Hey Folks! In spite of Miss Scarlet supposed S5 showing soon (the trailer dropped today), William is in the USA and still wanting to have Eliza there with him. By suggestion of my MSATD buddy La Fantomette (Steph), she said William discovers baseball and then...we see what happens. Please let me know what you think. Love doing this and I am seeing 1 or 2 more chapters. Short for me. right? Love-Carebearmaxi
A New Sport
William Wellington, new temporary citizen of New York City, took a walk in the sunshine on his street. He was dressed as he normally was as if he were reporting to work sans his jacket as it was warm for April. He looked up at the sky and noticed the blueness and bright sunshine.
Definitely not like London, William thought. Never seen such a blue sky in London.
The sky may have been sunny and a warm day in NYC for April, William's heart was still back in gloomy, rainy England with Eliza Scarlet, the love of his life. He missed her terribly. He half expected to see her face in the offices of the precinct where he was newly installed on the secondment. He missed her.
As of now he still was not sure she missed him as much or if she even loved him. Well, it had only been a couple of weeks William thought. He had received only one letter. In that letter she only recounted her cases since he left. She had mentioned that Nash was now in jail for murder. He never trusted Nash although he had used Nash's services while William had still been installed as Detective Inspector of the MP of Scotland Yard.
Whack! William barely missed a whizzing missile that went past his head. He turned in the direction and found that it was a ball.
"Hey fella! Is that you William? Could you throw us the ball back?"
"Is that what that was?" William called back to Matthew Johnson who was one of the new men with whom he just began to work at the precinct.
William went across the street to an empty lot from where he had been walking and picked up the ball. He looked at it and realized he had never seen a ball like this previously. It was cloth covered with curved seams tightly sewn around it.
As a boy, William spent too much time trying to survive in and out of the workhouse. It was only after he left Glasgow that he had even ventured to notice sports but by that time William was in the police academy trying to get to the head of the class and do Henry Scarlet proud.
He examined the odd-looking ball and then threw it back to the waiting Matthew.
Just as William was going to resume his dismal walk yearning to see Eliza again, Matt called out to him.
"Hey William! Would you like to play? It's a great way to release all that stress from the job."
William was embarrassed that he did not know what game they were even playing. It looked a little bit like rounders, and it also resembled cricket. He had read papers back in London regarding a "new" game called baseball played in the US. William deduced that this ball may actually be a baseball.
He threw the ball back to Matthew.
"You got an arm there, Will. Are you sure you don't want to give it a go?" Matt asked again. Matt was a large man the same build as William only he was a redhead with freckles and about ten years younger than William.
"Maybe I'll just watch for now," William called back as he stepped nearer to the field on which there were several men with large leather gloves. There were about 10 of the men William knew from the precinct. He learned all of their names but in this light the loosening of the shirts and dustiness of their trousers William was not sure who was who.
"Ok. Take a seat on the bleachers over there," Matt invited.
William watched the play. Matt walked up a tiny mound and began to throw the ball to a man a few feet away. It reminds me of cricket in a way William thought. I haven't played any type of sport since I was a little boy.
He continued to watch and just enjoy the warmth of the sun and the exuberance of the men (some of them William's age).
After a thwack from the batter, William watched the ball's arc to the outfield where one of the other men's standing one side of the outfield caught the ball. Then the players changed places.
Another of the men walked up to William. His name was Roger William remembered. Roger was dark haired and built like William. Their Chief did a double take when he saw Roger stand next to William. He asked if they were brothers and did not know.
Neither Roger nor William knew. They just shook their heads and kind of ignored the Chief's comment.
"Hey William, have you ever played baseball?"
William stretched his legs out in front of him.
"I haven't played any sport since I was a boy."
"Well, we are short a player on our team. How about you give it a go?"
William paused for a moment. He was unfamiliar with the sport, and he really did not want to embarrass himself with these new men. He remained thoughtful for a couple of minutes.
