Mike Townsend

Art by Ele and Averybee

Mike Townsend
Basic Information
Team	Seattle Garages
Status	Shadowed
Batting
Pitching
Defense
Running
Dates Active	Jul 20–Sep 13, 2020; Oct 11–18, 2020
External Links	Blaseball-Reference Player Changes Player Page
Personal Information
Item	None
Armor	None
Evolution	Base
Pregame Ritual	Baking
Coffee Style	Cream & Sugar
Blood Type	Fire
Fate	92
Soulscream	EOEAOEOEAOEUIAOUUIAOUUEIAXAEIAXAEUOAEIUOAEIUIIAXEIIAXEIEEIXAEEIXAEIXAAXIXAAXI
Biographical Details
Nickname(s)	TOWNSEND!, Three and Oh Townsend, mike, miiiike, miike no, 👍
Other Background Information
Signature Pitch(es)	Eephus, a different eephus, knuckleball

Mike Townsend was a pitcher for the Seattle Garages and was with the team starting in Season 1. Townsend was sent to the Garages' shadows as part of the Season 10 elections.

Official League Records

During the Season 6 elections Townsend "RETREAT[ED] TO SHADOWS" in exchange for Jaylen Hotdogfingers via the Lottery Pick blessing. Townsend has not been incinerated, and is the first player to exit active play without being incinerated.

During the Season 9 elections Townsend emerged from the shadows, sending pitcher Ortiz Morse back in his place via the Out of Sight blessing.

During the Season 10 elections, Townsend was again sent to the shadows, this time in exchange for pitcher Goodwin Morin via the Dark Star blessing.

History

COMMUNITY REPORTS
The remainder of this article contains lore created collaboratively by the Blaseball community.

After being blessed with pseudo-thumbs at the end of Season 2, Townsend earned his first win of the season in a 13-7 decision over the Hellmouth Sunbeams. He won his next two starts before losing his fourth, earning the nickname "Three and Oh Townsend". He is best known for being the nominal ace of the Garages pitching staff despite consistently being rated, at one star, among the worst pitchers in Internet League Blaseball.

Early in his career, Townsend had a two-pitch arsenal, consisting of two eephus pitches he insisted are different. After being blessed with pseudo-thumbs, he has developed what blaseball scouts think is a knuckleball.

Despite his subpar numbers and poor reputation, Townsend has performed well historically against slugger Jessica Telephone. The reason for this unlikely success is debated by fans.

In a Garages fan poll conducted sometime between Seasons 2 and 3, Townsend was named "the worst pitcher in the League, professionally and morally" despite there being several pitchers who are statistically worse than him. This has led some to believe that Townsend is among the most hated players in the history of Blaseball.

After Season 3, fan opinion on Mike Townsend started experiencing a sea change. "Mike Townsend Is a Credit To the Team" became a common response chant to the cries of Mike Townsend being a disappointment. When eventually asked about this change in opinion, Captain Theodore Duende responded:

Look, it's not that we didn't have bad blood with Mike. We did, but... when you look at what happened to us during Season 3. With Bennett, Derrick, Shaq, and Tiana especially all having been incinerated, we kind of looked at each other and went, "Does Mike really deserve this? Do we really want our last thoughts of him before he's incinerated to be about how we can't stand him?" I think we really came together as a more cohesive team in that moment, and even if sometimes we still have to get at Mike sometimes, it's more in good fun these days, than anything.

Music

Townsend is a former member of the Garages' band, Mike Townsend and the Seattle Garages^{[citation needed]}. He was kicked out of the team band for "poor performance." Currently, he is the front man and sole member of The Who's on First (formerly known as The Way Cooler Anyway Mike Townsend Solo Project). During Season 2, the project released their first song, "My Name Is Mike".

Townsend is the subject of three separate Garages songs. "Mike Townsend (Is a Disappointment)" depicts Townsend as being a disappointment, a loser, and a total disgrace. This was eventually followed up by "Mike Townsend Is a Credit To the Team", a response song commenting about Townsend's turnaround, remarking that "your redemption arc is coming up". The third song, Mike Townsend (Knows What He's Gotta Do), is a tribute to Mike's trip to the shadows in exchange for Jaylen's return.

As of Season 4, Townsend has once again been reinstated as a member of the band, with the Garages' album "Redemption Arc" featuring both "Mike Townsend Is a Credit To the Team" and Mike's own solo release "My Name Is Mike".

