The Pride Duel (3)
March 1857.
Because of Buchanan’s atrocities, which had split all of America in two by the sheer power of his presidency, the United States had effectively become a battlefield of ideologies. Now, one could get into an argument just by breathing, and people were forced to constantly testify to their beliefs and prove whose side they were on.
With the political situation as it was, news of a unique baseball match erupting in New York spread across the nation in the blink of an eye.
Baseball was, in fact, only just beginning to spread stealthily through the Northern regions centered around New York, but thanks to this incident, it instantly became a nationally famous sport. This was because Opdyke, who didn't think for a second that he would lose, had made up his mind to mobilize all his connections to promote it.
Of course, since the risk of this turning into a political confrontation was too high, I opened an escape hatch.
- All proceeds from this match will be used for the operation of the James Clinic. The interest of everyone watching the game will be a great help in treating those in need in this land.
Yeah, Opdyke is the only one burning with pride; I’m just playing along to promote the hospital.
To prevent any further gossip, I actively played the media, drawing a line by stating that sports should not be a tool for political strife.
"Mr. James Sett, then is it a false rumor that you said you could easily conquer baseball in just two months?"
"Of course. While I have excellent ability in training my workers, a sophisticated sport like baseball is difficult. I am simply doing my best."
"Then why did you decide to play this match?"
"Because I thought it would be a good opportunity for the hospital I am building in New York to extend not just to the South, but throughout the North. I hope everyone who visits will forget about complex political issues and just enjoy the game like a festival."
The newspaper reporter who interviewed me looked at me as if to ask if that was even possible, shaking his head.
That's a bit much... though I think so too.
The idea that politics shouldn't be involved in sports is considered common sense in the 21st century, but the very fact that such a saying exists is proof that there were plenty of creeps who linked sports to politics long before that.
Especially if it’s a match between a baseball team sponsored by the Republican Opdyke and a baseball team trained by a Southern planter, it’s obvious that over-immersed fanatics will pop up everywhere.
I can't help that, and above all, this backlash is something Opdyke, who confidently initiated the fight only to be beaten in reverse, will have to endure, not me.
"Then, we will reach a final agreement on the rules with this. The equipment as well."
"Yes. Let's do that. Let's have a good game in two months."
"I will try my best."
The location confirmed for the match was Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey. It faced New York and was a place where baseball games were still being held successfully, making it the perfect place for the match.
Unlike other parts of the South or North, it was certain that the spectators in New York City would be polarized, so there wouldn't be a situation where only one side was unilaterally criticized.
Most of all, I was relieved because the game rules I was most worried about were applied exactly as I wanted.
I had the confidence that I would win unconditionally even if I did it my way, but perhaps it also had an influence that anyone who had played baseball had to admit that my points were unconditionally reasonable.
I even went so far as to firmly stamp my name on it, calling it the Seth Rules.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing how capable the training ability of the famous Cotton King is. Please, try hard so it doesn't become a sloppy match. If the match ends too boringly, the people who came to watch will be disappointed."
"That's true. It would be most fun if it were an even match, but that part is a bit of a concern."
"If you're worried, you should go down quickly and practice like hell for two months."
Opdyke had formed a team called the Guardians of Liberty by selecting only players who supported the Republican Party in New York for this tournament. Perhaps that's why the players also felt quite toxic, but since I could clearly see their future, I didn't feel offended; I just wanted to express my condolences.
I'm worried about you guys, you guys.
Even if you practice like hell from now on, you'll barely be able to score a single point, so what on earth should I do about that arrogant attitude?
I shook my head and left New York behind.
"Hehehe, seeing him leave in such a hurry, he must be regretting it now."
"Hahaha! Should we adjust a bit so the audience isn't disappointed?"
I wondered if those friends, who had so much laughter, would still be able to wear such big smiles when they saw me again.
Honestly, I was very curious.
For reference, the name of my team opposing Opdyke's Guardians of Liberty was the Seth All-Stars. I didn't put much thought into it; it was just a name I attached because I was planning to bring the most outstanding players from our plantation.
"Well, as a result, contrary to the plan, I have decided to select the most outstanding warriors from our plantation to teach those ignoramuses in the North a lesson. Just in case, I'm checking—is there anyone who wants to go?"
"Me! Me! Me!"
"I'll go!"
"Please let me go too!"
As soon as I finished my brief explanation, almost all the workers raised their hands and jumped up and down with a roar of "Wooooaaah!"
Although I had been swapping team members around, most of the people on the plantation now knew each other's skills well. Even a small mistake meant getting hit with a base hit, so every single match was a series of tensions. It was a great sense of accomplishment, but it was also true that it drained their physical and mental strength, so how many people wouldn't want to compete with an outside team?
They were even in a situation where they knew each other's skills roughly through the vivid advice of Leo and Ben.
"I was going to accept everyone who volunteered if there weren't nine people, but there's no help for it if everyone wants to go like this. I'll have to hold a selection match."
"Ooooooh!"
"How do we do the selection match?"
"Just do JLB like usual. I'll look at the records and pick the best people for each position to take with me. It could be called the first Seth All-Stars of JLB."
"First All-Stars? The name sounds cool from the start?"
"Of course, if we go out and win, this is a victory for all of us, so I'll hold a special dinner once more. Additionally, extra rewards will be given to the victorious warriors."
I could feel the fighting spirit and desire burning madly in everyone's eyes. Surely, these guys must be going crazy with excitement too. However, the more this happens, the more cases of people making mistakes because their desire to do well gets ahead of them occur.
As expected, there were some who performed a bit worse than usual in the selection match, and some whose records actually improved.
Thwack!
"Argh! No!"
"Kyaaaa! Nice! I'm going to New York!"
