine (2022)
Most titles	Sainte-Chloé Imperials (27)

The Arucian Baseball League (Gaullican: Ligue de Baseball Arucien), known as the LBA or ABL, is a professional baseball organisation based in Sainte-Chloé, and one of the oldest and longest lasting professional sporting associations in the world. Since 1999, the League has been comprised of 20 teams spread across 8 countries, with 9 in Sainte-Chloé, 3 in both Bonaventure and in Île d'Émeraude, and 1 from Carucere, Eldmark, Gaullica Imagua and the Assimas, and Satucin each.

With baseball introduced to Colony of Sainte-Chloé from Rizealand throughout the mid 19th century, a professional league modeled off several Rizealand models would be formed in 1876, with four teams. Largely in the shadow of Rizealand's League, it would operate in the winter months, and saw a great deal of cooperation with Rizealand and sharing of players and talent. Until the Great War, the League would remain within Sainte-Chloé, and during the later stages of the war it would temporarily cease operation. After the war, the League would expand and became multi-national sport, especially after the foundation of the United Provinces. The League continued to see expansion throughout the 20th century, growing from 6 teams in 1946 to 20 teams by 1999.

The League's teams are divided into four largely geograhpical divisions, with five in each division. Each team plays a total of 100 games from early November to March, followed by a brief post-season in March. The teams with the highest record in each division move on to a divisional playoff series to play against their opposing division; winners of the divisional series move on to the Arucian Series, the chief title in the League, the winner of which is considered as the yearly champion of the league. Since the foundation of the Arucian Series in 1906, 115 Arucian Series have been held. Of these, the Sainte-Chloé Imperials hold a record 27 titles, as well 49 appearances. The most recent champion is the Sainte-Chloé Sunshine, who won the 2022 series to finish off the 2021-2022 season.

The league, although being less prestigious than the Rizealand Baseball League, remains one of the top professional leagues in the world, and has had many players and teams who have performed well in international competitions. Although traditionally dominated by teams from Sainte-Chloé, with almost half of the teams being based in the country, the league has professional teams based across the islands of the Arucian Sea, Asteria Inferior and Asteria Superior. It is considered a highly international league, with talent being drawn from countries around the Asterias as well as in special cases other continents from around the world. It is the most popularly watched sport in Sainte-Chloé, and is a popular sport in Bonaventura, Carucere and Île d'Émeraude. Alongside the Arucian Football Association, it is the main sporting league in the Arucian and considered one the distinctive cultural institutions of the Arucian.

The League's administration is based in Port de la Sainte, Sainte-Chloé, and is responsible for overseeing the rules and regulations of the game, as well as disciplinary actions. The League also oversees several smaller minor leagues, which act as farm systems for the franchises, as well as sponsoring several baseball leagues at the collegiate and high school level, as well as several women's baseball and softball leagues The League cooperates extensively with the Rizealand Baseball League, and largely follows its decisions and rules. However, the Arucian League also has some of its own customs and rules, such as prohibiting designated hitters as well as play on Sundays and Holy Days. Although the teams are based in multiple countries and tend to cosmopolitan, the language of the league is Gaullican and players are expected to learn it.

Organisation

Executive

The League is headed by a chief executive, known as the Commissioner, who is tasked with managing an overseeing the management of the League and its assets. Unlike other sporting organisations, the ownership of the league and the office of commissioner has been passed down through the Blanc family since the office was founded in 1916. The title has been currently held by Claude Blanc, the fifth-generation Blanc to have held the office, since 2016. The Commissioner is assisted in his operations by the Vice Commissioner, who works together with the Commissioner to head the executive. Under the office of the Commissioner and Vice Commissioner, several executive offices exist for League management, financing, communications, advertising, and rule arbitration. The League hires and maintains all umpires, cooperates with the teams to work out schedules, enforces rules through bans and suspensions, and settles disputes.

