American League
Manager
Brainiac
Starting Lineup
Jay Garrick CF
Zachary Houslander SS
Miguel Cabrera 3B
Magglio Ordonez RF
Kyle Houslander 1B
Ness 2B
Lucas LF
Tom Brady C
Sam Bonser DH
Tarik Skubal SP
Bench
Dinobot
Vampire Thanos
Doomsday
Bruce Lee
Bullpen
Hyperion
Richard Nixon
Makkari
National League
Manager
Pete Rose
Starting Lineup
The Flash CF
Pete Rose 3B
Roy Houslander DH
Cable 2B
Dunedain Ranger Kyle Houslander 1B
Hellboy RF
Casey Jones SS
Heimdall C
Trackstar LF
Bullseye SP
Bench
Boromir
Reverse Flash
Malanea
Chun Li
Radagon
Bullpen
Shadow the Hedge Hog
Bane
Walker Texas Ranger
Hello and welcome all to a Fantasy Fantasy League first. My name is Kyle Houslander (Watcher) and Andy Dirks will be joining me in the booth (anything written in Italics is spoken by Andy Dirks).
For week 1 of the 2026 FFL season we will be playing a game of baseball between the American and National League teams here at Comerica Park. And we could not have picked a more beautiful day to do so. It's 74° with a small breeze out to LF and not a cloud in the sky. And we got a full house here with 41,000 fans in attendance.
Some quick notes about today's format. Each team has submitted 3 players to be used by their conference. It’s a six inning game that will be played by the rules of the MLB and the American League will be the home team because Comerica Park is an American League ballpark. For the sake of the fans, the speedsters (e.g. The Flash, Jay Garrick etc.) will be wearing a special necklace during the game that inhibits their speed, they will still be by far the fastest players on the field but if we didn’t slow them down then even what would normally be a grounder would be caught before it hits the ground and a drag bunt would result in an inside the park homerun.
Top of the 1st
The American League has taken the field, back to back Cy Young Award Winner and hometown favorite Tarik Skubal takes the mound.
The Flash walks up to the plate in the Right Handed Batters Box and gets prepared for the flamethrower from the Tigers.
Yeah Kyle, Skubal has a lethal two pitch combo of an upper 90s 4 seam fastball and arguably the best changeup in all of baseball. He actually throws his changeup more than his fastball. He’ll occasionally mix in a sinker and slider, and does have a curveball as well but he only threw that 2.8% of the time in 2025.
Skubal takes the mound and throws the first pitch, a fastball that caught the edge of the zone. 0-1 count. Skubal works quickly on the mound and throws the next, a changeup below the zone that The Flash chases after. Tom Brady sets up high and inside for the third pitch and Skubal hits the spot perfectly as The Flash was late to the fastball for strike three at 99 mph.
Looks like the Flash was sitting off speed because that ball was in the glove before he even got his barrel in the zone. Skubal looks confident today.
MLBs all time hit leader and switch hitter Pete Rose steps up to the plate from the right side with his patented hunched over stance in the box and swings at a first pitch slider that he rolls over to the third base side, Miggy collects the ball and makes a routine throw to Kyle at first base.
Roy Houslander steps up to the plate, he is also a switch hitter and gets in the right handed hitters box.
A good way to attack Skubal is to sit first pitch fastball and hope you’re on top of it.
And Andy Dirks calls it as Roy hits a Skubal fastball sharply to left field for a single.
Cable steps up to the plate and quickly gets into a 1-2 count. Skubal from the stretch sneaks in a curveball that catches the bottom of the zone and is called strike 3. As Skubal strikes out two and strands one on the bases.
Bottom of the 1st
The National League takes the field and Bullseye will be on the mound.
We haven’t seen Bullseye on the mound before but we all know how accurate he is with any object in the world so I am sure he will show the same ability on the mound.
Jay Garrick steps up to the box from the right side and prepares for the sharp shooter on the mound. Bullseye gets the count to 0-2 and throws a fastball on the low and away side of the zone. Garrick catches it well and hits a laser of a short hopper to first base. Kyle Houslander makes a great snag and beats out Jay to first base for out 1.
Impressive play from the first baseman Kyle there, he made a great backhand snag on the short hop like a true pro.
