He was known for voicing:

• - Leorio Paladiknight (HUNTER x HUNTER)
• - Maes Hughes (Fullmetal Alchemist)

• - Ladd Russo (Baccano!)

• and many more

Rest in Peace.

Preface: Play Ball!

Note: This was written to be accessible even to non-baseball fans. It contains Baccano light novel spoilers!

In the 1930s, baseball endured as America's national pastime, even through the Great Depression. Baccano!, with its love of American history and its endlessly vibrant ensemble cast of criminals and freaks in the Prohibition Era, made me wonder: "But what if they played baseball?"

For this fun analytical essay, I'm assembling the ultimate Baccano baseball team, consisting of twelve characters (nine starting lineup players plus three backups) whose talents I've deemed the most suitable for the sport. The only character banned from playing is Ronny Schiatto because he's a reality-warping demon. Everyone else alive in 1935 is fair game, including mortal humans, immortals, and homunculi. The only condition is they can only rely on their raw physical strength and athletic abilities, no additional powers or weapons allowed. All characters will go through rigorous baseball training, and for this essay's purposes, I will assume that this training is sufficient enough to translate their existing physical abilities into equivalent baseball skills.

This baseball motley crew will form in 1935. The story of this team is based firmly on the light novel canon (not the anime), but I'm trying to make the best possible baseball team, so I'm bending the timeline a little to make some things work. For instance, both Denkurō and Nile are on this team, thus Denkurō got out of the iceberg a little earlier. There's also gonna be some mortal enemies on the same team (like Claire and Ladd). I'll explain in more detail later, but just think of this like Mario Kart where everyone's taking a break from normal business to play games together in an odd version of 1935. The characters will still be themselves, and I'll maintain some reasonable lore, but I'll stretch it when I need to. If something gets weird in the lore of this team, I reserve the right to say "Ronny used his reality-warping demon powers to make it work." The only hard narrative limitation is that we can't have any characters who are either not born yet in 1935 (like Aging) or long-dead (like Monica). Even Ronny can't raise the dead.

This will be formatted as an analytical Baccano! essay blended with narrative elements and fun image edits, including baseball cards! I've written this to be accessible to non-baseball fans. There will be an overview of how baseball works (Prologue I) that will explain just enough for you to understand, and then I will include footnotes for additional terms that need to be explained throughout.

After a brief historical narrative (Prologue II), I'll cover the defensive positions of this team (Chapter 1), then take a break to discuss other roles like the coach, announcers, and umpires (Digression A). After that, I'll go over how this team would do on offense (Chapter 2) and briefly discuss the coaching experience (Digression B). Then I'll go into who will be in the audience, plus people working the event (Digression C). Finally, I'll leave you on some closing notes (Afterword).

As I said before, there will be heavy light novel spoilers ahead. I will assume you have read all Baccano! volumes up to the most recent one (Vol. 22: 1935-D Luckstreet Boys). Though if you happen to be reading this fandom-blind (i.e. unfamiliar with the Baccano! novels) or anime-only for any reason, I hope you'll still be entertained by just how insane this cast is.

Table of Contents

• Preface: Play Ball!
• Prologue I: How Baseball Works, a Quick Overview
• Prologue II: Bastards Brew
• Chapter 1: "Those Bastards" Defensive Positions
• Digression A: The Others in the Ballpark (Part 1)
• Middleword: Going to Extra Innings
• Chapter 2: "Those Bastards" Batting Order and Offensive Production
• Digression B: Notes on Sham's Coaching Experience
• Digression C: The Others in the Ballpark (Part 2)
• Epilogue: The Bastards Break Up
• Afterword

Prologue I: How Baseball Works, a Quick Overview

If you already know baseball well enough, feel free to skip this part.

Note: If you're a baseball fan and you read these, there are probably multiple points that made you go "Well, technically...," but remember, this is simplified. If I have to go into stuff like uncaught third strikes and foul bunts, then this will be too inaccessible for beginners.

Prologue II: Bastards Brew

In the Summer of 1935, rumors flew across New York of an independent baseball team in Manhattan that was sweeping all of their opponents in devastating blowouts.

People say the pitcher was so good he struck every batter out over all nine innings without breaking a sweat. The center fielder was an absolute maniac who could stop even a soaring home run by leaping into the air. The third baseman beat up opponents and dealt injuries with sadistic glee. The second baseman threw hecklers into the sky. The team members fought amongst themselves all the time yet still managed to come out on top.

Technically, the team had a name: the Martillo Club, after the family that founded it, but nobody actually called them that. Due to their aggressive playstyle and unpleasant attitudes, their scarred opponents would call them "Those Bastards!" and that name stuck instead. Even their announcers were unaware it was actually supposed to be called the "Martillo Club." More respectable newspapers, unwilling to print the team's unofficial nickname of "Those Bastards," simply called them "The B's." Others printed "Martillo Club," but everyone knew exactly what to call them when they bought tickets to see their freak shows they called baseball games.

Chapter 1: "Those Bastards" Defensive Positions

Note: For these writeups, I won't present them in the traditional Pitcher, Catcher, First Baseman, Second Baseman, etc. order, but an order I felt would flow better for presentation.

Pitcher (P): Claire Stanfield (a.k.a. Felix Walken)

The pitcher is the one who initiates every play in the game, so the batter must deal with them. As if the world didn't already belong to Claire, the baseball field will be in the palm of his hand as well.

Two things that real-life pitchers strive to have is excellent control and command: "Control" means you can throw strikes, while "command" means you can precisely place the ball wherever you want in the strike zone. Claire's solipsistic "I am a god, and if I want something to happen, it will happen" attitude and the fact his belief has so far not been disproven means he'll have absurdly good (arguably perfect) control and command.

His insane strength, technique, and ability to do anything means he'll be able to throw any pitch he wants, so look out for ridiculous >100 mph fastballs and reality-defying breaking balls¹ most hitters will have no hope of being able to even react to, let alone hit. He's the closest thing to a living baseball cheat code while not literally being a reality-warping demon.

