Post 39: "In the Big Inning"

From 13-Year-Old Anne's Journal —"December 18, 1982 – EXCELLENT Walnut Grove forms a baseball team. They find a really good pitcher. They play against Sleepy Eye. W. G. is up, it’s last inning, bases loaded. They meet 4 runs to win. Charles is up. He gets a homer."____________________________________________________From Tracy —Of course Young Anne would love this episode. It has baseball in it. Something she loves dearly. Well, only if it involves the Chicago Cubs. Now I remember feeling disappointed that this was going to be a sports focused LHOP until I saw Mr. Mumford pitch. Then they had me. Because there's nothing Young or Middle Aged Tracy likes better than an underdog story.Laura and Pa's expressions after Mr. Mumford tries to kill the chicken hawk are priceless.Other great moments include:— Seeing Doc Baker in his "PJs"— Hearing this line come out of Mr. Edwards:"You do that again I'm going to come out there and stand on your eyelids!"— Seeing all of those Sleepy Eye handlebar mustachioed ruffians swill beer and do bad things. Definite culture shock for the W.G.____________________________________________________ From Anne — 

True dat, Tracy. I loved baseball back in the ‘80s, much more than I do now. The strike of ’94 (1994, that is) really soured me. True too that baseball seems to have a corrupting influence on the citizens of Walnut Grove. Baseball begets gambling, brawling, profiteering, and worst of all, marketing — with the mill and the mercantile competing to be the sponsor of the team.Did you see that red hat Pa is wearing? For a minute it looked like it had a gold McDonald’s logo. What’s next, groupies on the prairie?In one way this episode reminds me of Bull Durham.  I love it when Ma and Pa lay in bed eating popcorn and giggling. I presume that this is either a prelude or a post-coital ritual, wouldn’t you?Important cultural question: which came first, the handlebar waxed mustache, or baseball?  They’re running neck in neck…Speaking of old-timey baseball, some of my Big Car (bigcar.org) friends here in Indy have recreated a ball team that existed in 1884, not long after the time period represented in this Little House episode.  Check out the Indianapolis Hoosier Vintage Base Ball team here.