Name: Dina Mistral
Team: Gladstad Archers
Position: Catcher
Age: 30

Dina Mistral might never dispel the label of “cheater”. She’s heard crowds hiss it more times than her name.

She had won three trophies by the day of the first investigative publication. It was a crisp winter morning in the mountains of the rook’s hometown. She dined with a co-conspirator as a flurry of phone calls spread the news. It had yet to hit the papers, but Dina was notified of the investigation. The next message came from the Archers’ manager: the matter was serious, and truth could mean several years’ suspension.

Others were caught gambling on their own games and fixing matches for themselves, but no one yet deliberately lost for the sake of a bet. With brand new statistical tools, pitch tracking devices and video databases, analysis revealed something deeply wrong with the Archers’ previous two years. Too often did the reigning champions drop a high odds game to a bottom feeder, lob easy pitches to struggling hitters, or make little blunders catching the ball.

A lot of it seemed innocuous: natural mistakes made by a frontrunner saving its effort for real competition. Dina wasn’t stupid enough for her tactics to register more than an oddity; the Archers won the league, and no one could win every single game, after all. The disparity only received attention after Dina’s name was linked to a mysterious gambling firm.

She knew better than to let the public’s questions linger. Although previous Gladstad teams fostered a history of success, they hadn’t escaped their own rumours of meddling, with some caught doctoring balls or corking their bats. Years later, it slipped out that a championship against the infamously hexed Aardvarks was won using illegal substances. In Dina’s case, yet another lie from the marshland ballpark made sense.

Dina contacted the team and admitted to her self-gambling. She attempted to deny the accusation that she conspired against the Archers. She held steadfast that no other teammates were involved, as she was the one who hatched the plan. Her announcement came with candid rationale: it was an impulse fueled by a need to win even when she lost. Ever since her old coaches identified her as a baseball wunderkind, everyone’s expectations flew rocket high. These continued to burden her throughout years topping leaderboards and winning playoffs. Her fraud threatened the integrity of her career, but it finally provided some control for the noise. A scorching punishment by the league sent her back to earth.

Today, Dina returns from her two year suspension to a team struggling to stay competitive. The teammates she worked with, still unsuspected, since left for faraway cities. They’ve stayed in touch, but not as friends. For saving their hides once upon a time, the two let Dina dominate. Missed throws and fielding errors represent a bribe paid off through—ironically for the three—success on the field instead of in their wallets.

Dina holds their respect. In the greater community, her reputation is damaged beyond repair. She doesn’t seek redemption nor tries to dismiss what others think. She got everything she wanted, even if she torched every bridge in the process. Dina Mistral: the rook, the MVP, and the cheater, now lives free from pressure and expectations.

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