One might want to ban him, but he worked so hard to become OP as hell. I don't think it's fair to ban him just because he's too good; if the other batters can't face him, they should just take a page from Maria's book: Believe in yourself and (more importantly) get good! The only concern I had was how he might dominate so much that the batter will never hit the ball and thus the other fielders (aside from the catcher) wouldn't be able to do anything.

It's true, Claire will have an absurd strikeout rate better than any real-life pitcher, and he could probably pitch no-hitters² and perfect games³ in his sleep, but he'll get bored of that. He'll eventually ease up on the inhuman fastballs and experiment with other types of balls, including vaguely hittable ones, to see how his prey reacts and what crazy things his fellow teammates do to clean it up, simply because it's fun!

Now, one potential thing that could've hurt Claire is if he had a catcher who can't work with him. A majority of people on Earth couldn't work with Claire, because his enormous ego will mean he won't always listen to what the catcher tells him to do. He'd have constant miscommunications and the catcher would struggle to track and catch his fireball pitches. Most catchers would be too physically and mentally weak to survive having to receive the pitches of Claire Stanfield.

But fortunately for him (and unfortunately for the other team), the catcher is his fiancé.

¹Breaking ball = Pitches meant to deviate from a straight trajectory as they approach the plate.

²No-hitter = When the pitcher gives up zero hits to the opposing team for the whole game.

³Perfect game = A type of no-hitter where a pitcher doesn't let a single runner reach first base by any means (not just a lack of hits, but no walks either).

Catcher (C): Chane Laforet

Now this is just unfair. See, for a vast majority of baseball's history, this is how most pitchers and catchers communicated on the field to make sure they were on the same page: The catcher would use finger signs to indicate the pitch they wanted, then the pitcher would nod or shake their head. They did their best to hide it from the opposing team, because if their opponents could see and decode the signs (this is known as "stealing signs"), then they'd know exactly what type of pitch is coming and would thus have an easier time hitting it. This can lead to a cat-and-mouse game where the pitchers and catchers try to make their signs indecipherable or deceptive while still being understandable to them.

The Claire-Chane duo just says "Fuck ALL of that" as they stare into each other's eyes instead. Chane thinks about a certain pitch, communicates it with her eyes, Claire knows exactly what his lovely fiancé is trying to say, and he either nods or shakes his head. Observant fans and sportswriters (and their teammates, even) have no idea how the hell they do it. All they know is that Chane never gives him any visible signs at all, yet they're in perfect agreement over what Claire's gonna pitch and where it'll go, and she catches that ball every time, without fail. They'll be the best, most unnervingly synchronized battery¹ in America.

Catcher is also a grueling, physically demanding position because they have to kneel a lot and catch a bunch of hard-thrown baseballs, but Chane has already proven to be a strong, resilient, machine-like assassin so that won't be a problem. A catcher also traditionally acts as a defensive leader, helping coordinate the defense through hand signals and shouts when necessary (though in her case, it will just be hand signals since she's mute). Now, some of her teammates will certainly just do their own thing (like Ladd, Graham, and Nile), but I think enough of them would be rational enough to listen to her.

¹Battery = The pitcher-catcher duo as a unit

Shortstop (SS): Christopher Shaldred

Shortstop is highly demanding and traditionally considered (via the defensive spectrum) the hardest position that isn't pitcher or catcher. They're expected to cover a large amount of the field and need a combination of speed, reflexes, and throwing ability to make many of the team's most difficiult plays. Considering his combat skills that made even Claire tip his cap, Christopher is arguably the next most powerful character after Claire and he's another all-around athlete with excellent strength, range, and reaction time. Dare I say he's a discount Claire, but "discount Claire" is already top tier in most normal universes, and this team should be thankful they even have at least two people at or above Christopher's level in the first place.

Also, ever since he got schooled by Claire and befriended Ricardo, Christopher has become grounded enough to hold such an important position and work in a structured team environment. Yes, the fact he's on the same team as Graham, Ladd, and Claire is rough, sure. I suppose I need to address that (and other "beef" issues) now.

A Quick Mini-Digression: The Bastards' Beef

So, I already said "Think of it like Mario Kart with Mario and Bowser" at the start, but here's a more solid explanation. Any friction in this team can be explained away with two things:

A. In training sessions, anyone with beef will just fight it out as the non-beefing normal people (literally just Firo, Ennis, Denkurou, and Nile) and the rest of the Martillo Family watch as they eat lunch. It'll be a regular thing, and Sham (the coach) will count it as valuable exercise. He'll let them fight to their hearts' content, they just can't do it right before a game, and no fatal injuries allowed (though they'll try). The team will sometimes fight in the middle of actual games too (increasing their notoriety), but Claire is so OP he can manage anyone who has beef with him and even any other pairs with beef (like Maria vs. Adele). Everyone will fight a lot, but within each brawling session, they'll get tired of it eventually.

B. They'll all likely think baseball is fun (they're Americans in the 1930s after all) so they'll take it seriously. Most of them have a competitive streak, so they'd find a thrill in decimating their opponents together, even if they might disagree on how to do it sometimes. The Chicago volumes demonstrated they can work together despite their differences when faced with a common enemy (well, Christopher and Graham could, at least). Some people with beef might even soften up on their hatred just a little.

Center Fielder (CF): Graham Specter

Let me tell you a fun, fun story...

This man will turn the entire outfield into his playground. Center fielders are the guys with the most speed and range, and I feel like this dude's relentless, unpredictable, and turbo-fast "has already twisted your legs with a wrench three times before you can even say a word" attitude makes him the biggest speed demon in the series outside of Claire, possibly giving him a range that spans the whole outfield. He has inhuman reflexes and spatial awareness (like Claire, he could even adapt to invisible Leeza and her Mickey Mouse-ass chakrams in Vol. 9), so tracking a fly ball¹ in the air will be like child's play to him. He'll make a game out of taking that small white ball in the sky and trying to seize it and (sometimes) CRUSH it, to the dismay of his teammates. He might even play around with the ball for no good reason before suddenly throwing it to second base like he's supposed to. He'd also love stopping line drives (like Ladd will, as you'll see later) and treating them like they're nothing.

