Third Strike
The Third Strike is an event that took place in the final hour of the Season 6 regular reason, which encased Jessica Telephone and Nagomi Mcdaniel in gigantic Peanut shells.
The Red Line
At the start of Season 6, the new Idols mechanic was added to Blaseball, which allowed participants to earn further passive income when a player of their choosing made notable plays. This came with a leaderboard showing the 20 most idolized players in the league, featuring a dotted red line underneath the top three players.
The significance of the line is not clear, however, the top three idols did shift from time to time over the course of Season 6.
Establishment of Peanut Idolatry
Also occurring shortly before Season 6, The Peanut spoke and expressed displeasure with fans for not honoring their progeny. Fans theorized that the progeny were the three Peanuts, who were created at the end of Season 2. A movement called Peanut Idolatry (sometimes known as The Peanut Plan) rose up to encourage fans to idolize the three Peanuts and satisfy The Peanut.
The Third Strike
On Season 6, Day 99, after the final game ended, the Red Line began to vibrate, with a timer counting down to the top of the hour. The Peanut Plan was not far enough along, and devotees scrambled for about half an hour to convince fellow fans to idolize the three Peanuts. Once the timer hit zero, The Peanut spoke.
- NO HALF-MEASURES
- DO NOT PATRONIZE ME
- WHO IS TELEPHONE?
- MCDANIEL?
- STRIKE THREE
- ONE MORE AND YOU ARE OUT
The top three idols, in order, were Jessica Telephone, Nagomi Mcdaniel, and Peanut Bong. Telephone and Nagomi were Shelled, a new modification. Their names on the idol list were defaced with a red SHELLED graphic, and The Commissioner tweeted "uh looks like they're stuck inside giant peanut shells".[1] Bong appeared to survive the event entirely unscathed.
Aftermath
Once Telephone and Mcdaniel were Shelled, many more fans began to rally around the three Peanuts, and within a few hours, all three were above the Red Line. Nothing happened to Telephone or Mcdaniel, or to the three Peanuts. Shortly after this, the Red Line disappeared, leaving a single list of the 20 most idolized players.
