Touched by an Angel (1994–2003): Season 5, Episode 4 - Only Connect - full transcript
A young boy on a baseball team befriends Ferdie, who helps out on the team. Ferdie is autistic, and none of the other players seem to accept him. Cameron's father is the coach who has problems at home. Ferdie must help mend the family.
♪♪
California Zephyr
leaving on track 29!
All aboard!
You see? He's perfect.
He loves trains; he's
kind of a loner himself.
He's a smart kid
with a good heart.
Well, I'll heart over
brains any day.
The way I see it,
we have two choices.
Either we can
tell him right now,
or we can let him
figure it out for himself.
He can figure it
out for himself.
Children can see things
that grownups can't.
And him figuring
it out for himself
is what's gonna
make it special...
for everybody.
- What's his name?
- Cameron!
Cameron!
Hey, guys, guys, excuse me,
you were playing catch
before with this, uh, kid,
he's my son, Cameron.
Uh, remember him?
He's the new kid in town.
- Good hit, no field.
- No. -Sorry.
- No, huh? Okay.
- No. Sorry.
Geez, Cameron, come
on, you can't miss try-outs.
Cameron!
You want another one? Hm.
It smells like summer on a bun.
Little ketchup'll help that.
Here we go.
Excuse me...
excuse me, uh, do you work here?
I live here.
You know, I've had a few
jobs like that before in my life.
I'm Donnie Mancuso. I don't
think I caught your name.
I didn't throw it.
Right. Uh...
look, I'm gonna be
the new coach here,
and I've been looking
around for my son.
- He's, uh...
- Ferdie.
I'm Ferdie.
Ferdie. Great. Look, uh, Ferdie,
I'm-I'm looking for my
son... His name is Cameron.
He was playing catch with
these kids before. I wonder...
Someone named Cameron was three.
Three.
Three! Right! Yeah, he
was wearing number three.
Did you happen to
see where he went?
Ferdie has gone
through his whole life
undiagnosed.
Well, not exactly.
Most people just call him
weird and leave it at that.
Well, they can call him weird
and they can call him slow,
but God calls Ferdie His,
and he wants us
to find him a home
and find somebody in this world
who can understand
Ferdie's world.
Cameron!
Cameron, there you are!
Come on, move it! Let's go!
- Hey.
- Grab a bat!
Hustle, hustle, hustle!
Let's go, show 'em
what you got, now.
Let me get one
pitcher up here, okay?
One pitcher... the rest of
you guys take a position.
Here we go. Come on,
Cam, let's go, buddy!
Three bases, then home.
Three strikes, then out.
Three outs to a
side. Three squared
is nine. Nine innings, nine...
yeah, nine innings to a game.
♪ When you walk ♪
♪ Down the road ♪
♪ Heavy burden ♪
♪ Heavy load ♪
♪ I will rise ♪
♪ And I will walk with you ♪
♪ I'll walk with you ♪
♪ Till the sun
don't even shine ♪
♪ Walk with you ♪
♪ Every time, I tell you ♪
♪ I'll walk with you ♪
♪ Walk with you ♪
♪ Believe me, I'll
walk with you. ♪
All right, don't worry, Cameron,
that's a good cut, good cut.
Cameron!
Try some fielding now!
Okay.
Excuse me?
Woops. Sorry.
Somebody should've
warned that guy.
Yeah, Ferdie.
Sometimes he talks to you,
sometimes he treats you
like a piece of furniture.
Well, I got Ferdie
all figured out.
I mean, he is weird... that's
beginning, middle, end of story.
I mean, why the park
even hired him, I don't know.
You know? It's
always those guys,
they turn out to be perverts.
Oh, he's harmless.
Besides, who else
are they gonna get to live
right next to the field like that?
Well, like I said...
- weird.
- Hi.
You must be the
new park director.
Hi. I'm Donnie Mancuso.
I'm Tess. Nice to meet you.
Is that your boy?
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
I, uh, I got to get him
to the batting cage.
It's been a little crazy
with moving and all.
Actually, I'm kind of surprised
they let a newcomer coach.
I'm not. Nobody
else would do it again.
This is Monica.
- Oh, hi.
- She's new here, too.
I thought she'd be a good match
- for your assistant coach.
- Oh, great.
Donnie...
I'm Andrew. I'm
the league umpire.
- Hey.
- When he
calls you out, you're out.
Come on, outfielders, heads up!
Uh, would you excuse me a sec?
It's a 357.
They've got a gas
turbine electric locomotive
on the head end
of a U.P. hotshot.
You like trains?
They don't usually run
a gas turbine on the 357.
'Cause they're running
on a diesel electric?
Cam! Hey, Cam!
Pay attention!
Heads up! Let's go!
Okay, so, um,
if we've got Danny Batterman
playing second base,
where do we put Cameron?
I'll tell you, I'm
thinking shortstop.
Well, we've just had
a couple of practices,
and Cameron...
He's really improving,
don't you think?
Hey, Cameron?
Are you enjoying the
new neighborhood?
It's okay.
Hey, Cam, come on
over; we're talking baseball.
That's okay.
Hey, did you know
there's a branch line in Utah
where they cut an 8,000-foot
trench through solid rock?
This kid and trains.
Excuse me.
Hey, big guy.
Can't you put that
down for a sec?
Look... it's tough
moving to a new place,
but you're gonna
make friends here.
I know you will.
You're a great kid, Cam. You...
you just got to get your
head out of this book
once in a while.
You want to make
friends here, right?
Yeah.
Well, baseball is
the way to do that.
I mean, you're all
on the same team,
you play together...
Baseball, Cameron.
You're gonna get good at it,
and that's how kids
are gonna like you.
Right, Monica?
There's a special friend waiting
out there for you, Cameron.
I know it.
♪♪
Hey.
- Hi.
- Hey, man, your dad
thinks this is, like, the
major leagues or something.
Drives us way too hard.
Yeah.
So Cicero gets another
baseball character.
I thought Ferdie was enough.
- He's pretty creepy.
- Hey, you guys know why
he lives in that
shack, don't you?
Okay, about...
couple of years ago we
went on a camping trip
with a bunch of
people, like, 16.
He was the only one
to come back alive.
Nobody found the bodies,
so they couldn't arrest him.
He had no place to go.
So he moved in there.
Hey, my dad says
never turn your back
on that guy.
Whoa.
Well, I know why they
couldn't find the bodies.
We came from Akron, and
that's where Ferdie came from to.
He had this pet boa constrictor,
and he starved
it and starved it,
didn't feed it for months.
And then he took it
with him to the campout,
and set it loose in a tent.
The next morning,
there was nothing left
but some fingernails.
- Awesome.
- You can't arrest someone
just 'cause of fingernails,
but when the police found out
we were moving
here, they told us
to keep an eye on
Ferdie just in case.
Hey, shh, shh.
I don't care where he came from.
He's too weird to
be around here.
Hello, Ferdie.
Oh, I didn't mean
to startle you.
You've done a great
job with this place.
And you keep it so clean.
Everything in its place.
Six batting helmets
to a pyramid,
and ten baseballs to a pyramid.
I love your poster.
I like trains.
That's a nice, wee lamp.
Everything looks lovely.
- You're hard to look at.
- Huh?
You're so shiny.
You see things that most
people miss, don't you, Ferdie?
Bases stacked in threes.