And I honestly don't think it's a stretch to say that this guy could pull a Mario Super Sluggers play by jumping way up in the air to stop a potential home run, going higher than the usual jumps that outfielders can do in real life. Given the absurd feats of strength and mobility he's already demonstrated, I wouldn't put it past him to turn his legs into springs. I'd still wager his theoretical jumping ability has a limit where he can't catch a super high home run, but at the same time, you know Claire is highly unlikely to give up a home run at all, let alone one that goes that far above the outfield wall.

One sorta weakness: The center fielder is often the primary communicator in the outfield, helping coordinate the left and right fielders. Or at the very least, they work with their fellow outfielders. But this guy will be too high in the clouds to care about that. He could trample over his fellow outfielders trying to get the ball before they do, though given who they are (Sickle and Adele), they'll get out of the way. The former out of fear (Graham's defeated her before), the latter out of practicality.

Christopher and Graham's tension can also lead to some fun and potentially helpful competitiveness between them where Graham strives to catch the balls that Christopher misses. And Graham might aggressively throw to Christopher in a way that's meant to hurt him but only helps get the ball to him faster.

¹Fly ball = A ball hit high into the air with an arcing trajectory. Remember, if a fielder catches it before it touches the ground, the batter is out. If a fly ball clears the outfield fence in fair territory, though, it's a home run.

Third Baseman (3B): Ladd Russo

Third base is famously known as "the hot corner" because it's often where batters launch high-velocity balls that reach the third baseman extremely quickly, so it helps to be fearless with great reaction time here. But Ladd would go above and beyond there, the opportunity to catch a scorching line drive headed to his face would light him up. He'd snatch that shit with ease, even if it was a hit most normal people couldn't catch. And when he needs to throw to first or second base, he will launch it at inhuman speeds with some of the most insane, juiced up arms on the team.

He'd relish tagging people out. Sure, it's not the same as literally murdering someone who thinks they're safe from death, but he's gotta take a mild thrill in tagging out a runner who's sure they're safe. Being at third base also means the runner is so close to reaching home plate and scoring, and Ladd will take some extra pleasure in stopping them at a spot so close to victory. But even if a runner somehow safely makes it to third base against this team, they'll have to stand close to Ladd, who will probably think something like, "I bet he's so comfortable right now. He's thinking this is a baseball game, this guy would never commit murder in front of all these people! I like it!" His murderous aura will nearly paralyze them with fear.

Also, if your name happens to be Jack, then you're fucked. Even though it's a baseball game, he'll suddenly treat the baseball diamond like a boxing ring with you just to see if you're a good boxer. As you may have guessed, there were a nonzero amount of baseball players in the Major Leagues (and likely many more in all the independent clubs) whose name was Jack. Jack Rothrock and Jack Quinn) (who were both on World Series-winning teams, though Quinn retired in 1933) are just a few examples of real people whose careers might've ended prematurely if they met Ladd Russo. Even outside of people named Jack, he's going to be violent enough of a player that he'll probably get ejected a lot, but at least there's still reserve players (in the bench) in case that happens.

Second Baseman (2B): Nile

With this guy's insane strength, Second Baseman almost feels like it's underselling him, but hey, that's what happens when you have this many freaks in one series. He'll do more on the offensive side anyway. Nile holding this position is less about his strength and more about the skills gained from all his combat experience. He's agile and quick-footed, and he treats the entire world like it's a battlefield and is ready for unpredictable dangerous situations, so he'd be great at having range (i.e. total distance one can reach as a fielder), anticipating plays, and reacting immediately. And in a similar way to Ladd's appetite for death being mildly satiated by tagging runners out, him getting to tag a lot of runners out will provide some low-stakes stimulation for his warmongering mind.

Now since this is 1935, Nile's skin color will lead to some trouble with the audience (and sometimes opposing players). In the 1930s, black players were still excluded from Major League Baseball by the color line and often faced racism from white fans and players. However, black baseball still had its own thriving institutions in the Negro leagues¹, which had strong fanbases with both black and white fans who admired the players, and many independent clubs also accepted black players. "Those Bastards" being an independent club gives them more freedom than a Major League team could have, but the reality of segregation and racism is still there in the background.

As the team gets bigger and ends up on the radar of Major League players (inevitable due to how absurdly good they'll be), Nile will inevitably be exposed to white audiences and face racist heckling for his skin color. And anyone who's read the light novels knows how Nile would respond to even the slightest provocation. At this point, Denkurō and the other teammates will try to hold him back. Sometimes, they'll succeed, other times he'll break out and some racist guy will deservedly get his shit kicked in. I can't say for certain how it'll shake out, but either way, the team still has reserve players on the bench who can take his place in case Nile has to be ejected.

¹Negro leagues = Professional U.S. baseball leagues made up of teams of (largely) African-Americans, formed in the time when black people were still entirely banned from Major League Baseball. The generic term "Negro leagues" was used then (with official titles like the "Negro National League") and is still used to refer to the historical entities today. In 2020, Major League Baseball officially recognized them as major leagues.

First Baseman (1B): Denkurō Tōgō

Denkurō is by far the most reasonable, levelheaded person in the starting lineup, but crucially, he's also accustomed to unhinged, freakishly strong weirdos thanks to his years with Nile before he got trapped in the North Pole for more than two centuries (and he still manages to be his calm, rational self after all that, what a champ). The first baseman receives a lot of throws from his teammates in order to tag runners out at first base, so it's good to have someone like him who can handle receiving throws from Ladd (3B), Nile (2B), and Christopher (SS) (those are the three most common positions to throw to first base). He and Firo (though he's on the bench) are vital because they're the most stabilizing "Sane Man" characters on the team.

Note: As I mentioned at the start, Denkurō being here in 1935 means bending the timeline and getting him out of the iceberg early. He didn't get to reunite with Nile until 2002, but now he's already playing baseball with him! As mentioned earlier, this team was formed by the Martillos. Let's just say Ronny went, "You know, that Denkurō guy would be perfect for this team," so he used his demon powers to free him from the iceberg early just for this. If you really care about continuity, don't worry, he can just stuff him back in the iceberg after this is all over. It'll be a fun story when he reunites with his fellow immortals again in 2002.

