[Griever20]

How things came to pass...

Just some fiction, don't take things too serious.
Baseball was the nation’s first love. It was its soul. It represented the good in the United States. But, as it is, war changes things. Even before Pearl Harbor, some players got drafted into the army, and after the attack, many more MLB players joined the army and fought in World War II.

But what killed MLB? It was what we now know as the “Bloody Friday”. 30th of July, 1943 at Fenway Park. The game itself, the 44-44 Detroit Tigers visiting the 44-46 Boston Red Sox. Dizzy Trout would start for Detroit, and Tex Hughson for the Red Sox.

Looking for some distraction, the Park was at a capacity crowd, however things got brewing quite early. A group of around a thousand soldiers on shore leave were present and bullied their way into the ballpark, wanting to use their free time to see some ball, forcing civilians and baseball fans out of the park. With the game tied at 0-0 and Boston’s starting pitcher Tex Hughson leaving the ballgame in the top of the second with an injury, things got really ugly.

Some of the soldiers, already a bit drunk,barked at Hughson and called him a loser… and Boston left fielder Leon Culberson had a strong opinion on that. He went towards the stands… some words were exchanged… and before anyone could defuse the situation… a brawl ensued between the soldiers in attendance and both the baseball fans and the players.

Boston Police was called in, but things got outta hand quicky. Boston fans not in the park listened to the radio, heard what was going on, and converged on Fenway Park, same as the Military Police but… it could not be helped.

The “Bloody Friday” cost the lives of 32 people, and many more injured, including Boston Police and Military Police men that shot at each other.

With all of that, the ramifications were even worse. Trying to not hurt the morale of the fighting army, some of the soldiers were punished for excessive behaviour… but most of the blame was laid on baseball. As the already cash strapped Red Sox were hit by the government with a $10.000 fine, a lifetime ban from professional baseball for Leon Culberson and banned from having people in attendance for the rest of the year, baseball went on strike. The players left the field, and went on the streets to protest, along with various baseball fans from all teams.

However, that didn’t sway the Roosevelt administration in their direction, it made things worse for all of baseball. The teams were bleeding money, and over the course of ten days, the protest lost a lot of momentum… and then, things got worse.

To get all of this out of the way, a draft for a new law was made, banning professional baseball, paying out all MLB owners so that they can fold their teams debt free, and paying out all MLB players that accept the MLB Closure Act. Put through congress on August 12th, and put into effect for September 1st, it was official.

Professional Baseball was dead.