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Wally at the Bat: A Liberal Arts Symposium on Baseball

a man in a baseball uniform

Wabash Hall of Famer Bob Wedgeworth ’59, a legendary basketball player for the Little Giants, sported a vintage Negro Leagues jersey while listening to Dennis Krause talk about the physics of baseball.

a group of women sitting in a room
First Lady Chris White and the White's daughter, Molly, enjoyed popcorn while attending the screening of Field of Dreams. President White both introduced the film and led a post-movie discussion.

a man in a white suit and red tie

In the opening presentation of Friday's symposium, Professor of History Steve Morillo explained the ways baseball is a “strong lens for studying many different aspects of history, including the history of business, labor unions (“”The baseball player’s union is a model of success in dealing with managament”), gender roles, social mobility, and world history. “Baseball is both a lens through which to see history and a metaphor for history,” Morillo said. “It is a model for historical method, and it is a metaphor for eternal hope. Think about where we get the phrase, 'Wait 'til next year?"  

a man in a white shirt and tie

Wabash Baseball Coach Cory Stevens has two big doubleheaders against conference rival Wittenberg this weekend, but found time to attend the banquet and listen to Will Carroll's fascinating presentation on baseball in the information age.

a man with his hand on his chin

David Clapp, who directs international students and programs at Wabash, is a die-hard Indianapolis Indians fan. Unlike most of the alumni, faculty, and staff sporting vintage jerseys, Clapp wore the real McCoy — an authentic 1960s jersey worn by an Indians coach!

a group of men sitting at a desk
Baseball fans — and symposium attendees — Chris Shank ’69, Ron Beam, and Mike Beaver attended all of the events, including the screening of Field of Dreams. 

a woman wearing a blue hat and a man sitting at a table

Jill Rogers, who works in Admissions and the Schroeder Center, is a big Mets fan, and showed her pride while attending the presentation by Warren Rosenberg and Steve Klein. Her husband, Professor Dan Rogers, is a fan of the Rockies, but wasn't sporting the team colors!

a vase of flowers and red flowers

Bon Appetit got into the spirt of Wally at the Bat with a menu for the banquet straight from the ballpark — hot dogs, cheese fries, nachos, and splits. Even the centerpieces were uniquely baseball! 

a man laughing while wearing a baseball uniform

 Bob Wedgeworth enjoys a conversation following his presentation about the Negro Leagues with University of Illinois Professor Alan Nathan, who hosts a Web site on the physics of baseball. Wedgeworth was the Librarian and Professor of Library and Information Services at that Champaign-Urbana university before retiring in 1999 to head ProLiteracy Worldwide.

a man wearing glasses and a brown shirt

Professor of Physics Dennis Krause explains the physics of baseball.

a man in a sweater looking away

Professor of English Tobey Herzog told the rite-of-passage story about growing up three houses away from Chicago White Sox pitcher "Rowdy Russ" Meyer, one of only three pitchers in Major League history to have earned 23-straight road starts without a loss.  

a woman smiling while holding a bottle of water

Professor Herzog's English Department colleague Crystal Benedicks, like the rest of the audience, enjoyed the humor, insight, and surprise ending of his story about Russ Meyer.

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