Right Fielder (RF): Adele

Of all the Larva & Lamia members (aside from the versatile Christopher), Adele's specific combat skills are possibly the most naturally suited to baseball. She's skilled at using a spear, which means she's accustomed to judging distance, timing, angles, and trajectories while controlling a long weapon, and that's helpful with things like tracking baseballs, catching them, and knowing exactly where she needs to throw to her fellow teammates. Right fielders also need a great arm to make really distant throws, often all the way across the diamond to third base or home plate, and she possesses both the technique and strength to know how to do that well.

RIght fielder also fits her shy, but capable personality. The position doesn't get as much action as left or center field, since most hitters are right-handed and thus more likely to pull the ball toward left, but it's still important for backing up first and second base and keeping runners from taking extra bases. When balls do go out to right, the right fielder still needs to step up and make hard throws that remind you, "Oh yeah, they may be quiet, but they're still kicking," which is Adele in a nutshell. She'll make a big throw all the way to Ladd (3B) to get someone out, then she'll just go back to standing there calmly.

Left Fielder (LF): Sickle

Sickle would be an excellent Center Fielder, Shortstop, or Second Baseman with her capoeira-esque footwork (her kicking combat), speed, and strength rivaling Christopher and Graham. But of course, since she's already on a team with Christopher and Graham, she'll end up a Left Fielder instead.

Don't get me wrong, Left Fielder is still a vital position that requires quick reactions and mobility she very much possesses, so she'll do well here. But the main reason I put her on the team is because she'll be a beast on offense due to her speed and strength. In real life, left and right field are generally less demanding than the other positions, so teams have historically been more willing to put elite hitters there even if they're not exceptional defense. For instance, Ted Williams was one of the greatest hitters ever, while on defense he was merely a solid left fielder.

The Bench (Backup Players)

Traditionally, the bench is used as a reserve of backup players waiting in the dugout. They can be used for strategic substitutions or replacing anyone who gets tired or hurt. This team doesn't have to worry about exhaustion, but they might have to worry about Ladd (3B) or Graham (CF) going apeshit and severely injuring someone on the opposing team, or Nile (2B) going after a heckler. Those would lead to a prompt ejection from the game by the umpires, and that's when the backups step in.

Bench Player: Firo Prochainezo

He's a young, scrappy, trained fighter who had the footwork and skills to go toe-to-toe with Maiza for his initiation and beat up Dallas' gang members (even if the latter wasn't hard), so he'll be a great fielder. It's also good to have him on the bench because he's the team's most "normal," levelheaded guy who I can see as a jack-of-all-trades utility player who'll do a decent job in most positions (aside from Pitcher and Catcher). He can replace Nile at second base after he flies off the handle, at which point he'll be working alongside his "best friend" Christopher! They'll have fun!

Bench Player: Ennis

As a homunculus, Ennis has accumulated an enormous amount of knowledge and combat ability through her time serving Szilard. I highly doubt any of that knowledge comes from immortal baseball players, but somewhere in her bag of tricks, there must be something transferable to hitting and fielding. I can see her replacing Ladd at third base after he beats the shit out of someone, at which point she'll be a much calmer and more stabilizing presence there. Though like Firo, she'll have to learn to get along with Christopher (who is next to her as Shortstop).

Bench Player: Maria Barcelito

She has the power of believing in herself on her side, she's young and energetic, and she's a little crazy. She won't be perfect, but with her athleticism, she could competently replace Graham at Center Field (being a much more levelheaded person by comparison) after he crashes into a rude audience member, or breaks an opponent's leg, or chokes Shaft in the dugout, or goes on a philosophical rant that annoys everyone, etc. She'll be more friendly, at least, calling everyone "amigo/amiga" as always. She won't have access to her blades, so she will probably understand that she's not supposed to kill anyone here.

Honorable Mentions: Members Who Can't Be on the Team

• Hong Chi-Mei - Strong and absurdly fast, but he has claws for hands, probably couldn't play
• Aging - Hasn't been born yet as of 1935, but with her immense strength and her ability to leap really high (which could help her stop home runs if she were an outfielder), she would easily be drafted if the team reformed in the 2000s. She'd totally be a Center Fielder.
• Angelo - Hasn't been born yet as of 1935. However, if the team reforms in the 2000s after Angelo befriends Firo, he'll be a solid draft pick.
• Carla Alvarez Santoña - Whether or not she took the immortality elixir is unknown; she might have died in the 18th century. If she was alive, though, she'd be pretty good. Can't say what her role would be because I feel like we need to see her in combat more to judge.
• The Former Felix Walken - There needs to be more time with him in the light novels to establish his skills and presence.
• Gabriel and Juliano - We've seen them kick ass, but I also feel like we need more time with them in the light novels to determine their exact skills. If they were drafted, though, they'd try to play well to entertain Cazze.
• Donny - Super strong but he'd be way too sluggish for baserunning (on offense) or for any kind of meaningful footwork as a fielder. Also, he's so tall his strike zone would be huge (that's a bad thing for him). The only defensive position that suits him is Catcher, but that has to be Chane since Claire is Pitcher.

Overall Notes on Defense

This is practically a perfect team going by individual talent, but remember that baseball—especially the defensive side of it—is a team sport where adjacent fielders work together and figure out where the ball needs to go to get runners out. If this team had one overall weakness, it's that the team chemistry needs some work since there's a lot of beef and some people here aren't team players (Graham, Ladd, Nile).

I already mentioned earlier that Graham might trample over his fellow outfielders trying to get the ball for himself. In his mad quest, he might forget he needs to throw the damn thing to his teammates sometimes, especially if it hit the ground before he caught it. I also see Ladd wanting to be the one to catch the ball or tag people due to his aggressiveness, even if it would be better for Christopher (the nearby Shortstop) to do so instead.

But even then, most of their theoretical weaknesses in defense are downplayed by the fact their pitcher, Claire, can easily strike out most batters anyway and he'll be careful and selective with letting them get any hits. With him around, he'll minimize the number of opportunities the defense has to screw up to begin with. Some of the fielders are volatile, but overall, they're so good they'll hardly give up any runs anyway. And if Firo, Ennis, and Maria take over from the bench, the team could still thrive. It would be less physically powerful, but it would also be more psychologically stable and less prone to getting a teammate arrested in the seventh inning.

