OT: 30th Anniversary of Homer at the Bat
[It's a fairly boring Friday so I figured I'd post this. I meant to post it earlier in the week but something else happened on Sunday that got a lot of attention, can't really remember what it was.]
This Sunday marked the 30th anniversary of the classic Simpsons episode "Homer at the Bat."
It's regarded as one of the series' best episodes and one of the most beloved, especially among Simpsons baseball fans. I think it's probably one of the best episodes of TV ever and probably the best TV episode/piece of pop culture about baseball ever made. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend checking it out. And that Post article has a lot of great behind-the-scenes stories about the episode.
February 25th, 2022 at 12:39 PM ^
Pitt the Elder!
February 25th, 2022 at 12:40 PM ^
Talkin' bout hooooommmmerrrrr, Ozzie and the Straw...
Classic stuff. That episode about killed me when I saw it as a kid. It was a great intersection of two of my favorite things at the time.
February 25th, 2022 at 12:40 PM ^
Hit a homerun! OK Skip!
February 25th, 2022 at 12:43 PM ^
Lord Palmerston!
February 25th, 2022 at 12:47 PM ^
Brilliant strategy JeepInBen
February 25th, 2022 at 12:48 PM ^
I approve!
February 25th, 2022 at 12:54 PM ^
Mattingly! Get rid of those sideburns!
February 25th, 2022 at 12:58 PM ^
Off-topic: I can recite the entirety of Casey at the Bat.
February 25th, 2022 at 1:00 PM ^
But Seth, can you and Brian do Who's On First?
February 25th, 2022 at 1:01 PM ^
"Sheltering myself with a large piece of sheet metal, I ran for cover under the tallest tree I could find."
The whole scene where Homer describes how he came to make Wonderbat is comedy gold.
February 25th, 2022 at 1:03 PM ^
https://www.mlb.com/news/how-many-games-would-simpsons-springfields-ringers-win
Saw (and very much enjoyed) this earlier in the week.
February 25th, 2022 at 1:05 PM ^
and ironically, if you were to say "simpsons" and "baseball" the first thing i'd come up with is "i was saying boo-urns"
February 25th, 2022 at 1:14 PM ^
Thanks for noting this. The Washington Post article was great and had me laughing out loud during lunch at Disney (with the wife and kids looking at me like I’m nuts).
February 25th, 2022 at 1:14 PM ^
One of THE best episodes of the Simpsons ever that my good friends and I still quote to this day.
We also showed our love by trying to recreate the final picture after our softball season ended.
February 25th, 2022 at 1:23 PM ^
Wade Boggs, RIP, also makes an appearance in this episode. He becomes the janitor at the power plant. Later in his career his ghost had a beer with another janitor on an airplane.
February 25th, 2022 at 1:25 PM ^
Another classic: the Freaks and Geeks baseball episode. Viva la 98 pound weakling!
February 25th, 2022 at 1:41 PM ^
As a kid, I was at one of the original "Darrryyylllll" games at Shea when Strawberry came back as a member of the Dodgers. I remember not really getting it and asking my dad about it. I also felt bad because I still liked him and was bummed he wasn't on the Mets anymore (I also remember feeling crushed when they traded David Cone). I imagine Darryl was in rightfield shedding a tear...
February 25th, 2022 at 1:49 PM ^
I imagine Darryl was in leftfield shedding a tear...
That could have been from getting hit with a quarter or a bottle or a D-cell battery.
February 25th, 2022 at 1:52 PM ^
Speaking of baseball, we’re up 3-1 against Seton Hall after Clark Elliott hit another home run.
February 25th, 2022 at 1:59 PM ^
Random story, this is one of the least liked by several simpsons voice actors because there were so many guest stars, it gave them very little screen time.
There's a lot of podcasts dedicated to breaking down the simpsons, episode by episode, but I think this is the best one and this is their episode for Homer at Bat:
http://thesimpsonsshow.com/2015/03/52-homer-at-the-bat-w-kieran-shiach/
February 25th, 2022 at 2:20 PM ^
This week is also the 25th anniversary of Homer’s Phobia.