In addition to the office of the Commissioner, there is the Arucian Baseball Commission, a group of executives who function as a board of directors and who elect the Vice Commissioner. The Commission is always comprised of 9 members- the Vice Commissioner, four representatives selected from the Arucian Owner's Association, and four representatives from the Arucian Player's Union. Although the Commissioner has final say in all matters, almost all of the time the Commissioner will work with the Commission in order to work out issues and keep both parties happy. Historically, the Commission was much more closely associated with the Owner's Association, and pushed for the Owner's affairs. Due to Chloéois governmental policies by the PCT and court cases following it, in 1956 the League was forced to allow the Player's Union to comprise half of the Commission.

The League's headquarters are based in Port de la Sainte, the capital city of Sainte-Chloé, and legally the League's administration follows their laws. Due to having teams based in other countries, the League also negotiates diplomatic, legal, and economic concerns presented by other countries. Players and staff of the teams have special customs status in all 8 countries for the sake of ease of travel during a season. The guiding document of the League is known as the Arucian Baseball Charter, written in 1887 and last amended in 2002.

Teams

The League is comprised of 20 teams, divided into 4 divisions of five teams. The two divisions are divided into two de jure unofficial conferences, grouping the West and East Divisions together and the North and South Divisions together. Each league has its own colour- yellow for West, blue for South, green for North and red for East. The divisions are notable for not always following geographic boundaries, but instead have come to their current state through the tradition, prestige, and expansion. The West division until it added the Sermoni Krakens 1999 was made up of some of the oldest and wealthiest teams in the League, and has a reputation for history as well as strong performances- nearly half of the Arucian Series have been won by members of that division, and half of those have been won by a single franchise. In the past few decades, however, younger teams have been able to distinguish themselves and perform well.

Division	Logo	Team	City	Country	Stadium	Founded	Current	Notes
West		Épernon Frères	Épernon	Sainte-Chloé	Champ Saint-Roderic	1876		An amateur club founded in 1872 which turned professional in 1875. Named after the Roderican Friars. One of the founding teams, and rival of the Imperials.
		Escalade Cavaliers	Escelade	Sainte-Chloé	Champ Dumonte	1925
	File:Sport Club Internacional 2008 Crest.svg	Sainte-Chloé Imperials	Port de la Sainte	Sainte-Chloé	Stade Impérial	1876		An amateur club founded in 1867 which turned professional in 1875. One of the original founding teams. Rival of the Frères and the historic powerhouse of the league.
		Tranquille Sugars	Tranquille	Sainte-Chloé	Champ Bennett	1882	1924	Originally founded as the Domingue Sugar-Men as the first team which allowed blacks to participate. The title was shortened in 1903, and the team moved from Domingue to Tranquille in 1924. The first team to move away from the capital area.
		Sermoni Krakens	Sermoni	Bonaventure	XXXX Field	1999
South		Decouverte Navigators	Decouverte	Sainte-Chloé	Stade Phare	1903	1938	Began as the Port Imperial Navigators before moving to Decouverte in 1938.
		Mont-Éclair Blues	Éclair	Sainte-Chloé	Stade du Blues	1876	1963	Founded as the Saint-Laurent Blues as one of the original teams. Due to financial troubles following the Great War, merged with the Volonté Eagles in 1936 and moved to Volonté as the "Blue Eagles". Moved to Subercaseaux in 1946, briefly becoming the "Subercaseaux United" before moving back to Volonté for the 1954 season. Moved to Éclair in 1963 and adopted the original team's colours and name.
		Sainte-Chloé Sunshine	Port de la Sainte	Sainte-Chloé	Parc CBC	1999
		Sainte-Geneviève Generals	Sainte-Geneviève	Sainte-Chloé	Parc Balnéaire	1947
	File:LOGO	Sermoni Fortunates	Sermoni	Bonaventure	XXXX Field	1947
North		Appanno Lancers	Appanno	Bonaventure	XXXX Field	1964
		Carrefour Stars	Carrefour	Carucere	Préval Field	1888	1890	Also the de facto Carucerean national baseball team.
	File:Cuanstad Millers.png	Cuanstad Millers	Cuanstad	Imagua	Bank of the Orient Stadium	1947
	File:Hammarvikbatslogo.png	Hammarvik Bats	Hammarvik	Eldmark	Bank of Asteria Arena	1976
		Terre-Belle Rays	Canicule	Sainte-Chloé	Parc Laurent	1955	2003	Originally called the "Citadelle Captains", the team moved in 2003 to the Terre-Belle region and rebranded itself as the Rays.
East		Arac Alligators	Arac	Satucin	Parc Piremont	1976
		Mathiasville Maroons	Mathiasville	Île d'Émeraude	XXXX Field	1976
		Port-au-Grégoire Robins	Port-au-Grégoire	Île d'Émeraude	Champ Gautier	1964		established in 1964 as the "Ressortissants" (Nationals), rebranded as "Robins" in 1985 as an homage to Port-au-Grégoire native, musician, and cultural icon Robin Gautier
		Saint Clair Sugar Kings	Saint Clair	Île d'Émeraude	Stade de la Banque de l’Île d’Émeraude	1999
		Saint-Thomas Lions	Saint-Thomas	Gaullica	Parc Albert	1999		Team from the Îles des Saints.

