What blaseball fandom can teach us about baseball and fandom

Abstract

I trace the development of the internet browser–based baseball simulator known as Blaseball from its origins as an attempt to fill the entertainment void left by the suspension of spectator sports in North America during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic to the conclusion of season 24 in July 2021. Along the way, Blaseball changed the way that tens of thousands of fans understand the narrative possibilities of the sport of baseball, albeit in a virtual realm.