Home plate is 17 inches
wide and 17 inches deep.
Don't you, Ferdie? Look at me.
You're very shiny.
Can you see my nose?
I don't see your nose;
I just see your shine.
What about my hair,
can you see my hair?
Too shiny.
Too shiny, too shiny.
Interesting, isn't he?
Yes, he is.
I just hope that Cameron
sees him that way, too.
Me, too, 'cause Ferdie's not
gonna last much longer here.
- Hey, guys, what's up?
- Hey, Cameron. -Hey.
What stinks?
Hey, man, courtesy of
Rex, the Wonder Dog.
Okay, see, what
we're gonna do...
is we're gonna light this,
throw it on Ferdie's doorstep,
and knock on his door,
and then run, okay?
Now, when Ferdie comes
out and sees the... the flame,
he's gonna stomp
on it and put it out.
When he puts it out, he's
gonna step right in the...
You guys get the point, right?
Okay, you ready?
I don't think we should do that.
- You scared?
- No.
Cameron, this guy's a murderer.
He deserves this.
Unless your big story about
the snake was just a lie.
No way!
All right, then, prove it.
- You get to do it. Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Here. You ready?
- Yeah.
Yeah, you better be.
Oh, it's going. Okay.
Come on.
- Come on, you wimp!
- Go!
Guys, let's get out of here!
Oh, no.
Oh, no. Oh, no.
Oh, no. Oh, no!
Oh, no. Oh, no.
Oh, no.
Ferdie, they can rebuild this.
Everything can be replaced.
Just don't-don't worry.
Okay, who's gonna tell
me how this happened?
Ferdie remembers
that there was a fire.
He doesn't think
that he started it.
Tess, you know,
- Ferdie's just a little...
- He's weird.
Big time, and he
probably started it himself.
We've known this
guy a long time.
He's never been violent before.
I mean, he's always
been nice to me.
Yeah, well, that's what the
neighbors always say in the news
right after the massacre.
Well, anyway, I've-I've
called the shelter,
and they're coming tonight.
The homeless shelter?
It's not quite a home.
I don't believe that
Ferdie is dangerous.
And I'm not so sure
that he did start the fire.
What do you think?
I-I don't know.
Well, at least he'll have
a bed at the shelter.
They feed him there, right?
Oh, yes, I'm sure that they do.
But it isn't funny
how one little decision can
change someone's life forever.
Just one decision...
changes everything.
Ferdie, I've got an idea.
He's got nowhere to go.
They're gonna
put him in a shelter.
Look, that's a tough break,
Cam, but I mean, come on.
He's a little off for his age.
How do we know he didn't
start the fire in the shack himself?
He didn't! He wouldn't!
Harvey says he's never
done anything dangerous.
He says he's nice.
Nice? How do you know he's nice?
He knows all about trains, Dad.
He couldn't be that weird.
I mean, couldn't
we just put him up
until they rebuild the shack?
I don't know, Cam.
We've got room in the basement.
It's just temporary. Please.
Temporary.
Okay.
Ferdie!
Guess what.
Oh. And here's your bed.
And here's where you
can put your stuff. See?
Oh, I don't have any stuff.
Well, we have this.
And you'll get some more stuff.
You got stuff.
Lots of stuff.
Yeah, we still haven't
even unpacked.
I don't even know
what all this is.
Hudson Four-Six-Four locomotive.
Yeah!
My mom gave this
to me a long time ago.
Your mom is upstairs?
No. She died.
Dad doesn't want me
to set up any trains.
He says it's too noisy.
Your mom is dead.
This was my last
birthday present from her.
I guess I always liked trains.
That summer, she
drove me up to Durango
where they have this
narrow gauge railroad.
It's so cool.
You're 6,000 feet up,
and there's just a
mountain on one side,
and this big drop on the other.
Well, 6,000 feet is
one mile, 720 feet,
and there are eight
furlongs in a statute mile.
Man, you're really smart.
An international
nautical mile is 6,076 feet.
Ferdie?
Ferdie?
Hello?
Well, I'm gonna go, all right?
Okay.
Hey, you guys ready
for opening day?
Okay, this is gonna
be a long season.
Safe.
♪ Somewhere there's a river ♪
♪ Looking for a stream ♪
Two runs per inning. That's
27 runs per game. 156...
♪ Somewhere there's a dreamer ♪
Batter up.
♪ Looking for a dream ♪
Cam? Cam, let's go!
You're up. Come on!
♪ Somewhere there's a drifter ♪
Hit the cutoff man.
Next time you miss the
cutoff man, it's ten laps.
Let's go. Here we go.
♪ Trying to find his way ♪
Okay, come on, charge it.
♪ Somewhere
someone's waiting... ♪
You're out.
Hey, don't forget to feed
the boa constrictor, huh?
That's a good boy.
♪ I believe ♪
♪ In you ♪
♪ And all I want
to do is show you ♪
♪ I believe ♪
Yeah!
♪ In you... ♪
Andrew!
Oh, come on...
♪ I ♪
♪ Believe in you... ♪
I can hear the 217.
♪ Whoa-oh, whoa ♪
- Yeah!
- ♪ Believe in you ♪
Go!
♪ All I want to know
is you believe ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah... ♪
Hand that shin guard.
♪ Believe in you. ♪
Cam... don't you want
people to like you?
Sure.
Sure, you do.
I mean, you want to
make friends here, right?
I've made a friend.
Cam... see, what
happened out there today
should tell you something.
Ferdie yelled out in
the middle of a game.
I mean, see, he-he's
not exactly... What?
Look, I like Ferdie.
It's just that...
he's a little simple.
I mean, you're a sharp kid.
You should be hanging around
with winners, heavy hitters.
He's the only friend I've got.
Come on.
- Foul!
- Come on, guys! One more out!
Rocket fire. No
batter! No batter.
Hey, did you know, uh, Ferdie
is still living in their basement?
I mean, what kind of guy
would bring a nut
case into the home?
Come on, Roger. We're
about to cinch the league.
Yeah, yeah.
Look, Monica even says,
he's perfectly harmless.
Yeah, well, sure, she
hasn't got any kids to protect.
Hey, you ask me, I mean,
Donnie's asking for trouble.
Ball two.
Are you kidding?! That
was right down the middle!
Harvey, there's no arguing
between balls and strikes.
It is not too late
to forfeit this game.
Geez. All right! So touchy.
Ooh, I like it when he gets
all authoritative like that.
Play ball!
Well, folks,
next stop for Donnie Mancuso
is the state championship!
Hey, don't jinx him.
It's not over yet.
Strike three!
Hey, Cam. Come on, Cam.
We won, man! We won.
Everything's going
really well, Tess.
Ferdie's found a home.
No, he hasn't.
He's just found a place to stay.
And don't forget,
this is not just about
finding Ferdie a home.
It's about finding some
people who understand him,
like a family.
And there's still
a lot of work to do.
I guess we're champs, Ferdie.
Where does this stop sign go?
What?
The stop sign.
Where does it go?
How'd you do that?
Wow!
Assembly required.
Read all directions
before assembling.
110 or 220 volt required.
Oh, this is amazing.
Thanks, Ferdie.
Ferdie, what's with the people?
I mean, you got the
engineer right, but
you just dumped the
rest of the people around.
Sticks.
Hey, what you guys
- up to?
