Ortiz Morse

Ortiz Morse was a pitcher for the Seattle Garages and was with the team from Season β9, Day 53 until Fall Ball. Morse previously played for the Canada Moist Talkers.

Official League Records

Debut

Morse joined the ILB in Season β1 as a pitcher for the Canada Moist Talkers.

Season 4

This was the first season Morse officially lead the league in walks.

Season 5

Morse won his first playoff game, earning him great praise among his very surprised teammates.

Morse defended his crown and again led the league in walks.

Season 6

During a Blooddrain game against the Kansas City Breath Mints on Season β6, Day 14, Morse had baserunning stats siphoned by Breath Mints player Dickerson Morse, bringing Ortiz Morse's baserunning stat down to in total.

This season was among the better for Morse, as he only had the 4th most walks in the league.

Season 7

Morse returned to leading the league in walks.

Season 8

Defying all odds and sense in the world, on Day 38 of Season β8 Morse threw the 5th (3rd confirmed) no-hitter in ILB history. As the lowest-rated active pitcher in the league at the time, it remains one of the most remarkable and unlikely achievements ever seen on a blaseball field.

Despite this season's introduction of Pitching Machine, the only Unlimited Tacos pitcher able to pitch for a majority of the season and who therefore led the league in nearly every counting statistic, Morse still successfully defended his crown as the Top Walker in the league for 4 of the last 5 seasons. Another truly remarkable achievement.

Season 9

On Season β9, Day 53, Morse was exchanged to the Seattle Garages due to Feedback. Morse was replaced by Jaylen Hotdogfingers.

During the Season 9 elections, Morse received the Siphon modification due to the passing of the Forecast: Blooddrain decree. They were then sent to the Garages' Shadows and replaced by Mike Townsend via the Out of Sight blessing.

History

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

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 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, Nova Scotia, 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.

Blaseball Strategy

As a player, Ortiz Morse is, if not the most, at least one of the most innovative pitchers the sport of Blaseball has ever seen. After graduating with a degree in finance from Dalhousie University, he began to approach the splort of blaseball with the goal to make it more efficient.

Pitchers traditionally attempt to get batters to miss pitches, resulting in a so-called "strike", but the primary goal of a blaseball defense is not to throw strikes, it is to get three outs to end the inning for the offensive team. The amount of work to get three individual outs struck Morse as woefully inefficient. If there is no runner on base, the most outs a defensive team can get in any given plate appearance is 1. Morse thus derived that it would be much more effective to walk a player or two onto the base, maximizing the potential outs the defense can get in a single play. Additionally this has the added benefit of the simple fact that players can not score automatic runs, through home-run when the blall is being thrown out of the strike zone. This brand-new strategy in blaseball has been dubbed "The Walking Strategy" but is commonly referred to by fans as "The Plan".

It works as a two-pronged attack, as it not only maximizes the number of outs but it also serves to confuse opposing players while lulling them into a false sense of security. Morse’s personal dream is to be the first pitcher in Blaseball history to perform the forbidden Quadruple Play. The Plan worked once, on Day 38 of Season β8 Morse pitched a no-hitter, one of the first to do so in the entire splort.

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."

Moist Mouth

In his spare time, Ortiz fronts the Smash Mouth cover band Moist Mouth, but in lieu of singing, Morse plays the telegraph key. Moist Mouth plays the night before every home game in Halifax local bar The Quivering Scallop. Other members of the band are session musicians hired by Chanderz Candyman who, for the sake of their other ventures, remain anonymous and play wearing Moist Talker uniforms, donning masks of fan favorite Moist Talkers. They currently upload their fan favorite covers to their SoundCloud

The Seattle Garages make it a point to show up to every show when they are playing in Halifax to boo and heckle Morse.

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.

Move to Seattle

During his short stint pitching for the Seattle Garages, Morse found himself hanging around the newly opened Dad's Grill. He shared stories with owner Terrell Bradley and baker, Mike Townsend, and suggested the spot host events. At the end of the season, Bradley offered Morse a job bartending, saying "Son, I think it's time you followed your other dreams, closer to home." Morse took this to heart, and took him up on his offer. Morse can now be found behind the bar of Dad's Grill, lending an ear to all who needs it and organizing themed karaoke nights with the help of his husband.

Morse was introduced to The Emblem Warhorse by his husband, and the two are often seen attending drag brunch together, where he's known for tipping high. He became a patron when a drag queen named Emblem Warhorse dedicated her lip sync to him. His emblem is painted on his peg leg, and his go-to drink is a Bloody Caesar. Morse often intentionally strikes out when batting as Emblem Warhorse--he claims that, by doing so, he's reducing the other pitcher's "Out Efficiency," a measurement of how efficient the other pitcher is at getting batters out. Research has yet to show whether or not this strategy will lead the Garages to a championship win.

Gallery

Ortiz Morse pitching his famous Season 8 no-hitter... with a little help from ORB
Morse's bangs @avery_helm
Ortiz Morse watching a blaseball game from retirement.
Ortiz Morse pitches a no hitter, by Spuntamatite