Defunct Teams

From the League's foundation until the early 20th century, the League usually numbered around four or five teams, almost all located in neighborhoods or cities surrounding the capital city of Port de La Sainte. Throughout the early decades before the Great War, the League saw expansion, reaching 9 teams in 1926. Due to the Great War, four of these teams would play their last season in 1932, although the owners of two would go on to form a merger franchise for the 1935 season.

 • Clermont Capitains (1876-1881)
 • Saint-Laurent Blues (1876-1932)*
 • Allègre Aces (1881-1884)
 • Port Imperial Sailors (1882)
 • Vichel Wanderers (1884-1889)
 • Clémensat Carmelites (1888-1893, 1903-1905)
 • Saint-Claude Sluggers (1893-1903)
 • Gelles Grenadiers (1901, 1904)
 • Sarry Saints (1906-1919)
 • Domingue Toucans (1908-1915)
 • Esternay Knights (1920-1932)
 • Citadelle Cannoneers (1925-1932)
 • Volonté Eagles (1926-1932)*

History

Founding Era (1876-1906)

Baseball was first introduced into the Colony of Sainte-Chloé in the mid-18th century by traders from Rizealand. At the time, Sainte-Chloé was the administrative centre of the Viceroyalty of the Arucian, and an important possession of Gaullica in the Asterias. Charles Saint-Pierre, the founder and spearhead of the Holistique movement which attempted to expand education throughout the colony, is said to have stumbled across a game and taken interest in the sport. He decided that it would make for a good oppurtunity to provide excercise and recreation to go along with his educational methods, and promoted its activity. With the establishment of schools and new charitable institutes for the poor under Holistique movement, the influence of baseball rapidly expanded in the 1860s and early 1870s. Amateur ballclubs began to increase, and by the mid 1870s a handful of professional ballclubs had arisen around the capital of Port du la Sainte. These teams began taking formal team names after the Sainte-Chloé ballclub professionalised in 1872 and adopted the name "Imperials".

In the spring of 1876, the owners of four of the professional teams, the Imperials, the Épernon Frères, the Clermont Capitains and the Saint-Laurent Blues agreed to form a joint league to play against each other. They decided to name the league the "Arucian Baseball League", naming it after the Gaullican Viceroyalty, and appointed the Arucian Baseball Commission as the chief governing body. The first game was held on Friday, Novemember 3rd, 1876, marking the beginning of the Arucian League, with the Frères beating the Imperials 5-4. After a season of 45 games (15 against each team), the Frères finished with a top record of 28-17, taking home the title of champion. After the first season, the league continued to play in like manner, attracting more attention as time continued. As sales increased, the League formed the Arucian Baseball Commission to oversee the hiring of umpires and administrative scheduling and disputes. In 1881, the Allègre Aces joined the league, becoming the first expansion team, followed by the Captains going bankrupt and leaving the league at the end of the season after 5 losing staight seasons. This would mark the beginning of the era in which ballclubs would come and play for a year or more but often not have the money or support to continue playing for long periods of time. By 1906, 5 more teams would enter the league before leaving due to financial constraints.