- Isn't this cool?
We could hang out here
for days, couldn't we, Ferdie?
Ferdie?
Did you open these boxes?
Yes.
Ferdie, as long as you're
a guest in this house,
you live by my rules.
And one of them is to stay
out of things that don't belong
to you.
I mean it.
Dinner's on. Let's go.
Ferdie?
Dad's gonna kill you if you
keep blowing that whistle.
You know, the least you could
do is give me some kind of sign
when you get like this.
You know, are you
just concentrating,
or do you go deaf or
something sometimes?
Are... are you mad at me?
You're not gonna
make this easy, are you?
Okay, okay, I-I... I did it.
I helped set the
fire. It was stupid.
I just wanted to
be one of the guys.
You know?
Weird thing is, I ended
up being friends with you
instead of them anyway.
Ferdie?
Ferdie, go back to bed.
Go back to bed.
What in the...
- Are you nuts?
- Dad, I just...
Are you nuts? Look at this.
- Ferdie, he just got upset, you...
- Ferdie?
Ferdie!
What is the matter with you?
Hank Aaron wore number 44.
He talked.
How come he talked
to you and not me?
I have no idea;
listen to me, Ferdie,
we've got... we've got
a real problem here,
and it has to do with you.
Okay, you don't seem
to respect our privacy,
you distract my
son during a game,
you've got him
playing with trains.
- I like trains.
- And now,
now you are tearing up my house.
Daddy, he was just
scared... I don't care.
This happens again,
pal, and you're out of here,
do you understand, out?
- But, Dad...
- No buts.
Now get up to bed.
Go.
Ferdie, you coming to practice?
Hi, Cameron.
I missed you.
Ferdie, what
happened last night?
Your father came
down and got mad at me.
I know, Ferdie.
I was here.
No, you weren't.
I wish you'd been here.
Ferdie, something
must be going on.
It's like when I
was talking to you
during the game, you
didn't see the pop fly.
You miss a lot of
pop flies, Ferdie.
Time for practice.
Let's go.
Don't worry, Ferdie.
We'll figure it out.
Start them out
with the bunt drill.
Have Danny
practice covering first.
We missed an out last game
'cause he didn't
get there on time.
Sure, we'll make it fun.
Just... just make it right.
I got to talk to Tess.
When are they gonna start
construction on that shack?
It's been over a month.
Well, it's all this
paperwork, all this red tape.
I think it's gonna
take a long, long time.
Yeah, well, yesterday
that guy got violent.
Yeah, I heard he
knocked over some things.
Did anybody get hurt?
Oh, Ferdie, he must
have been scared.
Well, you know what, the next
time he gets scared like that,
he's out of my house.
Mr. Mancuso, you've
been encouraging Cameron
to make friends,
but you can't choose
your child's friends for him.
Well, I may not be
able to choose them,
but you know what, they don't
have to live in my basement.
Oh, I think it's a
wonderful thing
you're doing, and I
know in your heart,
you know it's the
right thing to do.
Maybe what's bothering you
is that your son
enjoys the company
of somebody you
don't understand?
Well, I don't know if I want
to get to understand this guy.
I'll tell you this, if he
freaks out one more time,
he's gone whether he's
got a place to stay or not.
I don't know, Ferdie.
We've got to think of something.
'Cause my dad, he
just doesn't understand.
Can't you be more normal?
I'm afraid Dad's
gonna send you away.
Then what would I do?
I haven't had a friend
like you since Mom.
Hey, is that a 40/40
freight special?
Home.
What?
Home.
Please don't get
weird on me now.
Don't you see the
locomotive I'm pointing to?
Home.
You know, Ferdie, you
can drive a person crazy,
and I'm starting to
lose my patience here.
You're doing great, though.
Hey, what are you doing here?
I like trains, too.
So does Ferdie, right?
You shine a lot.
Yeah, yeah.
Does that bother you?
Home.
I remember.
Just ignore him if he
doesn't make any sense.
I don't think he
does it on purpose.
No, actually, he's making
a lot of sense to me.
This used to be Ferdie's home.
What?
Ferdie lived in one of these.
See, he, uh, never
really had parents.
Never really found
anybody until... until you.
Now, you took the time,
had the patience
to get to know him.
Ferdie lived in 12 foster homes
till one day somebody
told him that he was 18,
and he had to get out.
So he did.
He walked out of that
house, and he ended up here
in one of these.
Well, it must have been cool.
I mean, I've always
wanted to live in a boxcar.
No, no, it's not cool.
Ferdie almost died.
He didn't have any money,
he didn't have any food,
didn't have any friends.
What happened?
You shined.
Yeah.
And that's when I met Ferdie.
And I had some friends
who could get him a job
that he could do.
A place to stay
until it burned down.
But I'm glad he's got
friends like you now.
Yeah, Ferdie's a good friend.
It's like he never
pressures me, he just...
Accepts you for who you are?
Yeah.
Do you mind if I give
you some advice?
Friends are worth fighting for.
Especially friends like Ferdie.
Shine, shine, shine,
shine, shine,
shine, shine, shine,
shine, shine, shine, shine,
shine, shine,
shine, shine, shine,
shine, shine,
shine, shine, shine.
Okay, come on, eat
your breakfast, Cam.
You don't want to be
hungry for the big game
'cause if we win this game,
you are gonna go to
school that first day,
and all those people
are gonna say, "Hey,
there goes Cameron Mancuso,
Cicero Baseball League Champ."
Go ahead, eat.
Dad, uh, did you ever
have a best friend?
Well, yeah.
Guess you could say, um...
Guess you could say your
mom was my best friend.
We loved each
other a lot, Cameron.
You know, she really
knew how to make me laugh.
I tell you, we never
missed a Cub broadcast.
The two of us would sit down
next to the radio,
listen to Harry Caray.
That was my idea of heaven.
Now that your mom's gone,
I'd have to say
that my best friend...
You're my best friend,
Cameron, because
we both like trains.
Me, too, Ferdie.
That's great, isn't it, Dad?
Eat; you'll need all
your energy later.
Okay, keep your
eye on the ball, Joey!
For 30 years, this
has been the sum total
of your batting advice, Roger:
"Keep your eye on the ball."
That's it.
To a six-year-old he says it.
To Sammy Sosa he says it.
"Keep your eye on the ball."
There's got to be more
to hitting than that, Roger.
No, that is it.
That and not being
distracted by weirdos.
I'm worried about Ferdie.
I mean, I don't think
my dad likes him,
and I don't know what to do.
You can't force your
father to like someone,
but maybe you could help
him to understand Ferdie.
Hey, Cameron, I
brought you some water.
Thanks, Ferdie.
Stop it!
- Stop it! No, no, no, no.
- What are you doing, Ferdie?
- Stop it! No, no, no, no, no.
- Ferdie!
Joey!
- Joey!
- Joey, - are you okay? - Joey.
He hit me.
Cam, Cam, what were you doing?
Ferdie got upset.
What happened, Ferdie?
Hey, get back here.
A boy just got hit
because of you.
You're not even
gonna say I'm sorry?
Ferdie?
Nothing to say?
Then get out here.
- Just get out of my sight.
- No, Dad.
- I've had it with him.
- I told you he was crazy.
Now, what did I
say, what did I say?!
Get going now.
Get going.
He's a lunatic. I
mean, who knows?
