Here’s a bit of news that caught my eye this morning:
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BASEBALL RELIQUARY AND WHITTIER COLLEGE ESTABLISH INSTITUTE FOR BASEBALL STUDIES
Whittier College will be the home of the Institute for Baseball Studies, the first humanities-based research center of its kind associated with a college or university in the United States. The Institute is a partnership between Pasadena-based Baseball Reliquary and the College. The Institute will be located on the third floor of the Mendenhall Building.
The Baseball Reliquary is a nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to fostering an appreciation of American art and culture through the prism of baseball history and to exploring the national pastime’s unparalleled creative possibilities. The Reliquary’s research collection will form the centerpiece of the Institute for Baseball Studies, which has been established to foster an intellectual community for creating and supporting interdisciplinary research and studies related to the cultural significance of baseball in American history.
Whittier College Professor of Religious Studies Joseph L. Price and Terry Cannon, executive director of the Baseball Reliquary, will serve as co-Directors of the Institute. Professor of English Charles Adams and Professor of Political Science Mike McBride will serve as Associate Directors. An Advisory Board will soon be announced.
“For more than two decades, Professor Charles Adams and I have made baseball-related presentations at the annual meetings of the Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association. We have written numerous essays connecting baseball literature with our respective areas of study, and we routinely deal with baseball in our courses on American Intellectual and Cultural History,” says Price. “So when we learned two years ago that the Baseball Reliquary was looking for a partner to house its research archives, we jumped at the opportunity.”
The Baseball Reliquary’s research collection includes books and periodicals, the papers of distinguished baseball historians and journalists, and a variety of materials that will support multifaceted and interdisciplinary studies at Whittier College, and will prompt the exchange of ideas, the development of research initiatives, and the creation of public symposia and celebrations highlighting baseball’s significance in American culture. To supplement this collection of research materials, Whittier College professors Adams, McBride, and Price will be donating their archive of nearly 1000 baseball books to create an impressive resource for baseball studies. The Institute will be accessible to students, scholars, and the general public…
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Do you see what professors Adams, McBride and Price have done? They’ve dressed up their baseball hobby as a research institute. They’ve gotten a tax deduction for making their wives happy by moving their baseball books to a convenient campus location. Their personal growth plans can brag to their deans all about their groundbreaking studies of baseball. They can close their office doors and put up signs “Do not disturb! Research in progress!” while they pore over stats and refine their spreadsheets. And their employer’s PR department enthusiastically helps them build their cover story.
Why didn’t we think of that?
In fact, a Fox Institute for Baseball Scholarship (FIBS) would be better then theirs. Sure, we could put together a 1000-volume library if we wanted to just by adding my 80 – 100 books to Mark W’s collection. And we could cover the humanities at least as well as Whittier. For starters, I’ll bet we’ve generated more and better Laments than they have. And we’ve already invented indispensable baseball stats — the Chulk and the Royal Chulk. Has anything so good ever come out of Whittier?
FIBS would be more than a place for old farts to swap baseball stories. It would be that, sure, but it would also be a beehive of activity focussed on close study of current baseball trends and events. We’d have almost daily updates during the baseball season. Plus we’d have USEFUL seminars like:
* Now or Never? The spectrum of approaches to roster construction.
* Instant Remorse: How to avoid spending $3,000,000 on Burch Smith.
* Crisis Management: What to do when an entire starting rotation goes under the knife.
* Stealing the Crown Jewel: How to pry Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg from a desperate rival.
* Sly Fishing: How to get Mike Trout with the THIRD pick in the draft.
* Domestic Nonviolence: How to bilk your brother (or father) without sundering the family.
* The Living Constitution: Finding the right balance in the law between constant tinkering and judicious neglect.
Visitors would be invited to sit in on our ongoing symposia on modeling MLB, constructing beautiful databases and elegant computer drafting programs, and what it takes to keep going when the Alleghenys win almost every stinking year.
And this only scratches the surface. The possibilities for the FIBS are practically unimaginable.
Look out, Whittier. When it comes to fantasy research institutes, you’re going to end up being the Peshastin to our Pittsburgh.
>Has anything so good ever come out of Whittier?
I did. But as a shy person, I’m not going to comment on my goodness.
Yes, I spent my first 17 years in Whittier, and graduated from Whittier High School (as did my father). Then in the 1980s we moved back to Whittier, and I worked at Whittier College (Director of Computer Services, I think) from 1982-87. I know and used to work with several of the profs mentioned in this article.
Named for John Greenleaf Whittier, the famous Quaker Poet, the Whittier College teams are (still, I think) called the Poets. The city of Whittier was founded by Quakers at about the same time Newberg had similar origins. Whittier College and George Fox are about the same age and have similar histories, with the notable exception that Whittier is an entirely secular school that does not claim any religious affiliation.
FIBS is a great idea. Made me laugh out loud! Thanks.