Come game time, every player got on his donkey except the pitcher and catcher, but they had their donkey close by. “Play Ball” hollers the umpire and the bat boy leads out a donkey for the batter. He is holding him facing first base.
The batter steps to the plate and the pitcher throws a semi-fast ball to the batter: He hits it toward third base and I mean to tell you all pandemonium breaks out!! The fielder at 3rd is trying to get his donkey to chase down the ball so he can hop off or maybe scoop it up, turn and throw out the batter at first if his donkey will cooperate. It didn’t take long for me to realize that a donkey has a mind of his own! Sometimes they were gentle and other times they were down right stubborn and would kick, buck, or bite you! All of this made the game even more entertaining.
All of the fielders had to be on their donkey before they could chase the ball; this was most entertaining all by itself! Some of these fielders were unbelievable the way they could ride and pick up the ball and throw the runner out. In the meantime, the batter hopefully had mounted his ride and was bound for 1st base. But then again ... the other team might still be trying to get their donkey to take them to the ball so they could throw the runner out at 1st, ah, or 2nd, or out at 3rd. It was most difficult for the first baseman to be on his donkey and even come close to catching the ball.
This particular 1st baseman was really good; he could catch the ball standing on the donkey’s rump or leaning over to catch it between the donkey’s legs! He put on a real show. The announcer traveled with the team and kept us highly entertained with his running commentary!
Wellsir, the game started at 8 p.m. and stopped it at 10:30 p.m. It didn’t matter if they only played four innings or six, but you were laughing most of the evening. It was very entertaining for everyone. And there you have it a part of history gone by in Pampa, Texas.
