How ‘Clash of Clans,’ a phone game, brought together a minor league pitcher and these Orioles fans

Prince Slugg was usually a reliable member of the clan, lending troops when needed and joining battles against rival groups for the betterment of his allies. So it was a bit surprising when the horns sounded and Prince Slugg did not answer with a battle cry.

It was then that Prince Slugg became more than a username on a mobile phone video game.

In the “Clash of Clans” group message, Prince Slugg wrote, “Hey, my bad, our game got canceled.”

This was several years ago. Prince Slugg was really Brock Moore, a pitcher at Menlo College and later at Oregon. The ballplayer explained the situation to clan members he had never met beyond the confines of the popular game, and a handful of them, such as Matt Lowe and Brady Wilburn, soon confirmed his identity: a 6-foot-6 hurler who hits 100 mph and was soon drafted in the seventh round by the Seattle Mariners in 2024.

It is not unusual for random accounts to join the 50-person clan Wilburn set up while he and Lowe were in college at Maryland. The Kent Island natives said they know about 20 of the people in their group. The rest come and go, helping to build virtual villages and conducting medieval-esque clan warfare before heading their own way.

Except for Moore, a random addition who joined the group along with his roommates a few years ago. Even as his friends dropped off over the years, Moore — or Prince Slugg — remained.

“Other people have come and gone at the same time, but certainly no other professional athletes have joined the clan,” Lowe said.

At least, none that they know of.

All of this was well and good. Lowe, Wilburn and others kept tabs on Moore. They kept raiding opposing villages. They talked about baseball and their Orioles fandom, and they took an interest in this 26-year-old’s rise through college and, later, the minor leagues.

“I would check in on his stats every few months or so,” Wilburn said.

Until one day these Orioles fans’ phones lit up with trade news. The Orioles were dealing outfielder Taylor Ward to the Mariners. Among the players returning to Baltimore was Brock Moore.

You mean Prince Slugg?!

“Right away, I messaged him on Instagram to say, ‘Welcome to Baltimore. This is crazy. Glad you’re on our team now,’” Lowe said.

Even before he sent that message, Moore alerted his “Clash of Clans” friends in their group chat.

“In less than two or three minutes of him being traded and the notification coming across my phone, he sent in the clan chat, ‘Hey, guys, just got traded to Baltimore.’ Within the first two or three minutes of being traded, one of the first things he did was put in the chat he was getting traded there. That was definitely fun.”

Matt Lowe, Orioles fan and “Clash of Clans” player

“When it happened, I messaged them and said, ‘If anyone still lives in the area, I’ll be moving out there,’” said Moore, who is now pitching for Double-A Chesapeake.

It was one of the first messages Moore sent after being told of the trade. His agent? His parents? Yep, sure. But that “Clash of Clans” group had to know, too.

“I don’t always go to ‘Clash of Clans’ for my news,” Lowe deadpanned. “But, in less than two or three minutes of him being traded and the notification coming across my phone, he sent in the clan chat, ‘Hey, guys, just got traded to Baltimore.’ Within the first two or three minutes of being traded, one of the first things he did was put in the chat he was getting traded there. That was definitely fun.”

Added Wilburn: “I was in shock. … Out of the millions of players that have played ‘Clash of Clans’ in their lives, Brock Moore randomly joined ours from an automated suggestion that the game provides. The fact that he never left the clan and stuck with a bunch of people he’s never met before for years until he became an Oriole goes to show how special things can come with patience — much like in the game of baseball.”

Wilburn, who is named after former Oriole Brady Anderson, now lives in Chester. Lowe and his wife live in Wisconsin, but they are soon moving back to Maryland. In early September, Lowe said, he plans to head to Bowie to meet Moore in person and watch him pitch, putting a face to Prince Slugg’s name.

Over the years, as Moore realized professional baseball could be a path for him, his time on “Clash of Clans” dwindled. He said he’s grateful his clan mates understand his schedule and don’t seem to mind when he doesn’t answer the call of an attack.

“I think I’m the only person they haven’t kicked for being inactive, so I’m very appreciative of that,” Moore said. “I definitely log in when I’m in the clubhouse, when we have four hours before the game and I have nothing to do. I log on and do some stuff. But definitely I’m not as active as I was in college.”

Wilburn and Lowe can forgive him. After all, especially now that he’s pitching in the Orioles organization, they understand his baseball focus. But this all still seems wild to the group, as well as to Moore.

He was a college kid joining a random video game group to unwind and have fun.

“Lo and behold, we just had a stranger who will hopefully be on the Orioles one day join the clan,” Lowe said.

They knew him as a strong “Clash of Clans” player — fairly high ranking, fairly active and always pleasant to chat with in the group messenger. Now they know him as a major league hopeful on their favorite team.

“It’s honestly kind of crazy,” Moore said. “I didn’t expect any of this to come out of ‘Clash of Clans.’ Never thought I’d still be playing it at 26 years old, either, but here we are. It’s just kind of funny how it all came back in a full circle.”