Zach Houslander steps up to the plate, and gets in his stance. A relaxed, slightly open stance but once the pitcher starts his motion he gets his leg kick going. Primarily known as a pull side hitter that loves the fastball. Bullseye challenges him and throws a fastball inside that Zach is able to get the barrel out to. He pulls one down the line and is rounding for second. Trackstar gets to the ball quickly and makes a throw to second and he is SAFE!! Zach slides in right below the tag from Cable. Let's take another look at that swing Andy.
Yeah, like you said it Kyle, Zach gets his front leg down quick and gets that barrel out ahead of the ball which allows him to pull the ball down the line. And then he gets to show off his speed with those tree trunk legs of his.
Miggy steps up to the plate, who needs no introduction to this crowd.
Miggy’s worked a great at bat here as he’s gotten the count full. Spitting on all the offspeeds out of the zone and fouling off strikes. Heimdall calls for a low and away fastball and Miggy gets onto this one and blasts a ball high and gone into the Right Field bleachers here at Comerica.
Bullseye is visibly frustrated as Miggy rounds the bases and crosses home.
Magglio steps up to the plate where Bullseye takes his frustration out on him as he strikes him out on three pitches with the last pitch touching 105!!
Kyle Houslander, who is the brother of Zach Houslander, steps up to the plate. Funny enough, they are both the grandson of Roy Houslander of the National League team.
Kyle, who is known for his keen eye of the zone, works a full count on Bullseye. Bullseye throws a fastball away, and it's called strike three by the ump. Kyle is unhappy with the call and gives a nasty look at the ump.
Ooh that looked a little outside there. Kyle is gonna freak out when he looks at the review later in the dugout.
Kyle throws his bat in anger at the ground and grabs his hat and glove from the batboy to take the field as Bullseye gives up two here in the bottom of the first.
Top of the 2nd
Here at the top of the second we have Dunadein Kyle Houslander up to the plate who is an alternate reality version of the Kyle Houslander that we just saw struck out last inning who hails from Middle Earth.
Skubal starts him off with a changeup below the zone that Kyle spits on, then hits him with a 99 mph fastball above the zone that Kyle somehow doesn’t swing at.
I think he just never even reacted to it and got lucky it was a ball.
Skubal then throws a slider that runs a little deep and in on the zone as Skubal has now gotten into a 3-0 count which he rarely ever gets into. Skubal then throws a 101mph fastball down the barrel of the zone that Kyle doesn’t swing at.
He was definitely sitting all the way at 3-0.
Skubal goes back to his changeup that's in the dirt and Kyle takes a walk to first base.
Hellboy steps up to the plate in the Left Handed side of the box and sits fastball on Skubal as he hits a sharp liner to Magglio in right.
Kyle hustled on that base hit as he went first to third there.
Kyle’s got some sneaky speed there for his size. I was not expecting that from the big guy there.
Casey Jones comes to the plate and after getting the count to 2-2, he hits a pop fly to fairly deep in Center Field. Jay Garrick makes the catch and gets it into the cutoff man as Kyle scores on a sac fly.
Heimdall steps up to the plate, he looks confident and poised at the plate. After a 1-2 count Skubal gets him to hit a grounder to Zach at short who flips it to Ness at second who then throws it to Kyle at first for the 6-4-3 double play. As Skubal gives up one that inning.
Bottom of the 2nd
Ness is in the left handed batters box as Bullseye takes the mound.
Bullseye’s first pitch is 105MPH AND CATCHES A CORNER OF THE PLATE!!
I don’t think he’s gotten over that Miggy Home Run Kyle.
Bullseye then strikes out Ness with 2 more fastballs over 100mph.
Lucas comes up to the plate and shares the same fate as his Earthbound cohort as he strikes out on three pitches. All fastballs.
Seven time Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady steps up to the box from the left side.
Fun fact, he was actually drafted as a catcher by the Montreal Expos but chose to stick with Football.
I think he made the right decision.
Doesn’t matter how many super bowls Tom has, he strikes out to Bullseye on three pitches. As that’s an immaculate inning from Bullseye on all fastballs.
I don’t think ever seen an immaculate inning in person Kyle, Bullseye came into this inning with a goal. What a bounce back from the guy after giving up two in the first.
