PLAY BALLL

It was a sunny morning when Ben Cartwright got a great idea. He knew that his team The Ponderosa Cowboys had to play a game against the McCookies. That’s why he decided that his daugther-in-law Mary and grandson Mitch also came along.

During breakfast he said to his only grandson of three,“Mitch, later on we go to a place where you might be coming very much, I think.”

“Where to then?”, the boy asked curious.

“To the baseballstadion. We must play there”, Adam explained.

“Where must momma and I be then?”, Mitch asked worried.

“Momma must work at the canteen and you may watch the game from the dug-out. Then you see it the best way”, Adam said.

“I happen to have the day off today so I go watch the game with my son in the dug-out”, his wife reacted.

Before the game began Adam said seriously to his son:“Mitch, promise me and momma that you stay in the dug-out at all times. There can always come a ball your way and those are very hard and painfull.”

“I promise”, Mitch said smiling.

He went to sit on the bench with his glove and a ball. The brothers walked to the field.

“I believe that Mitchy likes it to come along”, Hoss said who was the catcher.

“It is that he is way too little to join or otherwise he would get a place in our team”, Adam said.

Mitch couldn’t sit still for very long and was to be found on the field a bit later on. Ben, who was the coach, walked to the umpires to give the lineup, got followed by his grandson.

The pitcher of the other team was James McCook. He always had hated the Cartwrights and then especially Adam. The sister of James, Juliet, was smitten with Adam but the feeling wasn’t mutual. Espceially because Mary was married to Adam and they together had gotten Mitch was a grewat thorn in the side of Juliet. James saw the little Cartwright walking and threw a fastball at Mitch. The ball hit Mitch whereby he fell on the ground. Adam and Mary saw it happen, ran to their unconcious son and took care of him. Adam kneelded at him.

“Mitch, wake up”, Adam said worried.

He saw that the boy had a serious head injury. Slowly Mitch woke up.

“Who threw that ball?”, Adam asked when he saw the ball lying next to the boy.

“The pitcher”, Ben said who saw James laughing mean.

Adam didn’t think for any second and ran to James. This one started to ran but Adam was faster. He jumped upon the pitcher and gave a few hard smacks. Sheriff Roy Coffee and deputy Clem Foster pulled the men from each other.

“You are both suspended for this game. James, you pay for the medical expenses of Mitch”, Roy said directly.

“I go with Mary and Mitch and watch the game from the tribune. And you keep your filfthy hands off my family”, Adam groaned.

He pulled himself loose and ran to his wife and child. Mitch was already sitting up straight again.

“First you come along to the First Aid”, Adam said fatherly.

Mitch got up and walked with his parents to the dug-out. Hoss, Little Joe and Candy were rolling all over the ground laughing when they saw James fleeing for Adam.

“I never have seen James running so hard”, Little Joe laughed.

Meanwhile Roy spoke to Ben.

“I have suspended them both for fighting on the field”, the sheriff said.

“I put Candy up then as pitcher”, Ben said.

He grabbed the ball and stuck with him. Hereafter he walked back to the dug-out where his team was.

“Candy, because Adam is suspended you are the starting pitcher and Griff the first baseman”, the rancher said.

Respectively the foreman and the ranchhand nodded.

“The line-up:

Korte stop : Joe

First baseman : Griff

Pitcher : Candy

Catcher : Hoss

Third baseman : Lance

Rightfielder : Jake

Leftfielder : Jace

Midvelder : Gary

Second baseman : Sam.”

In the meantime Adam had changed and he and Mary sat with Mitch at the First Aid. Doctor Paul Martin took care of the young Cartwright.

“I do know that this is the first injury of Mitch in the baseballstadium but certainly not the last. When this lad goes to play ball everybody must put up at least their lifeinsurance for at least three times higher”, Adam said smiling.

“I will make sure that I have extra bandage and plasters when the time is there”, Paul reacted.

“He is already busy at the yard with hitting and pitching his way”, Mary said.

“Are we gonna watch?”, Mitch asked who had been too long at the doctor for his way.

