Greetings Dear Reader,
I realize that Baseball is not as important as oppression or
the murder of the innocent. I have not
lost that perspective. I do, however,
feel that we must grieve all losses or they come back to hurt us. Baseball has been a part of my summer, my
legacy, and my faith for too many years for me go unscathed from its absence.
For those of you who feel the same, please enjoy this little
distraction. I have watched through Ken
Burns’ documentary Baseball and
then after each “Inning” have watched the movies associated with that era. I am providing that list for you with little
commentary. The Inning descriptions are
taken from Wikipedia. I hope you enjoy it.
1st Inning – Our Game
This inning serves as an introduction to the game and the
series, and covers baseball's origins and the game as it evolved prior to the
20th century.
2nd Inning – Something Like A War
This inning covers approximately 1900 to 1910 and includes
the formation of the American League and its integration with
the National League, culminating in the establishment of the World
Series, as well as the emergence of the game's first great star, Christy
Mathewson, which helps to clean up baseball's image as a rowdy, brawling
game. Ty Cobb is discussed in-depth (the title of this inning comes
from one of his many quotes). Many of the quotes used in this inning and of the
other early innings are taken from Lawrence S. Ritter's The Glory
of Their Times.
Movie(s):
3rd Inning – The Faith of Fifty Million People
This inning covers approximately 1910 to 1920 and follows
baseball as it goes through its greatest era of popularity yet. It heavily
focuses on the Black Sox Scandal, taking its title from a line in the
novel The Great Gatsby. The line refers to how easy it was for
gamblers to tamper with the faith that people put in the game's fairness.
4th Inning – A National Heirloom
This inning covers approximately 1920 to 1930, and focuses
on baseball's recovery from the Black Sox Scandal, giving much of the credit to
the increase in power hitting throughout the game, led by its savior Babe
Ruth. The title comes from what sportswriters called Ruth.
5th Inning – Shadow Ball
This inning covers approximately 1930 to 1940. A great deal
of this inning covers the Negro Leagues, and the great players and
organizers who were excluded from the Major Leagues. Also, the episode
deals with organized Baseball's response to the Great Depression, as well
as the sad decline of its most iconic star, Babe Ruth, and the emergence of new
heroes, like Bob Feller, Hank Greenberg, and Joe DiMaggio.
Movie(s)
6th Inning – The National Pastime
This inning covers approximately 1940 to 1950. The emphasis
here is on baseball finally becoming what it had always purported to be: a
national game. As African-Americans are finally permitted for good into Major
League Baseball, led by Jackie Robinson. This inning also looks at how the
game responded to World War II and how the game became, more than ever, a
symbol of America itself.
Movie(s)
7th Inning – The Capital of Baseball
This inning covers approximately 1950 to 1960. Burns
emphasizes the greatness of the three teams based in New York (the New
York Yankees, the New York Giants, and Brooklyn Dodgers). This inning
also covers one of baseball's golden eras and how America's own changes, such
as leaving urban areas and heading west to more open suburbs, caused baseball
to painfully follow.
Movie(s)
8th Inning – A Whole New Ballgame
This inning covers approximately 1960 to 1970. As the nation
underwent turbulent changes, baseball was not immune, as Babe Ruth's beloved
record of 60 home runs in a season is threatened by a sullen and complicated
player, Roger Maris, and for the first time in decades, pitchers, led by
stars Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson, dominate the game. The loss
of home run power and betrayal to the game's past, combined with the meteoric
rise of football, cause many to turn their back on baseball. Expansion and
labor are major topics in this inning.
Movie(s)
9th Inning – Home
The final inning covers approximately 1970 to 1990. While
baseball survived the 1960s, the changes were not over, and in some ways, its
most bitter conflicts were just beginning. Major topics include the formation
of the players' union, the owners' collusion, free agency, and drugs, as
well as gambling, scandals. However, the game manages to win back the hearts of
many with such moments as the excitement of the 1975 World Series and
the return of the New York Yankees to dominance. The documentary ends with an
ironic boast that baseball (and indirectly the World Series) had survived wars,
depressions, pandemics, and numbers of scandals and thus could never be
stopped. The 1994 World Series, the series to be played the year the film
first aired on PBS, was canceled due to a players' strike. This marked the
first time since 1904 that the World Series was not played.
Movie(s)
Fictional but worth the time and tears:
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every
writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a
homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure
store.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Contacts for Aramis
Thorn:
#aramisthorn
Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com
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