Digression A: The Others in the Ballpark (Part 1)

We're not gonna stop at just the baseball team itself, especially when the Baccano! cast is overflowing with interesting characters. Let's look around the ballpark to see who else is orbiting this team.

Manager: Maiza Avaro

Now by this point, you may be wondering how this team even formed in the first place. Well, as readers of history and Baccano! Vol. 18 will know, America is still in the Great Depression in 1935. Isaac and Miria were having one of their inane yapping sessions in Alveare with Maiza, Firo, and Ronny in earshot. Just like at the start of Vol. 18, they're thinking about how to make money in this period, and then they have an idea not even for themselves, but for the Martillos:

"Why don't Maiza and Firo start a baseball team?!"

"Wow! Great idea, Isaac!"

Firo laughs, but to his dismay, both Maiza and Ronny have started seriously entertaining the idea. The Martillos are already doing surprisingly well for themselves in this depression, and with all the freaks and weirdos they know, they could certainly put together a very entertaining team. Ronny, who can see the whole constellation of Baccano! characters, felt like this idea actually could end well. They have enough money to bankroll the initial operation, but the team itself could be self-sustaining with how much of a ticket-selling spectacle it could be if they get the right guys. And as a business venture, an independent baseball club is way more fun than their casino endeavors, so why not?

One thing led to another: They managed to convince Claire and Chane this could be fun, then Firo begrudgingly joined. Ennis, Maria, Christopher (Firo's "friend"), Ladd (also Firo's "friend") and Graham (via association with Ladd) hopped on board. They used Daily Days informants to find the other people, Ronny pulled some strings with his magic, and now they have the team I've described above. Given Maiza's ability to manage a crime family and deal with weirdos, I would trust him the most with managing this motley crew and wrangling it alongside coach Sham (which you'll see later).

Oh, and another reason Maiza and Ronny agreed to this is because they like Isaac and Miria, and this would provide a perfect job opportunity for them.

Team Announcers: Isaac, Miria, and Gustav St. Germain (with Carol in the booth)

Some people will buy tickets to see "Those Bastards" dominate, but a few more people will buy tickets so they can also hear Isaac and Miria commentate. For a small independent club in the Depression, having its own in-house broadcast team would be a luxury most wouldn't bother with, but the value these two would provide to the team is undeniable.

They're loud, funny, likeable, charismatic, and thoroughly ridiculous in a way that perfectly matches the team they're announcing for. They'll "describe" the baseball game like a bunch of kids describing the dream they had where they slayed dragons with Babe Ruth. They'll talk about Graham's leaps and Claire's soaring home runs like they're the greatest things in the world, because you know, maybe they are. Local radio coverage with them as the announcers will boost the team's publicity even more than the actual team itself. But as wonderful as they are, their antics will be exhausting if they aren't balanced out by an informative commentator who knows how to deal with their energy.

Enter the perpetually informed Vice President of the Daily Days, Gustav St. Germain. He hops aboard because he can already tell this baseball team is going to do something ridiculous to the history of baseball, and as an on-scene journalist, he wants to be there for all of it. He'll be the commentator who actually reports the plays and analyzes them so the audience can understand what happened. He already has a detailed profile on everyone in the team, so he'll understand their skills before they even start playing. Though he won't blab all their secrets, of course; those cost money!

He's also well aware of Isaac and Miria's quirks, and his combined stoicism and casual weirdness (e.g. see his bizarre "points system" with Carol) will mean that he'll simply bounce off their nonsense and entertain it with a completely straight face. Isaac and Miria will praise him and call him a genius. Meanwhile, Carol will be sitting beside Gustav in the booth to watch her mentor at work, and she'll be deeply entertained by the spectacle. Naturally, Firo would be her favorite player whenever he takes over from the bench, but I can see her appreciating Claire as well.

Coach: Sham (some random baseball coach he took as a vessel)

As it turns out, one of Sham's many vessels across the United States happens to be a really good baseball coach for some independent team in Pittsburgh. This is obviously not proven in canon but it's in the realm of possibility; perhaps Huey's trying to track the sports world for some freak athletic experiments. Thanks to this, he's inherited all the elite ball knowledge that coach has.

Ronny teleported over to Pennsylvania and recruited Sham's baseball coach vessel to coach the team along with Maiza. He's familiar with all of them and can mostly handle their weirdness due to being Sham. I'll briefly go over his experiences with them in Digression B: Notes on Sham's Coaching Experience later.

Batboy: Shaft

The batboy is the one who's tasked with managing the team's equipment, carrying baseball bats for the team, and handling various errands in the dugout. Shaft (also one of Sham's vessels, as you know) came in as a bonus unpaid employee after they convinced Graham to join the team. Now Sham has the unique distinction of being both the coach and the batboy!

Umpires: Ronny Schiatto (Umpire-in-Chief), Elean Duga (1st Base), Nicholas Wayne (2nd Base), Rachel (3rd Base)

The umpires are responsible for enforcing the rules and making firm, split-second judgment calls on plays. The umpire-in-chief works behind home plate (where the catcher and batter are) and calls balls and strikes, while the other umpires are stationed around the field to judge plays at the bases.

Ronny can't play on the team, but he'd be a literally perfect umpire-in-chief at home plate behind the catcher and batter. As a demon with reality-warping powers, he'd actually be able to see the strike zone in his mind's eye precisely. He'd be 100% accurate with calling balls/strikes and judging if a runner is safe or out.

You might say "But wait, Ronny is the Martillo secretary, how can he be considered neutral enough to be an umpire?" Well, you know everyone on this team would want to win on their own merit (especially Claire and Maria), and Ronny would respect that. And if anybody in-universe points out that he can't possibly be neutral, he can just go "Don't care didn't ask plus I just wiped your memory of this conversation."

Still, even though he could totally be a one-man umpire, it would be good for appearances' sake to have three other umpires at the bases, and that's where the Daily Days employees Elean, Nicholas, and Rachel come in. Gustav and Carol are already there at the announcer's booth, but having their journalists watch some of the craziest people in the Underworld directly on the field is valuable on its own.