He could come
back here with a gun.
Now, this guy hit a kid
right in front of all of us.
All right, that's enough.
This is it; if you're not gonna
do something about this, I am.
I'm gonna put that guy
away where he belongs.
Joey.
Uh, yeah, police.
We need an officer
over here at the ballpark.
- Why's that, sir?
- Because there's a lunatic
who assaulted a kid.
You're out!
That's all right, baby.
You'll get them next time.
Next time?
There isn't any next time.
We're down to our last out.
Oh, and it's Cameron.
He's been distracted all game.
Well, he's distracted
by what that lunatic did.
And the cops are taking
their sweet time to get here.
Come on, Cameron.
Keep your eye on the ball.
Go Cameron!
Keep your eye on what's
really important, Cameron.
Please.
Come on, Cameron.
Okay, okay, Cameron, here
we go, buddy. Here we go.
Let's go, buddy. Here we are.
Here we go, Cam.
Time.
What's going on?
Dad, something
bad's gonna happen.
- Ferdie, I mean...
- Look,
I don't want you
thinking about Ferdie.
I just want you thinking
about hitting the ball.
Now come on, let's go.
But if they arrest him,
they won't understand...
Look, forget it. Ninth
inning, two outs.
There's nothing to talk
about; now get up there and hit.
Come on.
Let's go, here we
go, here we go now.
Come on, Cam; this is a tie.
Play ball.
Strike one.
Okay, come on,
give it a good rip.
H-Here we go. Let's go.
Give it a good shot now, Cam.
Here we go. Get on base.
Come on, baby. Come on, Cam.
Just get on base. Come on!
Strike two.
Let's get the bat off the
shoulders. Let's go. Take a rip.
The engineer had a hat.
I know what's wrong with Ferdie.
Congratulations, Cameron.
Yeah. He said he had a hat.
Where'd Ferdie go?
Back to the only
home he's ever known.
Hey, Cam.
Cam, let's get your
head in the game.
Come on.
Thanks.
Strike three!
You're welcome.
What was that?
You gave up on me.
I don't get it.
That's right. You don't get it.
I don't care about
baseball, it's a stupid game.
You hit a ball and you
run around in a circle,
and you never get anywhere.
I care about trains.
I care about Ferdie.
Trains take you somewhere.
You can get away...
away from people who don't
even try to understand you.
And they can take you
to friends like Ferdie.
Cameron.
It doesn't look much
like a home, Ferdie.
I lived here before.
I know.
It's too shiny.
Too shiny.
It comes from God. I'm an angel.
You're an angel?
Yes.
I'm glad I found you, Ferdie.
You deserve a better home.
You don't deserve
to be alone like this.
I was alone before.
Then there was Cameron.
Now I'm alone again.
I know. It's difficult
for you to connect.
Autistic people have a
hard time with empathy.
I'm autistic?
Yes.
And you're beautiful,
and smart, and loved.
I'm loved?
Yes.
Ferdie... do you think
you could help me?
Could you give Cameron's dad
another chance?
He told me to go.
Well, I know he did,
but he wasn't angry at you.
He was mad because
you connected with his son
and he didn't.
But he'd really like to see you.
So would Cameron.
Okay.
Monica, why am I Ferdie?
Why is it so hard for me?
I don't know, Ferdie.
I don't have all the answers.
Only God does.
But the most
important answer of all
is that He loves you.
Maybe what's hard for you
is hard for everyone.
And if people could really
connect with each other,
the world would be
a much better place.
Maybe your job... is
to remind the world
to connect.
Ferdie! Ferdie!
Ferdie!
Ferdie! Ferdie.
Cameron.
Cameron.
Ferdie.
Cameron, what
are you doing here?
I figured it out.
Figured what out?
I figured out why
Ferdie's so weird.
He's not weird, his
brain is just different.
And he needs help
recognizing you.
Like, when I don't
have my hat on,
he doesn't know it's me.
And when you don't
wear your glasses,
he doesn't recognize you
so he eats your bacon
'cause he doesn't
know you're there.
And on the train set, only
the engineer had a hat.
So he was the only
person Ferdie could see.
I know, Cameron,
he's got a problem.
He's autistic.
Autistic? No, he's not.
I mean, autistics
are those people
who live in their own world.
He's high-functioning, but
he can get along in this world.
Just that his brain
processes
information differently.
And he has a little trouble
connecting with people.
Yeah, well, that's
really too bad.
Look, I'm sorry, but
that still doesn't give him
the right to freak
out on my kid.
And it doesn't
give you the right
to judge him without
trying to understand him.
Well, I still think
he's dangerous.
I don't care what you think.
He may be different
but... but he's my friend.
The only thing I know is
that you blew the game.
No friend would let you do that.
Now, come on.
Uh-uh. This place
is Ferdie's home.
And I wish it were mine, too.
I'll never play enough baseball
to take Mom's place, Dad.
If you don't mind,
I'm gonna walk back by myself.
Oh. Did you know that's
a six engine turbo diesel
with a coal extender?
No.
Yeah.
No, I didn't know that.
Oh, God.
God, what have I done?
You're asking the
right question, Donnie.
What?
What is the...
W-What's going on?
You said you wanted to
know what you've done.
And I'm gonna tell you.
I'm an angel.
I've come from God
with a message for you.
There's a message...
from an angel?
What, am I crazy?
Well, some people say
you're crazy about baseball.
But you should be crazy
about your wonderful son,
and listen to the
desire of his heart.
He took the time to
see how his friend,
Ferdie, saw the world.
You need to do that
for your son right now.
H-Hold it. You're moving
a little bit fast for me here.
God... God has a message for me?
Yes.
Why?
He loves you... and
Cameron, and Ferdie.
And he has a plan that he'd like
for you to hear.
Cameron is a
marvelous boy, Donald.
He has your energy;
an ability to just
throw himself into
whatever interests him.
He's interested in trains.
He got that from his mother.
He got something
else from her, too.
A loving spirit
that recognizes a lost soul.
And helps it get back on track.
If I recall correctly,
she did the same
thing for you once.
Yeah.
I've been pretty hard on Ferdie.
It's funny, I'm sort
of jealous of him.
When, when Cameron's mom died
I didn't know what to do.
So I talked to him
about baseball.
If I'd talked to him
about anything else
I think I would've lost it.
God knows, I'm trying so hard.
God does know.
Maybe you're trying too hard
when all you really
have to do is be there.
Tess...
when Ferdie said
Cameron was his best friend,
I saw Cam's face light up
and it just tore up my heart.
I mean, here's this guy
I don't even understand,
and my son likes him
more than he likes me.
I messed up, Tess.
I'm a lousy dad. I
don't know how to do it.
Now you listen to me.
You don't have
to do it perfectly.
Love Cameron for who he is,
not for who you want him to be.
Cameron will
never like baseball.
But he'll always love you.
Cam.
Cam.
I'm so sorry.
I've come to ask
you to forgive me.
Um... I brought
someone with me, but, uh,
you're gonna need this.
Ferdie!
Ferdie.
Hi, Cameron.
Brought my train schedules.
Thanks, Ferdie.
Then we change at Oneida
for the flyer to Oneonta.
And then we'll catch
the 9:33 to Cooperstown.
Hey, how do you like that?
A train to the
Baseball Hall of Fame.
I think this might
just work out.
