Baseball

The Baseball from a Muppet Time sketch.

Wilkins and Wontkins playing baseball.

Elmo as a baseball player.

Famed Sequoia City Big Bats player Ferret Jeeter.

Ernie pretending to play baseball.

Big Bird playing baseball.

Bear throwing out the first pitch.

Fozzie's Grandpa teaches Fozzie how to juggle baseballs.

Ernie baseball piggy bank.

The Muppet Kids get ready to play baseball in New In Town.

Miss Piggy in the 1993 Muppet Trading Cards set.

Gonzo plush

Baseball is a sport played between two teams of nine players each, popularly known as America's national pastime. Major League Baseball is the highest level of play in North America, operating since 1901. Composed of 30 teams, each team plays in its own unique park. The Chicago Cubs play at Wrigley Field, famous for its ivy-covered outfield walls, and the New York Yankees play at Yankee Stadium, of which the original was nicknamed "The House That Ruth Built" after legendary player Babe Ruth.

Baseball has had a great impact in America's popular culture, including Ernest Thayer's 1888 poem "Casey at the Bat," and Abbott and Costello's famous "Who's on First" routine.

Characters

• A Baseball appeared in a Muppet Time sketch with Milton and Do Re Mi Monster. This baseball, along with others, were also interviewed by Louis Kazagger for a Good Morning America segment.

• Ferret Jeeter is a baseball star who went to Hazelnut High School and played baseball with Bear in Bear in the Big Blue House.

• A Baseball sock appears in the laundromat courtesy of Abby Cadabby's magic to join other socks in singing "Five Sock Conga" in Episode 4163.

References

Sesame Street

• Episode 0193 features an Anything Muppet sketch about baseball.

• Bob throws baseball gloves to Gordon, who counts them in Episode 0235.

• Sherlock Hemlock is a member of the Sesame Street Sluggers and hits a home run which breaks Ernie's window. (First: Episode 0238)

• Tom and a young boy have identical baseball gloves, so Tom writes his name on his glove's label in Episode 0300.

• Luis sings the Classification Song in Spanish as he regroups baseball gloves and a baseball bat in Episode 0311.

• Oscar can't make up his mind whether to use his baseball to practice his pitching or to use his pencil to write his uncle a letter. (First: Episode 0324)

• Big Bird is mad at Lillian in Episode 0337 because she keeps saying no to anything he wants to do, including playing baseball.

• Big Bird invites Snuffy to play baseball with Tom and Rafael in Episode 0348.

• Wally and Ralph put on a baseball cap and get ready to play in Episode 0373.

• Ernie is a coach for his baseball team of three balls, among them "Yogi" (a reference to Yogi Berra) and "Scooter," in a season four sketch. (First: Episode 0478)

• "Sluggo the Great" (David) puts on his baseball gear but isn't sure which body parts to put them on. (First: Episode 0492)

• Maria imagines she's a baseball player in Episode 0558.

• Oscar disagrees about Luis' decisions as an umpire in a baseball game, but he's happy when the team loses in Episode 0685.

• Big Bird doesn't want to play baseball at Camp Echo Rock during summer camp because he doesn't know how to play. Still, they have him play in the outfield, where he hits a home run in Episode 1707.

• In the Sesame Street opera parody "The Heartstrongs," Barnaby (David) comes downstairs to change shoelaces in order to play baseball. (First: Episode 2163)

• A Muppet girl approaches a sad Herry and asks him what's wrong. He laments about being left out of the baseball game, and she offers to cheer him up by taking him to the zoo in Episode 2105.

• Robin Williams asks Elmo and the kids if they would allow a nonsense-talking, horned, two-headed stranger to play baseball with them. The Two-Headed Monster shows up to play. (First: Episode 2795)

• In an Alphabet Chat sketch, Mr. Chatterly and Mr. Bull have a conversation about sporting goods that begin with B. (First: Episode 3123)

• For Episode 3580, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg tells a sad Big Bird and Miles that she has found their baseball.

