It was a nice Spring day when Adam Cartwright had to look after his 4 year old son Mitch. Not that he minded but there was more than enough work to be done. The little boy played outside near the porch. Adam had taken the ledgers outside to update them and to keep an eye on Mitch as well.
It was a good thing that the father of Adam, Ponderosa owner Ben Cartwright, and the younger brothers of Adam, Hoss and Little Joe, weren’t there or things would have been gone differently. Adam worked as hard as possible to be able to spend more time with Mitch.
“Daddy, are you coming to play?”, asked Mitch asked after a while.
“In a moment son”, answered Adam.
Meanwhile he looked at Mitch who played with the dog Cody. Suddenly Mitch threw a ball away and Cody ran after it. Satisfied Mitch watched his dog. Adam knew enough and brought the ledgers inside. A moment later the eldest Cartwright boy came outside again with 2 baseball gloves.
“Kid, we are going to play a nice game”, said Adam.
The little boy looked at his father questionable. Adam went to sit next to his son and gave him a right handed glove.
“I am going to teach you how to play baseball. Here you have the old glove of uncle Joe”, said Adam.
Mitch put on the glove and grabbed a ball. Adam put on is and they went to stand opposite each other on the yard.
“Mitch, throw the ball to me”, said Adam.
A moment later Mitch threw a nice bal to his father. The ball ended up in the glove of Adam. He threw it back and Mitch caught it. They threw over to each other for a while. Adam noticed that his son liked it very much and that did him much good.
“Kid, we are going to eat first and after that I will teach you how to hit”, said Adam.
Mitch nodded and together they went inside where the Chinese cook Hop Sing had set the table already.
After lunch Adam and Mitch were outside again on the yard.
“How must you hit?”, asked the youngest Cartwright.
“I will show you”, answered Adam.
He put a pole into the ground and laid a ball on it. Here after Adam grabbed a stick and he hit the ball away. Mitch watched with great fascination.
“Daddy, I want to try”, said Mitch.
“Alright. I will put down a lower pole for you”, said Adam.
That happened and Mitch hit the ball far away too. After a few times the boy hit the ball further away than his father. Mitch looked at Adam smiling. Cody went to get the balls.
“I wish that I hadn’t teach you how to hit and throw. Don’t tell this to grandpa, uncle Hoss and uncle Joe”, said Adam said with a deep sigh.
“Yes, but grandpa always wants to know what I have done today”, said Mitch.
“Alright but not that you hit further away than your father”, said Adam.
“In exchange for your dessert”, said Mitch.
Adam picked up his son and said, “You are only 4 and now you are already bribing your father. How must that be then later? Alright, you get my dessert.”
“May I have the glove of uncle Joe?”, asked Mitch.
“We will buy new one for you”, his father answered.
The whole afternoon Adam and Mitch played baseball until the others came home. Mitch threw a nice ball to his father who caught hit just in time.
Ben saw that and asked semi-strict his eldest son, “Adam Cartwright! So you do this while we are working hard?”
Hoss and Little Joe thought it was funny because now their eldest brother got a reprimand instead of them.
“Hello pa. The ledgers are updated before I discovered that my son is a born baseball talent. He uses the old glove of Joe”, was the answer of Adam.
“He may have it”, said Little Joe.
“Thanks uncle Joe”, said Mitch.
“Well, I think that my grandson will be playing baseball each day from now on. But as long as he doesn’t throw in any windows I don’t mind”, said Ben.
Mitch promised that.
After supper Mitch showed how well he was with playing baseball. Everyone including the hands came to watch and they knew that a natural talent baseball was born.