Current Events Lesson Plan January 7-13, 2016
Current Event: 2016 Class Named to Baseball Hall of Fame
Ken Griffey, Jr., and Mike Piazza were recently elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Griffey, who played most of his career for the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds, was named on 437 of the 440 ballots cast by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. His vote of 99.3 percent is the highest since Hall of Fame voting began in 1936. Griffey hit 630 home runs, sixth on the career home run list. He was named the American League Most Valuable Player in 1997 and was selected for 13 All-Star teams. Mike Piazza, who played most of his career for the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers, was named on 83 percent of the ballots. His 396 home runs is a major league career record for a catcher, and he was selected for 12 All-Star teams. Notable players who missed the minimum 75 percent of the vote required for election include Jeff Bagwell (71.6 percent), Tim Raines (69.8 percent), Roger Clemens (45.2 percent), and Barry Bonds (44.3 percent).
Objective:
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum honors individuals who have made significant contributions to baseball. It is in Cooperstown, New York, the traditional birthplace of baseball in 1839. The museum features displays on baseball history, including the World Series, women’s baseball, and the game’s greatest moments. The Hall of Fame Gallery honors members with individual plaques. A theater presents multimedia shows. The Hall of Fame was founded in 1936. In that year, a special committee appointed by the commissioner of baseball selected the hall’s first five members—Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson. The facility in Cooperstown was established in 1939. The Behind the Headlines news story and related World Book articles explore other sports-related topics.
Words to know:
Discussion Topics:
1. Ask your students to name some famous baseball hall of famers. (Students might say Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Yogi Berra, Roberto Clemente, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Bob Feller, Lou Gehrig, Bob Gibson, Reggie Jackson, Walter Johnson, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Cal Ripken, Jr., Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Cy Young.)
2. Have your students debate the topic, “Sports should be eliminated from high school.”
3. In 1920, Shoeless Joe Jackson (born Joseph Jefferson Jackson), who has the third-highest batting average in baseball history, was banned from baseball. He supposedly accepted bribes to cause his team, the Chicago White Sox, to lose the 1919 World Series, in what is known as the Black Sox Scandal. In 1989, Pete Rose, who has more hits than any other player in history, was banned from baseball for betting on baseball games. The National Baseball Hall of Fame does not allow banned players to be elected. Barry Bonds, baseball’s all-time leading home run hitter, is tainted with charges of taking such illegal performance-enhancing drugs as steroids during his career. Ask your students, “If you had to put Bonds, Jackson, or Rose in the Hall of Fame, which player would you choose? Why?”
4. Ask your students to use World Book’s Timelines feature to view or add to the History of Baseball timeline. (Students may wish to use World Book’s Baseball article for help.)