Top of the 3rd
The speedster Trackstar steps up to the plate as the American League infield is set up in bunt defense. Though it didn’t matter as Trackstar laid a bunt down the third base line perfectly and was able to leg out the throw to first.
Now we get the top of the lineup, The Flash is able to induce a walk as we have runners on first and second with no outs.
Pete Rose steps up to the plate and after getting it to a 2-1 count, he hits a grounder up the middle but a diving Zach Houslander makes the snag, flips it with his glove to Ness who makes the throw on time to Kyle.
Oh my god what a double play from the American League. Charlie Hustle was hustling down that line but it still wasn’t enough.
Roy comes to the plate with two outs and Trackstar on third. Skubal gets him to a 1-2 count with all fastballs and then freezes Roy with a curveball that caught the edge of the plate.
Skubal does his patented yell after getting out of that jam. And boy does this American League Team look energetic.
Bottom of the 3rd
Sam Bonser is up to the plate from the right side. Bullseye starts him with a fastball and Sam must have been sitting on it as he is able to hit a sharp opposite liner but it was unfortunately right to Cable at second base.
Jay Garrick is in the box as Bullseye goes back to the fastball again and Jay throws down a bunt but this one isn’t as good as Trackstar’s as he doesn’t get the bunt down well and hits a small pop fly that Heimdall was able to catch for the second out of the inning.
Zach steps up to the plate and so far Bullseye has two outs on two pitches.
You’d have to imagine Brainiac told Zach to take a couple pitches just to get Bullseye’s pitch count up.
Bullseye throws another fastball and Zach swings, hitting a pop fly to Left Field that Trackstar is able to field with ease.
And Bullseye has a 3 pitch, 3 out inning. ANd has now thrown only 12 pitches over two innings.
Top of the 4th
Skubal steps up to the mound after getting out of that Jam last inning.
That could have been disastrous real quick Kyle. Two speedsters on the base paths with no outs and Skubal somehow gets away with no Earned Runs on the inning.
Cable steps up to the plate and strikes out quickly on a combo of fastballs and changeups that ends with Cable swinging at a changeup in the dirt.
Dunadein Kyle up to bat who worked a great count his last at bat.
Skubal gets Kyle into an 0-2 count and throws another changeup in the dirt as Kyle swings and misses embarrassingly as his helmet flew off and he lost his balance and fell to a knee in the box.
Hellboy comes up to bat and was definitely sitting fastball as he hits a flyball deep to right Center, it has a chance, but Jay Garrick is able to catch the ball at the warning track.
Hellboy hit it to the deepest part of the field, that would have went out anywhere else here.
Bottom of the 4th
As Miggy walks up to the plate, Bullseye is mean mugging him from the mound. It looks like Bullseye still has not gotten over that home run. Miggy gets it to a 2-0 count and hits a grounder up the middle for a single.
You can practically see smoke coming out the ears of Bullseye at this point.
He needs to calm down and get over it for his team. He’s pitched a great game besides one pitch and he can continue to do so if he composes himself.
Pete Rose calls for a mound visit and walks up to Bullseye. What do you think he’s saying Andy.
I’m sure he’s telling him what I just said. Calm down, you’ve done a great job so far, just keep plugging away.
The Mound Visit ends and Magglio is up to bat. Bullseye starts him with a sinker low and in, forcing a ground ball to third. Pete Rose flips the ball to Cable at second who then throws a low bouncer to Kyle at first but he’s able to make the scoop for the out.
Looks like that mound visit was worth it. Forcing a double play on the first pitch out is a dream scenario.
Kyle Houslander steps up to the plate, hoping to redeem himself after the strikeout in the first.
A good baseball player has got to be able to forgive and forget. That strikeout shouldn’t even be on his mind anymore. Let's see if he’s able to redeem himself.
Kyle rips a sharp grounder in the 5-6 hole and gets himself a single.
Ness steps up to bat and gets caught looking for his third strike as Bullseye is able to strand two this inning.
Top of the 5th
Well Andy, after the first one and a half innings I thought for sure this game would be a shootout but now it's turned into an absolute pitchers duel with great defense from both teams.
