Baseball Hall of Fame to honor the ‘Homer at the Bat’ episode of ‘The Simpsons’

There are more than a few sports fans alive today who don’t know a world without the television show, “The Simpsons.”

After being a part of “The Tracey Ullman Show” in the late ’80s, “The Simpsons” made its debut in 1989 with an excellent Christmas special. It’s been on the air ever since, and there have been a lot of memorable episodes.

But there is one that holds a special place for baseball fans.

“Homer at the Bat” debuted on Feb. 20, 1992, and the storyline revolved around Homer Simpson being edged out of the nuclear power plant’s softball team, because Mr. Burns brought in a bunch of major leaguers so he could win a million-dollar bet with a rival power-plant owner.

Due to a series of unusual events — the players Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Scioscia, Steve Sax, Jose Canseco, Roger Clemens, Ozzie Smith, Wade Boggs and Don Mattingly — all can’t make the game or are not allowed to play.

The lone exception: Darryl Strawberry, who takes Homer’s place in right field. Homer is bummed, but he ends up being the hero.

According to the Associated Press, the Baseball Hall of Fame will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the episode on May 27.

Boggs and Smith are scheduled to appear at a discussion of the episode, along with executive producers, the director, the executive story editor and the casting director.

I wonder if they will talk about the rules of softball, which Chief Wiggum knows so well:

This story was originally published February 22, 2017 at 9:47 AM.