Look, all the tiny, little
men are in the right place.
Sure.
They're all wearing hats.
There's nothing like a hat.
All aboard!
Next stop: Cooperstown.
California Zephyr
leaving on track 29!
All aboard!
You see? He's perfect.
He loves trains; he's
kind of a loner himself.
He's a smart kid
with a good heart.
Well, I'll heart over
brains any day.
The way I see it,
we have two choices.
Either we can
tell him right now,
or we can let him
figure it out for himself.
He can figure it
out for himself.
Children can see things
that grownups can't.
And him figuring
it out for himself
is what's gonna
make it special...
for everybody.
- What's his name?
- Cameron!
Cameron!
Hey, guys, guys, excuse me,
you were playing catch
before with this, uh, kid,
he's my son, Cameron.
Uh, remember him?
He's the new kid in town.
- Good hit, no field.
- No. -Sorry.
- No, huh? Okay.
- No. Sorry.
Geez, Cameron, come
on, you can't miss try-outs.
Cameron!
You want another one? Hm.
It smells like summer on a bun.
Little ketchup'll help that.
Here we go.
Excuse me...
excuse me, uh, do you work here?
I live here.
You know, I've had a few
jobs like that before in my life.
I'm Donnie Mancuso. I don't
think I caught your name.
I didn't throw it.
Right. Uh...
look, I'm gonna be
the new coach here,
and I've been looking
around for my son.
- He's, uh...
- Ferdie.
I'm Ferdie.
Ferdie. Great. Look, uh, Ferdie,
I'm-I'm looking for my
son... His name is Cameron.
He was playing catch with
these kids before. I wonder...
Someone named Cameron was three.
Three.
Three! Right! Yeah, he
was wearing number three.
Did you happen to
see where he went?
Ferdie has gone
through his whole life
undiagnosed.
Well, not exactly.
Most people just call him
weird and leave it at that.
Well, they can call him weird
and they can call him slow,
but God calls Ferdie His,
and he wants us
to find him a home
and find somebody in this world
who can understand
Ferdie's world.
Cameron!
Cameron, there you are!
Come on, move it! Let's go!
- Hey.
- Grab a bat!
Hustle, hustle, hustle!
Let's go, show 'em
what you got, now.
Let me get one
pitcher up here, okay?
One pitcher... the rest of
you guys take a position.
Here we go. Come on,
Cam, let's go, buddy!
Three bases, then home.
Three strikes, then out.
Three outs to a
side. Three squared
is nine. Nine innings, nine...
yeah, nine innings to a game.
♪ When you walk ♪
♪ Down the road ♪
♪ Heavy burden ♪
♪ Heavy load ♪
♪ I will rise ♪
♪ And I will walk with you ♪
♪ I'll walk with you ♪
♪ Till the sun
don't even shine ♪
♪ Walk with you ♪
♪ Every time, I tell you ♪
♪ I'll walk with you ♪
♪ Walk with you ♪
♪ Believe me, I'll
walk with you. ♪
All right, don't worry, Cameron,
that's a good cut, good cut.
Cameron!
Try some fielding now!
Okay.
Excuse me?
Woops. Sorry.
Somebody should've
warned that guy.
Yeah, Ferdie.
Sometimes he talks to you,
sometimes he treats you
like a piece of furniture.
Well, I got Ferdie
all figured out.
I mean, he is weird... that's
beginning, middle, end of story.
I mean, why the park
even hired him, I don't know.
You know? It's
always those guys,
they turn out to be perverts.
Oh, he's harmless.
Besides, who else
are they gonna get to live
right next to the field like that?
Well, like I said...
- weird.
- Hi.
You must be the
new park director.
Hi. I'm Donnie Mancuso.
I'm Tess. Nice to meet you.
Is that your boy?
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
I, uh, I got to get him
to the batting cage.
It's been a little crazy
with moving and all.
Actually, I'm kind of surprised
they let a newcomer coach.
I'm not. Nobody
else would do it again.
This is Monica.
- Oh, hi.
- She's new here, too.
I thought she'd be a good match
- for your assistant coach.
- Oh, great.
Donnie...
I'm Andrew. I'm
the league umpire.
- Hey.
- When he
calls you out, you're out.
Come on, outfielders, heads up!
Uh, would you excuse me a sec?
It's a 357.
They've got a gas
turbine electric locomotive
on the head end
of a U.P. hotshot.
You like trains?
They don't usually run
a gas turbine on the 357.
'Cause they're running
on a diesel electric?
Cam! Hey, Cam!
Pay attention!
Heads up! Let's go!
Okay, so, um,
if we've got Danny Batterman
playing second base,
where do we put Cameron?
I'll tell you, I'm
thinking shortstop.
Well, we've just had
a couple of practices,
and Cameron...
He's really improving,
don't you think?
Hey, Cameron?
Are you enjoying the
new neighborhood?
It's okay.
Hey, Cam, come on
over; we're talking baseball.
That's okay.
Hey, did you know
there's a branch line in Utah
where they cut an 8,000-foot
trench through solid rock?
This kid and trains.
Excuse me.
Hey, big guy.
Can't you put that
down for a sec?
Look... it's tough
moving to a new place,
but you're gonna
make friends here.
I know you will.
You're a great kid, Cam. You...
you just got to get your
head out of this book
once in a while.
You want to make
friends here, right?
Yeah.
Well, baseball is
the way to do that.
I mean, you're all
on the same team,
you play together...
Baseball, Cameron.
You're gonna get good at it,
and that's how kids
are gonna like you.
Right, Monica?
There's a special friend waiting
out there for you, Cameron.
I know it.
♪♪
Hey.
- Hi.
- Hey, man, your dad
thinks this is, like, the
major leagues or something.
Drives us way too hard.
Yeah.
So Cicero gets another
baseball character.
I thought Ferdie was enough.
- He's pretty creepy.
- Hey, you guys know why
he lives in that
shack, don't you?
Okay, about...
couple of years ago we
went on a camping trip
with a bunch of
people, like, 16.
He was the only one
to come back alive.
Nobody found the bodies,
so they couldn't arrest him.
He had no place to go.
So he moved in there.
Hey, my dad says
never turn your back
on that guy.
Whoa.
Well, I know why they
couldn't find the bodies.
We came from Akron, and
that's where Ferdie came from to.
He had this pet boa constrictor,
and he starved
it and starved it,
didn't feed it for months.
And then he took it
with him to the campout,
and set it loose in a tent.
The next morning,
there was nothing left
but some fingernails.
- Awesome.
- You can't arrest someone
just 'cause of fingernails,
but when the police found out
we were moving
here, they told us
to keep an eye on
Ferdie just in case.
Hey, shh, shh.
I don't care where he came from.
He's too weird to
be around here.
Hello, Ferdie.
Oh, I didn't mean
to startle you.
You've done a great
job with this place.
And you keep it so clean.
Everything in its place.
Six batting helmets
to a pyramid,
and ten baseballs to a pyramid.
I love your poster.
I like trains.
That's a nice, wee lamp.
Everything looks lovely.
- You're hard to look at.
- Huh?
You're so shiny.
You see things that most
people miss, don't you, Ferdie?
Bases stacked in threes.
Home plate is 17 inches
wide and 17 inches deep.
Don't you, Ferdie? Look at me.
You're very shiny.
Can you see my nose?
