* Announcement: Hall of Fame hosts educators’ program

Where were these classes when I was a student?

Educator Seminar to Be Held In Cooperstown

Workshop Presented By Baseball Hall of Fame And WestfieldCollege

The Baseball Hall of Fame and Westfield State College will team up in November for a workshop designed to show teachers how to link baseball and education.

“Using Baseball As A Vehicle For Education” is the title of a Professional Development Course that will feature an after-school video conference session at 4 p.m. on Nov. 6 at Westfield State College in Westfield, Mass., and a one-day, on-location workshop Nov. 7 at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

A follow-up assignment will be required of all participants to show how they could implement this workshop in their discipline. This assignment is due no later than Jan. 1. Upon completion of this three-part workshop, participants will be awarded 10 PDPs by Westfield State College.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has developed 16 standards-based units that cover nearly every area of education: Women’s History, Character Education, Mathematics, Geography, History, Industrial Technology, Fine Arts, Communication Arts, Labor History, Special Abilities, Science, Leadership, Cultural Diversity, Civil Rights and Popular Culture. By combining baseball and educational lessons in the classroom, educators can achieve a learning connection with their students.

The cost for the workshop is $100, which includes all materials, admission fees and transportation to and from the Baseball Hall of Fame on Nov. 7. The workshop is limited to 50 educators.

For more information, contact Larry Moore, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Educational Advisory Board and an Educational Ambassador for the Hall of Fame, at lmgymfest@aol.com.

* Honoring Hank Greenberg

The National Baseball Hall of Fame is hosting a program this weekend to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Hank Greenberg’s rookie season. Not his debut (which actually occurred with a single at bat in 1930), mind you, but close enough for jazz.

For more information, visit the MLB.com story.

* Announcement: Hall of Fame hosts annual symposium

The 20th annual Symposium on Baseball and American Culture will be Wednesday through Friday at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown.

The event will feature more than 50 presentations on baseball’s effect on American culture, the highest number in the history of the symposium, according to a news release. The event is co-sponsored by the State University College at Oneonta and the Hall of Fame.

There will be 17 panel discussions on topics ranging from baseball and the law to minority issues and music. This year’s keynote speech will be given by Ira Berkow, the former New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winning sportswriter and author of more than two dozen books.

The speech, titled “Impressions and Perspectives, What Makes a Hero?” will be from 1 to 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Grandstand Theater and is open to museum visitors as well as symposium participants.

“This event is unlike any other in the country. We explore baseball from a cultural standpoint rather than the game on the field,” Jim Gates, Hall of Fame librarian, said in the release.

“We invite academics as well as students because we hope to encourage the next generation of baseball scholars,” he said.

On Friday morning, a panel will discuss “Seasons Past” and feature Steve Jacobson, former daily baseball writer for Newsday, Mitchell Nathanson of Villanova University and Bruce Markusen, of Cooperstown.

A special discussion on “Baseball and Freedom: Umpires and the Roots of Order and Freedom” will be from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Other panel discussions run from 2:15 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday at locations in and around the museum. The symposium will feature academics and presenters from across the country.

Admission for the keynote address is included for all symposium participants. Registration fee is $165 or $50 for students and includes all sessions, a daily continental breakfast, a catered picnic, refreshments and a three-day pass to the Hall of Fame.

Having been to one of these myself, I can tell you it’s great fun. The crowds aren’t too heavy in Cooperstown at this point and the people are fascinating, if you like academic types. I went for a whole week, coupling the symposium with some research at the library for an (aborted) book project. I stayed in a lovely B&B, The White House Inn, a short walk to the Hall and found the whole experience quite relaxing. In fact my wife, a veterinarian, had an interview up there several years ago and I was kind of hoping she would get the job so we could live there. Ah well.

A schedule of events and presentations is available online by visiting http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/museum/symposium.jsp. For information, call Gates at 547-0311.

