Thread by @dailysimpsons

#OnThisDay #OTD February 20, 1992, "Homer at the Bat" (S03E17) first aired on the Fox network. Dir: Jim Reardon. Wr: @JJSwartzwelder. Guest-starring EP: @AlJean & @MikeReissWriter. #TheSimpsons #Baseball #MLB

@JJSwartzwelder @AlJean @MikeReissWriter "Homer at the Bat" features @rogerclemens, Mike Scioscia, Don Mattingly, Steve Sax, @STLWizard, @ChickenMan3010, Darryl Strawberry, Ken Griffey Jr., @JoseCanseco and musician Terry Cashman.

@JJSwartzwelder @AlJean @MikeReissWriter @rogerclemens @STLWizard @ChickenMan3010 @JoseCanseco The episode was written by John Swartzwelder, who is a big baseball fan, but suggested by @simonsam, who wanted an episode filled with real @MLB players. Nolan Ryan, Rickey Henderson, Ryne Sandberg, and Carlton Fisk were among the players who turned down the show.

@JJSwartzwelder @AlJean @MikeReissWriter @rogerclemens @STLWizard @ChickenMan3010 @JoseCanseco @simonsam @MLB The nine players who agreed to guest star were recorded over a period of six months, whenever they were playing the Los Angeles Dodgers or California Angels. Each player recorded their part in roughly five minutes and spent the next hour writing autographs for the staff.

@JJSwartzwelder @AlJean @MikeReissWriter @rogerclemens @STLWizard @ChickenMan3010 @JoseCanseco @simonsam @MLB One of the hardest pieces of editing was the hypnotist segment, which featured several of the guest stars speaking in unison. It was difficult because the parts were recorded over a period of several months and thus it was hard to sync their voices.

@JJSwartzwelder @AlJean @MikeReissWriter @rogerclemens @STLWizard @ChickenMan3010 @JoseCanseco @simonsam @MLB The episode makes several allusions to the 1984 film The Natural. Homer's secret weapon, his self-created "Wonderbat", is akin to Roy Hobbs's "Wonderboy", and both bats are eventually destroyed. (video: Onikorp)

@JJSwartzwelder @AlJean @MikeReissWriter @rogerclemens @STLWizard @ChickenMan3010 @JoseCanseco @simonsam @MLB The team name on Mr. Burns' jersey, the Zephyrs, is a reference to the Twilight Zone episode "The Mighty Casey", which features a team called the Hoboken Zephyrs.

@JJSwartzwelder @AlJean @MikeReissWriter @rogerclemens @STLWizard @ChickenMan3010 @JoseCanseco @simonsam @MLB Without any of the players present, "Homer at the Bat" had the "worst table read ever."

@JJSwartzwelder @AlJean @MikeReissWriter @rogerclemens @STLWizard @ChickenMan3010 @JoseCanseco @simonsam @MLB Canseco seems to be the only one who hates reminiscing about the episode. He was also the only one to demand a rewrite. A mini-thread:

@JJSwartzwelder @AlJean @MikeReissWriter @rogerclemens @STLWizard @ChickenMan3010 @JoseCanseco @simonsam @MLB "Homer at the Bat" the first time that a new "Simpsons" episode beat a new "Cosby Show" episode. deadspin.com/the-making-of-…

@JJSwartzwelder @AlJean @MikeReissWriter @rogerclemens @STLWizard @ChickenMan3010 @JoseCanseco @simonsam @MLB On October 22, 2017, Springfield of Dreams: The Legend of Homer Simpson, an hourlong mockumentary aired on Fox to commemorate the episode's 25th anniversary and Homer's induction into the @baseballhall.

@JJSwartzwelder @AlJean @MikeReissWriter @rogerclemens @STLWizard @ChickenMan3010 @JoseCanseco @simonsam @MLB @baseballhall In 2006, a journalist for the @TorontoStar named Homer's conversation with Darryl Strawberry as the "greatest conversation of all time, involving the word yes".

@JJSwartzwelder @AlJean @MikeReissWriter @rogerclemens @STLWizard @ChickenMan3010 @JoseCanseco @simonsam @MLB @baseballhall @TorontoStar Many of the guest stars, including Cashman, Boggs and Strawberry, all admit that they are more well known because of their appearance in the episode, especially outside the United States, with Cashman having "Talkin' Softball" requested more often than his "Talkin' Baseball".

@JJSwartzwelder @AlJean @MikeReissWriter @rogerclemens @STLWizard @ChickenMan3010 @JoseCanseco @simonsam @MLB @baseballhall @TorontoStar

@JJSwartzwelder @AlJean @MikeReissWriter @rogerclemens @STLWizard @ChickenMan3010 @JoseCanseco @simonsam @MLB @baseballhall @TorontoStar The episode has been credited with helping to save at least two lives. During the scene in which Homer chokes on a donut, a poster explaining how the Heimlich maneuver works is on the wall behind him.

@JJSwartzwelder @AlJean @MikeReissWriter @rogerclemens @STLWizard @ChickenMan3010 @JoseCanseco @simonsam @MLB @baseballhall @TorontoStar In May 1992, Chris Bencze was able to save his brother's life by performing the Heimlich Maneuver on him, having seen it in the episode, and in December 2007, Aiden Bateman was able to save his friend Alex Hardy's life by recalling the same. archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=…

@JJSwartzwelder @AlJean @MikeReissWriter @rogerclemens @STLWizard @ChickenMan3010 @JoseCanseco @simonsam @MLB @baseballhall @TorontoStar In 2017, Don Mattingly claimed to have never seen "Homer at the Bat," but he still gets 87-cent checks for it. fansided.com/2017/05/07/don…

@JJSwartzwelder @AlJean @MikeReissWriter @rogerclemens @STLWizard @ChickenMan3010 @JoseCanseco @simonsam @MLB @baseballhall @TorontoStar Who was the better Prime Minister? Lord Palmerston or Pitt The Elder? via @entertainmentIE entertainment.ie/tv/tv-news/who…

@JJSwartzwelder @AlJean @MikeReissWriter @rogerclemens @STLWizard @ChickenMan3010 @JoseCanseco @simonsam @MLB @baseballhall @TorontoStar @entertainmentIE A thread of outtakes from "Homer at the Bat"

@JJSwartzwelder @AlJean @MikeReissWriter @rogerclemens @STLWizard @ChickenMan3010 @JoseCanseco @simonsam @MLB @baseballhall @TorontoStar @entertainmentIE fansided.com/2020/03/19/hom…

@JJSwartzwelder @AlJean @MikeReissWriter @rogerclemens @STLWizard @ChickenMan3010 @JoseCanseco @simonsam @MLB @baseballhall @TorontoStar @entertainmentIE Mike Scioscia once again guest starred as himself in the season 22 episode "MoneyBART". It's one of the few instances of a character aging within the context of the show, as his radiation poisoning from "Homer at the Bat" is mentioned giving him "super-management powers."

Syndication promo for "Homer at the Bat" via @krudvid

Another original Fox promo for "Homer at the Bat" along with Drexell's Class.

A @Channel10AU promo for "Homer at the Bat" (as well as Neighbours and Roseanne) from 1994 via @vsctsr