This morning I had the good fortune of seeing the world premiere of the documentary Base Ball Discovered (link launches a promo video). Produced by MLB Originals, the movie examines baseball's early history -- the origin story, really -- via an exploration of baseball's relationship to cricket, rounders, bat and trap, and stool ball.It's an excellent film, full of interesting folks, not the least of which are a bunch of bat and trap players from an English pub who correctly noted that "in America you go out to a bar on Friday night and get drunk. In England we go out to a pub on Friday night and get drunk in front of our families." I think I'd like living in England.
The film itself underscores how baseball was never really invented. Rather, it simply evolved, as did any other number of bat and ball games, from some primordial common ancestor, probably in England. The climax of the movie is the discovery of the oldest known original manuscript containing the word "base ball" anywhere in the world. It's from the mid-18th century personal journal of an English nobleman named William Bray, who noted that he was leaving one afternoon to go see some of his friends play this curious game. Does that name seem familiar to you? If you read ShysterBall much it should, because it's shared by Billy Bray, relief pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, and component part to the Nats-Reds trade I can't seem to stop going on about.
Fun fact #1: Billy Bray is a descendant of old William Bray. Fun fact #2: Billy Bray was in the audience for the film's premiere, sitting a couple of rows in front of me. After the movie was over I went up and talked to him for a minute. No formal interview because I wasn't prepared and didnt' have anything to write with, but I did mention to him that, Daryl Thompson getting rocked last night notwithstanding, I thought the Reds got the best of that trade. He was polite, but looked at me like I was some kind of harmless weirdo. He was probably right to do so.
Today's plan: more research presentations (I've already hit a couple) and the Reds-Indians game tonight, this time with much better tickets.
8 comments:
Way to not let your feelings about that trade go Craiggers . . .
They can take my half-baked opinions from me when they pry them from my cold, dead hands.
Craig, do you know who won all of the awards today?
Awards aren't until Sunday morning, though Mark Armour won the SABR equivalent of the lifetime achievment award, whose name I forget.
if you happen to be interested, I have recently published a paper with a cricket historian on the history of baseball and cricket in the US, and why eventually Americans rejected cricket and took up baseball by the end of the 19th century.
It appears in the journal Sport in Society, but if you'd like a copy, I can send you one. I'd just like to know someone has read it besides my wife and co-author. Such is the life of academic publishing...sigh
Sean -- absolutely. Email it to me. My email can be found in the upper left corner of the main page. Click "email Shyster."
You'll love England. In just the short time I've been here, I've gotten to know quite a few people.
There were at least 4 families at the pubs today, from grandparents, kids, and grandkids. No, the kids don't drink. Most of them were still in strollers, or under the age of 8.
They were running around and playing, and the adults were having a few and talking. It really is a family thing.
Anyone ever gets over this way, I'll buy the first pint.
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