Stand still, there’s a spark in your hair.
February 25th, 2022 at 2:44 PM ^
"Everybody is just on their feet screaming 'Kill Kill Kill'! This is hockey!
Today is the 45th anniversary of the release of this great movie:
https://twitter.com/Super70sSports/status/1497273013032534020?t=WHqGsUpEKxiIq9Lv6TRS8Q&s=19
February 25th, 2022 at 3:41 PM ^
Jesus, I feel old.
Dingers! Dingers!
February 25th, 2022 at 3:42 PM ^
GOOD LORD, Gigantism!
February 25th, 2022 at 3:54 PM ^
Well Mr. Burns had done it, the power plant had won it! With Roger Clemens clucking all the while.....Mike Scioscia's tragic illness made us smile....while Wade Boggs lay unconscious on the bar room tile!
We're talkin' softball....from Maine to San Diego, talkin' softball....Mattingly and Canseco, Ken Griffey's grotesquely swollen jaw.....Steve Sax and his run-in with the law. We're talkin' Hooooomer....Ozzie and the straw!!
---
So many great moments from that episode. From Ozzie Smith dropping off the face of the Earth, to LOOOORD PALMERSTON!!! In fact some of the greatest Simpsons moments are just baseball-related.
"Aaaaand heeeeeere coooooome the pret-zellllllls.....Hall of Famer Whitey Ford coming out onto the field to plea with the crowd for....for some kind of sanity....uh oh and now a barrage of pretzels has knocked Whitey unconscious. Wow this is a....its a black day for baseball."
February 25th, 2022 at 4:03 PM ^
But I have nine home runs today!
February 25th, 2022 at 4:28 PM ^
@Leatherstocking Blue. I don't know about Brian but for my part, yes: I can perform either role of who's on 1st. My brother and I have been doing it for 25 years.
February 25th, 2022 at 4:30 PM ^
For about the first 12 or so seasons, The Simpsons was one of the best shows in TV history. Just classic episode after classic episode. That it’s lasted 30+ years is amazing but it’s really not been the same quality since the early 2000s. Doesn’t detract from that first decade though - just brilliant stuff.
February 25th, 2022 at 4:42 PM ^
"Smithers, is it wrong to cheat in order to win a million dollar bet?"
"Yes, sir."
"Let me rephrase that. Is it wrong if I cheat in order to win a million dollar bet?"
"No, sir. Who would you like killed?"
February 25th, 2022 at 5:45 PM ^
Just this morning I was randomly pondering this moment:
Umpire: Okay, let's go over the ground rules.
You can't leave first until you chug a beer.
Any man scoring has to chug a beer.
You have to chug a beer at the top of all odd-numbered innings.
Oh, and the fourth inning is the beer inning.
Chief Wiggum: Hey, we know how to play softball.
February 25th, 2022 at 5:46 PM ^
I don't even like baseball and this was one of my favorite episodes as a kid, and now.
February 25th, 2022 at 6:01 PM ^
I remember listening to the DVD commentary years back, and Al Jean saying all the players were fun to work with on this episode .... except Jose Canseco.
February 25th, 2022 at 7:20 PM ^
ppudge - I agree for several years the Simpsons was incredible and many of the Golden Years episodes are untouchable! But, I've been trying to find hidden gems among non-Golden Years seasons and there are actually a lot more than I thought. And there's another great baseball episode in like Season 23(?) called "Moneybart". I recommend! Scioscia comes back!
I always thought they should have a rematch every few years with new crops of MLB players.
February 25th, 2022 at 7:55 PM ^
Definitely one of the greatest Simpsons episodes ever. It's been 30 years? Wow...
February 25th, 2022 at 8:47 PM ^
I still have that episode recorded on vhs. That was an excellent episode.