They say fake baseball is an evil game because sometimes it's easy. It gets into a pitcher's head how simple it can be, until one day they are facing a 5-run blowout inning. At any moment, a batter is staring down a 0-for-14 stretch. Some have gone an entire season without a hit, while some have endured with averages well over .500. Jameson knows well about the stories fake baseball makes, about the heartbreak that can drown out the good. And that's why he keeps pitching through the night.



He wants to be the best. He needs to be the best. He has friends all over the league, in players like Hudson Quin, Gare Doctor, and Dan Gerzone. He credits many of them for helping him refine his pitches, for introducing a new way to hold the bat during plate appearances. He loves these guys, has spent many a drunken night with these guys, but when he faces them, he will give his all to defeat them.

He's Jameson Poe, and Jameson Poe will do whatever it takes to win.

A kid from Brooklyn, Poe got his nickname when he was in high school, from a group of friends he still considers close today. It goes back to an ordinary winter afternoon, when a substitute teacher caught him misbehaving.

"She called me a scoundrel," Poe has stated on the incident. "A scoundrel. My friends and I looked at each other, and they never stopped calling me it."

Despite the nickname, it has never stopped Poe from being as nice as possible to fans. He often cites his upbringing, a stern but loving mother who made sure he was always on the right path. He will never miss a chance to sign an autograph or meet a fan on his daily walks through St. Louis.

Fake baseball is an evil game, because it can take those moments away so quickly. A pitcher can find himself tossed from city to city, unable to ground himself in the fanbase until he is traded or released. Poe loves these moments because he wants to make the most of them.

After a midnight training session, Poe travels back to his quaint apartment, and sleeps for the night beside his dog Thor. He lives alone, a bachelor despite recent rumors. Video games and comics line his living room shelf, something of a passion of his. Teammates will often play games with him in-between sessions, as he brings his console to every city the team goes to.

"It's a good bonding experience," explains Cardinals catcher George Ewell. "He's such a fun guy. And that's where I truly found out how much he can't accept losing."

It is Poe's greatest and arguably only fear, losing. That's why he rises at 6 in the morning, takes his dog for a walk on the town, meets fans, and trains again before gametime.

He thinks silently of Montreal.