I don't see your nose;
I just see your shine.
What about my hair,
can you see my hair?
Too shiny.
Too shiny, too shiny.
Interesting, isn't he?
Yes, he is.
I just hope that Cameron
sees him that way, too.
Me, too, 'cause Ferdie's not
gonna last much longer here.
- Hey, guys, what's up?
- Hey, Cameron. -Hey.
What stinks?
Hey, man, courtesy of
Rex, the Wonder Dog.
Okay, see, what
we're gonna do...
is we're gonna light this,
throw it on Ferdie's doorstep,
and knock on his door,
and then run, okay?
Now, when Ferdie comes
out and sees the... the flame,
he's gonna stomp
on it and put it out.
When he puts it out, he's
gonna step right in the...
You guys get the point, right?
Okay, you ready?
I don't think we should do that.
- You scared?
- No.
Cameron, this guy's a murderer.
He deserves this.
Unless your big story about
the snake was just a lie.
No way!
All right, then, prove it.
- You get to do it. Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Here. You ready?
- Yeah.
Yeah, you better be.
Oh, it's going. Okay.
Come on.
- Come on, you wimp!
- Go!
Guys, let's get out of here!
Oh, no.
Oh, no. Oh, no.
Oh, no. Oh, no!
Oh, no. Oh, no.
Oh, no.
Ferdie, they can rebuild this.
Everything can be replaced.
Just don't-don't worry.
Okay, who's gonna tell
me how this happened?
Ferdie remembers
that there was a fire.
He doesn't think
that he started it.
Tess, you know,
- Ferdie's just a little...
- He's weird.
Big time, and he
probably started it himself.
We've known this
guy a long time.
He's never been violent before.
I mean, he's always
been nice to me.
Yeah, well, that's what the
neighbors always say in the news
right after the massacre.
Well, anyway, I've-I've
called the shelter,
and they're coming tonight.
The homeless shelter?
It's not quite a home.
I don't believe that
Ferdie is dangerous.
And I'm not so sure
that he did start the fire.
What do you think?
I-I don't know.
Well, at least he'll have
a bed at the shelter.
They feed him there, right?
Oh, yes, I'm sure that they do.
But it isn't funny
how one little decision can
change someone's life forever.
Just one decision...
changes everything.
Ferdie, I've got an idea.
He's got nowhere to go.
They're gonna
put him in a shelter.
Look, that's a tough break,
Cam, but I mean, come on.
He's a little off for his age.
How do we know he didn't
start the fire in the shack himself?
He didn't! He wouldn't!
Harvey says he's never
done anything dangerous.
He says he's nice.
Nice? How do you know he's nice?
He knows all about trains, Dad.
He couldn't be that weird.
I mean, couldn't
we just put him up
until they rebuild the shack?
I don't know, Cam.
We've got room in the basement.
It's just temporary. Please.
Temporary.
Okay.
Ferdie!
Guess what.
Oh. And here's your bed.
And here's where you
can put your stuff. See?
Oh, I don't have any stuff.
Well, we have this.
And you'll get some more stuff.
You got stuff.
Lots of stuff.
Yeah, we still haven't
even unpacked.
I don't even know
what all this is.
Hudson Four-Six-Four locomotive.
Yeah!
My mom gave this
to me a long time ago.
Your mom is upstairs?
No. She died.
Dad doesn't want me
to set up any trains.
He says it's too noisy.
Your mom is dead.
This was my last
birthday present from her.
I guess I always liked trains.
That summer, she
drove me up to Durango
where they have this
narrow gauge railroad.
It's so cool.
You're 6,000 feet up,
and there's just a
mountain on one side,
and this big drop on the other.
Well, 6,000 feet is
one mile, 720 feet,
and there are eight
furlongs in a statute mile.
Man, you're really smart.
An international
nautical mile is 6,076 feet.
Ferdie?
Ferdie?
Hello?
Well, I'm gonna go, all right?
Okay.
Hey, you guys ready
for opening day?
Okay, this is gonna
be a long season.
Safe.
♪ Somewhere there's a river ♪
♪ Looking for a stream ♪
Two runs per inning. That's
27 runs per game. 156...
♪ Somewhere there's a dreamer ♪
Batter up.
♪ Looking for a dream ♪
Cam? Cam, let's go!
You're up. Come on!
♪ Somewhere there's a drifter ♪
Hit the cutoff man.
Next time you miss the
cutoff man, it's ten laps.
Let's go. Here we go.
♪ Trying to find his way ♪
Okay, come on, charge it.
♪ Somewhere
someone's waiting... ♪
You're out.
Hey, don't forget to feed
the boa constrictor, huh?
That's a good boy.
♪ I believe ♪
♪ In you ♪
♪ And all I want
to do is show you ♪
♪ I believe ♪
Yeah!
♪ In you... ♪
Andrew!
Oh, come on...
♪ I ♪
♪ Believe in you... ♪
I can hear the 217.
♪ Whoa-oh, whoa ♪
- Yeah!
- ♪ Believe in you ♪
Go!
♪ All I want to know
is you believe ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah... ♪
Hand that shin guard.
♪ Believe in you. ♪
Cam... don't you want
people to like you?
Sure.
Sure, you do.
I mean, you want to
make friends here, right?
I've made a friend.
Cam... see, what
happened out there today
should tell you something.
Ferdie yelled out in
the middle of a game.
I mean, see, he-he's
not exactly... What?
Look, I like Ferdie.
It's just that...
he's a little simple.
I mean, you're a sharp kid.
You should be hanging around
with winners, heavy hitters.
He's the only friend I've got.
Come on.
- Foul!
- Come on, guys! One more out!
Rocket fire. No
batter! No batter.
Hey, did you know, uh, Ferdie
is still living in their basement?
I mean, what kind of guy
would bring a nut
case into the home?
Come on, Roger. We're
about to cinch the league.
Yeah, yeah.
Look, Monica even says,
he's perfectly harmless.
Yeah, well, sure, she
hasn't got any kids to protect.
Hey, you ask me, I mean,
Donnie's asking for trouble.
Ball two.
Are you kidding?! That
was right down the middle!
Harvey, there's no arguing
between balls and strikes.
It is not too late
to forfeit this game.
Geez. All right! So touchy.
Ooh, I like it when he gets
all authoritative like that.
Play ball!
Well, folks,
next stop for Donnie Mancuso
is the state championship!
Hey, don't jinx him.
It's not over yet.
Strike three!
Hey, Cam. Come on, Cam.
We won, man! We won.
Everything's going
really well, Tess.
Ferdie's found a home.
No, he hasn't.
He's just found a place to stay.
And don't forget,
this is not just about
finding Ferdie a home.
It's about finding some
people who understand him,
like a family.
And there's still
a lot of work to do.
I guess we're champs, Ferdie.
Where does this stop sign go?
What?
The stop sign.
Where does it go?
How'd you do that?
Wow!
Assembly required.
Read all directions
before assembling.
110 or 220 volt required.
Oh, this is amazing.
Thanks, Ferdie.
Ferdie, what's with the people?
I mean, you got the
engineer right, but
you just dumped the
rest of the people around.
Sticks.
Hey, what you guys
- up to?
- Isn't this cool?
We could hang out here
for days, couldn't we, Ferdie?
Ferdie?
Did you open these boxes?
Yes.
