Reading, Writing, & Rounders

[Max Power]

Man, I WISH they had classes like this when I was in college!

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercuryne...al/5171351.htm

Pitch made for baseball as history
By Dennis Rockstroh
Mercury News

The other day Henry F. Reichman, chairman of the history department at California State University-Hayward, shared a secret with me.

``I'm in the baseball hall of fame,'' he laughed.

Remember baseball? Pitchers and catchers are already reporting to spring training.

Somewhere in the library at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, N.Y., is Reichman's syllabus for History 3575, ``Baseball in America.'' It was submitted at their request.

At Cal State-Hayward, baseball is history.

Every other year for the past decade, Reichman has taught the course aligning American history with that of baseball. And he always has a waiting list.

At the top of his syllabus are the immortal words of French-born cultural historian Jacques Barzun, who wrote in 1954: ``Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.''

Reichman is not alone.

Taught elsewhere

``Baseball: A Mirror on American History,'' ``America's Game: Baseball and the National Experience'' and ``Baseball and American Society, 1840-present'' have been taught at Texas Tech, the University of Kentucky and Harvard over the years.

These courses have been a lot more than visions of spring, the crack of the bat, smell of cut grass, stats, heroes and myths.

This is real history.

So right off the bat goes the myth that Abner Doubleday invented baseball.

So, . . . pssst . . . I have a test in my possession.

Question No. 1.

``Which word best describes the way baseball came about?

A) creation
B) discovery
C) evolution
D) invention?''

The correct answer is C because the game evolved from some games the Brits played two centuries ago.

Reichman's course covers some of the major themes in American life. Basically, students look at how the country evolved with urban and rural interests duking it out, how capital and management battled through the years, the rise of mass society and civil rights.

Study American baseball and you are also studying national values, humor and language -- how we have become what we are.

``Just as America has struggled with immigration, industrialization, integration and technology, so has baseball,'' wrote journalist Don Snider.

Baseball is so American, writes Daniel J. Taylor, that ``Only our president throws out the first pitch.''

In language

Taylor, chairman of Classics at Lawrence University, wrote that baseball has left indelible marks on the way we talk.

``Who of us has not `struck out' with a member of the opposite sex?'' he wrote. ``Business persons have to play `hard ball' and must be alert lest the opposition `throw a curve.' In our jobs some of us are `clutch hitters,' others are `rookies,' and we may have to `pinch hit' for the boss.''

Baseball is part of American culture, and you can keep track of history with it. Who can forget that the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake would have been better named the Bay Area World Series earthquake because the San Francisco Giants were playing the Oakland Athletics?

Humor? We have things ranging from ``Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical'' from Yogi Berra to Phyllis Diller's quip, ``If it weren't for baseball, many kids wouldn't know what a millionaire looked like,'' among many.

Humphrey Bogart told us why we love the game so much.

``That's baseball, and it's my game. Y'know, you take your worries to the game, and you leave 'em there. You yell like crazy for your guys. It's good for your lungs, gives you a lift, and nobody calls the cops. Pretty girls, lot of 'em and a hot dog at the game beats roast beef at the Ritz.''

[SmedIndy]

Wabash had a freshman tutorial on Baseball, taught as one of the options a freshman could take to begin the journey as a liberal arts student into writing, critical thinking and reasoning.

It was taught by a long-time Policital Science professor and Phillies fan, and they were featured on NPR and in the Chicago Tribune.

(My freshman tutorial, in 1984, was on the 60's).

It was called "Baseball and the American Culture" and offered in 2001-2002.

[BravesWin!]

My freshman year at the University of Georgia, i took STAT 2280- Statistics and the American Pastime. The textbooks for the class were Baseball Prospectus and Bill James Historical Abstract....suffice to say, studying for those exams was an enjoyable experience

[WiredTiger]

Those classes sound fun. The closest I ever came was Sports History in High School. I treated the exams like trivia contests.

[JamesI]

I wish I could take classes like this. The schools I've gone to never offer fun things like this.

[Craig S.]

Charles Alexander, author of Our Game and bios of Hornsby and Cobb, teaches 2 baseball history courses at Ohio U. - the first covers up to 1930, while the second covers post-1930.

This semester, he's teaching the first course, and the enrollment is about 160. I'd kill to be in that course.

[sweaver]

I'd like to teach a "baseball in history" or "baseball and literature" course, but the way my schedule is, it'll probably have to wait until I'm "retired" and part-time.

Some 25 years from now.

[KCBOOMER]

Boy, when I think of some of the jerk water classes I had to take to fill the general ed requirement for a degree when a baseball history class would have been every bit as useful in life and certainly far more entertaining and enjoyable than those other courses it makes me want to cry.

[Max Power]

Originally posted by KCBOOMER
Boy, when I think of some of the jerk water classes I had to take to fill the general ed requirement for a degree when a baseball history class would have been every bit as useful in life and certainly far more entertaining and enjoyable than those other courses it makes me want to cry.

Agreed - - I can think of two that I took - - one, "Library" where we actually studied the different ways to study/research in a library - and, another, "Writing" where it was not on "writing" - - but, a class devoted to the history of fonts, scripts, etc. and book construction.

True.

To think, I could have been studying on Josh Gibson and John McGraw instead - - today, at a different school. Man.

[Craig S.]

Originally posted by Max Power
Agreed - - I can think of two that I took - - one, "Library" where we actually studied the different ways to study/research in a library - and, another, "Writing" where it was not on "writing" - - but, a class devoted to the history of fonts, scripts, etc. and book construction.

I had a class called "Voice Technique." We didn't actually talk, but just studied how we use different parts of the body when we speak.

I can't believe we actually paid for these courses.

[Wolf Hopper]

Look at the class at Seton Hall:

http://artsci.shu.edu/mathcs/programs/courses-math.html

MATH 1011 Sabermetrics
Introduces students to the rapidly growing field of sabermetrics, the science of statistics applied to baseball. Demonstrates application of statistical measures to the game. Students gain insight into the interpretation and validity of statistical measures. Prerequisite: MATH 0012 or appropriate placement. 1 credit.

Geez, just one credit?!?!?

[hmrsf]

Originally posted by Wolf Hopper
Look at the class at Seton Hall:

http://artsci.shu.edu/mathcs/programs/courses-math.html



Geez, just one credit?!?!?

Who cares? Think they would have let me sub it in for statistics?

hehehe!! Now that I would gladly study for!

[sweaver]

At least they can get real elective credit for it, unlike "developmental math."

[gyb13]

Originally posted by Wolf Hopper
Geez, just one credit?!?!?

well, i guess it depends on the university....we got one credit per class....instead of 3 or 4 (but of course, the credit requirements were equally scaled down)