Today I just have some fun maps for you guys ahead of the Silverian Series. So, the first map is of the highways throughout Silveria as of 2019. Orange highways dictate those built in the 1960's. Green is for those built in the 1970's. Blue is for those built in the 1980's, and Red is for the 1990's. R stands for roundway, D for driveway, and C for crossway.

The second map is of who controlled each province in every election up to the time of the SBL, the last being 1958. Silver is for the Silver Party, one of the two big parties in Silveria, which is generally center-left, somewhat authoritarian. Orange is for the Orange Party, which is center-right, somewhat authoritarian. Red is for the Socialist Party which tends to be more democratic socialist than actually socialist. Maroon is the Communist Party. Yellow is the Conservative Party which tends to be right, libertarian. Blue is the Populist party which is center-right, strong authoritarian. The 1943 election was cancelled due to Silveria's vullnerability and involvement in WW2.

Last edited by jxhnhvhn (7/05/2019 10:24 am)

The setting was flipped for the second Silverian Series, as Stratford Condors attained home field advantage. It looked like it would stay that way much of Game 1 with star Syd Braxton going 2-for-2 early on and ace Ricardo Sultana dealing against what's arguably the best Pitcher outside of the Americas and Japan, Lenny Royston. Royston was on the verge of becoming infamous for losing in the biggest games before SS Roger Bisset cracked a 450-foot 2-run home run to put the Kings ahead in the 7th, 3-2. The Condors lack of pitching depth showed when in the last two innings as Sultana continued to give up hits, just narrowly avoiding big hit after big hit, but couldn't reasonably be taken out. Todd Lacey would step in to pitch for the Kings in the 9th, subsequently forcing a fly out, as well as two strikeouts to close out a highly potent Condors middle lineup. Game 2 carried much of the momentum from Game 1, as Condors manager Ed McConnell went to unproven pitcher Nik Underhill. While, Underhill wasn't the abomination some thought he would be, his 5 runs given up were enough for Herald Field to be in awe once again, as their Condors blew another early lead in a 5-3 loss. Syd Braxton much took of the blame this time around as he went only 1-for-4. Game 3 moved the series to iconic, yet prehistoric Oval Field in Bangor. Condors star OF Daisuke Hayashi proved to be better than in last year's Silverian Series, setting the tone early with a 3-run bomb to tie the game. However, the Kings two errors were not enough for the Condors to overcome pitching woes in a 9-7 slugfest. On the brink of another Silverian Series loss, the Condors pitched Ricardo Sultana once again in Game 4. The Kings made the questionable decision to stick to their rotation by throwing 4th option Steve Marlowe. Unfortunately for the Condors, Lenny Royston was brought in mid-game for the Kings, after Marlowe gave up two in the 5th and left the bases loaded. Surprisingly, Stratford was able to piece together two more runs with Royston in, but it wasn't enough as the Kings infield played rock solid earning them 6 runs in the last 6 innings and winning the elimination game 6-4. Bangor had done the impossible, not only winning the Silverian Series with possibly the worst outfield in the SBL, but sweeping the series. Lenny Royston was awarded Silverian Series MVP this time around with a respectable 3.00 ERA and his starting and closing of the series. The media tore into the Condors as they lost their second straight Silverian Series with what seemed like an improved team. Daisuke Hayashi voiced his discontent with ownership's lack of focus on pitching, something which could come into play this offseason. Rumors have begun to spread about his moving back to Japan. Syd Braxton, as per usual remained stoic on the matter, providing only that the Condors would be better prepared next season. While the limelight remained off Bangor Kings, a cross-division rivalry between the two teams was brewing.


Also I have some more maps. It's kind of overload at this point, but personally I really like maps and it's fun making them. So, these are sort of heat maps regarding the major 5 sports, not only of Silveria, but also the other nations surrounding it on the Manatakwan Island. Those sports being in order of total popularity Association Football (Blue), Basketball (Green), Baseball (Red), Rugby (Pink), and Hockey (Yellow). The darker the area the more popular the respective sport is. Note the Silverian provinces are still marked, but the other nations are as follows, Manatakwa, the nation not the island, lies to the south of Silveria's main mountainous province, Highlands. Manatakwa itself is largely mountainous with mostly fertile coastlines. Manatakwa, Silveria, and Avon (to the North of Silveria), were once one British colony. However, tensions between the majority English-Protestant (Avon) and Irish-Catholic (Silveria) communities demarcated Avon and Silveria as separate nations as of January 1908. Manatakwa, a majority Pacific Islander region, was intially given to Silveria, provided it would be given autonomy, with full-independence being given around the time of the Great Depression. Avon like the other two nations west of the Manatakwa River, is mountainous in its center with noticeably larger fertile regions on its west and east coasts, along with subtropical rainforest in its northeast. Niveau the northeastern-most nation on the Manatakwan Island was once a French colony, and is considered the center of the trade, as its its southern and western borders combine the two forks of the northern Manatakwa River, leading to its metropolis, Troupenat. Asentapacifco, to the east of Silveria, was once a Spanish colony and yields the largest crop fields of any of the nations, thus having the largest population. It is mountainous in the south, but the north is covered in lowland farms and river cities. There are 5 levels of popularity I classified, Niche is the brightest, then Low, Medium, High, and Extreme is the darkest. Association Footabll only goes down to Low, while Rugby and Hockey don't reach extreme in any region.