The league continued to grow and develop, fluctuating between 4 and 6 teams in any one season. In 1887, a single championship game was added which pit the two best teams in the league against each other, marking the end of 10 years of record-based championships. The professional scene remained centred around the capital, although amateur teams spread throughout the country. The professional teams would often draw talent and players from the amateur teams, and would play exhibition games against them. During this time, another regional form of baseball would develop in Pays du Sucre, known as "sugar baseball", and played by the workers at sugar plantations. This version was much more loosely organised and flexible with rules, however, it became an important source of talent and development.

Cooperative Era (1906-1927)

In the early 20th century, the Arucian League began to interact more with players from Rizealand's ballclubs, with teams from both countries playing in exhibition games or players participating in both leagues. This was facilitated by the Arucian League's winter schedule, as opposed to the Rizealand's league's summer schedule. The increased cooperation with Rizealand saw several important changes and codifications. The Arucian League adapted many of the Rizealand League's rules and regulations, and also founded the Arucian Series in model of Rizealand's style of championship. The first Arucian Series, taking place in 1907, was won by the Imperials, defating the Frères in game 7. Team composition also became much more steady, with no team playing fewer than seven seasons before shutting down or ceasing to be professional.

With the Great Collapse, the League's affairs took a turn for the worse as the economy was effected. Attendance declined and in 1915 the Domingue Toucans franchised were forced to close. With the league in crisis, the Arucian Baseball Commission appointed Pierre Blanc as executive Commissioner in 1916 in order rectify the situation. In order to fulfill his role, Blanc was given extensive powers and a lifetime position. Under his control, the League's situation began to improve substantially, with and the sport increased in profits, popularity, and influence. With more money and attention pouring into the sport, the number of teams continued to increase. With its newfound popularity, the sport began also expanding outside the market of just the capital, after the Sugars moved to Tranquille in 1924. By 1926, after the Volonté Eagles were established, the team was at 9 teams, the largest it had been in its history. As the number of teams expanded, so did the number of games and the length of the season.

Great War Era (1927-1947)

The prospects for the league were faring well, until the Great War broke out in 1927. The outset of the war caused a massive dive in player participation, as many players volunteered or were drafted for the Gaullican armed forces or the Chloéois garrison. This included prominent stars such as Jean-Luc Leroy, Dominique Thomas, and Claude Gagne, and others. Much of the top level talent was taken away, leading to a sharp decline in quality of play. Teams were forced to rely on disabled and disadvantaged players largely unfit for military service in order to stay afloat. Despite the troubles, the Leauge managed to survive, as not everything was affected. The Escalade Cavaliers managed to fare well during this period, as their star player Pierre Dumont was ineligible for military service and was able to continue playing, taking the team to three Arucian Series during the war.

As the war progressed and the situation worsed for Gaullica, things began to take a turn for the worse. Jean-Luc Leroy, a superstar who had greatly affected the course of the game throughout the 1920s, was killed in active service in 1929. During the war, over other 50 professional players would be killed in active duty in the Gaullican armed forces. Wartime austerity measures and restrictions caused issues for players and the league. In addition, during the Siege of Sainte-Chloé which began in 1932, matters became worse as the Allies began bombing the island. The Imperials and Frères were forced to leave the capital region for the countryside, playing their games in makeshift parks. The Imperials' Stade Impérial was damaged during the bombing, which necessitated that it be rebuilt after the war. Blackouts, rationing and cancelations were common during the seige. Depsite pushing through the 1932 season to the 1933 Arucian Series, nearly a quarter of the games were canceled. After the end of the season, the colonial government put the sport on haitus.

