Ball Nine Take Your Base

Originally Aired: August 2, 1959 Gunsmoke #382, "Ball Nine Take Your Base," finds Doc Adams reluctantly preparing to umpire a baseball game between the Dodge City team and the visiting Eastern All-Stars, a group of professional players. While Doc views baseball as a gentleman's sport and considers umpiring an honor, Marshal Matt Dillon warns him that professional baseball has changed from the friendly games Doc remembers back East. Matt worries about potential trouble from gamblers, drunks, and overzealous fans, insisting that the professionals and their supporters are more likely to start a brawl than play peacefully. The tension escalates when the All-Stars arrive in town and take over the Long Branch saloon with their rowdy behavior. Doc gets his first look at these rough professional players, including their manager and pitcher Asa Granville. A confrontation nearly erupts when hot-headed local Ziff Williams takes offense at Granville's confident offer to bet that the All-Stars will score at least a hundred runs. As Matt tries to keep order before game day, it becomes clear that this baseball match may test Dodge City in ways Doc never anticipated.