"We told him to slow it down," exclaimed veteran SS Billy Nicholson of the Columbia Monarchs, "but the kid only knows one way to play and that is all out." The kid Nicholson
is referring to is 27 year old phenom William Fitzpatrick. "Mayor" as he is known around the clubhouse was a victim of his own hustle in a spring training game on March the eleventh.
In the top of the sixth the 27 year old sprinted for a line drive off the bat of Springfield's Richard Miller. Fitzpatrick and the ball reached the wall at the same time and a serious collision
ensued. "I heard it on the other field," said Monarchs' ace Glen Foster. "I thought it was a car crash or something." When the other outfielders got to him he was out cold.
"It was a scary moment with him not moving and all," Earl Lane remembered. "I was one to get to him and I thought he was dead." Fitzpatrick was taken to the local hospital and
diagnosed with a concussion. "They said I'll have to sit out the entire seasonto protect myself from myself," the 2020 South Hitter/Rookie of the Year said. "I don't know how to take it
easy so I'm out until next year." "We won a club record 70 games last year and he was a huge part of that, " said Foster. "This is a big setback for a team looking to move forward."
