Pitching Machine III
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Pitching Machine III is a pitcher in the Vault, and has been there since the end of Season 21. Machine III has played for the Boston Flowers.
Official League Records
Machine III joined the ILB as a pitcher for the Boston Flowers during the Season 21 Latesiesta via the Gift Shop. At the end of the Season, Machine III faded to Dust and returned to the Vault.
COMMUNITY REPORTSThe remainder of this article contains lore created collaboratively by the Blaseball community.
History
Aftermarket Upgrades
During Season β8, in its third game against the Baltimore Crabs, Tacos hitter Vito Kravitz "upgraded" Pitching Machine with a number of accessories including a bayonet and a laser sight. This had the unfortunate consequence of allowing the opposing batters to see exactly where the ball was aimed. The Crabs scored 8 runs before teammate Mcdowell Mason removed the laser sight.
The bayonet was not removed.
Arrival to the Garages
After the aftermath of the great Unshelling, the Garages did not expect Pitching Machine to come crashing through the roof of the Big Garage onto the field. As Oliver Notarobot began assisting in reassembling it, it suddenly flickered from pitching machine form to that of an android. Since then, Pitching Machine has been observed to change between various forms at random. The Garages members seem unfazed by this, assuming it has something to do with it being from Los Angeli. A few things remain consistent throughout the iterations:
- Pitching Machine remembers everything that has happened to its previous iterations upon arrival.
- Pitching Machine is always a pitcher (Time with the PODS notwithstanding.)
Arrival in Ohio
Pitching Machine’s time with the Ohio Worms is currently shrouded in mystery.
Arrival to the Lovers
Pitching Machine arrived in San Francisco during Season 16 via a late-processed request by long-time fan and life partner, Ortiz Lopez. Upon Pitching Machine’s arrival it discovered that Lopez had already been traded to the Atlantis Georgias, where they were to be reunited next season. Much to the team’s surprise, despite all known facts about Pitching Machine pointing to the contrary, Pitching Machine would be batting in their line-up. None were more surprised however than Cannonball Sports, a player most famous for her pregame ritual of destroying pitching machines and until recently had been a pitcher for the team. The two players quickly realized they had to reconcile their differences if they were to remain batting in the same line-up.
Steadily, Sports grew to respect the batting skills of the machine designed only to pitch, and soon, to respect the machine not only as a player, but as a friend. Other members of the team noted the closeness of the two, and speculation arose about the exact status of their relationship. It was short lived however as Pitching Machine was soon to be exchanged to the Altantis Georgias for long-time team captain and founder, Knight Triumphant, upon completion of Triumphant’s diplomatic mission to Atlantis. Sports and Pitching Machine departed on good terms, Sports doing her best to be understanding of the arrangement, but the nature of the art she produced following its departure, soulful depictions of broken pitching machines, tells another story.
Reported Forms
- After joining the Garages, Pitching Machine began changing forms at random. The IRM randomly chooses one reported form of many written by the Blaseball community when the page is loaded. This time, the Interdimensional Rumor Mill reveals a Rumor from IF-61.20 out of its Rumor Registry...
Pitching Machine #6120
From Los Angeli Universe: 6120
Appearance: Pitching Machine is a synthetic humanoid cyborg custom built from a mixture of organic and manufactured parts and has a distinctive seem-stitched appearance.
Details: Pitching Machine (nicknamed “Pitches”) claims to have been assembled as official ILB equipment and kept on hand in case of emergency situations where play might be interrupted in defiance of league rules. The ILB offices have not responded to repeated requests for comment on their manufacturing processes or their sourcing of human components.
While most other versions of Pitching Machine go by It/Its pronouns, Pitches is noteworthy for identifying as She/Her.
Pitches is publicly known to be romantically involved with Tigers' batter Zion Aliciakeyes, a fact that has stirred endless speculation about her poor performance on the mound during game 4 of the Season 12 Internet Series between the Hades Tigers and the Seattle Garages. While most members of the Garages have been publicly critical of such accusations of unsplortmanlike conduct, few were willing to speculate on the matter. Garages line-up batter Sparks Beans was the sole player willing to make a full statement at the post-game press event, saying “What happened with PM? Easy: She was too gay to function out there. Happens to the best of us.” (Beans declined to answer any follow up questions, declaring that they were “bored now” and leaving).
Musical Ability: Despite appearances, Pitches claims to be a classically trained vocalist. She attributes this aptitude to a miscommunication early in her design process.
This concludes the description of the reported form.
Relationships
Pitching Machine has what some fans would call a relationship with Ortiz Lopez, although it's still unclear whether it's all just coincidence Lopez has attributed meaning to or the feelings are reciprocated. The relationship was the basis for the first entry in a book series by famous author Chulck Tangle.
Pitching Machine also appears to have a close relationship with Oliver Notarobot, the two having inspired one another in various ways. Notarobot assisted in applying the "This Machine Kills Fascists" sticker to the side of it when it joined the league, and Pitching Machine was reportedly the reason Notarobot decided to tell the league of his android nature.
Malik Destiny frequently feeds guitar picks (referred to by him as "tricoins") to Pitching Machine in a literal attempt to feed the meter. Despite the team's insistence that Destiny stop, the picks have not appeared to negatively affect Pitching Machine's performance. It has been noted that Pitching Machine will always accept these, regardless of form.
Media Relations
Attempts to interview Pitching Machine have so far been unsuccessful. Machine has never responded to journalists' questions at press conferences, and teammates say that it is stoic in the dugout as well. However, it is well documented that reporters who objectify it as "the" or "a" pitching machine must duck to avoid a barrage of blaseballs being hurled their way.
Performance on the field
Season 11 Playoffs
Pitching Machine was instrumental in the Seattle Garages' victory in the Season 11 MLDS against the Charleston Shoe Thieves, allowing only 2 hits and 1 run in the crucial Game 5, clinching the series. Against the Hellmouth Sunbeams in the Internet Series, Pitching Machine allowed only 4 runs in a close Game 2 loss, performing the best out of any Garages pitcher against the eventual champions.
During Pitching Machine's playoff heroics, the nickname "Parking Meter" was coined to honor one of the Garages' most stoic and reliable pitching talents. Fans chant "FEED THE METER" to encourage PM, and erupt in cheers when PM records a strikeout.
