From Clowns to Champs - story of the New Orleans Cotton Pickers

If during the middle of the 90s, every single person would have laughed at you if you told them that the New Orleans Cotton Pickers would reach worlds. It was pretty much the equivalent of the Arizona Diamondbacks winning the World Series in 2021. This team didn't care either. They didn't even want to be the best for some time.

But here we are. It is the bottom of the 9th in the St. Johns, Canada, which is the greatest baseball town ever. The Peace Sharks were down to their last out of the wildcard finals. This Peace Shark organization that opposed the Cotton Pickers was no joke. This was a team who has dominated Alta Canyon with 3 league titles in the last 9 seasons. They, along with the Raptors, Squid, and Deadly sins (most notably), have terrorized the league in their Canadian town. But here they are, losing to a team what has been a previous laughing stock. They are losing to a team that has sparked arguments and war, to a team that was known as an embarrassment to the game, to a team that "ruined the integrity of the league". But how did we get here? Let's rewind.

As we mentioned, the Cotton Pickers were a laughing stock, but by how much? When they were founded, it seemed that they were destined for greatness. This team won 4 division titles in their first 8 seasons. However, they didn't win another division title for the rest of the century. After 11 competitive seasons, they decided to tank. Their mindset was "If you can't be the best, be the best at being the worst." This tanking decision was not original. Many teams did it, like the Fort Wayne Mad Antz. But this tanking was different. This type was an inspiration to many new teams at the time, which made many teams upset. The race to 0-60 was a key reason for the Great War in the 90s. Many teams fought, and this team was in the middle of it despite his innocence.

But glory struck in 94. This team took an L in every single game. 0 wins, 60 losses. They did it, an un-undefeated season was achieved for the first time in FB history. Many teams were upset, but many others were really pleased. The celebration struck (although many arguments stemmed from this). After a few more tanking seasons, the team started to try. Many winning seasons followed, and even two division titles. After a season off from the game, a whole rebuild bought them here, to Season 108.

Despite a great 42-win season, a tough division left them in third place. A team that would've won in most divisions had to battle it out in the wildcard. Luckily, they had an advantage, and they took advantage. They got past day one with a win over the Football Team, Dawgs, and Pack is Back. Day 2 was pretty easy for them also, with wins over the Mallards, Red Sox 1, and Detroit. After a bye in the semis, they were in the finals.

Two solo shots in the first three innings put them up 2-0. But after a Peace Shark homer in the 4th to cut the lead to one, they took off. From the 5th onward, they scored a run in every single inning, including a 3-run 8th. RF Brad Renfro, 3B Drew Saul, and 1B Xavier Curley led the way with incredible performances. Heading to the bottom of the 9th, the Cotton Pickers were up by 8. The win was right in front of them. With two quick outs, they were right at the line. They just had to reach over and win.

Pitcher Jonas Arriaga was the perfect man to close this out. This third year pitcher was no joke, as he was having a stellar season with a 3.08 ERA through 111 innings before today's affair. In this game, he has been stellar. 6 baserunners through 8.2 innings was great.

The batter was rookie Joshua Sanchez. The 21-year-old 3B had a solid year with a .327 AVG, 15 HRs, and 35 RBIs. This led him to be ranked 69th (nice) in Alta Canyon. Sanchez had a solid upside and has a lot of potential for the rest of his career

So, in a 1-2 count with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, Arriaga has 1 more strike to go against batter Joshua Sanchez for the Saint John Peace Sharks. This was for all the marbles, for the fame and infamy that would follow. For a Cotton Picker team who went 0-60 fourteen seasons prior. For a team who sparked a whole sitewide war with his argumentative ways. A whole franchise of laughter and misery could be turned around with one pitch. Welcome to a moment in history.

And the 1-2, a soft dribbler over the mound, fielded by Botello, throw to first, IT'S OVER! AND THE NEW ORLEANS COTTON PICKERS ARE YOUR SEASON 108 WILDCARD CHAMPIONS! WELCOME TO THE WORLDS!

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Thanks for reading. Not my best work, but a lot is happening right now. Things are getting better, and I hope to display my true writing at some point. I just thought that this had to be mentioned.

Good luck to all teams competing in the worlds!


Tacoma Storm