Ferdie, as long as you're
a guest in this house,
you live by my rules.
And one of them is to stay
out of things that don't belong
to you.
I mean it.
Dinner's on. Let's go.
Ferdie?
Dad's gonna kill you if you
keep blowing that whistle.
You know, the least you could
do is give me some kind of sign
when you get like this.
You know, are you
just concentrating,
or do you go deaf or
something sometimes?
Are... are you mad at me?
You're not gonna
make this easy, are you?
Okay, okay, I-I... I did it.
I helped set the
fire. It was stupid.
I just wanted to
be one of the guys.
You know?
Weird thing is, I ended
up being friends with you
instead of them anyway.
Ferdie?
Ferdie, go back to bed.
Go back to bed.
What in the...
- Are you nuts?
- Dad, I just...
Are you nuts? Look at this.
- Ferdie, he just got upset, you...
- Ferdie?
Ferdie!
What is the matter with you?
Hank Aaron wore number 44.
He talked.
How come he talked
to you and not me?
I have no idea;
listen to me, Ferdie,
we've got... we've got
a real problem here,
and it has to do with you.
Okay, you don't seem
to respect our privacy,
you distract my
son during a game,
you've got him
playing with trains.
- I like trains.
- And now,
now you are tearing up my house.
Daddy, he was just
scared... I don't care.
This happens again,
pal, and you're out of here,
do you understand, out?
- But, Dad...
- No buts.
Now get up to bed.
Go.
Ferdie, you coming to practice?
Hi, Cameron.
I missed you.
Ferdie, what
happened last night?
Your father came
down and got mad at me.
I know, Ferdie.
I was here.
No, you weren't.
I wish you'd been here.
Ferdie, something
must be going on.
It's like when I
was talking to you
during the game, you
didn't see the pop fly.
You miss a lot of
pop flies, Ferdie.
Time for practice.
Let's go.
Don't worry, Ferdie.
We'll figure it out.
Start them out
with the bunt drill.
Have Danny
practice covering first.
We missed an out last game
'cause he didn't
get there on time.
Sure, we'll make it fun.
Just... just make it right.
I got to talk to Tess.
When are they gonna start
construction on that shack?
It's been over a month.
Well, it's all this
paperwork, all this red tape.
I think it's gonna
take a long, long time.
Yeah, well, yesterday
that guy got violent.
Yeah, I heard he
knocked over some things.
Did anybody get hurt?
Oh, Ferdie, he must
have been scared.
Well, you know what, the next
time he gets scared like that,
he's out of my house.
Mr. Mancuso, you've
been encouraging Cameron
to make friends,
but you can't choose
your child's friends for him.
Well, I may not be
able to choose them,
but you know what, they don't
have to live in my basement.
Oh, I think it's a
wonderful thing
you're doing, and I
know in your heart,
you know it's the
right thing to do.
Maybe what's bothering you
is that your son
enjoys the company
of somebody you
don't understand?
Well, I don't know if I want
to get to understand this guy.
I'll tell you this, if he
freaks out one more time,
he's gone whether he's
got a place to stay or not.
I don't know, Ferdie.
We've got to think of something.
'Cause my dad, he
just doesn't understand.
Can't you be more normal?
I'm afraid Dad's
gonna send you away.
Then what would I do?
I haven't had a friend
like you since Mom.
Hey, is that a 40/40
freight special?
Home.
What?
Home.
Please don't get
weird on me now.
Don't you see the
locomotive I'm pointing to?
Home.
You know, Ferdie, you
can drive a person crazy,
and I'm starting to
lose my patience here.
You're doing great, though.
Hey, what are you doing here?
I like trains, too.
So does Ferdie, right?
You shine a lot.
Yeah, yeah.
Does that bother you?
Home.
I remember.
Just ignore him if he
doesn't make any sense.
I don't think he
does it on purpose.
No, actually, he's making
a lot of sense to me.
This used to be Ferdie's home.
What?
Ferdie lived in one of these.
See, he, uh, never
really had parents.
Never really found
anybody until... until you.
Now, you took the time,
had the patience
to get to know him.
Ferdie lived in 12 foster homes
till one day somebody
told him that he was 18,
and he had to get out.
So he did.
He walked out of that
house, and he ended up here
in one of these.
Well, it must have been cool.
I mean, I've always
wanted to live in a boxcar.
No, no, it's not cool.
Ferdie almost died.
He didn't have any money,
he didn't have any food,
didn't have any friends.
What happened?
You shined.
Yeah.
And that's when I met Ferdie.
And I had some friends
who could get him a job
that he could do.
A place to stay
until it burned down.
But I'm glad he's got
friends like you now.
Yeah, Ferdie's a good friend.
It's like he never
pressures me, he just...
Accepts you for who you are?
Yeah.
Do you mind if I give
you some advice?
Friends are worth fighting for.
Especially friends like Ferdie.
Shine, shine, shine,
shine, shine,
shine, shine, shine,
shine, shine, shine, shine,
shine, shine,
shine, shine, shine,
shine, shine,
shine, shine, shine.
Okay, come on, eat
your breakfast, Cam.
You don't want to be
hungry for the big game
'cause if we win this game,
you are gonna go to
school that first day,
and all those people
are gonna say, "Hey,
there goes Cameron Mancuso,
Cicero Baseball League Champ."
Go ahead, eat.
Dad, uh, did you ever
have a best friend?
Well, yeah.
Guess you could say, um...
Guess you could say your
mom was my best friend.
We loved each
other a lot, Cameron.
You know, she really
knew how to make me laugh.
I tell you, we never
missed a Cub broadcast.
The two of us would sit down
next to the radio,
listen to Harry Caray.
That was my idea of heaven.
Now that your mom's gone,
I'd have to say
that my best friend...
You're my best friend,
Cameron, because
we both like trains.
Me, too, Ferdie.
That's great, isn't it, Dad?
Eat; you'll need all
your energy later.
Okay, keep your
eye on the ball, Joey!
For 30 years, this
has been the sum total
of your batting advice, Roger:
"Keep your eye on the ball."
That's it.
To a six-year-old he says it.
To Sammy Sosa he says it.
"Keep your eye on the ball."
There's got to be more
to hitting than that, Roger.
No, that is it.
That and not being
distracted by weirdos.
I'm worried about Ferdie.
I mean, I don't think
my dad likes him,
and I don't know what to do.
You can't force your
father to like someone,
but maybe you could help
him to understand Ferdie.
Hey, Cameron, I
brought you some water.
Thanks, Ferdie.
Stop it!
- Stop it! No, no, no, no.
- What are you doing, Ferdie?
- Stop it! No, no, no, no, no.
- Ferdie!
Joey!
- Joey!
- Joey, - are you okay? - Joey.
He hit me.
Cam, Cam, what were you doing?
Ferdie got upset.
What happened, Ferdie?
Hey, get back here.
A boy just got hit
because of you.
You're not even
gonna say I'm sorry?
Ferdie?
Nothing to say?
Then get out here.
- Just get out of my sight.
- No, Dad.
- I've had it with him.
- I told you he was crazy.
Now, what did I
say, what did I say?!
Get going now.
Get going.
He's a lunatic. I
mean, who knows?
He could come
back here with a gun.
Now, this guy hit a kid
right in front of all of us.
All right, that's enough.
This is it; if you're not gonna
do something about this, I am.