* Now hear these: Baseball Confidential

So where’s this merger of XM and Sirius I keep hearing about?

When my wife leased her car, it came with a trial subscription to Sirius, which, of course, is the satellite radio station that does not carry the baseball channel.

Nevertheless, I found this entertaining series of Baseball Confidential on iTunes and highly recommend it, based on the interview with Hall of Fame pitcher Bruce Sutter. The program was hosted by the Hall’s Brad Horn and produced in a very professional manner (as opposed to those podcasts that sound like the host is talking into a tin can in a wind tunnel; even some of ESPN’s content is guilty of these crimes against audio. Shame, shame.)

In addition to Sutter, the interviewees include:

• Mike Schmidt
• Cal Ripkin, Jr.
• Tony Gwynn
• Earl Weaver
• Tommy Lasorda (who was also on a Barnes and Noble podcast and, sadly, does not come off very well there either)
• Derek Jeter (the only active player)

It’s worth noting that everyone but Sutter has been the subject and/or author of a book.

By the way, XM offers a free trial.

* Announcement: Hall of Fame Plaques of Doby, Robinson to Leave Cooperstown for Civil Rights Game

(Because you can put the souvenir postcards of the plaques on a bookshelf.)

For the first time ever, the Hall of Fame plaques of Larry Doby and Jackie Robinson will leave their home in Cooperstown, as the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will travel the plaques to Memphis, Tenn., this weekend for a part of the Civil Rights Game Weekend festivities.

“By sending original Hall of Fame treasures to Memphis, we are providing an opportunity for all fans who attend to see these representations of two Hall of Fame heroes up close and personal,” said acting-President Jeff Idelson in making the announcement. “By having the ability to touch baseball history, fans will gain a stronger appreciation of the adversity these two men overcame and their phenomenal careers as true baseball legends.”

The plaques will first be on display Friday, March 28 at the National Civil Rights Museum from 4-6 p.m. as part of Major League Baseball’s “Baseball and the Civil Rights Movement” roundtable discussion, featuring noted guests Hall of Famer Hank Aaron; Sharon Robinson, daughter of Jackie Robinson; Omar Minaya and Kenny Williams, general managers of the Mets and White Sox, respectively; Martin Luther King III; and Ambassador Shabazz, the daughter of Malcolm X.

The next day, the plaques will be on display during the 2nd Annual Civil Rights Game, to be played at Memphis’ AutoZone Park, featuring the White Sox and Mets. The plaques will be on display beginning once gates open at 1 p.m. through the 7th inning of the 4 p.m. game for all fans in attendance to view.

* Announcement: Hall of Fame pres steps down

According to a press release issued this afternoon:

Dale A. Petroskey, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, has resigned, effective immediately, the Executive Committee of the Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors announced today.

The Executive Committee issued this statement: “By mutual agreement, the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has accepted the resignation of Dale Petroskey as President.
“The resignation is the result of our finding that Dale Petroskey failed to exercise proper fiduciary responsibility and it follows other business judgments that were not in the best interest of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

“As a result of this announcement, we are pleased to announce the promotion of Jeff Idelson to the position of acting-President. We will begin a search for a new President and while it is ongoing, we have full confidence that Jeff Idelson will be a strong and effective leader of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.”

Petroskey joined the Museum in July 1999, after serving at the National Geographic Society for 11 years, the last three as Senior Vice President for Mission Programs.

“After almost nine productive years at the Hall of Fame, I have offered my resignation to the Hall’s Executive Committee, and it has been accepted. The Hall of Fame is a world-class institution, and I am proud of all we have accomplished through vision, hard work, and teamwork. I serve at the pleasure of the Board, and accept the judgment of the Executive Committee.

“It has been an honor to be part of such a great institution, and to have met and worked with so many wonderful people. I wish everyone associated with the Hall – the Hall of Famers and their families, the Board and my staff colleagues – the very best now and in the future.”