Because his grandpa owned also a baseball stadium the 5 year old Mitch Cartwright was to be found there each afternoon. He got then baseball lessons from his father and coach Adam Cartwright.
One afternoon Mitch asked, “Daddy, on which side of the catcher must I stand to hit?”
Adam had to think for a second about the answer and explanation.
He kneeled down by the home plate and asked while he pointed at the 1st base, “Do you see that base there?”
Mitch said, “Yes, that’s the 1st base.”
“Well, you are left-handed so then with batting you stand with hitting in the section where I am now. The section which is painted closed by the 1st base”, Adam explained.
He helped Mitch with hitting but saw quite soon that the boy understood it. Adam pitched some balls and Mitch hit them all away.
“Daddy, may I try to hit from the other side of the catcher?”, asked the youngest Cartwright after a while.
“We will try it. First collect all the ball with Cody”, said Adam.
Mitch and the shepherd dog Cody picked up all the balls.
“Just pitch”, Mitch called when he stood at the other side of the home plate.
Adam pitched a few balls and these too got hit far away by Mitch. Adam knew enough.
On the way home Adam said, “Boy, I reckon you can hit both left and right. We will train on that so you can do that do during games.”
“You are right-handed and uncle Hoss too. Can’t uncle Joe help either then?”, asked Mitch.
Adam answered, “I will ask him when we are home.”
At home Mitch took a shower.
Ben asked, “How did the training go?”
“Well, your grandson can both hit left and right. I want that Joe helps him with hitting balls away. Joe is then the pitcher”, answered Adam.
His youngest brother heard that and said, “I would love to do that.”
They discussed everything further before the youngest Cartwright came downstairs again.
During supper Mitch said, “Grandpa, I can hit both left and right a baseball away.”
“Does the ball also come out of the stadium when you are hitting right-handed?”, Hoss (the 2nd son of Ben Cartwright) wanted to know.
“Not yet but that will happen though”, was the light-hearted answer of the boy.
Ben said sighing, “Then I will have to raise the glass insurance extra high again.”
Everybody laughed.
By his uncles Mitch also could quite quickly hit the ball out of the stadium as right handed batter.