I'm gonna put that guy
away where he belongs.
Joey.
Uh, yeah, police.
We need an officer
over here at the ballpark.
- Why's that, sir?
- Because there's a lunatic
who assaulted a kid.
You're out!
That's all right, baby.
You'll get them next time.
Next time?
There isn't any next time.
We're down to our last out.
Oh, and it's Cameron.
He's been distracted all game.
Well, he's distracted
by what that lunatic did.
And the cops are taking
their sweet time to get here.
Come on, Cameron.
Keep your eye on the ball.
Go Cameron!
Keep your eye on what's
really important, Cameron.
Please.
Come on, Cameron.
Okay, okay, Cameron, here
we go, buddy. Here we go.
Let's go, buddy. Here we are.
Here we go, Cam.
Time.
What's going on?
Dad, something
bad's gonna happen.
- Ferdie, I mean...
- Look,
I don't want you
thinking about Ferdie.
I just want you thinking
about hitting the ball.
Now come on, let's go.
But if they arrest him,
they won't understand...
Look, forget it. Ninth
inning, two outs.
There's nothing to talk
about; now get up there and hit.
Come on.
Let's go, here we
go, here we go now.
Come on, Cam; this is a tie.
Play ball.
Strike one.
Okay, come on,
give it a good rip.
H-Here we go. Let's go.
Give it a good shot now, Cam.
Here we go. Get on base.
Come on, baby. Come on, Cam.
Just get on base. Come on!
Strike two.
Let's get the bat off the
shoulders. Let's go. Take a rip.
The engineer had a hat.
I know what's wrong with Ferdie.
Congratulations, Cameron.
Yeah. He said he had a hat.
Where'd Ferdie go?
Back to the only
home he's ever known.
Hey, Cam.
Cam, let's get your
head in the game.
Come on.
Thanks.
Strike three!
You're welcome.
What was that?
You gave up on me.
I don't get it.
That's right. You don't get it.
I don't care about
baseball, it's a stupid game.
You hit a ball and you
run around in a circle,
and you never get anywhere.
I care about trains.
I care about Ferdie.
Trains take you somewhere.
You can get away...
away from people who don't
even try to understand you.
And they can take you
to friends like Ferdie.
Cameron.
It doesn't look much
like a home, Ferdie.
I lived here before.
I know.
It's too shiny.
Too shiny.
It comes from God. I'm an angel.
You're an angel?
Yes.
I'm glad I found you, Ferdie.
You deserve a better home.
You don't deserve
to be alone like this.
I was alone before.
Then there was Cameron.
Now I'm alone again.
I know. It's difficult
for you to connect.
Autistic people have a
hard time with empathy.
I'm autistic?
Yes.
And you're beautiful,
and smart, and loved.
I'm loved?
Yes.
Ferdie... do you think
you could help me?
Could you give Cameron's dad
another chance?
He told me to go.
Well, I know he did,
but he wasn't angry at you.
He was mad because
you connected with his son
and he didn't.
But he'd really like to see you.
So would Cameron.
Okay.
Monica, why am I Ferdie?
Why is it so hard for me?
I don't know, Ferdie.
I don't have all the answers.
Only God does.
But the most
important answer of all
is that He loves you.
Maybe what's hard for you
is hard for everyone.
And if people could really
connect with each other,
the world would be
a much better place.
Maybe your job... is
to remind the world
to connect.
Ferdie! Ferdie!
Ferdie!
Ferdie! Ferdie.
Cameron.
Cameron.
Ferdie.
Cameron, what
are you doing here?
I figured it out.
Figured what out?
I figured out why
Ferdie's so weird.
He's not weird, his
brain is just different.
And he needs help
recognizing you.
Like, when I don't
have my hat on,
he doesn't know it's me.
And when you don't
wear your glasses,
he doesn't recognize you
so he eats your bacon
'cause he doesn't
know you're there.
And on the train set, only
the engineer had a hat.
So he was the only
person Ferdie could see.
I know, Cameron,
he's got a problem.
He's autistic.
Autistic? No, he's not.
I mean, autistics
are those people
who live in their own world.
He's high-functioning, but
he can get along in this world.
Just that his brain
processes
information differently.
And he has a little trouble
connecting with people.
Yeah, well, that's
really too bad.
Look, I'm sorry, but
that still doesn't give him
the right to freak
out on my kid.
And it doesn't
give you the right
to judge him without
trying to understand him.
Well, I still think
he's dangerous.
I don't care what you think.
He may be different
but... but he's my friend.
The only thing I know is
that you blew the game.
No friend would let you do that.
Now, come on.
Uh-uh. This place
is Ferdie's home.
And I wish it were mine, too.
I'll never play enough baseball
to take Mom's place, Dad.
If you don't mind,
I'm gonna walk back by myself.
Oh. Did you know that's
a six engine turbo diesel
with a coal extender?
No.
Yeah.
No, I didn't know that.
Oh, God.
God, what have I done?
You're asking the
right question, Donnie.
What?
What is the...
W-What's going on?
You said you wanted to
know what you've done.
And I'm gonna tell you.
I'm an angel.
I've come from God
with a message for you.
There's a message...
from an angel?
What, am I crazy?
Well, some people say
you're crazy about baseball.
But you should be crazy
about your wonderful son,
and listen to the
desire of his heart.
He took the time to
see how his friend,
Ferdie, saw the world.
You need to do that
for your son right now.
H-Hold it. You're moving
a little bit fast for me here.
God... God has a message for me?
Yes.
Why?
He loves you... and
Cameron, and Ferdie.
And he has a plan that he'd like
for you to hear.
Cameron is a
marvelous boy, Donald.
He has your energy;
an ability to just
throw himself into
whatever interests him.
He's interested in trains.
He got that from his mother.
He got something
else from her, too.
A loving spirit
that recognizes a lost soul.
And helps it get back on track.
If I recall correctly,
she did the same
thing for you once.
Yeah.
I've been pretty hard on Ferdie.
It's funny, I'm sort
of jealous of him.
When, when Cameron's mom died
I didn't know what to do.
So I talked to him
about baseball.
If I'd talked to him
about anything else
I think I would've lost it.
God knows, I'm trying so hard.
God does know.
Maybe you're trying too hard
when all you really
have to do is be there.
Tess...
when Ferdie said
Cameron was his best friend,
I saw Cam's face light up
and it just tore up my heart.
I mean, here's this guy
I don't even understand,
and my son likes him
more than he likes me.
I messed up, Tess.
I'm a lousy dad. I
don't know how to do it.
Now you listen to me.
You don't have
to do it perfectly.
Love Cameron for who he is,
not for who you want him to be.
Cameron will
never like baseball.
But he'll always love you.
Cam.
Cam.
I'm so sorry.
I've come to ask
you to forgive me.
Um... I brought
someone with me, but, uh,
you're gonna need this.
Ferdie!
Ferdie.
Hi, Cameron.
Brought my train schedules.
Thanks, Ferdie.
Then we change at Oneida
for the flyer to Oneonta.
And then we'll catch
the 9:33 to Cooperstown.
Hey, how do you like that?
A train to the
Baseball Hall of Fame.
I think this might
just work out.
Look, all the tiny, little
men are in the right place.
Sure.
They're all wearing hats.
There's nothing like a hat.
All aboard!
Next stop: Cooperstown.