“Just two plasters sticking on the bandage and then I am ready with you. Which colour?”, Paul asked.

“That one and that one”, Mitch said while he pointed at a yellow and an orange plaster.

Paul stuck the plasters on the bandage on the forehead of Mitch. The Cartwrights got up and walked back to the dug-out.

“Look our nephew with his two coloured plasters”, Hoss and Little Joe said teasing and together.

“Jealous?”, Mitch asked quick-witted.

“Really not”, Hoss said indignant.

“We keep the score from the tribune”, Adam said to Ben.

The rancher nodded.

Adam, Mary and Mitch looked for a good place to sit while the other Cartwrights took their fieldposition. Mitch didn’t understand much of it but fortuantly he good explaination of his parents.

“Candy must pitch the ball to Uncle Hoss and make sure that the batter cannnot hit the ball. That must happen three times and then he is out. In other words: he can sit in the dug-out again. When there are three zeros the fieldteam changes and we must hit”, Adam said.

“Uncle Joe, Griff, Lance and Sam must do something too? Or they will look foolish like an ape”, Mitch said dry.

“They do that anyway but that is a complete different story”, Adam laughed.

He became serious again after an angry look of Mary.

“If the batter manages to hit the ball they must pay close attention because the ball can come up to their direction. They must catch the ball and throw it to Griff Because the batter first walks to him. When the ball is with him before the batter is, then the batter is out”, Adam told.

“So a strikeout”, Mitch said.

Adam nodded and continued with the explaination, “But the ball can also be hit further away to the outfield. Then Jace, Mike and Lance must come into action. If one of them catches the ball then the batter is out as well.”

The game began.

Candy saw Slim McCook opposite him as first batter. The foreman pitched three rounders to Hoss whereby Slim could walk in the direction of the dug-out. The following two were Craig and Kevin Larson. But they also hit the ball completely wrong.

Then is was the turn of the Cartwrights to hit. Little Joe was the first one to bat. He got pitched a good ball whereby he came at first base. Candy and Griff each got a deliberate walk whereby all bases were loaded. Hoss walked to the homeplate with his bat.

Adam sat at the tribune watching with wife and child and couldn’t resist to make the hateful remark in front of his son“Look Mitch. Now Uncle Hoss must hit the ball. Do you know what that it is? A bat with a bat.”

Mitch reacted directly with, “Daddy, you mustn’t praise your brother so.”

“Why not?”, Adam asked amazed.

Mary lookedat her husband with amazing.

“You insult the bats”, was the dry answer of the boy.

Now Adam and Mary really couldn’t stop laughing. It was a good thing that Hoss didn’t hear the rotten remark of his brother or he would have hit instead of the ball Adam out of the stadium. Because that is excatly what happened. Hoss alredy had 2 strikeout and 3 balls when he hit the ball out of the stadium and let a window break. Hereby Little Joe, Candy, Griff and Hoss could come home and score four runs. Ben looked where the ball had ended up. The rancher wasn’t really pleased with it. The ball had come excatly in his office.

He walked to his grandson and said, “Mitch, go to my office at once and get the ball.”

“Okay grandpa”, the boy said.

He got up and ran like hell to the office of Ben to get the ball. A moment later Mitch was back with the found ball.

“Another one for your collection. Soon we go to a store and there you see much more. And of clubs too”, Adam said.

Mitch gave the ball to his mother who put it into her bag.

“I want one of Atlanta”, Mitch said.

“Not of Boston Red Sox?”, his father asked hopefull.

Mitch shook of no.

The game continued. Lance hit a double and Jake hit the ball too over the fences.

Meanwhile the Cartwrights had gotten company of Juliet McCook.

She got two dollars and said,“Mitch, go and buy some candy so that your parents and I can talk seriously with each other.”

“No, I stay here watching with daddy and momma”, the boy replied.

“Leave us alone because it will never work out between us”, said Adam.

“You don’t want that your son is unhappy just because you married the wrong woman? Besides that, I am ready to become a mother”, said Juliet.

