You find what you look for – A short story

A couple years back I wrote a short story called The Stubborn Hitter where the old groundskeeper teaches the young hitter a lesson.  To read it, click HERE.  Today’s post is the second installment.  It’s an old story, only this time with a baseball twist.

One hot summer day, the league’s old groundskeeper was out mowing the outfield grass.  As he moved down one of his meticulous rows, a car pulled up just beyond the outfield fence.  A man got out wearing a baseball cap and walked up to the fence.  He got the old groundskeeper’s attention and waved for him to come over.  The old man turned off his tractor and painfully got down off his John Deere and hobbled over to the fence.  

The man said “I’m sorry to interrupt, sir.  My family and I just moved into town.  My boys love baseball and I’d like to find a nice organization where they can play.  Can you tell me a little about the people in this league?” 

The old man took his baseball cap off, wiped the sweat off his brow and replied, “First, tell me what the people were like where your boys used to play.”

The man said, “Oh, they were great.  We hated to leave but my work brought me here.  The coaches cared about the kids and really tried to develop them the best they could.  The people there were wonderful.”

The old man placed his hat back on and said, “Well, Sir.  I think you’ll find the folks around here to be the very same way.”

The father thanked the old man, got back in his car, and drove off.  The old groundskeeper hobbled back to his tractor and continued mowing until his field was finished.

The following day, while the groundskeeper was mowing a different field, a different car pulled up just beyond the outfield fence.  Another man got out and walked to the fence.  He got the old groundskeeper’s attention and waved for him to come over.  The old man turned off the tractor and painfully got down off his John Deere and hobbled over to the fence.

The man said “I’m sorry to interrupt, sir.  My family and I just moved into town.  My boys love baseball and I’d like to find a nice organization where they can play.  Can you tell me a little about the people in this league?” 

The old man took his baseball cap off, wiped the sweat off his brow and replied, “First, tell me what the people were like where your boys used to play.”

The man said, “Oh, it was terrible.  We hated playing there.  We’re lucky my work took us away from them.  The coaches didn’t care about the kids and nobody knew anything about the game.  The people there were just horrible.”

The old man placed his hat back on and said, “Well, Sir.  I think you’ll find the folks around here to be the very same way.”

The father thanked the old man, got back in his car, and drove off.  The old groundskeeper hobbled back to his tractor and continued mowing until his field was finished.