Neither the 1933 or 1934 seasons would be played, marking the first time since 1906 when there was no Arucian Series or no play. The franchises were left without much option for continuing, although some continued to hold exhibition games. Most of the remaining players were let go, with the owners retaining the property but selling off the personel to keep costs low. Many of these players would turn to amateur teams and leagues, as the professional scene had been effectively cut off. Even despite of the cuts, the Esternay Knights and Citadelle Cannoneers would shut down completely. The owners of the Saint-Laurent Blues and Volonté Eagles decided to consolidate the franchises in order to save money, creating the Blue Eagles franchise for when play would eventually resume. Despite the two year gap, the owners and commissioner planned to begin once the War had come to a conclusion.

With the War largely concluded in 1935, league play resumed in November of 1935, now with 6 instead of 9 teams. Before play could resume, teams once again had to hire players from war veterans, amateur leaguers, and new talent. Since most players had been released from their contracts, the teams saw a good deal of re-shuffled talent. With the Imperials investing money into rebuilding their stadium, the Frères's money allowed them to purchase much of the top talent, allowing them to take both the 1935 and 1936 Arucian Series. Despite a rough start, the League began to return to its former status. Pierre Voloix, the governor-general, would help support the rebuilding effort, and was friendly with the League's Owners. No new teams were created, and the league continued its rebuilding process into the 1940s. By 1943, the situation had largely stabilized and recovered its money and popularity, and by 1945 the League was looking to expand.

Expansion Era (1947-2000)

With the foundation of the United Provinces in 1945, Sainte-Chloé became part of a greater political union of the islands in the West Arucian Sea. Alongside the growing popularity of Arucian football, baseball was seen as means of increasing Arucian cooperation. Combined with the League's desire to expand, in 1947 the League admitted four new teams- one from Sainte-Chloé (the Sainte-Geneviève Generals, one from Imagua (the Cuanstad Millers), one from Carucere (the Carrefour Stars), and one from Bonaventure (the Sermoni Fortunates). With this, the market of the League opened considerably, with the talent from three new regions beyond Sainte-Chloé, for the first time becoming a truly international sport.

The League itself implemented structural changes to reflect the increase in size. The 10 teams were split into two divisions, with one team from each division advancing on to play in the Arucian Series. The season was expanded to 100 games, with each team playing 80 games against divisional opponents, and 20 games of teams in the other division. This new and longer season, now stretching from October to March, finally meant that players could no longer play in Rizealand's league at the same time; however, the practice had already been falling out of practice by the mid-1940s. The Arucian League was attempting to establish itself as its own major league rather than as a minor league.

Contemprorary Era (2000-)

(From Left) Charles Roy and Louis Baptiste, who led the Terre-Belle Rays to 4 Arucian Series Wins in 9 years.

After the expansion teams were added in 1999, Arucian baseball's popularity began to steady. The introduction of new teams had fleshed out the league and greatly expanded its audience capacity. As television structure continued to increase across the Arucian, in person attendance began to decline in certain countries. With five teams in each division and the unlikelyhood of expansion in the near future, the League decided to focusing on maintaining the status quo and developing the resources which each team already had.

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Season Structure

Regular-Season

Since 1947, every team has been required to play 100 games over the course of the months of October through Feburary. The season begins on the first Monday in the month of October and ends by the beginning of March, when the Postseason begins. Since the League's inception, the administration has kept the tradition of barring teams from playing games on Sundays and certain other Holy Days. There are currently 7 moveable Holy days on which teams are not allowed to play, although these may sometimes fall of Sundays and sometimes are transferred to the previous Saturday. La Toussaint (All Saints' Day, November 1st), Le Jour des Morts (All Souls' Day, November 2nd), Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8th), Nativity (December 25th), the Feast of the Circumcision (January 1st), Epiphany (January 6th), are all considered Holy Days, as well as the moveable Ash Wednesday. This decision has over the years caused contention with certain owners, players and other countries who wish to maximise profits on game revenue, although players have cited the rest days with favor.

