Paladin is summoned to ump when warring baseball clubs besiege Whiskey Slide. Almost everyone in the cattle town bets heavily on their local cowpokes versus a barnstorming pro 9, so gunshots outnumber home run shots. Paladin's resume includes serving under Gen. Abner Doubleday in the Civil War, and witnessing the first openly pro team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings play in 1869, so Mayor Whiteside, Sheriff Fix, and Chicago Bears manager Marcus Goodbaby ink the expensive free agent ump.