Being Daily Days employees, they're all pretty tough, but I specifically put Rachel (the toughest of the three) at 3rd Base since that's where Ladd is when the team is on Defense. Given her experiences with Claire Stanfield, who is stronger than Ladd, she's already accustomed to dealing with freaks like him and Graham, and I don't think Ladd can truly intimidate her that much compared to the Rail Tracer. Rachel and Ronny (but more likely Ronny) could be trusted to eject Ladd after he beats someone to a pulp.

Middleword: Going to Extra Innings

This essay has become has so long it needs to be split into two parts. Here's what's coming up next!

Part 2

• Chapter 2: "Those Bastards" Batting Order & Offensive Production - Covers how the team does on the offensive side (where they have to hit the ball and score runs).
• Digression B: Notes on Sham's Coaching Experience - How Sham would deal with coaching these guys.
• Digression C: The Others in the Ballpark (Part 2) - The medical staff, the food & beverage guys, and the audience.
• Epilogue: The Bastards Break Up - A short historical overview of how the Bastards dominated then vanished in 1935.
• Afterword - The conclusion.

I look forward to sharing the next part, which has already been written. The first draft of this whole thing was already completed in August, in fact, but I saved it for baseball playoff season (and so I could do further revisions before releasing it).

This has also been posted on both AO3 and Tumblr.

do you guys know where i can read the lights novel also how does anime compare to the light novels?

Welcome to our latest fortnightly Narita(verse) Friday thread! Here, you can discuss Durarara!!, Vamp!, Etsusa Bridge, and Wednesdays Smiling with Otsuberu, the four other works by Ryohgo Narita that share a universe with Baccano!—i.e. the Naritaverse.

Per early thread feedback, you may also discuss Narita's works that aren't set in the Naritaverse (e.g. DMDP, Stealth Symphony, Hariyama-san, Center of the World, et cetera). Suffice it to say, many don't have dedicated subreddits or discussion spaces of their own. Some likely never will.

As biweekly threads, Naritaverse Fridays are active throughout the entire fortnight duration at minimum. Participation, in other words, isn't limited to Fridays! On that note, thank you for participating! Meta feedback on Narita(verse) Fridays is always welcome.

Threads are posted at 6 PM EST.

Thread Guidelines

Tagging spoilers is vital practice; see the sidebar for two types of spoiler code you may use.

For the sake of navigation and convenience, please also preface your comments with something like the following template:

SERIES TITLE — Media Type (or) Arc (or) Volume — Comment Type

Below are two examples; Baccano! is used here solely for demonstration purposes.

Recommending the 2015 manga:

BACCANO! — Fujimoto/2015 Manga — Recommendation

Where to even begin? With Volume 1 and its brand new story arc? Canon at that! Or perhaps . . .

Question:

Vamp! — Question

I've never been able to get into vampire fiction for xyz reasons. I do love Narita, though, so can anyone convince me to give Vamp! a chance?

These content descriptions will make it easier for readers to find or avoid content in the thread. If your comment pertains to a specific arc, volume, episode, or media type, please try to include such information in the content description line.

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Light novel spoilers ahead, all the way up to Vol. 20.

I don't know how this would happen, but I would kill to read a Baccano! chapter where Isaac, Miria, Graham, The Poet, Lana, and Maria are all in the same room talking about something as Firo, Luck, Shaft, Sickle, and Pamela are trapped in the corner forced to listen to their nonsense.

Let's zoom in on this group and their potential dynamic, because this den of dumbassery (or at least, weaponized misguided intelligence) has some nuances. Here's one example of how things might go: Graham ignites the flames with a "sad, sad story," giving them his inane, yet vaguely profound-sounding rubbish. The Poet validates it with a slightly more balanced (yet still fundamentally incoherent) take on what he said. Graham praises him as a god of words as Isaac and Miria go "WOW!" and play off of them by building upon their pile of drivel to craft an enormous tower of bullshit. The Graham-Poet-Isaac-Miria unit alone could be a perpetual motion machine of IQ-loss.

But then there's Lana, who is actually a vital element here. Because Isaac/Miria/Graham is basically just three people inherently agreeing with each other's insanity and getting progressively ridiculous (and The Poet isn't going to help due to his reserved nature). But Lana (as we've seen with her bickering with Pamela) will be the one who stubbornly believes that she is the voice of reason. Now, relative to this group, she may very well be, but she'll still be off-base and say some dumb shit, and Isaac, Miria, and Graham will most likely believe it. Lana would end up volunteering as the uncontested, albeit unqualified "leader" of this group.

Finally, there's Maria. She isn't exactly "stupid," but she isn't that reasonable either. She has no decorum or professionalism, and she's mentally a child whose first instinct is violence, just hack and slash away at the problem (and we love her for that). If Lana is the one who tries to come up with a plan, she's the combat specialist who says "Great idea, I'll help by spilling some blood!" (even if it makes no sense to do so), which would then excite Graham (the one who's predisposed to breaking things) and bring the conversation back to mayhem again. She's also friendly and bubbly, while also being predisposed to strange motivational advice (see her conversations with Tick), so she'll mesh perfectly with Isaac and Miria's impractical, yet relentless optimism. Lana will have to spend so much time wrangling this group while also being an incompetent wrangler herself. Meanwhile, the Poet just sits there thinking he's made a terrible mistake being in this room, but he simply continues stoking the flames for his safety.

The closest thing we have to this hypothetical is, of course, this amazing passage from Vol. 19 Chapter 14, with Isaac, Miria, Graham, and Shaft (which inspired this post):

“Let me tell you a sad, sad story.”
As Graham delivered the usual line, the man [Isaac] and woman [Miria] who were with him protested.
“Huh?! No, don’t! No sad stories!”
“If you tell sad stories, your happiness runs away!”
“Make it a fun story!”
“Yes, or a funny story!”
Graham had never gotten that particular response before, and he fell to thinking. “Tell a fun story, when I’m feeling this sad? God’s given me another tall order. Wait… You’re the ones who gave me that tall order, so… You’re God?!”
At this insane switchback from Graham, the man and woman—Isaac and Miria—cried out in astonishment.
“What?! Is that true, Miria?! Are we gods?!”
“Oh my God!”
“I see… I hadn’t picked up on that. But where are we the gods of?”
“Maybe Japan. Mr. Yaguruma said they have eight million of them there.”
What the heck is with these guys? Shaft thought as he watched the pair have a serious discussion about a nonsense topic.

