By Jonathan Bym
Staff Writer
There’s a campaign to be prosecuted over these next 70 days or so, culminating in a slugfest where the competitors will leave it all out on the field.
The “Battle of the North,” as it’s being dubbed, will be waged upon the grass and dirt of the Moore County Athletic Complex Nov. 8 between the leaders and loyalists of Carthage and Robbins. Can these by-day politicians and civil servants flash those old bygone days of glory and athletic prowess?
With apologies to Taylor Swift, they used to have mad glove, but now they got bad blood.
The brickbats commenced during a good-natured lunch recently when representatives of both communities met at the Buggy Factory in Carthage to pitch the plan. The jawing and sniffing out of ringers got cranked up before the glasses of sweet tea could start sweating.
“Who all are you planning on bringing in for the game, Jimmy?” Robbins Mayor Cameron Dockery asked his Carthage counterpart.
“I should be asking you the same thing,” Carthage Mayor Jimmy Chalflinch responded.
The Battle of the North is set for 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8. And while there are bragging rights on the line, there is a bigger motive for this matchup.
Robbins has received $42,000 from the Ellie Jean Project to put in an ADA-compliant playground in the northernmost town in the county, but more funds are needed to fulfill the vision the town and the nonprofit have. Proceeds from the concession stand will go toward construction of the park, and the competition extends past the playing field, with donation buckets for both towns also planned on site for the game.
The two mayors have been waging a back-and-forth exchange of words for months over the diamond challenge. Dockery’s letter in April challenged Chalflinch to respond to his summons to have a softball game between the towns.
Chalflinch responded, “It is with great satisfaction, and no small amount of enthusiasm, that I, Jimmy Chalflinch, Mayor of the Town of Carthage, cordially accept your challenge of a tremendous game of skill, character, and fortitude . also known as softball.”
But his statesmanship slipped into a bit of trash talking by letter’s end. “I have such confidence in my staff and their ability to soundly trounce the town of Robbins staff,” he wrote, “that I say, “BRING IT ON!”
We have to look to the mayors’ seconds for a bit more level headedness.
“It has been getting a little bit rowdy, and a little sassy with the mayors,” Carthage Town Clerk Kim Gibson said over lunch.
Robbins Town Manager Clint Mack responded, “You would expect more out of them, these elected officials.”
But softball is serious business, as Gibson illustrated when she brought thick packets to the lunch meeting with examples of rules for different levels of softball, and laid out the framework that needed to be figured out for the game before the town hit the field in November.
The ground rules: seven innings, with only town employees on each team. To limit the chance of any malfeasance by both towns, it was agreed upon that a player on the team has to be on the town’s payroll for at least 30 days.
Volunteer firefighters and part-time police officers also will be eligible for the game. With that, there were no worries about a lack of medical attention at the game, should any of these less-than-spring chickens pull a wing.
Both sides rejected having family members of town workers or commissioners being allowed to play, which might be sad news for Chalflinch. “My cat can play, I reckon,” he offered.
Although they call balls and strikes every day at work, none of these government servants will do so on the field. Umpires from the Moore County Parks and Recreation Department were assigned.
Mercy rule margins, home run limits per inning, and run-scoring limits per inning were discussed for the clash, but the two challenging mayors won’t be shying away when the time comes. Chalflinch and Dockery will have to bat at least once, and play in the field for an inning.
“I don’t mind (playing the whole game), I’m just trying to get him into the game,” Dockery said.
Pro tip: Chalflinch has been coaching baseball for the better part of 45 years.
Robbins will sport uniforms of green and gold in honor of North Moore High School’s colors. Carthage will don the light blue and white of nearby Union Pines. The towns plan ways to further fundraise with the sale of merchandise of the game.
With the game details settled, both municipalities spoke about the buzz they’ve stirred up.
“I was at a meeting in Pinehurst a few months ago with all the mayors together, and some of the mayors called us and said, ‘Can we get in on this thing? Can we play in this game?” Dockery said.
“We’re into this together,” Mack said.
With Robbins challenging Carthage, Buggy Town will be the home team in the game.
“I’ve locked down the field, the officials and the concession stand,” Chalflinch said to Dockery. “Now, what have you done?”
“I thought you wanted us to sit down and talk before this game to see if we would spot you five runs,” Dockery retorted.
Now they got problems. And we don’t think that they can solve ’em. Both sides agreed that talking junk is “highly encouraged” between now and Nov. 8.
You may be a betting person, but you probably won’t find this one on Fan Duel.
Contact Jonathan Bym at (910) 693-2470 or jonathan@thepilot.com.
