National Baseball Hall of Fame to honor 'The Simpsons'

"The Simpsons" will be honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame, also known as Cooperstown, after its village of base, this upcoming May in part to celebrate the 26th anniversary of a baseball-themed episode of the show.

What happened in the classic episode?

The episode being honored is “Homer At The Bat,” which had first aired on Feb. 20, 1992, as part of the show’s third season.

The premise of the episode revolved around a company softball team for the nuclear power-plant series patriarch Homer works for, with series antagonist Mr. Burns making a bet that the team will win in an upcoming championship game.

In order to secure victory, he hires a bunch of professional players to pose as employees, much to the chagrin of the company workers who were the ones to bring the team to the championship, only for them all to mysteriously become incapacitated at the last second, ranging from one being arrested to another being hypnotized into believing he is a chicken. At the end, Homer accidentally wins the game by being knocked in the head with a ball.

The episode was a notable hit in the ratings when it first aired, earning a 15.9 rating and 23 percent share, and had even beat ”The Cosby Show” during its premiere.

What do we know about the induction?

Wade Boggs and Ozzie Smith will appear at the round-table discussion on May 27 that will honor the episode, having appeared in the episode as themselves, and are also both inductees of Cooperstown.

Various other real-life baseball players who had appeared in the episode, include Ken Griffey Jr., Jose Canseco, Roger Clemens, Don Mattingly, Steve Sax, Mike Scioscia and Darryl Strawberry.

In addition, various crew members of the animated series are expected to appear at the ceremony, which include show-runners Al Jean and Mike Reiss, director Jim Reardon, executive story editor Jeff Martin, and casting director Bonnie Pietila.

Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson released a statement that the action will reflect honoring the “vast history and salute the cultural side of the sport” and referred to the episode as such a great contributor to the history of baseball. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum also honored the episode on social media.