Strike Five

By Aaron T Knight

Be careful what you wish for you might get it. Chad Smith got it. His dream was to play baseball in the major league. But he was missing one talent needed to qualify for the majors. A freak accident in a strange way gives him the skill missing in his game. However the talent added to his playing is an unorthodox approach. It is bizarre. Baseball players, team managers and owners vehemently protest allowing him to play in the game. A beehive of controversey develops leading to humorous results for Chad Smith.

The author crafts a unique and genuinely hilarious sports book. It is clear right from the get go to expect the unexpected. It's a whole new ballgame!   George Smith  Book reviewer.

Your excerpt is a real tease, Nothing about the meaning of strike five is revealed. Way to go!  a reader

I'm not sure but there are some colorful ball players. Looks like I'll have to buy the book and find out. a reader

• Language: English
• Publisher: Aaron T Knight
• Release date: Oct 30, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393657668

Book preview

Strike Five

Aaron T Knight

Chapter One

What was going on in Whooping Falls during the second week of September was of no consequence to the population of the world. In fact, it was of little importance to the 153 baseball fans who had shown up for the season ending game of the Whooping Falls Warriors. It was a  bush league team, presently losing its fifth straight game. Mercifully, the Warriors were now at bat in the bottom of the ninth inning. Everyone, including the owner of the team, was relieved when the third batter whiffed strike three to end the agony of a 14 to 0 defeat.

Theo Latimer held a faint admiration for the opposing team. They had the ability to score runs in a night game played on a field with faulty stadium lights. An intermittent electrical short caused the lights to blink off and on every so often without warning. Suddenly the playing field would become a psychedelic scene. It’s visual effect made the baseball seem to be disappearing as the lights went off then suddenly reappearing as the lights snapped on.

One would be reminded of a flickering 1910 silent movie. It was nearly impossible at times for a batter to correctly guess where the fast moving ball was exactly. Naturally there were some injuries to batters as well as to the catchers who also weren’t sure where the ball was.

Many of the runs scored by the opposing team came from accidents caused by errors in judgment by the Warrior outfielders. Fly balls bounced off their stomachs, hit them in the shoulder or never came near them. For the most part the fans stayed until the end of the game because of the amusing mishaps caused by the flickering lights. On each occasion when the lights went into their act the crowd would cheer and laugh raucously at the mishaps caused by the unpredictable trajectory of the phantom baseball.

Theo had offered to forfeit the game but the opposing team manager declined because his team was winning. During the game Theo had searched the park looking for the groundskeeper who had assured him the stadium lights had been repaired. Actually it was his fourth guarantee to Theo the problem was definitely fixed this time.

Both teams were relieved to have the game finally end. As they passed each other shaking hands the scene had an extra feeling of bonding because they had a shared experience during the bizarre game. Several casualties were sporting bandages covering nasty bruises sustained from unexpected contact with the menacing ball.

Losing pitcher for the Whooping Falls Warriors, Chad Smith, had mixed emotions about the game. He was relieved to be finished pitching balls which disappeared into a black void, sometimes as it left his hand. Then watching anxiously to see if the batter or catcher was injured. On the other hand, being considered the losing pitcher for the record seemed unfair given the strange circumstances. He didn’t really have a large win and loss record because he was the team’s relief pitcher. Often he only pitched a couple of innings in a game when the starting pitcher began to tire or lost his control.

As the team left the field the 153 baseball fans let out a loud cheer for the players’ dogged determination to finish the game. None of the players acknowledged the ovation since they had also been the butt of loud laughter and unsavory comments by this same rude crowd. Impulses to retaliate were admirably squelched in favor of a hot shower and a quick get away.

In the Whooping Falls Warriors locker room Theo Latimer, with his team manager at his side, gave a little speech to his players:

"I want to thank everyone for sticking around through this lousy season. In the present starting line up only four of you have been playing for the Warriors from the beginning of the season. Injuries and losing several of our best players, who left to take better offers, were the main reasons for our losses this season.

The proof is our winning record through May, then we began to  be riddled with vacancies.

"You know I love the game of baseball. Ten years ago I started this team because I wanted to be a part of the game even if it was only in a small way. I also believed Whooping Falls deserved to have a baseball team. I hope you guys are willing to play for me next season unless the New York Yankees scoop you up. [the team laughed at that one]

Marty here, he said putting his arm around the manager’s shoulder, has agreed to stay for another season with the Warriors. He’s a guy used to winning games and he has the record to prove it. We can build a winning team. In the next room there’s a spread of food and plenty of champagne to wash it down with, Marty will get around to the players we want to have back for spring training in March. Good luck to all of you.