In any case, the match was twice as fierce as usual, and I tore into chicken with a cold drink, purifying my eyes that had been contaminated in New York.
Kuh, yeah. This is baseball.
Where are those guys who can't even throw a proper fastball acting all high and mighty just because they play baseball?
While I was enjoying the game, Leo, who was organizing the records next to me, asked suddenly.
"Master, but is it really okay to play baseball on such a large scale? Haven't you been keeping it a secret until now?"
"No, actually, now is the perfect time. This is the only way to minimize the rumors leaking out in the future."
"...Pardon?"
"How long do you think the secret of this plantation will be kept? Now that the hospital is growing and I have become a person who receives attention from all over the country, there will surely be more interest than now. Then, rumors might spread that it's not true that I'm extracting efficiency by abusing slaves."
Since I am buying land and increasing the number of slaves little by little, the number of my slaves is likely to swell to 800 after this year passes. Until now, it had been controlled somehow, but once my fame grew and the number of slaves increased, rumors leaking out should be considered a constant, not a variable.
"If I frame it as playing baseball to crush the North, and then after actually crushing the North, say I allowed this much as a reward, who could find fault with it? The Southern people will also send praise since we stepped on the North refreshingly for the first time in a while."
"...Ah, I see. I certainly didn't think of that point."
This wasn't just an impulsive match played out of anger. I needed much more precise calculations on how much profit I could get from this, and how to lead the plantation's information and my reputation together. Because the more I grew, the more the situation I was in would require a higher level of tightrope-walking ability.
"By the way, Leo, why aren't you going to the match?"
"Pardon? I have to serve you anyway, so if I were chosen as a representative, another innocent person wouldn't be able to go to New York for no reason. So I stepped aside for my comrades."
"Wow, I see. But I think you'll have to take care of the servants while I'm gone this time, what should we do?"
"Pardon? Ah, no... Master, how can you say that now? I'll go put my name on the entry list right now!"
"I'm joking, I'm joking. Who would look after my secretary if you weren't there?"
I chuckled and watched the ball flying far away with a thwack sound.
The sounds of the relieved Leo, the cheering winners, and the losers beating the ground were mixed together, creating a lively resonance.
Just a little more.
It really wouldn't be long until the land surrounded by this small fence became a small kingdom.
After going through such fierce practice... no, the selection process, I and the first team of the Seth Plantation, who had proudly formed the All-Stars team, departed for New York in high spirits.
I briefly remembered taking a boat to the North with Leo and Sam before, but the situation was completely different from then.
"Mr. Sett, according to the regulations, slaves must be in the cargo hold..."
"Ahem, you. Do you think these slaves are just slaves? They are my hands and feet participating to uphold the pride of the South! If they catch a disease in the cargo hold, can you take responsibility? I'll have a word with Governor McRae..."
"Ah, no! Of course, according to the regulations, they should be loaded in the cargo hold, but I was about to say that I would naturally invite them to the cabin this time. Hahaha!"
You bastards, shouldn't you have noticed and taken care of it before I had to say it? Do I have to make the names of the Governor or a Congressman come out here?
I booked the first-class seats on the ship in a row, then used one room as my private room and considered letting the Seth All-Stars use the rest.
"Kwooooh! Is this first class?"
"Master! The bed is different!"
"My goodness, I didn't know there was such an area on a ship..."
"You guys, I know you're moved, but if you act like country bumpkins like that, complaints might come in, so stay composed. And originally, if you play baseball well, you get treated like this. Understand?"
"I, is that so?"
Of course, it would take much more time than now to make a living playing baseball, but who knows. If baseball is explosively distributed nationwide with this match as an opportunity, that time might be brought forward much earlier. If that happens, it wouldn't be bad to be the first to create a professional league and occupy the market in advance.
What if they keep the blacks in check, asking where they are entering the professional league?
As soon as the Civil War ends, I'll just deploy my elite division and crush them with skill. For that to happen, the popularity of baseball would have to spread that quickly, but I didn't think I had to worry much about that.
I guarantee it, this event will be a massive success.
It's not a prediction, it's just a destined fate, because the scale has grown much larger than even my or Opdyke's expectations.
The participants alone were already too much to end as a one-time event. Not only did media outlets like the New York Tribune, New York Herald, and New York Times mobilize, but everyone from executives of New York's Tammany Hall like Isaac Fowler to the Mayor of New York, Fernando Wood, was involved.
It was no exaggeration to say that all the big shots in New York were showing their faces, and on the Southern side, three members of the House of Representatives—John Quitman, David Robinson, and John Montgomery—attended, saying they would repay the debt they owed me.
Since Southern congressmen were attending like this, the Northern side couldn't just sit still. Finally, a super-giant like William Seward, a Republican senator from New York, announced his intention to attend.
This was the list of attendees I had heard of so far, and just looking at it, I wondered if it was something that should grow to this extent.
This is all because of you, Buchanan.
"Now, now, our warriors. You will be playing on a stage completely different from before, but keep in mind that we just have to crush the opposing team in front of us. No matter what insulting words are thrown at you, just trample them in the game, so let's aim to maintain as much composure as possible."
"Yes! Don't worry!"
"We will absolutely crush those guys who dare to ignore our Master and go around acting like they are the originators of baseball!"
"From now on, the originator of baseball is James Sett!"
There was no way our kids would do that, but just in case they were overwhelmed by the atmosphere, I coached their mental state hard and fed them delicious food from time to time, and I was finally able to arrive at the land of the decisive battle.
And the moment I got off at the station, I saw a strangely familiar face and froze in place.
"Hahaha, it's been a while! You've become even more manly in a year."
No, Mr. Lincoln. Why did you come all the way here again?