"Sure. I'll play, but I am unfamiliar with it," William said rising.
Roger said, "Ah it's easy. I'm sure you will catch right on."
William stroked his beard and smiled. "Mmmm", he uttered.
They walked to the place where William had watched a man pick up a thick wooden stick which reminded William of Cricket.
Roger pointed to the ground and showed William the flatly stuffed sack they were using for "home plate". He then explained how the field was set up and the different positions.
"You got it so far?" Roger asked.
"Yeah, sure, I do. This is home plate," William said pointing to the ground below him. "This is where I would stand to swing at the ball that the pitcher….Matt?...is standing on that little mound. I get three swings and misses and then I sit down and someone else comes "to bat". If I do that, I have made an "out".
"Yes, that's just this part, " Roger said as he moved his hand in a circle meaning the batting part of baseball. "Good start, Will. Do you mind if I call you Will?"
William had to think because no one had ever been that familiar with him. Not even Eliza. She always called him William. He always loved hearing her say hi name in her cultured English tone. He had never been to the USA either until now, but he had known a few Americans when he was with Scotland Yard. Normally, though, it was on police business where they were concerned.
"No…no."
"Great. William gets to be too long all the time," Roger continued. "Now if you should hit the ball, and it stays within these lines which are called the foul lines the ball is fair or a legal hit. If it goes outside the foul lines, it's a strike just as if you swung and missed the ball. However, if you hit the ball and it stays fair. You drop the bat and run to first base."
Roger paused for a minute allowing William to absorb all the information he was giving him.
"By the way, do you know if you're left-handed or right-handed?" Roger asked.
"I write with my right hand," William responded.
"Oh good. I'm right-handed myself, so it will be easier to show you how to hold the bat."
"Oh, so left-handed people hold their bats a different way?" The thought of a left-handed person reminded William of Eliza. Eliza wrote with her left hand he had observed on more than one occasion.
"Yes and catch with a different glove. I'll show you that as soon as we get you hitting."
"Oh, of course."
Roger stopped momentarily and looked at William.
"You really don't know anything about baseball?" Roger asked incredulously.
"I know nothing. What can I say? I'm learning a lot of new things here in New York," William responded.
"Well, let's get you a bat," Roger said. "You and I are about the same size, so I will let you use my bat here."
Roger went on to show William how to hold the bat and what to do when he sees the ball.
William stood at the right-hand side of the plate facing the pitcher's mound. He looked totally natural holding the bat over his right shoulder, assuming a ready stance with his legs slightly apart, knees bent, and, unfortunately, squinting into the sun. William could see just fine but if he squinted for too long, he was going to develop a headache. One on a much grander scale than the one he had for the last two weeks thinking and wondering about Eliza back in London.
"Ok," Roger said, and William nodded. "Matt throw one in. Not too much of a heater. Don't want to scare him back to England."
"Ha, ha" William said thinking how not funny Roger actually was.
William kept his eye on the ball although the thrower (pitcher)was doing a good job trying to hide it. The pitcher went through a couple of odd maneuvers (windup) and then let go of the ball. Here it comes….here it comes….William thought. Swing!
The crack of the bat and the ball flew to left centerfield and went way over the fence and into the back bushes of the empty lot where William had first encountered the guys.
All the fielders watched the ball as it left the field of play.
Roger quipped, "Beginner's Luck."
"Was that good?" William asked innocently.
"Was that good?" Matt called from the hill 90 ft away. "That's called a homerun Scottish boy! That's a four bagger, a trip around the bases."
"That means you scored a run! In many games you win games by hitting a lot of those!" Ronnie said. He was a shorter blonde man who shouted this from the bench.
Roger said "Well, now that we know you can hit, let's get you in the lineup. Fielding, well, that's something else."
He walked with William and brought him to the dugout where the team sat waiting for their turn to bat or go into the field. Roger's team was one short, so William coming along was fortuitous.
