Kimmy Eckman Walk-Off Home Run

## Overview

On March 11th, 2021, coaches crazyei8hts and jyknight held a simul-stream event on the BBL Discord server, playing their Season 6 Week 12 game live at the same time. The game ended in dramatic fashion on a walk-off home run by the computer-controlled Kimmy Eckman

## Background

In Season 6 of the BBL, coach crazyei8hts of the Crazy Indians and coach jyknight of the Pittsburgh Pirates were division rivals in the AL Central. The Pirates had a home field of Eckman Acres, which was a big part in influencing jyknight to select Kimmy Eckman late in the draft, as she receives a stat boost on her home field.

In their first matchup, during Week 3, the Indians won with a 12-5 run differential. That result was pretty indicative of their overall season performance, as the Indians entered the rematch in Week 12 with a 9-2 record, while the Pirates were just 4-7.

## The Game

crazyei8hts and jyknight wanted to up the ante for this rematch, and they agree to play their games live on Discord, at the same time. Fans could follow both games at once, and watch a game unfold in real time, unlike normal games where often times just the final scores are posted. The Pirates hosted the Indians at their home field of Eckman Acres.

Unrelated to the final score, a memorable clip in this game occurred when Brad Radke of the computer-controlled Pirates smacked a Fire Ball into center field, although it was caught for an out.

The game went back and forth for a bit. The Pirates ended their game 6-0, which results in a run differential of +7 according to the BBL's home team multiplier.

## The Home Run

The Indians, meanwhile, were entering the bottom of the 6th inning and were leading 10-2. If they shut out the Pirates in the bottom of the 6th, they would win with an 8-7 run differential. However, if they allowed a run, the run differential would be 7-7, and ties are won by the home team.

The Indians had Frank Thomas on the mound, as they had for every inning that season. With one out in the bottom of the 6th, Kimmy Eckman came up to bat for the Pirates. She was boosted even more than her usual Eckman Acres boost, with a rating of 10 in batting and 9 in running.

Frank threw an inside pitch, usually regarded as the toughest to hit for the AI batters. Ignoring that stereotype, Kimmy turned on the pitch in an open stance and hit a fly ball to left field. The ball hit the very corner of the left field fence, in play. At Eckman Acres, hitting the outfield fence off-screen credits the batter with a home run (whether a glitch or intentionally). Kimmy had cut into the Indians lead, making it 10-3, but winning the run differential for jyknight's Pirates.

In a rare event, several Discord patrons were able to watch this walk-off home run happen live before their very eyes. Some of the disbelief was captured in the chat, as shown.

## Aftermath

The momentous upset didn't do much to knock the Indians down, as they won their final two games of the season and eventually won the Season 6 World Series.

The exciting victory may have given the Pirates a little spark, as they ended their season at 6-8 and finished in second place in the BBL Season 6 Consolation tournament. Kimmy Eckman finished the season with 2 HRs, so perhaps her greatest contribution to the Pirates came from her AI counterpart.