Ortiz Morse
Ortiz Morse is a pitcher for the Canada Moist Talkers.
Early Life
Born in Montreal, UQC in 1978 to Helena Poireau, a schoolteacher, and Calwell Morse, a banker who was later the Finance Minister for Québec Prime-minister Tranche Jacobi's government in exile (Upper-Laurentian Québec), Morse grew up in a third floor walk up in the Plateau neighbourhood of Montreal with his parents, two sisters, and a cat. Morse’s father first taught him to throw in Mont-Royal parc where “even from the age of 9 [he] recognized [his] boy was built for Blaseball, not banking”.
The Crimson Trunk Affair which toppled Jacobi’s government also tore up the Morse Family. Calwell Morse’s left into exile with the rest of the Jacobi cabinet. Ortiz was 14 years old when his father left, but the teenager remained in Montreal with his mother for several more years. He attended Ste. Monsieur-Cadeaux High School until Grade 11, but was withdrawn from school after his father’s death in the second Toast Bombings. His mother then relocated the family to Halifax, NS, fearing a Second Quebec Civil War.
Morse pursued a finance degree at Dalhousie University on a Blaseball scholarship, but despite his obvious pitching talent, chose to bat instead so as not to compete with the school’s star pitcher Paul Cartography. In Morse’s third year, Cartography tore his Rotator Cuff, and a botched surgery resulted in the loss of his entire arm. Morse was made pitcher and led the team to two consecutive Canadian University League championships.
Personal Life
Morse is married to Chanderz Candyman, heir to the Candyman newspaper fortune. They met at a Halifax dog bar and bonded over their shared love of karaoke. Their lengthy courtship was subject to close attention in Canadian and Australian tabloids. Their wedding was held at the Dalhousie Botanical Gardens and Butterfly Sanctuary and was a private ceremony attended by a small group of family and friends. They currently (2020) live in Halifax with their two dogs.
In a 2017 interview with the Halifax Gazette, Morse said of his husband, "he's the only person I've ever met who likes my eyes and doesn't care how well I can throw a Blaseball."
Appearance
Morse is often described off the field as "scruffy" and "extremely Canadian" in appearance, with mention often being made of his peg leg, the result of an unspecified banking injury that occurred during a "Take Your Child to Work" event shortly before his father's departure. However, on the pitch his appearance shifts dramatically. The freckles on his face, which upon closer inspection are actually morse code (the reading differs from an SOS to an all clear message depending on the Moist Talkers' standing between games), shift to encompass his entire body. His material form then breaks down, and he becomes morse code personified, simply an array of dots and dashes in a blaseball uniform upon the pitcher's mound. Notably, he never actually speaks regardless of form, instead communicating via morse transmission beeps.
