Baseball Card Project Info

Here it is! The Baseball Card Project informational sheet.

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Baseball cards

Post your team of nine. Be sure to label each player's position.

And just for your reading pleasure. A player with a conscience??

We Are the Ship: In-class writing

So many of the negro leaguers had nicknames. There was Cool Papa Bell, Leroy "Satchel" Paige, Norman "Turkey" Stearnes, George "Mule" Suttles, Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe and more. Now is the time for you to think of your nickname. If you are/were a baseball/softball player, what would your nickname be? If you'd like to think of a nickname in other realms if sports do not apply to you, awesome. But, you have to come up with a nickname and a reasoning behind it.

Here's mine:

Mary "Sneezy" Hueston. When I played in the summer league in my hometown I was bumped up one division because they needed a stronger catcher. I had worked with my brother at honing my crouched throw to second, and the hard work hard paid off. I was ready to play in the older league as a catcher, but I wasn't mentally ready to face stronger pitchers. So, every time I approached the plate, I would pretend to have a sneezing fit. I would kick up the dirt with my cleats, dig my feet into the batter's box, stare down the pitcher, and then start to sneeze. My mom thinks this was some sort of involuntary nervous reaction, my way to delay the inevitable (the pitch), but most of the time I wasn't conscience of actually doing this. It's just what I did. So my coach started to call me Sneezy. Which when shouted sometimes sounded like he was calling me sleazy. Always got a laugh from the parents.

We Are The Ship: Second half

1. How would you describe the tone of this book? Ground your answer specifically to the text.

2. Did a certain negro league player stand out to you? Why?

We Are the Ship: Discussion

1. What's the effect of repeating the phrase: "We played in a rough league"?

2. What is the most striking example of the player's struggle presented thus far?

3. What is the significance of the title?

We Are the Ship: First half

Two parts to this post because we need to look at the two parts of this text: writing and illustrations.

1. How did the illustrations enhance the story? Which one was your favorite and why?

2. Inning 4 ends with a quote from Satchel Paige: "We were worked. Worked like the mule that plows the field during the week and pulls the carriage to church on Sunday." What are your thoughts on this line? If the players were the mules, who were the farmers? If the players were tearing up the land(scape) of baseball, do you think they were doing it for future generations?

The Negro Leagues

In-class free write: In what ways did the Negro Leagues exemplify the spirit of baseball as America's national pastime?

Broun & Honig Readings

1. Broun is a baseball reporter, and reporters were often attributed with those exciting one-liners (or maybe two-liners) that really spoke to the excitement of the game. Looking at this piece, pick out a favorite line or two and tell me why these lines are fabulous. For example, I love the line, "Ward's homer was less lusty, but went in the same general direction." Good use of lusty, like it's the ball that wants to go somewhere rather than the hitter wanting the home run. Good use of personification.

2. What do you think is the most fantastic detail of Cool Papa's playing career? And why do you think so? Detail could be on or off the field.

Great job on the last post! Keep up the insight.

Selected poems: Humphries, Williams, Swenson

After reading the poems, please post a response to the following question:

What about baseball is each poet trying to capture? Be sure to use the text to support your ideas.

A few tips: be concise, be concrete, don't repeat what your peers have already said.

National Pastime: Ritter & Spalding

In-class writing:

Taking into account the writings of Spalding and Ritter, please answer the following question:

In what ways do these two pieces capture the patriotism and nostalgia often associated with baseball?