The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
‘Simpsons’ tribute is a great move
The Baseball Hall of Fame honored the “Simpsons” episode, “Homer At The Bat” this weekend. Mark Podolski asks, why stop there? He has some suggestions for more Cooperstown tributes.
Congratulations to Baseball Hall of Fame. I’ve never visited the museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., but I vow to one day.
The Hall isn’t perfect, and the PED controversy from baseball’s steroid era only clouds the chances of the likes of Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Roger Clemens getting in.
Those are serious issues for serious Hall of Fame voters.
What occurred May 27 in Cooperstown wasn’t serious, and for that the Hall deserves a hand — or a doughnut or one on the house at Moe’s Tavern.
Having fun and not taking yourself too serious isn’t such a bad thing. The Hall did both.
It paid tribute to TV’s longest running show “The Simpsons” and its widely-popular 1992 episode, “Homer at the Bat.”
A Simpsons-themed exhibit was unveiled May 27 after a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
In the episode, the evil Mr. Burns hires a team of major-league ringers to play in his nuclear power plant’s championship softball game.
The episode features the voices of former All-Stars Ozzie Smith, Wade Boggs, Don Mattingly, Jose Canseco, Ken Griffey Jr., and more. Smith and Boggs were at the May 27 event.
The Hall shouldn’t stop with “The Simpsons.” Pop culture, most notably
baseball films, have a lasting effect on the game.
The Hall should add on to “The Simpsons.”
Here’s a starting lineup of suggestions for future tributes: • KEVIN COSTNER >> “Bull Durham,” “Field of Dreams,” “For the Love of the Game.” Yo, Cooperstown folks. Let’s get moving on this. • “A LEAGUE OF THE OWN” >> The 1992 film starring Tom Hanks and Geena Davis tells the story of the first professional women’s league. A no-brainer pick for Cooperstown. • SEINFIELD EPISODE, “THE BOYFRIEND” >> The first two-part Seinfield episode featured former Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez. It’s most famous and hilarious for the “magic loogie” Hernandez hurled at Kramer and Newman after a bad game — with the details mirroring the JFK assassination. It’s TV magic. • ROY HOBBS’ WONDERBOY BAT FROM “THE NATURAL” >> Replica Wonderboy bats can be had online, but the real prop Robert Redford uses in the film needs to be in Cooperstown — if it’s still in existence. • RICK VAUGHN’S JERSEY FROM “MAJOR LEAGUE” >> More than 25 years later, it’s not uncommon to see fans wearing “Vaughn” jerseys at Indians games. Not much else needs to be said. Wild Thing’s glasses would be a nice touch too. Maybe Jobu too, but that might be stretching it. • GARY COOPER >> A posthumous pick, Cooper’s portrayal of Lou Gehrig in “The Pride of the Yankees” deserves a tribute. • “61*” >> The HBO Film directed by Billy Crystal does a fine job chronicling Roger Maris’ and Mickey Mantle’s race to top Babe Ruth’s single-season homerun record. A must-see for any serious baseball fan. • “THE SANDLOT” >> Anyone who spent a summer as a kid playing baseball with their friends knows how important this film is to the game of baseball. It’s a beautiful reminder to its purity. • “MR. BASEBALL” >> Love this movie about Tom Selleck as Jack Elliott, an aging major-leaguer who resurrects his career in Japan. Considering how the game has grown internationally the last 20, 30 years, this film has some significance. Plus, how can you not love that Selleck swing and that ‘stache?