 

Last edited by jxhnhvhn (7/15/2019 2:15 pm)

Before the beginning of its second free agency, the SBL had three major announcements in regards to next season and beyond. First was that Traders Bay Tigers would be changing its uniforms effective immediately. Owner Mase Pettigrew said that since day 1 he had wanted his team to look more tiger-y and that the top view allowed Traders Bay not only to represent tigers, but to depict a tiger while maintaining the aesthetic of a baseball uniform. He also got rid of the checkered-T, replacing it on the home jersey and away hat, with the normal block-T.  

Then the league preceded to drop the bombshell of expansion. The first new team introduced, set to start play in 1963, was from Trent. Trent is the 2nd biggest city in Silver Peninsula, and the largest in Silveria without a current SBL team. The second team came as more of a surprise with Haydon, Riverlands being awarded the spot. It seemed an attempt by the league to gain a strong foothold in Silveria's two largest (population) provinces. While, either O'Connor or a second Stratford team might make more sense in the short-term, Haydon benefits the league's long-term prosperity, as well as preserving current divisions. 
To illustrate this somewhat odd decision by the SBL, here are the 20 biggest cities in Silveria as of the 1955 census.
1. Stratford, F.D. 390,000 2. Silver Point, SP 330,000 3. Hamstead, RE 220,000 4. St. Patrick, GC 210,000 5. Trent, SP 180,000 6. O’Connor, SP 125,000 7. Bangor, RL 105,000 8. Dudley, TB 100,000 9. Aldborough, GC 80,000 10. Sherborne, TB 75,000 11. Portsmouth, SP 50,000 12. Wells, RE 45,000 13. Salisbury, TB 45,000 14. New Dublin, GC 45,000 15. Haydon, RL 43,000 16. Derby, TB 40,000 17. Nottingham, SP 35,000 18. Brackley, RL 32,000 19. Woodsborough, HL 27,000 20. Lovell, RL 26,000

Last edited by jxhnhvhn (7/21/2019 12:30 am)

1961 Offseason

Stratford Condors
After another disappointing loss in the Silverian Series, Star OF Daisuke Hayashi left the Condors, not for a rumored return home, but for a 1-year-deal with Hamstead. However, star P Ricardo Sultana and Star OF Syd Braxton, and a second year under Ed McConnell should improve this team elsewhere and give them a good shot at the title this year, given the depleted Bangor Kings.

St. Patrick Gaels
St. Patrick Gaels may have made the best move this winter, signing Star P Lenny Royston away from Bangor Kings. This should put a team that won 39 games last year in a position to win in the playoffs. With the new playoff format I expect Gaels to lose in its first Silverian Series appearance.

Hamstead Ranchers
Hamstead Ranchers look to have a bright future after the signing of Star OF Daisuke Hayashi. Hayashi (29) and star P Jerald Thorne (27) make up possibly the scariest hitter-pitcher combo in the league. While depth may still be a problem, manager Ricky Tibbs has his team going in the right direction. They’ll show star promise, but won’t have much to show for it.

Bangor Kings
Out of any team this offseason, Bangor Kings lost the most talent. Both star P Lenny Royston and star IF Dan Penzak (back to the US) left the team. RP Todd Lacey and IF Roger Bisset should keep this team respectable, but don’t count on anything much better than mediocrity.

Silver Point Voyagers
Not much of note happened for the Silver Point Voyagers this offseason. The team remains much the same it did when the SBL started in late 1959. A team mired in mediocrity, but refuses to change. Owner Jack Lund has been the scapegoat for most fans, but the few who dare see manager Ken O’Shea as the problem. O’Shea led the Voyagers to many championships before the formation of the SBL and is seen as an almost untouchable legend.

Traders Bay Tigers
Other than gaining some pitching depth in International Free Agency, Tigers stayed mostly quiet after its uniform change. Developing star C Chris Dodge and a decent manager in Damon Seaver should keep this team from being too bad. Don’t expect too many fireworks, maybe a series win in the new playoff format.

Last edited by jxhnhvhn (7/22/2019 5:32 pm)

Shortly after the commencement of the regular season, the SBL announced Hamstead star OF Daisuke Hayashi as MVH, for his second time. St. Patrick star P Lenny Royston was awarded MVP for the third season in a row. MVF went to Bangor IF Roger Bisset for the first time and MVR was unsuprisingly given to St. Patrick's Ned Mathers.

The SBL's second announcement was the unveiling of the identities and uniforms for the Trent Blues and Haydon Aeros. Trent owner Billy Hogan pinpointed the SFL's Trent Herons and the MLB's New York Yankees as main inspirations. The Blues colors are very similar to that of the Herons and even mimics some of its design. The Yankees were mainly an inspiration in keeping the logo on the hats white-on-blue with no outline as well as with the somewhat interlocking logo, it's also been reportedly that Hogan chose the name Blues and the shade of Navy in the Yankees honor.

Haydon Aeros on the other hand were named after the Riverlands rich history of aviation. Its logo design features two planes flying up and down, in addition to literal arrow which come together to make an H. Owner Cleve Bartalotti noted the expansion Houston Colt 45's as both an inspiration for a depiction of the mascot on the jersey and in terms of the color scheme chosen. However, the SBL suggested the Aeros wear just Orange to avoid confusion with Trent Blues, or even the St. Patrick Gaels who wear blue and orange.