Teams usually play six games a week, playing series of three games against another team, although series can last as short as two or as long as four games. Sometimes, these series may have a break day in between, especially if a Sunday falls in between. Sometimes, teams will play doubleheaders to accomodate scheduling or to make up for postponed games. If the distance between cities is great, the team will take a day to travel and adjust to the new enviroment. Before the widespread use of stadium lighting, games were played during the day and afternoon; in recent decades, night games have become more popular as stadium lighting has increased. Adverse conditions such as rainouts may the game to be called, suspended, or finished at a later date. Occasionally rare occurances such as a protested game also occur.

Of the 100 games, teams play 76 games within their division, playing each team 19 times, necessitating two two-game series or one four game series against each. In addition, each team 18 with members of the corresponding division, with East playing West and North playing South. Usually this means that each team will have to play 3 teams from the corresponding division once and 2 teams twice. Finally, each team plays 6 games with teams from the non-corresponding division, usually one from each of the opposing division- for example, a team in the West Division will play one series with a team from the North and one from the South.

Postseason

Arucian Series Records
Team	Number of Series won	Last Series won	Series played
Sainte-Chloé Imperials	27	2018	49
Épernon Frères	14	2015	17
Mont-Éclair Blues†	11	2019	23*
Tranquille Sugars	9	1988	21
Decouverte Navigators†	8	1974	25
Hammarvik Bats	7	2016	9
Sermoni Fortunates	7	2005	7
Escalade Cavaliers	6	1951	11
Carrefour Stars	4	2011	8
Terre-Belle Rays†	4	2012	6
Sainte-Geneviève Generals	3	1984	10
Appanno Lancers	3	1999	8
Port-au-Grégoire Robins†	3	2002	6
Sainte-Chloé Sunshine	3	2022	3
Cuanstad Millers	2	1994	4
Mathiasville Maroons	1	2009	5
Sermoni Krakens	1	2021	4
Arac Alligators	1	1997	2
Esternay Knights‡	1	1930	1
Sarry Saints‡	0		2
Saint Clair Sugar Kings	0		1
Saint-Thomas Lions	0		1
Domingue Toucans‡	0		1
† Totals include a team's record in a previous city or under another name.
‡ Team is no longer currently active.
* Two appearances as the Eagles, which merged with the Blues in 1936.

Prior to 1906, the Arucian League hosted a single championship game which pitted the teams with the best record against each other. In 1906, following the Rizealand model, the League transformed the championship into the Arucian Series, becoming a best out of seven game competition, although drawn from the two teams with the best two records. In 1947, the expansion of new teams saw the creation of two divisions, switching the Arucian Series to the teams which had the best records within their respective postion. Due to the increased number of teams, in 1965 the League implemented a divisional series between the top two teams in each division. In 1975, the League expanded to four divisions. The divisional series was transformed to take the top team from every division instead.

The first part of the series is the the divisional series, which are best of best-of-five. The team with the top record from the West Division playing against the top team in the East; the same is the case for the North against the South. Of the five games, the team with the higher record has homefield advantage for the first two games; the third and fourth games are played at the opponent's stadium, while the fifth is once again played at the first team's stadium. Should the records be tied, the team which has been in the league longer recieves homefield advantage. The winners of the divisional series go on to play in the best-of-seven Arucian Series. The Arucian Series likewise follows the same conventions for homefield advantage: the first two games are played at the team with the higher record, the second two at the opposing team's field, the next two at the first, and the final one being held at the opposing team's park. The winner of the Arucian series is considered champion of the Arucian League for that season.

Like the regular season, the post-season also has several days on which play is not allowed, as well as the Sunday rule carrying through. If play extends later into the month, play is prohibited on the Saint Joseph's Day (March 19th), Feast of the Annunciation (March 25th), or Pascha. However, the post-season almost always ends before the 19th of March, leading to this not being a major issue.

Off-Season

Shortly following the Post-Season, an All-Star Game is held on March 31st, unless this falls during Holy Week, when it is held on the Tuesday following Pascha. All-Stars are selected from among the best players in the League, with an East-West team playing against North-South.

Before the regular season begins, the months of August and September are utilised as a preseason, where teams will practice and play exhibition games against other teams in order to prepare for the upcoming season.

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