• Telly delays a baseball game between Big Bird, Baby Bear, and Gabi in Episode 3688.

• In a Grover and Mr. Johnson sketch, Mr. Johnson attends a baseball game in hopes of catching a fly ball, only to be foiled by the hot dog-selling Grover. (First: Episode 3784)

• Gordon wants to take Elmo to a baseball game in Episode 4042, but before they go, Elmo needs a fish-sitter to fish-sit Dorothy while they are gone.

• Elmo wants to play with the Two-Headed Monster, but they can't decide on whether to play baseball or hockey until Aaron and Nick Carter pass by and then everyone wants to sing in Episode 4056.

• The Big Bad Wolf huffs and puffs when he loses a baseball game in Episode 4082.

• A cow makes reference to a famous cow baseball team, the Seattle Moo-iners (a pun on the Seattle Mariners) in Episode 4083.

• Baby Bear asks Telly to play baseball, and he convinces Baby Bear to let Freddy play baseball with them. The doll's baseball skills prove to be sorely lacking in Episode 4121.

• In Episode 4132, Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus want to play baseball with Marco, but he is too young.

• Episode 4142 features a baseball game between Telly and Chris.

• In a Murray Has a Little Lamb segment, Murray's lamb, Ovejita, takes him to baseball school. (First: Episode 4167)

• In Episode 4174, Kaitlyn barters with Radar to obtain a baseball glove from Big Bird.

• In a Ernie and Bert sketch, Ernie uses an electric fan to blow Bert's book away so he can play baseball with him. (First: Episode 3552) In another, Ernie is sad because it's raining, and he can't play baseball. Bert encourages him to imagine that he's playing instead. (First: Episode 0410)

• Another sketch features Ernie answering the telephone. Bert overhears the conversation, which involves a baseball game, a rainy day, and a gorilla stealing a baloney sandwich. When Bert asks who just called, Ernie says it was a wrong number. (First: Episode 0305) This was adapted into the book Ernie's Telephone Call.

• Ernie plays imaginary baseball with the viewers in an episode of Play with Me Sesame.

• Elmo pretends he is a baseball player in "Elmo's World: Hats." He also interviews a baseball hat in the same episode. In "Elmo's World: Babies," Mr. Noodle tries to play baseball with Natasha.

• In the Sesame Street Live show When I Grow Up, Telly wants to be a baseball player.

• Mrs. Trump and Uncle Wally often went to baseball games together.

• Tommy and Sally Wilson come back to visit their childhood home (of which they broke its windows playing baseball) in a "Here Is Your Life" sketch.

• The "7th Inning Stretch Song" is sung in the direct to video Count on Sports. The video also features Murray Monster finding shapes in a baseball field.

• In the song, "At the Bus Stop Sign," a boy named Lefty claims he needs to catch the number 9 bus to get to his baseball game.

• In Episode 5401, Gordon and Nina listen to a radio broadcast of a baseball game between the Swallows and the Ostriches.

• The song "One of These Things" has featured baseballs numerous times:

• Three kids play basketball and one plays baseball in Episode 0418.

• Episode 0536 featured Bob dressed as a baseball player (among other athletes).

• Bob asks which is not like the other among a grapefruit, an orange, a baseball, and a milk carton in Episode 2947.

• Animated segments featuring baseball include:

• A bully won't give a kid's baseball back, and the boy imagines a few scenarios before ultimately calling for his dog. (First: Episode 0215)

• Three characters try to watch a baseball game over a fence, then cooperate by stacking their blocks. (First: Episode 0478)

• A girl picks up a stick and imagines she is a circus magician, a conductor, and a baseball player. (First: Episode 0960)

• Pinball Number Count number 9 features mechanical baseball players. (First: Episode 1032)

• An alien asks a little boy for directions to a baseball diamond. (First: Episode 1877)

• The Teeny Little Super Guy notices his friend Alice wanting to join a baseball game and encourages her to join. (First: Episode 1900)

• "The Stranger," a song about a baseball team hesitantly allowing a newcomer to join them, who ends up helping them win the game. (First: Episode 2108)

• Thelma Thumb retrieves a lost baseball that has gone down a rabbit hole.

