Turns out the National Baseball Hall of Fame honors more than just the game’s all-time greats, as Homer Simpson will be “inducted” on May 27.
That’s right, the acclaimed television series “The Simpsons” will be toasted in Cooperstown, N.Y., due to this year being the 25th anniversary of the cult-classic episode “Homer at the Bat.”
In the episode, Mr. Burns and Mr. Smithers gather up star baseball players to help the Springfield Power Plant softball team win the championship. They recruit the likes of Ken Griffey Jr., Wade Boggs, Don Mattingly, Roger Clemens, Jose Canseco, Ozzie Smith, Steve Sax, Mike Scioscia and Darryl Strawberry to tilt the odds in their favor.
Here’s a short clip from the classic episode.
According to the Hall of Fame, “The Simpsons” will be honored during a roundtable discussion at Hall of Fame Classic weekend with an exhibit opening afterward.
“In Cooperstown, we salute baseball’s greatest contributors, preserve its vast history and salute the cultural side of the sport,” Jeff Idelson, President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame said via press release. We are honored to pay tribute to the 25th anniversary of ‘Homer at the Bat.’ ‘The Simpsons’ has left an impressive imprint on our culture as the longest-running American sitcom, and ‘Homer at the Bat’ remains as popular today as when the episode aired in 1992. Baseball is recognized as our National Pastime due to its wide intersection with American culture over the last two centuries, evident in literature, theater, language, art, music, film and television. ‘The Simpsons’ is a perfect example of that connection to Americana.”
Homer won the championship for his team on a walk-off hit by pitch. That’s a Hall of Fame worthy accolade if one ever existed.
Thumbnail photo via YouTube