Yeah Kyle, this has been a fun one to watch. Let’s see if Skubal can keep up this duel.
Casey Jones steps up to bat who’s responsible for a sac fly in the top of the second that scored the only run for the National League.
Skubal gets his revenge though as he makes quick work of him with a 4 pitch strike out.
Heimdall, who hit into a double play his last at bat, hopes to get the ball into the air this time around.
Heimdall’s gotta be careful here though. Sometimes when a hitter thinks about hitting a ball more in the air, they just end up hitting a weak pop fly. He should be focusing more on good contact with the ball. He hit a hard ball on that double play, the American League just made a great play on the ball. That’s part of baseball.
Well Andy, it looks like Heimdall did not heed your advice as he just hit a weak pop fly in foul territory on the third base side that Miggy will catch for the second out of the inning.
Trackstar stands at the plate, he got on base last at bat with a drag bunt down the third base line.
He’s so fast, every time he’s up to bat he should be putting the ball on the ground.
Trackstar joined Heimdall and also did not heed Andy’s advice as he hits a fly ball to Jay Garrick out in center field.
I’m sure he’s gonna hear it from his manager Pete Rose about that one.
Bottom of the 5th
Andy, it’s the bottom of the fifth, the National League is only gonna have one more inning to at least tie this game. What should be on Bullseye’s mind for this inning.
Kyle, he should just be focusing on these three batters in front of him and nothing else. He can’t be thinking about the two runs he gave up in the second inning. Those are the only runs he’s given up and that is impressive against the caliber of lineup the American League has.
Well Andy, it looks like Bullseye did heed your advice, because he looked focused out there. Was able to strike out Lucas and then get Tom Brady and Sam to ground out to short and second, respectively.
Let’s see if the National League can put up a run on the board in the top of the 6th.
Top of the 6th
Interesting, for the moment, Brainiac has decided to stick with Skubal here for the 6th. You’d have to imagine that he would go to the bullpen if things started to get tight here.
Yeah, I’d have to agree here Kyle. I am surprised they don’t have anyone warming up in the bullpen at the moment.
Skubal gets the top of the lineup here, starting with the Flash. Though the Flash makes the same mistake that Trackstar did and hits a pop fly out to Magglio in Right Field.
Pete Rose comes to the plate and after working a 1-2 count he sits in the box with his patented choked up grip on the bat and rips a liner between right and center field. Magglio cuts it off early as the first base coach is given Rose the stop sign. He ignores it though and rounds first to second. Rose slides head first into second and is safe!!
Well Kyle, that’s why they call him Charlie Hustle. He was running to second with all his might and was not going to be denied his double.
There’s some movement in the bullpen but it looks like Brainiac is not going to take Skubal out just yet.
Roy Houslander is in the box with an opportunity to tie this game. On the first pitch he was sitting changeup and he guessed right as he hits a grounder through the 5-6 hole. Rose gets the stop sign at third and listens this time.
There’s runners on the corners with 1 out here in the top of the 6th as Brainiac comes out to talk to Skubal.
I’d have to have imagine he’s getting pulled out of the game.
From up here it looks like Skubal is making his case to stay in the game. And he was successful it seems as Brainiac walks away from the mound.
Cable comes to the plate and can tie this game with just a sac fly. The American League infield is still in its standard infield defense. Thought they might come in to prevent Rose from scoring on a grounder.
Skubal starts Cable with a fastball high and inside the zone. Cable sits on it but it’s a strike anyways. Then Skubal goes with changeup low and away. Cable spits on it but this time it’s a ball. Brady sets up the glove low and in, Skubal goes slider and gets Cable swinging.
Ooh boy, Cable was sitting full fastball there and thought he got one.
1-2 count, Skubal with the pitch. AND STRIKE THREE AS SKUBAL GETS HIM SWINGING HIGH IN THE ZONE ON A FASTBALL AT 101.
Two outs, runners on the corner. The National League’s last chance and Dunadein Kyle Houslander comes up to the plate.
He swings first pitch at a fastball low and away, it's a sharp liner to right field, Magglio is running to his left, IT’S CAUGHT BY MAGGLIO ORDONEZ SLIDING ON ONE KNEE!!! AND THAT’S THE BALL GAME FOLKS!!!
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National League
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