• Sesame Street short films featuring baseball include:

• The Letter B is for ball, bat, base, and baseball. (First: Episode 3266)

• Wegman's dogs get their exercise by playing baseball. (First: Episode 3851)

• A group of Hispanic children picks members for their baseball team. (First: Episode 0440)

• Many Sesame books feature baseball as either a passing reference or as a focal point in their stories:

• Count to Ten uses a baseball team to illustrate the number 9.

• Ernie wants to bring his baseball glove to show and tell in Ernie's Window.

• Elmo's Home Run features a rubber squeeze baseball built into the book.

• A baseball helps ruin A Perfect Picnic.

• The Sesame Street Library Volume 9 features the story of "The Nine Dragons," a baseball team consisting of Big Bird, Guy Smiley, Farley, Bert, Ernie, Grover, Roosevelt Franklin, Betty Lou and a Fat Blue.

• Nobody will pick Grover for their baseball team in the book Why Are You So Mean to Me?

• Frazzle plays catcher in a baseball game with Bert and Betty Lou in the 1982 edition of Who's Who on Sesame Street.

• Granny Bird gets Big Bird a baseball bat for Christmas in the book I Can't Wait Until Christmas.

• Applause has made PVC figures of Ernie and Bert playing baseball.

• Playskool made a wooden puzzle with the Sesame Street gang playing baseball.

• Gorham Fine China made a Ernie baseball piggy bank.

• In Episode 2333, the cast sings about Springtime. Gordon says that during Spring, he partakes in baseball games.

• Big Bird and Henry have to wait for Calvin before they can go to the park to play baseball in the book My Baby Brother Is a Little Monster.

The Muppet Show Characters

• Droop sports a Brooklyn Dodgers sweater in The Muppets Valentine Show.

• The Swedish Chef refers to his baseball bat as a "cakenschmooscher" in episode 120 of The Muppet Show.

• Miss Piggy answers questions about baseball in Miss Piggy's Guide to Life.

• Louis Kazagger reports from spring training where he interviews baseballs for an episode of Good Morning America.

• The Fabulous Baseball Diamond is the largest diamond in the world and the prized jewel of Lady Holiday in The Great Muppet Caper.

• The 1993 Muppet Trading Cards set features cards showing Miss Piggy playing baseball ("Diamonds Are a Pig's Best Friend") and Animal and Fozzie playing baseball ("Animal Strikes Out!").

• The "Rowlf on Books" section of Muppet Magazine’s Summer 1987 issue features many baseball books including Sports Illustrated's Great Moments in Baseball and Strange and Amazing Baseball Stories. The Spring 1983 issue also features baseball books.

• Bob Hope asks Kermit to be on his baseball team in the television special Bob Hope's Salute to the 75th Anniversary of the World Series.

• In an interview on Today promoting The Muppets Take Manhattan, Kermit mentions during his school days, he enjoyed playing baseball because he could catch flies.

• Nanco produced a Gonzo plush dressed as Arizona Diamondbacks player Luis Gonzalez, nicknamed "Gonzo."

• Kermit poses as a baseball trophy to hide from Fozzie in The Muppets episode "Bear Left Then Bear Write."

Bear in the Big Blue House

• Bear made a few appearances at baseball games in 2002.

• The Bear in the Big Blue House episode "At the Old Bear Game," reveals that Pip and Pop collect baseball cards.

• It is revealed that Grandma Flutter played baseball (disguised with a moustache) for the River City Rodents, and started a women's baseball league in the episode "Grandma Flutter's 100th Birthday."