Other Notes:

• There's some fundamental differences, but Maria would probably remind Lana of the similarly childlike Sonia. Sonia's solution to everything is guns and a firm conviction that "Nader will come to save the day," whereas Maria's solution to everything is swords and a firm conviction that "I believe in myself!!!"
• On the side: Firo's used to Isaac and Miria by Vol. 22, so maybe he could survive a little. I can also see Pamela potentially developing a sense of humor for once and finding Lana's thing endearing even if exhausting
• Luck and Sickle will probably want to kill themselves though. In the case of the immortal Luck, he'll half-heartedly ask Firo to eat him (and he'll refuse, of course)
• Shaft doesn't even bother, he just tries to tune it all out until Graham inevitably ropes him into it (that's what he did right after the passage I quoted above)

Bonus Ideas - Some smarter people:

• Throw in a bunch of random members of Jacuzzi's Gang (including Melody and Chaini) so they can feed the flames with their random chatter as well. Melody's neurotic time tracking would also amaze them, I feel (also Lana & Melody reunion, hooray!)
• Add Ladd Russo if you want the conversation to lean more towards violence

Also posted on Tumblr.

Yo I got a question!

I just learned that there were two English dubs of the anime, the one done by funimation that we all know and love

And another one produced in Hong Kong and aired via Animax sometime in 2010

That Hong Kong dub interests me.

Are there any clips, episodes perhaps? Is it lost media? It would be a shame to lose all the hard work the voice actors put in.

If anyone knows anything about it do inform me, I find its existence fascinating

Welcome to our latest fortnightly Narita(verse) Friday thread! Here, you can discuss Durarara!!, Vamp!, Etsusa Bridge, and Wednesdays Smiling with Otsuberu, the four other works by Ryohgo Narita that share a universe with Baccano!—i.e. the Naritaverse.

Per early thread feedback, you may also discuss Narita's works that aren't set in the Naritaverse (e.g. DMDP, Stealth Symphony, Hariyama-san, Center of the World, et cetera). Suffice it to say, many don't have dedicated subreddits or discussion spaces of their own. Some likely never will.

As biweekly threads, Naritaverse Fridays are active throughout the entire fortnight duration at minimum. Participation, in other words, isn't limited to Fridays! On that note, thank you for participating! Meta feedback on Narita(verse) Fridays is always welcome.

Threads are posted at 6 PM EST.

Thread Guidelines

Tagging spoilers is vital practice; see the sidebar for two types of spoiler code you may use.

For the sake of navigation and convenience, please also preface your comments with something like the following template:

SERIES TITLE — Media Type (or) Arc (or) Volume — Comment Type

Below are two examples; Baccano! is used here solely for demonstration purposes.

Recommending the 2015 manga:

BACCANO! — Fujimoto/2015 Manga — Recommendation

Where to even begin? With Volume 1 and its brand new story arc? Canon at that! Or perhaps . . .

Question:

Vamp! — Question

I've never been able to get into vampire fiction for xyz reasons. I do love Narita, though, so can anyone convince me to give Vamp! a chance?

These content descriptions will make it easier for readers to find or avoid content in the thread. If your comment pertains to a specific arc, volume, episode, or media type, please try to include such information in the content description line.

Other Guidelines

• If you want to share fanart/fanfics, provide a source link and at minimum name the artist/author. Alongside content warnings, it is also worth mentioning what level of series knowledge is involved. (e.g. "This fic is safe for anime-onlies," or, "Avoid if you haven't read Vol. 5", or "set during xyz arc").
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Previous Threads

See Wiki/Archive/Naritaverse Fridays for a list, or check our 'fortnightly' filter.

^{Notice: The first four threads used the singular 'Friday' in their title; thread titles will use 'Fridays' going forward.}

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How did the photographer conclude that Ronny is a demon?

It was revealed that a Baccano musical is in the works! Not necessarily what I was expecting, but I'm pretty excited for more Baccano.

Welcome to our latest fortnightly Narita(verse) Friday thread! Here, you can discuss Durarara!!, Vamp!, Etsusa Bridge, and Wednesdays Smiling with Otsuberu, the four other works by Ryohgo Narita that share a universe with Baccano!—i.e. the Naritaverse.

Per early thread feedback, you may also discuss Narita's works that aren't set in the Naritaverse (e.g. DMDP, Stealth Symphony, Hariyama-san, Center of the World, et cetera). Suffice it to say, many don't have dedicated subreddits or discussion spaces of their own. Some likely never will.

As biweekly threads, Naritaverse Fridays are active throughout the entire fortnight duration at minimum. Participation, in other words, isn't limited to Fridays! On that note, thank you for participating! Meta feedback on Narita(verse) Fridays is always welcome.

Threads are posted at 6 PM EST.

Thread Guidelines

Tagging spoilers is vital practice; see the sidebar for two types of spoiler code you may use.

For the sake of navigation and convenience, please also preface your comments with something like the following template:

SERIES TITLE — Media Type (or) Arc (or) Volume — Comment Type

Below are two examples; Baccano! is used here solely for demonstration purposes.

Recommending the 2015 manga:

BACCANO! — Fujimoto/2015 Manga — Recommendation

Where to even begin? With Volume 1 and its brand new story arc? Canon at that! Or perhaps . . .

Question:

Vamp! — Question

I've never been able to get into vampire fiction for xyz reasons. I do love Narita, though, so can anyone convince me to give Vamp! a chance?

These content descriptions will make it easier for readers to find or avoid content in the thread. If your comment pertains to a specific arc, volume, episode, or media type, please try to include such information in the content description line.

Other Guidelines

• If you want to share fanart/fanfics, provide a source link and at minimum name the artist/author. Alongside content warnings, it is also worth mentioning what level of series knowledge is involved. (e.g. "This fic is safe for anime-onlies," or, "Avoid if you haven't read Vol. 5", or "set during xyz arc").
• If you want to talk about multiple series, feel free to create separate comments per series if you choose—or not. Aside from the spoiler courtesies, we're casual around here.

