Chương 34: Baseball and Soccer
Orangeburg, South Carolina (Stateburg aligned)
May 31st, 1776
"So you can't let the ball touch your arms or hands unless you're the "goalkeeper," correct?"
"Mhm, and you can only touch the ball with your feet, your chest, and your head. If you touch it with your arms or hands, it is a "foul," and the opposing team will get a "free-kick," which means they will kick the ball freely without direct interference from where the foul happened. That is not the only way you can get a foul. It will be called a foul if you purposely tackle, push, elbow, knock-down, or any physical violence on an opposing player. If the referee deems you have committed a serious foul, he will give you a "yellow card," which means you are being warned of your behavior. If you get a "Red card," which comes after the yellow card, then you are no longer allowed to play in this game. If you excessively argue with the referee, the referee can give you cards based on your behavior. The referee will determine if a play is foul or no foul. If he deems that something is foul, he will fire a blank shot into the air to signal for the game to stop so he can call out a foul. Also, one other thing, if a foul happens in the "goalkeeper's box," the box where the goalkeeper can use his hands and arms to block incoming kicks, then there will be a "penalty kick" for the player that got fouled on. Which means the player will face the opposing goalkeeper one on one in a measured distance to shoot the ball, without the interference of any other player," General Kim stated as he spoke to a group of forty soldiers that were all dressed in civilian clothing. He was giving them a rundown of the rules before the game to ensure that they understood the rules thoroughly. They were given instructions for the past few days, but he wanted to ensure that the game was as clean and entertaining as possible, "The point of the game is to enjoy yourselves while exercising at the same time, gentlemen. I want to see good sportsmanship and behavior on both sides. The winning team players will get a reward individually, so there is an incentive for you to try your best, along with the fact that the men of your own regiments will be cheering you on. I have told you the rules of substituting players, boundaries, and other basic rules. Any questions before I have you begin?"
To give the soldiers some entertainment and take their minds off the constant battles in the past several months, General Kim planned a sporting event for the soldiers under his command. The sports soccer and baseball from his time were chosen, with the equipment provided by his benefactor. The balls and other sporting supplies were different from the ones he was used to in the future. For example, the baseballs were made with an average size rubber core, loose winding, and leather skin. The baseball bats were all made of wood, and the gloves were fashioned with leather and strings. The soccer balls also held a large rubber core, with wrappings and animal skin on the outer layers. The soccer field and the baseball field were drawn in paint, with the borders highlighted by white paint made on the field itself. The goalposts on the soccer field were made of wood with metal anchors on the back. The baseball field outfield walls were crafted with boards and crates. They were far from what everyday Americans used in the future, but they were good enough to introduce the sport to the colonials.
Teaching soccer was fairly straightforward. Baseball was more difficult to explain, but an instruction manual was handed out to each regiment to review the rules of the bat and ball sport. Under General Kim's supervision, the teams took some time to practice and get used to the sport. After a week of practice and learning, each regiment nominated a team for baseball and a team for soccer to compete in the first "Continental Army Sports Tournament," with the grand prize being fifty pounds for each individual on the first-place teams for either sport.
A few of the men who were more interested in training rotated between the training grounds and the town's defenses. All the spectators and participating soldiers had their gear nearby, ready to go if the British and Loyalists decided to ruin their day of entertainment and sports. And there was no doubt that the colonials would be very angry since they were planning to march towards the west once reinforcements from the north arrived in Orangeburg.
It wasn't just the soldiers that filled up the crowd to watch the teams play on the two fields; former slaves and town residents also gathered to see the giant sporting spectacle that had raised the regiments into a frenzy. There were a few seats available, mainly from boxes, crates, and any furniture that the town residents lent out. As such, most of the spectators were either sitting on the ground or standing. Ingeniously, several town residents saw the large crowds of gathered soldiers and sold food items and beverages while walking between the groups.
When a blank gunshot was fired into the sky, four teams from four different regiments gathered onto their respective fields. The soccer field was occupied by the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment and the Free Seventh South Carolina Regiment teams. The woodsmen that consisted of most of the Pennsylvania team looked all too eager to play the game, while the South Carolina members looked just as competitive as their counterparts. On the baseball field was the Marine Regiment, led by General Kim himself (who used to play baseball in high school) and the First South Carolina Regiment. Both of the South Carolina teams were the "home teams" for the games and when the matches started on both sides, the crowd waited in anticipation for the entertainment to begin.
Following the rules of home-field advantage in baseball, the Marine Regiment team batted first. A catcher, wearing leather paddings and a large leather mitt, stood behind "home plate" (a wooden pentagon buried into the ground). The umpire, a soldier from the 1st Canadian and wearing paddings and a safety mask, stood behind the catcher intently. The umpires for each game were from regiments that were not playing in the match and were given personal manuals to study the game. The umpires had little official training, but they understood the more detailed rules of the sport, which was good enough for General Kim.
On the mound (a pile of dirt with a piece of wood on it) was a tall, intimidating South Carolina native right-hander named William Smith. General Kim's manual did have instructions on throwing various pitches, so he had no idea what the man could throw, but from the warmup pitches the man tossed, he threw the ball straight and fast. The first batter that stepped into the box for the Marines was Captain Alexander Hamilton, who looked a bit out of place but seemed determined not to make a fool out of himself. He adjusted the safety helmet made of iron and waited for the pitcher.
He hacked at two pitches out of the zone and held his bat in an embarrassed manner after his second swing. The following two pitches were also out of the zone, but Hamilton held back and watched them fly past by. The general observed that the pitcher threw two fastballs and two pitches that looked like sliders. The fifth pitch looked like a fastball and in the zone, which Hamilton took a heavy swing at. However, the pitch was slower than he anticipated, and the ball landed in a thud in the catcher's mitt. The catcher had to slide to make the catch, as he misjudged the ball, but he held onto the ball, and Hamilton was out on strikes.
"Strikeout!" The umpire yelled, waving his fist in the air.
The South Carolina regiment soldiers broke out into cheers, while the civilian spectators looked a bit more confused at the play but cheered regardless. As Hamilton walked dejectedly back to the dugout, General Kim offered him a reassuring smile, "You still have plenty of chances, Captain, and it is your first time playing. Don't look defeated. Remember, Semper Fidelis."
Captain Hamilton looked a bit more optimistic as he returned the smile, "Thank you, sir."
General Kim was the next batter up, and he stared down the pitcher, who returned the stare. He got into a familiar batting stance and waited intensely. He knew that the pitcher had a fastball, a pitch similar to a slider, and a changeup, from what he saw. The speed and break of the pitches were just above an average high schooler, but he still waited cautiously.
The first pitch that was thrown to him was a pitch that broke outwards towards the outside of the strike zone. But the general was waiting on a breaking pitch and whipped his bat around, making solid contact with the ball.
While the ball was designed to travel less than a regular baseball, the ball streamed into the outfield and slipped right over the fences, which were only about three hundred and twenty feet away. This time, it was the Marine regiment that broke out into cheers as the general circled the bases with a satisfied grin on his face.
He hoped the sport caught on. He loved baseball.
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