Baseball is happening folks! We can all exhale now. Let’s celebrate by checking out what our library has to offer on the topic of this great national pastime.
Missouri is blessed with two teams who have won the World Series in dramatic, wilder-than-fiction fashion. Relive those days of triumph with one or more of these DVDs:
“2015 World Series”
“2011 World Series Champions: STL”
“St. Louis Cardinals Vintage World Series Film, 1982, 1985, 1987”
When my dad was experiencing Alzheimer’s the last few years of his life, he had forgotten a lot, but could still get excited about baseball. DBRL has a baseball-themed Memory Care Kit for check out, with items in multiple formats: book, music CD, DVD. The catalog description sums it up: “Each item in this kit is specifically selected to spark memories, create conversation and provide positive and engaging interactions between people with Alzheimer’s and other dementia-related conditions and their caregivers.”
Baseball history is a mix of glory and scandal. One of the biggest scandals was the racial segregation that was enforced for decades. “J.L. Wilkinson and the Kansas City Monarchs” by local author William A. Young discusses the history of one of the premier all-Black baseball teams. “42 Today” is a collection of writings about Jackie Robinson, the first Black player to join a Major League team. For even deeper history, Kanopy has many films about the olden days, including “Black Baseball Before the Negro Leagues.”
I can’t write this post without mentioning one of my favorite
movies. “A League of Their Own” is a fictional story based on true events during World War II, when women got a chance to play professionally and keep the sport alive. Anika Orrock has compiled stories from the real players in her book, “The Incredible Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.” To see what’s happening in today’s world, take a look at “Hardball, the Girls of Summer” about the players on the U.S. Women’s National Baseball team, available on Kanopy.
Play ball!
