The Tigers are (Looking) Back: Season 18 Recap

by: Clio

Season 18 was a return to form for the Tigers after disappointing performances in the previous threeason. To recap how they made their way back to the top of Wild High, let’s start with the Season 17 Elections.

Accidental Tanking Strats

Season 17 was the end of an era for the Tigers. As the last holdout in the ILB without a single losing season, their luck finally ran out as the team plummeted to a 39-60 record thanks to an unexpected trade of ace pitcher Hiroto Wilcox for Lenny Marijuana of the Garages. This turned out to be an unexpected blessing for the Tigers, however, as they entered PARTYTIME on Day 84 and made the most of it. Eight players Partied, two of them more than once, improving both the Lineup and the Rotation considerably.

This time, the Election went off without a hitch, with the Tigers exchanging Lenny to bring back Hiroto, and Transfusing pitcher Dunlap Figueroa for a second season in a row. The Tigers went into the Siesta feeling hopeful and ready to show the ILB that they were a dominant team once more.

Season 18: The Tigers are Good

The Tigers got off to a strong start in Season 18, but the dramatic nature of Blaseball made itself known at the end of the first week of play when the Salmon Cannons at the Wormhole launched Hiroto Wilcox Elsewhere. Luckily, freshly infused Dunlap Figueroa stepped up to pick up the slack while the team captain was away and led the team to a more than respectable 18 Wins before Earlsiesta.

The positive momentum continued until, for no discernable reason, the team simply stopped winning halfway through the season. The Tigers went on a four-game losing streak starting on Day 54, which was only the beginning of the team’s struggles. In total, the team lost fifteen of their twenty games from Day 54 to 73, capping the slump off with a six-game losing streak. Luckily, the Latesiesta seemed to revitalize the team, as they went on to dominate nearly all of their matchups in the Lateseason (except against the Flowers, a bit of foreshadowing for the playoffs). The Tigers finished the season back on top of the Wild High, and, thanks to Divine Favour, managed to take third place in the Wild League and bypass the Wild Card games.

Aldon Cashmoney is Legendary

Unfortunately, instead of excitement at earning a Playoff spot after two seasons of failing to do so, the mood was somber for Tigers fans at the end of the regular season. Aldon Cashmoney had previously received Ego++++ and, as the recent Preservations of Nagomi Mcdaniel and York Silk had shown, they did not have much time left with the team. Despite every effort by Tigers fans to save their beloved star batter, they remained on the Idol board when MVPs were named, was declared Legendary, and removed from the team.

If there was ever a player to deserve the label of Legendary, it was Aldon Cashmoney. They were one of the brightest stars of Blaseball, and their last season was just as exceptional as ever. This season, they topped SIBR’s stats leaderboards in five categories, was third in four categories, and took fifth in two more. What made Aldon Legendary, however, was not simply their Season 18 performance, but that such greatness was the norm for them.

When Aldon left the league, they were also on the top ten career leaderboards in an extraordinary 13 categories, including first in runs batted in (1301.5) and runs scored (1478). Most notably, they were the first player since the return of the ILB to reach 500 home runs, which will remain a part of Aldon’s legacy forever.

The tragedy of losing Aldon is not simply about their unmatched statistics, but about their place on the Hades Tigers. Despite only joining the team during the Season 8 elections, they became synonymous with the Tigers, only leaving to the Hellmouth Sunbeams for one season before quickly being brought back to Hades in the next Election.

They were part of the Season 12 Tigers that dominated the league before winning their third ILB championship, and they were among the first (non-expansion team) players to evolve alongside the rest of the Tigers.

During games, fans could frequently be heard cheering “CASHMONEY,” “TAKE IT TO THE BANK,” and “$$$$$$$” when they hit a home run or stole their away around the bases. The Tigers’ slogan may be “Never Look Back,” but fans are certainly not going to forget Aldon any time soon.

Aldon’s Leaderboard Rankings for Season 18:

• –  1st – Batting Average (0.375)
• –  1st – On-base percentage (0.385)
• –  1st – On-base slugging percentage (1.247)
• –  1st – Slugging percentage (0.862)
• –  1st – Triples hit (41)
• –  3rd – Runs batted in (105)
• –  3rd – Runs scored (117)
• –  3rd – Stolen bases (69)
• –  3rd – Total bases (411)
• –  5th – Hits (179)
• –  5th – Home runs (43)

(via blaseball-reference.com)

Postseason Woes

After the dramatics of the MVP selection, the Postseason was rather quiet for the Tigers. They first faced the Wild League’s second seed, the Miami Dale, whom they confidently beat in four games. However, the Wild League Championship was a disappointing showing for the Tigers, as they were easily swept by the Boston Flowers. The Tigers’ batting in particular was not up to par, with the team being shut out in game one and only scoring a total of four runs across the series, highlighting just how significant the loss of Aldon would be in upcoming seasons.

What’s in store for Season 19?

After a successful season with a lackluster end, one thing was clear to Tigers’ fans: the loss of Aldon left a hole in the Lineup that needed to be patched. Luckily, this issue had been predicted since fans learned what Legendary meant, and, being the Hades Tigers, they had already decided to tackle it in the most dramatic way possible. To save Aldon from the vault and spite the gods, the Tigers attempted the Bank Job: heisting Aldon from wherever Legendary players are Preserved. In more practical terms, fans voted to Move Aldon to the Tigers lineup.

This was serious enough to break the cardinal Blaseball rule (don’t vote before Saturday), as all votes had to be cast before MVPs were named on Friday. The Move Will did go through, but unfortunately, the team was unable to recover the original Aldon. Instead, Hades ended up with a replica, Aldon Cashmoney II, who will only remain with the team for one season. While this is not the ideal outcome, it will strengthen the team’s hitting in the meantime, allowing fans more time to improve the remaining players.

The Tigers’ second Will was much less dramatic but very successful for long-term preparations: shadowed pitcher Mummy Melcon was Infused, turning them into a powerful prospect for the Tigers’ Rotation.

As for Blessings, the Tigers have Targeted Evolution to be excited about. Rather amusing to Tigers fans, notoriously dramatic pitcher Famous Owens became the first player in the ILB to reach Base 2 Evolution, while Ayanna Dumpington, a more recent addition to the Lineup, reached Base 1 to match many of her teammates.

What can we expect from the Tigers in Season 19? Honestly, I have no clue. The Tigers seem to still be the best team in Wild High, but the Trust Fall Decree has thrown Blaseball fans into confusion. At the time of writing, it’s too early to say what that means for the league (although when you are reading this things may be more clear).

However, this season shows us that the Tigers are back to the reliable winning team that they have been since the return of the ILB. We are all very excited to see where this momentum carries them for the rest of the threeason.