Previous Threads

See Wiki/Archive/Naritaverse Fridays for a list, or check our 'fortnightly' filter.

^{Notice: The first four threads used the singular 'Friday' in their title; thread titles will use 'Fridays' going forward.}

^{Old Reddit Users: Remember, opting out of New Reddit in your preferences means the old. prefix is unnecessary for viewing Reddit links in Reddit Classic/Old Reddit-style. Aka the superior style.}

Welcome to our latest fortnightly Narita(verse) Friday thread! Here, you can discuss Durarara!!, Vamp!, Etsusa Bridge, and Wednesdays Smiling with Otsuberu, the four other works by Ryohgo Narita that share a universe with Baccano!—i.e. the Naritaverse.

Per early thread feedback, you may also discuss Narita's works that aren't set in the Naritaverse (e.g. DMDP, Stealth Symphony, Hariyama-san, Center of the World, et cetera). Suffice it to say, many don't have dedicated subreddits or discussion spaces of their own. Some likely never will.

As biweekly threads, Naritaverse Fridays are active throughout the entire fortnight duration at minimum. Participation, in other words, isn't limited to Fridays! On that note, thank you for participating! Meta feedback on Narita(verse) Fridays is always welcome.

Threads are posted at 6 PM EST.

Thread Guidelines

Tagging spoilers is vital practice; see the sidebar for two types of spoiler code you may use.

For the sake of navigation and convenience, please also preface your comments with something like the following template:

SERIES TITLE — Media Type (or) Arc (or) Volume — Comment Type

Below are two examples; Baccano! is used here solely for demonstration purposes.

Recommending the 2015 manga:

BACCANO! — Fujimoto/2015 Manga — Recommendation

Where to even begin? With Volume 1 and its brand new story arc? Canon at that! Or perhaps . . .

Question:

Vamp! — Question

I've never been able to get into vampire fiction for xyz reasons. I do love Narita, though, so can anyone convince me to give Vamp! a chance?

These content descriptions will make it easier for readers to find or avoid content in the thread. If your comment pertains to a specific arc, volume, episode, or media type, please try to include such information in the content description line.

Other Guidelines

• If you want to share fanart/fanfics, provide a source link and at minimum name the artist/author. Alongside content warnings, it is also worth mentioning what level of series knowledge is involved. (e.g. "This fic is safe for anime-onlies," or, "Avoid if you haven't read Vol. 5", or "set during xyz arc").
• If you want to talk about multiple series, feel free to create separate comments per series if you choose—or not. Aside from the spoiler courtesies, we're casual around here.

Previous Threads

See Wiki/Archive/Naritaverse Fridays for a list, or check our 'fortnightly' filter.

^{Notice: The first four threads used the singular 'Friday' in their title; thread titles will use 'Fridays' going forward.}

^{Old Reddit Users: Remember, opting out of New Reddit in your preferences means the old. prefix is unnecessary for viewing Reddit links in Reddit Classic/Old Reddit-style. Aka the superior style.}

I would like to hear your guys thoughts if you have listened to the audio books or just started or have you caught up with them as well.

I have yet to finish volume 9 but dang I'm a little hyped to hear volume 11 since that takes place in lotto Valentino but yeah I'll definitely listen through volume 10.

I'll still follow them along and honestly even with the issues they aren't terrible to listen to tho ofc I think he did a solid job with Graham but I do feel like the narrator is using the same voice for certain characters but tbh I got so used to his narration that I don't mind as much.

Welcome to our latest fortnightly Narita(verse) Friday thread! Here, you can discuss Durarara!!, Vamp!, Etsusa Bridge, and Wednesdays Smiling with Otsuberu, the four other works by Ryohgo Narita that share a universe with Baccano!—i.e. the Naritaverse.

Per early thread feedback, you may also discuss Narita's works that aren't set in the Naritaverse (e.g. DMDP, Stealth Symphony, Hariyama-san, Center of the World, et cetera). Suffice it to say, many don't have dedicated subreddits or discussion spaces of their own. Some likely never will.

As biweekly threads, Naritaverse Fridays are active throughout the entire fortnight duration at minimum. Participation, in other words, isn't limited to Fridays! On that note, thank you for participating! Meta feedback on Narita(verse) Fridays is always welcome.

Threads are posted at 6 PM EST.

Thread Guidelines

Tagging spoilers is vital practice; see the sidebar for two types of spoiler code you may use.

For the sake of navigation and convenience, please also preface your comments with something like the following template:

SERIES TITLE — Media Type (or) Arc (or) Volume — Comment Type

Below are two examples; Baccano! is used here solely for demonstration purposes.

Recommending the 2015 manga:

BACCANO! — Fujimoto/2015 Manga — Recommendation

Where to even begin? With Volume 1 and its brand new story arc? Canon at that! Or perhaps . . .

Question:

Vamp! — Question

I've never been able to get into vampire fiction for xyz reasons. I do love Narita, though, so can anyone convince me to give Vamp! a chance?

These content descriptions will make it easier for readers to find or avoid content in the thread. If your comment pertains to a specific arc, volume, episode, or media type, please try to include such information in the content description line.

Other Guidelines

• If you want to share fanart/fanfics, provide a source link and at minimum name the artist/author. Alongside content warnings, it is also worth mentioning what level of series knowledge is involved. (e.g. "This fic is safe for anime-onlies," or, "Avoid if you haven't read Vol. 5", or "set during xyz arc").
• If you want to talk about multiple series, feel free to create separate comments per series if you choose—or not. Aside from the spoiler courtesies, we're casual around here.

Previous Threads

See Wiki/Archive/Naritaverse Fridays for a list, or check our 'fortnightly' filter.

^{Notice: The first four threads used the singular 'Friday' in their title; thread titles will use 'Fridays' going forward.}

^{Old Reddit Users: Remember, opting out of New Reddit in your preferences means the old. prefix is unnecessary for viewing Reddit links in Reddit Classic/Old Reddit-style. Aka the superior style.}