“That might be but you will never become the mother of my kids. I am way too happy with Mary and Mitch to trade wthat with you. Look for another idiot who wants to fall into your weddingtrap”, Adam reacted.

Juliet went away being hevily insulted. When she just turned around Adam gave Mary a kiss full of love so that Juliet became more jealous.

Mike, Jace and Sam each hit a single whereby all bases were loaded. Little Joe was at bat again and he also hit the ball out of the stadium. The intermediate score was then already: Cartwrights – McCookies: 10 – 0.

Griff hit a double and Candy a homerun.

Mitch saw Hoss standing on deck.

“Why is Uncle Hoss standing there?”, the boy asked.

“Well, he starts to warm up there with his bat. It is his turn to hit after Candy”, said Mary.

Steven McCook, the coach of the McCookies, saw Hoss standing on deck and asked for a time-out. Ben came too and they went to Roy who played for headumpire.

“Ik demand that we stop becaudse we won’t get a single chance!”, said Steven.

But Ben and Roy didn’t agree and so they had to play on. Suddenly there were thee strikeouts after Ben had signed that they had to take it easy with making runs.

In the second inning the McCookies were without any chance and in the rest of the game too.

It was in the ninth inning. Little Joe stood at first base by fielder’s choice. Griff was at bat. Danny McCook was the pitcher and was too busy with catcher Craig Larson. Hereby Little Joe saw the chance to steal the second base.

The commentator said:“A stolen base for Joe Cartwright.”

“When the game is finished I go to Clem to have Uncle Joe arrested”, Mitch said.

“Why?”, Mary wanted to know.

“Because he has stolen a base. And you always say to me that stolen is not good”, Mitch explained.

“You mean steal. We do that. But in this ccase you may do it. Uncle Joe comes then unnoticed at second base and can score a run easier”, Adam said.

“I would make it much harder than you”, Mitch said.

“How then?”, asked his parents at the same time with curiously voices.

“Well, I am on first base and I can go to the second I just take the first base with me. That is really stealing a base”, Mitch said.

Again Adam and Mary were rolling on the ground of laughter.

“I think that we have a lot of fun ánd adventures with you as a little baseball player”, Adam said still laughing.

The endscore became finally:

		RUNS
HOME	PONDEROSA COWBOYS	25
VISITORS	MCCOOKIES	0

After the game Adam, Mary and Mitch went directly to the deputy. This one was talking to Ben.

“Clem, you must arrest Uncle Joe because he has stolen a base in the game. And that is not good daddy and momma say”, said Mitch said without turning a hair.

Ben picked up his grandson and said, “That is so. So Clem, you know what you must do.”

“Good. But have your parents explained to you why it is allowed in a baseballgame?”, the deputy asked.

“Yes. To get quicker at the homeplate”, Mitch answered proud.

Clem looked at Ben and said admired:“Your grandson is a quick learner.”

The deputy quickly wrote out an arrestwarrant for Little Joe.

After the shower the clan came together. The hands already went to the ranch but Hoss, Little Joe and Candy stayed.

“Joe, I have to arrest you”, Clem said seriously.

“Why? I haven’t done anything wrong”, said Little Joe said amazed.

“No comments. I put you into my handchuffs”, the deputy said.

He put Little Joe the handchuffs on. Mitch came standing near them and looked very satisfied to his youngest Uncle. Suddenly Little Joe understood it.

“Mitchell Jonathan Cartwright! What have you said to Clem that I am now wearing his handchuffs?”, he asked indignant.

“During the game you stole a base and momma and daddy always say to me that stealing is not good”, said Mitch light-hearted.

Everybody except Little Joe laughed.

“Very funny boy. You know what? If Clem releases me I promise that I will help you with hitting”, said Little Joe.

Mitch first looked at his parents who both nodded and then at Clem who also nodded.

“Alright then”, the youngest Cartwright said after a very long silence.

Clem untied Little Joe whereafter he and Mitch walked up the field to do some hitting. The others watched and saw that Mitch had a lot of talent to become a baseball player.

THE END

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