To date the baseball team had been a money pit for Theo. Never a winning season. Always at the bottom of the lowly league.  He was the wealthiest man in the small city and owned nearly half of downtown Whooping Falls so he could afford to dabble in baseball. He had been shocked and saddened by the lack of support for the team by Whooping Falls citizens. Attendance at home games was nearly nonexistent except for the fans of the visiting teams.

Mainly they had become tired of watching the Warriors lose games. Besides, it felt more like the team belonged to Theo than to the townspeople anyway. In a stadium that could hold 10,000 spectators the highest attendance had been 1,056 fans in the second season. It happened when Theo offered all the beer you could drink for the price of a ticket.

It was a disastrous move. Every hard drinker in Whooping Falls and surrounding towns showed up for the free beer with little regard for the ball game going on in the stadium. By the seventh inning of the game the crowd was uproariously drunk. It got very ugly. Fights broke out in the stands. Security guards felt they were underpaid anyway and stayed out of harms way. Eventually the brawling mob spilled out onto the playing field.

When the police arrived to stop the uprising the chief of police made a grave mistake. He had recently attended a week seminar on crowd control and he was anxious to put what he had learned to practical use. Out came the long shields his men had been trained to use and on went the riot helmets. Hoses were quickly connected and the men in the front of the crowd were knocked off their feet as a violent gush of water from large hoses hit them dead center.

Unfortunately, there were many born fighters in the drunken mob and the dousing only enraged them. They stopped fighting one another then turned their attention to the annoying policemen. Several hundred men charged the police line. Things began to escalate as the mob became a cohesive unit and the collective mood turned uglier. When they charged, the police calmly held up their shields and stepped backward to maintain a distance from their enemies. A man laughed at the police as they retreated and yelled out,

Look at this gutless bunch. They’re running away. Let’s get’em.

As trained by the chief, the police line went into Phase Two.  They brandished riot guns ordering the crowd to step back. Ignoring the warning they kept on coming.The police, not waiting for an order to shoot, let off a barrage of rubber bullets. Several men were hit in the chest at close range and were knocked flat. There were screams, howling and cursing coming from the crowd as rubber bullets struck them in the legs. With a swift move the crowd closed the gap between themselves and the police so they couldn’t shoot at them.

A melee of shouting cursing men battled each other hand to hand. Only the Final Phase in mob control stopped the participants. Tear gas canisters were rapidly shot into the crowd. Within minutes the crowd began to choke and cough which effectively took the fight out of them. Acting quickly the police arrested the leaders of the mob.

The Whooping Falls Daily Blow proclaimed in screaming headlines:

NAZIS BRUTALLY SUBDUE CITIZENS

A detailed account of the ugly affair covered three pages since the paper printed all of the letters to the editor indignant people had dropped off at the newspaper office. Somehow in the minds of the Whooping Falls residents baseball and Theo were at fault for the riot. The result was  attendance at games plummeted to a few hundred people at least half of which were there for free.

Theo was handing out complimentary tickets to schools and to the senior citizens center. On several occasions the baseball game was given added excitement by emergency crews arriving to take an elderly fan to the hospital with a heart attack. It is doubtful the game in progress caused enough excitement to have anything to do with the seizures gripping the elderly.

Chapter Two

Chad Smith patiently waited until all of the other ball players were gone before approaching the owner and the team manager. He was not one of the players invited back for spring training. He was anxious as he walked toward the two men who resembled twin bowling balls. Although not kin to one another their was a strong resemblance. Both were stocky, short and bald. Theo however did appear to be more peaceful than Marty. Maybe because he didn’t have to be directly responsible for the team’s ability to win games.

Seeing a look on Chad’s face both of them recognized from years of experience Theo immediately took charge.

I know how you must feel about being cut from the team. You’ve worked hard for us and helped us win some  games. Your nerves never were a factor in those tight games and we appreciate your pitching.

Then why are you cutting me? If I’m so good, what you just said makes no sense.

I meant everything I said, but we can’t afford a pitcher who isn’t a good starter. It’s a luxury for teams with money. You know the reason if you’re honest about it, you have no fastball. You have been clocked many times and your best pitches only reach 82 MPH. We need 90 MPH fastball pitchers and you aren’t one of them. We gave you a chance to see if you could become a fastball pitcher. We kept you on for two seasons hoping you could improve.