William was pleased that he was fitting in with these men. It was not something at the top of his list, but he thought it was better to fit in than not. Besides, he was still reeling from Eliza's rejection of him and concentration on something other than work helped.
He still had not received a return letter from her. He could only hope that there was one on the way.
William was finally at bat for real. There were two baserunners at 1st and 3rd with 1 out.
Roger explained to William as William grabbed a bat and walked to the plate.
"Listen Scotsman, if you get a giant hit like your first one then those two come in to score and, so, do you. That would put us ahead of Matt's team by 1 run. We still have two innings left. Also, if you can defend as well as you hit, we have a shot of beating them."
William smiled which caused his blue eyes to twinkle. Although William told them he was not familiar with the game of baseball in its present form, the game seemed a lot like Rounders only longer in length and a tad more complicated. William was always a good athlete. He excelled at the physical tests in the police academy back in England.
He proceeded to the plate and took a couple of warm-up swings before stepping into the batter's box which is how the pitcher knew you were ready. This definition was another one of Roger's explanations.
William eyed the pitcher and kept his eye on the ball despite Matt's circuitous wind up. The ball was released.
Thwack! The ball flew to left field. Foul. Strike one. The faces of Roger's team on the bench all fell. The faces of Matt's team breathed a sigh of relief.
William then prepared to meet the ball again. This time Matt pitched the ball so far outside that William instinctively knew he should not swing at it. So, the batter's count was 1 ball and 1 strike. Roger had explained to William what a walk was; therefore, telling him that if he didn't swing at a pitch outside the zone and he did that four times then he could get to first without any issue. This would also make the bases loaded for Henry, the shortstop, and, currently, the most consistent player on the team.
The ball came in again. Another ball that was inside the strike zone this time. At least that's what the acting umpire had told him. The acting umpire was an old, retired policeman who was the guys' current cumulative coach.
Batter's count now: 2 balls 1 strike.
William stepped out of the box. He was learning delay tactics swiftly. He stepped back in and eyed Matt again.
Crack! William's hit was up there and traveled to dead center field and…over the fence into the bushes!
Cheers and jeers were heard on both sides. Cheers from Roger's team. Jeers from Matt's team. The jeers were not for William. They were actually happy they found a great new hitter. However, the jeering went to Matt as he pitched the ball that ultimately put them on the losing side 4-3 going into the top of the eighth.
William was up one more time before the end of the game and contributed by hitting a single. Roger's team won 6-3 as William came into score from Henry's hitting behind him and driving him in and the fellow who hit before William.
William was sweating and felt wonderfully exhausted. All the men congratulated him and asked him to join the team as both teams actually were one baseball team for the precinct where William was ensconced. The umpire was actually their coach.
"I'm not sure I will have a lot of time. I'm only here a short time," William gently protested.
"You're here a year, Scottie boy," Roger called him sarcastically. "You show big promise, and you caught onto fielding very well."
Glen, the team's coach said, "Simmer down, boys. Give the man a chance to think. Will, you don't mind if I call you that?"
William said, "No," for the second time.
"Why don't you come to practice tomorrow and may be a couple of others if you can say for the next few days and see what you think about joining the team? We have a huge game coming up against the other precincts' teams for the championship."
When William still had not committed, Glen said, "These games and this team is a good way to release the pressures that build up when you're constantly working. Plus, we play for the city orphanages. Any and all proceeds go directly to them for feeding, and clothing and toys for the kids. You wouldn't or you might not realize how many orphans are around."
"Oh, I would. I was raised in the workhouse after my father died. I was 10."
Glen's eyes opened wide at that statement.
"You have done very well, Will. Then you would understand an orphan very well."
William simply nodded and then lowered his eyes.
A short time passed before he raised his eyes to Glen's and looked around at his new "buddies".
"What time tomorrow should I be here?"
To the cheers of all the men and Glen's pat on William's shoulder, William smiled genuinely for the first time in many, many days.