• The Woodland Valley General Store sells baseball cards.

• Sequoia City has a baseball team called the "Big Bats."

Muppet Babies

• The Muppet Babies' Classic Nursery Rhymes features the cast in a baseball dugout for "Rain Rain Go Away."

• Rainbow Toys made a Baby Scooter PVC figure playing baseball.

International Productions

• The Sesame English episode "Tingo at the Bat" features Niki teaching Tingo how to play baseball, and the episode "Here in Right Field" features her teaching him how to catch. "Here in Right Field" also features a film about baseball. In "What's Your Favorite Sport?," Tingo names baseball as one of his many favorite sports and displays video footage of a kids' baseball game.

• Pancho and the kids prepare to play baseball. They count off 9 players, 9 hats, and 9 balls. Pancho then counts his 9 pitches, one of which hits him square on the head in episode 904 of Plaza Sésamo.

• In another episode of Plaza Sésamo, Pancho goes to great lengths to get a soccer ball that he plans to play with Lola and Daniela out from a tree. Once he does so, the girls tell him they are now playing baseball and need him to get their ball unstuck from a tree too.

• A Sesamstraat PVC figure features Pino playing baseball.

Other References

• A baseball outfit was available for Anything Muppets from the Muppet Whatnot Workshop.

• Fozzie and his Grandpa play baseball in the Muppet Kids book Something Special, and Kermit cannot in Too Many Promises. The kids are shown getting ready to play in New In Town.

• Wilkins and Wontkins played baseball in commercials for Wilkins Coffee, Kraml Dairy, and Jomar Instant.

• The Southern Colonel visited the original Yankee Stadium in a Southern Bread commercial.

• Snarl asks Santa Claus for a baseball mitt in The Great Santa Claus Switch.

• A Muppets' Sports Shorts cartoon on the Little Muppet Monsters episode "The Great Boodini" features baseball.

• On Dinosaurs, Sinclair City builds a new baseball stadium for the home of the newly formed team "The Central Pangaean Cavemen."

• The Fraggle Rock game Rock Hockey takes part of its rule book from baseball.

• In the Farscape episode "A Human Reaction," John Crichton, detained and frustrated, keeps asking Cobb questions to find out what has happened in the months he's been gone, most of which are ignored. Crichton then asks Cobb if he knows who Ty Cobb (a baseball player known for his stint with the Detroit Tigers) and Babe Ruth are. Cobb only has a response for Babe Ruth.

Gallery

Mr. Johnson enjoying a baseball game.

Tingo and Niki playing baseball on Sesame English.

A game between Big Bird, Baby Bear, Telly, and Gabi.

The Fabulous Baseball Diamond in its glove holder.

Ovejita at baseball school.

The Southern Colonel visiting Yankee Stadium.

Baseball Players

Ron DarlingNew York Mets
Sesame Street

Mark FidrychDetroit Tigers
Sports Illustrated Cover

Steve GarveySan Diego Padres
Muppet Magazine

Keith HernandezNew York Mets
Sesame Street

Bo JacksonKansas City Royals
Sesame Street

Derek JeterNew York Yankees
Tokyo Dome exhibition game

Matt KempLos Angeles Dodgers
Sesame Street

Ed Kranepool (left)New York Mets
Sesame Street

Jon LieberChicago Cubs
Bear Baseball Appearance

Fred McGriffChicago Cubs
Bear Baseball Appearance

Hideki MatsuiNew York Yankees
Tokyo Dome exhibition game

Albert PujolsLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Sesame Street

Jackie RobinsonBrooklyn Dodgers
Sesame Street

Art Shamsky (right)New York Mets
Sesame Street

Sammy SosaChicago Cubs
Bear Baseball Appearance

Joe TorreNew York Yankees manager
Sesame Street

Mookie WilsonNew York Mets
Sesame Street

Dave WinfieldNew York Yankees
Muppet Magazine and Sesame Street