Doctors and Diamonds and Fun—Oh, Boy! continued from previous page

                                             by Hank Nuwer 
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Ozzie Smith and Mutuals (More pix)



    Can a baseball diamond ever take the place of a classroom?  You bet!
    That is exactly what happens each year as Ball State University’s
Insite Distance Learning professionals team up with the National Baseball Hall of Fame to put on exciting live presentations in North American classrooms for an estimated 15 million students to enjoy and to learn from.
    In the past, students have enjoyed presentations in such areas as math and science beamed into their classrooms directly from the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. They learned why a curve ball curves when a pitcher throws it, for example.
    They also learned about topics such as race relations and the history of women’s professional baseball. All the programs have been funded by a grant provided by the Best Buy Foundation.
    This year (2005), Ball State’s Mark Kornmann, the director of Outreach Programs, put together a health and medical history lesson.  The stars of the program were students from San Diego's High Tech High and central New York's Ridgefield High School who interviewed Roger W. MacMillan, M.D., a doctor who is also an expert on baseball history, baseball historians, Hall of Fame experts and many other baseball specialists.
    Dr. McMillan exposed students to a variety of medical topics. He discussed the alcohol and substance abuse problems that disrupted the lives and careers of great nineteenth-century baseball players such as Mike “King” Kelly, a great hitter and base stealer for Boston and other teams in the late 1870s and 1880s.
    Dr. McMillan’s lesson included not only baseball references, but also he talked about dangerous conditions in everyday life that amazed student interviewers.
    “It wasn’t safe to drink water,” said Dr. McMillan. “Diseases such as typhoid fever regularly were a menace to public health in that primitive time.”
    A fun part of the lesson this year was a staged recreation of an 1860 baseball game between the New York Mutuals, a team from Long Island, New York that plays dozens of so-called “vintage” baseball games every year, and a group of students and teachers known as “Ozzie’s Wizards.” The Wizards were managed by Ozzie Smith, a Hall of Fame shortstop who was known for his acrobatic catches as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1980s and 1990s.
    Students were amazed to find that players in 1860 had to catch a relatively hard baseball with their bare hands. Bats in those days often weighed well over 40 ounces, causing today’s students to choke up five or six inches in order to get the lumber into a full swing. The Mutuals were a famous professional baseball team from New York in the 1860s, and today pitcher Eric Miklich is the team’s star player.
    “We play by the exact rules for that time period,” said Miklich, whose uniforms also are copies of what New York players wore 145 years ago.
    Students such as Annie Schneider of San Diego who were selected to be the live interviewers for the program said they had to spend long hours to learn the rules and the history surrounding nineteenth-century baseball. “We didn’t know we’d be doing so much work, but were also having a lot of fun,” said Schneider, who also interviewed Dr. McMillan in preparation for the show. “I think it’s important to look at baseball not just as a game but as a reflection of the time period.”
    Hall of Fame Director of Education Jeff Arnett said that the opportunity afforded students by Ball State’s distance learning program is important, not just because it teaches kids about baseball, but because students learn about sportsmanship and character education.     
    “Here we look at ballplayers like Ozzie Smith, Lou Gehrig, and many other Hall of Famers.” said Arnett. “In examining their virtues and what made them great we’re hopefully helping students understand that by using those ballplayers as role models that students can learn from them and be better prepared for the challenges they’re going to face.”
    Smith worked side by side with students, teachers and Ball State technicians in order to film a program that was both educational and fun. “Ozzie is a gentleman who the game means everything to,” said Arnett.  “He wants children today to have the same passion for the sport that he did and always has. He also wants them to appreciate the importance of an education.”
    Ozzie Smith also said he liked preparing for the program because he considers himself to be a student of baseball, not an expert, in spite of his decades as a player and now Hall of Fame education ambassador. He said that he tries to be a role model to kids just as Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to break into baseball, was an influence on him.
    Without Robinson’ drive to break barriers I wouldn’t have had the opportunity afforded me and other African-American players,” said Smith. “Just like he represented baseball and a group of people (Blacks) in a very positive manner, I felt it part of my responsibility to maintain that integrity and the zest and the zeal he displayed while he was breaking barriers.”
    Smith said that young players today need to learn sportsmanship and to stop other players from bullying new and weaker players in initiations called hazing. “You have to use a little restraint and a little common sense too,” said Smith. “Some guys are never going to understand how not to take things too far.  You’re always going to have those kind of people. But then you also have people around that are smart enough to say, “Hey, things are getting out of hand.”  
    And how can a youngster today get good enough to make it into the world of professional baseball?  Smith said that constant practice is critical to any player’s success. “Talent can only take you so far,” he said. “Learning is something that’s never ending. We’re always learning.”
    Jeff Arnett said that he’s already looking forward to 2006 when Ball State and the Hall of Fame again will collaborate on an educational program. ”The electronic field trips are an important component of what we do here at the Hall of Fame educationally,” said Arnett. “Without the partnership of Ball State University and the Best Buy Foundation, we would not be able to reach such a tremendous audience of children. To have the opportunity to share with students throughout North America how baseball can support their own learning and education, you cannot place a price on that. It is invaluable to us. That’s why we appreciate being part of the program.”

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The Umpire and Distinguished Fans, 1860 Style
(Posted by Henry Nuwer)
More pix from other photographers