Tell me about your team

Here are the details for the baseball card set. And here is the rubric.

Please post the following information by our class on Tuesday:

Who’s in your deck? You can choose people from 1880-1949. Your deck must be interracial and include men and women. You must have one player for every position (P, C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, CF, RF), a manager and an owner. Lastly, you’ll have to pick a home field.

We Are the Ship: Second Half

Just down the road from Greenlee field.

To honor Gibson's life, a little league field was built in the same neighborhood as Greenlee Field was in. (Extra but non-baseball info: August Wilson was born just down the street from here!)

Gibson's grave. See the tiny sign to the left of the tree.

Up-close of Gibson's grave. Not very fancy.

For comparison purposes, here is Babe Ruth's grave. Small difference ... (photo not mine)

Photo of Jackie Robinson in the KC Royals Hall of Fame/Museum.

Satchel Page pitching for the Monarchs. KC Hall of Fame/Museum.



Photos from Roberto Clemente Museum. What do you see in this photo? Clemente made his MLB debut in 1955 and played out his career for the Pirates. He was the first Latin American inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973, a year after he died.



More of Roberto Clemente



Clemente's San Juan jersey from his team in Puerto Rico.

Another one of Clemente's jerseys.

Clemente and his family at Family Day.

Clemente's Golden Glove; he won 12! He was only in the MLB for 18 seasons. Not bad. 

Clemente's Silver Bat from 1961. He won this four times in his career.

Brain time

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.

Discussion ideas

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?

Some bonus reading about baseball issues in Puerto Rico today.

We Are The Ship: First Half

Evolution of gloves in MLB.

Now a housing development, the old field is only marked by this sign.

Good museum but the majority of the items are reproductions. You're also not allowed to take any photos inside. Not nice!

What team is this building associated with?

Let's get our brains working

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?

-------------
Discussion
3. What's the effect of repeating the phrase: "We played in a rough league"?
4. What is the most striking example of the player's struggle presented thus far?
5.What is the significance of the title?

Swenson, William, Humphries

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

Let's try our hand at our own poems.

Ritter & Spalding

Wahoo Sam's plaque in the Cincinnati Reds' Hall of Fame.

Entrance to current Detroit ballpark: Comerica Park. This new park replaced Tiger Stadium in 2000. Tiger Stadium was then demolished, but a crew of fans and local residents maintain the field to this day. How cool! And remember this when we read Thrill of the Grass.

Dave, an usher at Comerica. One of my favorite shots from the game.

The outfield. Not where Crawford and Cobb played, but it's still a good looking field.

Honus Wagner's grave just outside of Pittsburgh, PA. (Commercial)

Discussion questions:

1. What did you learn? New facts, figures, insights?

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

Watch
Inning 1: Chpts 2-11