Batter Up for the World Series

Eight Major League Baseball teams swung into post-season action last week, launching the 100th anniversary of the World Series playoffs.

During the month of October 2003, the Yankees, the Twins, the Athletics, the Red Sox, the Cubs, the Braves, the Marlins, and the Giants will battle it out on the stadium fields until one team has topped the others within their league.

Then, the winner of the American League will play the winner of the National League. The team that wins the majority of five (up to seven) games will take home the coveted World Series pennant.

Baseball has a long and significant history in the United States. This is true not just because many Americans love sports, but especially because baseball has become a layer of American identity — whether or not we all follow the series, or like the game at all.

In this week's lesson you'll explore how baseball developed over its hundred-plus-year history, and how it has shaped American identity and solidarity.

Baseball As America

Begin your lesson by thinking about Baseball As America, rather than baseball in America.

At this exhibition, produced by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, you'll get a good general sense of how the sport of baseball has influenced aspects of American life and culture.

Read about how baseball helped shape Our National Spirit. Also read about how the sport's Ideals & Injustices mirror those in other parts of American culture.

In what ways has baseball reflected the values and identity of the American people? How has the ethnic makeup of baseball teams changed over the years and why?

Continue browsing the exhibit, and find out the importance of Rooting for the Team. In what ways do fans participate in the sport? What do people at your own school do to show support for your baseball or other sports teams? How does a strong sense of team spirit affect the entire school?

Baseball traditionally offers a boost to the American spirit, but it has also been a significant source of American Enterprise & Opportunity. Exactly how did baseball evolve as a business? How is professional baseball operated as a business today?

Next, see how baseball has facilitated our Sharing a Common Culture and to Weaving Myths.

Can you think of any songs, items of clothing, other types of trading cards, etc. you have come across in your own life that directly or indirectly relates to baseball? Whether you're a sports fan or not, can you recall the names of any other famous baseball players?

Also read about how baseball trainers, players and promoters have used American Invention & Ingenuity to make the sport better and spread the sport's popularity.

How do you think baseball may have evolved differently if these innovations had not occurred? What if innovations had occurred more quickly?

The Story of the Game

Now you'll take a closer look at Baseball, with the Web companion of the Ken Burns film at PBS.

Get familiar with the baseball Timeline, browsing the eras beginning with the 1840s-1890 and traveling through 1970-present.

Also era by era, you can also stroll through the photo galleries that honor some of the major Players who pitched, caught and batted during their careers.

Have you heard of any of the highlighted players before? How do you think their individual achievements influenced the sport, as well as American society? Can you identify some significant global or national news events that affected individual baseball players or the sport overall?

If you don't know much about the game, get some Baseball for Beginners training. After reading the Introduction, also browse the Baseball Stats and Baseball Glossary to familiarize yourself with some of the terms used in this sport. What exactly does "Batting Average" mean? What's an "Earned Run Average"? Where exactly does the "Strike Zone" lie?

From PBS's Baseball home page, read the stories of the game. Start with Shadow Ball (1930-1940) where you can read the about how one baseball fan's life was shaped by Thirties Baseball and how another man, Buck O'Neil, became one of the sport's finest athletes.

Also watch the Video Clips if you have time.

How did baseball support the American spirit during the days of the Great Depression? How did the sport boost the lives and outlook for blacks in America?

Review the next section of stories at The National Pastime (1940-1950), and read about The All-American Girls and watch the Video Clips. In what ways were players in the women's and men's baseball leagues treated differently and why? Was the game itself played any differently?

Lastly, check out the site's third stories gallery, The Capital of Baseball (1950-1960), and read about Fifties Baseball and the Fan, and watch the Video clips.

How was fifties baseball similar to or different from thirties baseball? How and why was baseball an integral part of these writers' lives? Do you know of any other people who feel strongly about baseball, either as a sport for sports' sake or as an important symbol of American life and livelihood? If so, why exactly do they feel that way about it?

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Newspaper Activities

In a current issue of Targetnewspaper, check the sports section for news about the World Series games. Which city does each team call home? In what ways are fans showing their team spirit — wearing team logos, painting their faces team colors, or holding up supportive signs? Have the leading teams ever made the World Series playoffs before, and if so, how many times and during which years? Can you describe how winning the pennant would affect each team's official record and team's fans?