Yosh Carpenter

By: Avery M

Yosh Carpenter’s story is one of what I can only describe as overwhelming resilience.

Yosh came out of the gate as one of the San Francisco Lovers’ best pitchers in the Discipline era. We are not, under any circumstances, known for our pitching, however Yosh always kept a notable success rate among their cohort.

Of 21 total seasons as a pitcher for both the Lovers and the Hawai’i Fridays, 16 of those seasons Carpenter earned a WHIP under 1.00, with stand out seasons (discounting an anomaly I will get to in a moment), being Seasons 6 and 7, the latter of which would see us in the playoffs finals.

Yosh’s consistent ERA throughout their time as a pitcher was 3.04, and they were a top 15 pitcher in Overhanded Career WhAT. The only other pitcher who has taken the mound of the Lovers in this group is, ironically enough, Gabriel Griffith.

Yosh sustained a significant career throughout era shifts, and spent their entire career both on the Lovers and Hawai’i Fridays, dedicated to the mound up until the absolute moment where they were needed in the lineup, to swap with legacy teammate Don Mitchell, in a play to prevent their vaulting.

If I’m being entirely honest here. I am not a stats guy. That’s not why I’m writing this article.

I want to tell a story.

If there is one thing you need to know about the San Francisco Lovers, it’s our seasoned history with Feedback, and sharing players with our friends in the Pacific.

While many of the Feedbacks we experienced were heart wrenching, I look no further than this season 13, day 79 Feedback for one of the best moments in Blaseball storytelling.

We can be realistic, this was a glitch. Yosh Carpenter took the mound against Gabriel Griffith, the inning began like any other.

Feedback struck.

Where we had come to painfully expect at this point to see Griffith standing in Yosh’s place, what we got instead was 17 more grueling innings of a Lovers staple pitcher refusing to leave the mound. Yosh completed all nine innings for both teams before the Veedback really hit, sending them to the Fridays where they would finish their career.

This would be the second of five Feedbacks we would have with the Fridays, and start a long line of what we’ve lovingly dubbed “the shipping of Theseus,” slowly but surely losing our original roster across the League.

I don’t tell this story out of sadness however, I truly do think that Yosh’s story is one of the most interesting things that has happened to us. It sets a precedent for the love of our roster, it would be the last time one of our most dominant original pitchers got to play with us but would lead to investing in standout Lovers pitchers like Sandford Garner, and newcomer Mindy Salad.

I think this glitch, a love letter to those moments in the game that just write themselves beautifully.

Whether it was Yosh’s performance, or this story that convinced you, I hope you consider Yosh Carpenter for your ballot.

Thanks.