Personal Life

Townsend was born in and currently lives in Bellevue, Washington. Some suspect that this is partially the reason for his limited Blaseball success and soured reputation.

Townsend once suggested the Garages change their name to the Seattle Bread, due to his love of whole wheat with extra seeds. This only increased the friction between Townsend and the rest of the Garages.

Townsend is a professional fighting game player, and has even been to EVO. Townsend also manages a YouTube channel, where he recreates early 2000's recipes from his home kitchen.

The Return of Jaylen Hotdogfingers

Mike Townsend was purportedly instrumental in the ritual to help bring back Seattle Mayor and star pitcher Jaylen Hotdogfingers. When approached for comment about the upcoming ritual following the Garages' loss to the Baltimore Crabs in the Season 6 Internet League Blaseball Finals, Townsend's comment was:

Well, rarely these things sort of go the way you want them to. If there's a price that's got to be paid, I'd rather I be the one who paid it, you know? I like to think I've come a long way, but Jaylen, you know, she was - is - something special.

Upon the Seattle Garages returning from the Void in the wake of the ritual conducted to bring back Hotdogfingers, Townsend was seen emerging from the tour bus with a massive egg, from which Hotdogfingers emerged shorly afterwards. He was then seen leaving shortly after celebrations started in the wake of Hotdogfingers' return. Documentation on what happened to Townsend in the wake of Hotdogfingers' revival is scarce. When asked, many members made sure to reiterate that Townsend was still on the team and still around, though many of them, when asked, could not directly remember the last time they had talked to him in the wake of the event. Oliver Mueller commented:

We're all just letting Mike kind of have his space, you know? The dude's been through a lot. He's one of the original members of the team, and it was kind of only just recently he had gotten some kind of respect, and gotten to be a part of the band again. I think he's got a lot of complicated emotions to work out.

Townsend was, expectantly, unavailable for comment.

Time in the Shadows

The beginnings of Townsend's time in the shadows were difficult. Townsend's uncertain role in returning Jaylen Hotdogfingers caused a part of himself to remain behind in the void, rendering him unable to play Blaseball according to league regulations. He was reported to have haunted the Big Garage during Season 7, slowly gaining more of his form, guiding team mates when he could. In Season 8, Townsend had enough of his form back to resume baking, and team members of the Garages could occasionally even perceive him. Quack Enjoyable was the first to report Townsend's presence after finding him baking bread in the abandoned Planera Bread behind first base one day. Enjoyable claimed they weren't aware there was anything off about Townsend, though this is possibly due to their magical nature. Other notable faces seen entering and exiting the Planera Bread include Allison Abbott, Betsy Trombone, and allegedly Arturo Huerta.

During Season 9, Townsend was approached by the newly shadowed Terrell Bradley about starting a restaurant together, Dad's Grill. Townsend would bake the buns, Bradley would cook the meats, and everyone would be happy. Townsend agreed and the two went on to create one of the cornerstones of the Big Garage, the Seattle Shadows Co-op.

Halfway through Season 9, star pitcher Jaylen Hotdogfingers flickered to the Canada Moist Talkers, sending Ortiz Morse to the team in her stead. Morse took to hanging around Dad's Grill, finding comfort in the homely atmosphere and the company Townsend and Bradley provided. Shortly after the loss of the post season playoffs, Morse confided in them that he wanted to pursue other things, put more time into his Smash Mouth cover band, Moist Mouth, but he wasn't sure how to go about it. Townsend commiserated and offered to take his spot on the roster. The two made the deal official, though it's unclear how, and Townsend was added to the Season 10 roster. Additionally the newest pitcher brought forth from the shadows, Lenny Marijuana, also attributes his return to blaseball to Townsend, though the connection remains unclear. There was an outpouring of support from fans and blaseball players alike, happy to see Townsend's return to the team.

During his time in the Seattle Shadows Co-op, Townsend encountered an unusual phenomenon where people would refuse to recognize him as Mike Townsend, instead marveling at how similar he looks to the famous Seattle Garages player, Mike Townsend. This has since carried over into his post shadows life. It has been speculated that this has caused some existential confusion, but when asked, Townsend has stated he finds the whole thing amusing.

Fan Art

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  Mike Townsend's dream mech, the OCTO THUMB by @DericBindel

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  Mini-Blaseballer by @HetreaSky

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  Mike Townsend's card by Avery

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  Mikey by Ele

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  Mike Tlopps card by Ele