Chad slowly nodded his head in agreement. To compensate for this weakness, he had worked fanatically at developing nearly perfect control of his pitches. He could throw the baseball within inches of his target with a variety of  pitches. His style kept batters off balance. Unfortunately, without a fastball in his arsenal the better hitters could adapt to his slow stuff. Then they would begin to make solid contact with the ball and the hits would begin to mount with subsequent scoring.

As a relief pitcher he could come in for a few innings and confuse batters with his perfectly placed slow curve and his slider. He could throw a ball across the plate exactly at chest level or at their knees thus cooling off the batters. Although he had tried since he was 9 years old to develop a fastball the results had been negligable.

At the high school and at the small college he attended on a baseball scholarship he won many more games than he lost because of his remarkable control. His pitching record didn’t show many strike outs but a plethora of ineffective ground balls and poorly hit fly balls.

Pro ball turned out to be a completely different game. Now he was up against batters in the pros. These players had good batting averages or they wouldn’t be professional players. His assortment of slow pitches didn’t fool them for long. What he had feared since he was a boy had happened. A bush league baseball team had cut him from their roster as not good enough to pitch in the pros.

Marty, although he was a tough manager, knew the agony a player went through when he was told professional baseball wasn’t for him. He said to Chad.,

You have the finest slow curve ball I’ve ever seen. It seems to float toward the plate from a wide angle before breaking and dropping into the catcher’s mitt. Man, it’s something to see when a batter misjudges the ball’s trajectory and leans over the plate believing it will come into the plate behind him. You’re the only pitcher I ever saw throw a slow curve with your mastery. If you could only find a way to improve your speed I’ll be glad to give you another tryout.

There wasn’t anything more to say to each other, so Chad said goodbye and headed fot the locker room. He gathered up his belongings and walked out.Theo watched him leave. He said to Marty,

"He probably isn’t losing too much by being cut from the Warriors. Next year may be the last season for the team. Times have changed and the income from my businesses is way off. I may not be able to pay for the luxury of owning a pro ball team.

Even though these kids we pick up almost play for expenses I’m not sure I can afford to support a ball club. Pray for an outstanding season with players who don’t leave in the middle of the season to play for another team.

Latimer had other problems besides money. There was animosity between himself and the Police Department for the bad press they received for quelling the riot at his stadium. After six years you’d think the Chief would be over it, he thought to himself. He had openly criticized Theo and slyly warned citizens it might not be too safe to go to games because of the rough crowd. He had done great damage to game attendance. Everything Theo did to create good will with the Whooping Falls citizens had failed. Free tickets, Ladies Day with free special refreshments etc.

Theo had been forced to hire more security guards for games in an attempt to reassure fans that they were safe at the games. Also, the police were slow to respond to any calls for assistance. Sometimes they failed to show up at all. Most of the 911 calls were for police assistance to escort ambulances carrying ancient fans to Emergency for various kinds of attacks during games.

Then there was his on going battle with the City Counsel. Theo had built the baseball stadium on his own land with his own money. Greed began to grow among these honored city officials when a new extension of the near by Interstate Highway was proposed. Theo’s stadium was almost on top of the planned exit ramp that would bring people into the business district. Visions of all of the fast food places, super gas stations, strip malls, and maybe even a  hotel, springing up along the highway ingress and egress ramps made them dizzy.

Technically, Theo’s baseball stadium didn’t interfere with the proposed highway extension. It was astride all of the choice real estate in the area though. It was sure to triple in value when the highway ramp was built. He wasn’t interested in selling his property nor tearing down his baseball stadium in the name of civic progress as envisioned by the greedy pigs.

There were light legal skirmishes in the beginning as the greedy pigs in power tried to find a legal way to grab Theo’s land. As each attempt was successfully defended they became more desperate. Skirmishes were replaced with battles in court as they tried every outrageous trick they could think of to harass Theo into surrendering. Unfortunately for them he was a wealthy man and his legal team made hamburger out of the motions and countermotions filed by the local legal talent.

All of these unfortunate clashes with the police and the local politicians had a negative impact on the citizens’ attitude toward Theo and his baseball team. But Theo loved the game and as long as he could afford it the Warriors would continue to exist.

Chapter Three

When Chad finished showering and changing into his street clothes he went to the large house in Whooping Falls where he rented a room for the baseball season. He packed up the few things he owned and threw them into his 1979 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. It was a light blue two door car with a vinyl top now torn into strips.

The right door of the car had been replaced from a junk yard following a collision. It was a bright red door. Another collision at a another time had caved in the left rear fender. It had been replaced via a junk yard and it was a bright lime green. Some of you readers may have sensitive