Guest Speaker
Many of us were fortunate to hear Mr. Ed Rice speak at our library Wednesday. He spoke with us about baseball. He told us about Louis Sockalexis who was the first Native American to play in Major League Baseball. He had a terrific throwing arm; he played outfield because he could throw very far and very fast.
I enjoyed hearing Mr. Rice and hope that you did too. Can you tell me about your favorite baseball player? If you don’t like baseball, what sport do you like and why? Who would you like to have come to talk with us at school? Why?
Hi, I really liked Mr. Rice because he was full of energy and put alot into his speech. I am not really that fond of baseball but I really like soccer. I used to play football. Just in the past year I switched to soccer and I fell in love with it. But I like Derek Jeter!
If I got to pick someone to come in it would have to be Mia Hamm. I think that she is very insprirational. She is a great rolemodel for all young girls. If i could meet her I would most likely melt! She is my life rolemodel!
Thanks for listening,
Katherine L
Hi Katherine,
I thought Mr. Rice was full of energy too. I always thought baseball was a really simple game, but Mr. Rice showed me that there is more to the game than I realized. It’s great to have someone like Mia Hamm as a role model. She is a really hard worker and she plays fair. Those are great qualities to have - and the best part is that anyone can have those same qualities in whatever field we choose.
Thanks for writing,
Mrs. B.
i lked Mr. Rices speech and I liked when Mr. Rice said when Tim Wakefield goes up to bat he would give money. My favorite baseball player is David Ortiz because he hits a lot of home runs.
Hi Rahul,
Mr. Rice’s speech was entertaining and the part about Tim Wakefield was interesting. Louis Sockalexis was an amazing player; I wonder if he and David Ortiz would have enjoyed playing against each other. What do you think? I know I’ve never heard of anyone who could throw a ball as far as Louis Sockalexis did. What an amazing player!
Thanks for writing,
Mrs. B.
i like basketball because it is a fun sport. i like it because you get all your energy out and you can run around be agressive. My favorite bascketball player is mikeal jordan. I like him because he is agressive and a good player and good shooting and dunking.
Hi Maeve,
I liked to play basketball when I was in high school, but the game that girls played then wasn’t as much fun as the game is now. You are right, Michael Jordan is a great player. He is also a good person who works hard at his job (basketball) and has fun too. How many hours do you think that Michael Jordan needed to work to be such a great player? I wonder how old he was when he started to play.
I’m glad that spring is here and that means it’s time for us to shoot hoops outside. Thanks for writing,
Mrs. B.
Hi, I enjoyed Mr.rice, and his presentation, even through I like baseball my favorite sport is football. I like it because of the phisical contact! mabey next time we could get tom brady.
Wow! Tom Brady would be out of this world! Madame B., the French teacher, would be so happy if he were here. He is her favorite player. Mr. Rice told us about a famous baseball player from the early 1900s - that was a really long time ago. I think Mr. Rice said Louis Sockalexis was playing in 1909 - so that’s almost 100 years ago. Brian, do you play football? There is a lot of physical contact and you have to play hard and you need to wear a lot of equipment. Maybe you will grow up to be a famous football player and then you can come back to your old school and speak to a fifth grade group. Keep reading and thinking and exercising your brain!
Thanks for writing,
Mrs. B.
HI, i liked Mr rice speak too. sorry i do not like baseball but if i have to choose one i would say babe rooth because he is a amaysing person and indovidual. I would like the author of a survivle book that a lasy wrote. i think she should come in because she wrote about traviling around alaska and she also made a documantery about it while she was travling. she went around alaska by her self and no one else with her exept her 3 dog.
Hi Sarah,
I liked hearing Mr. Rice and I am glad that you wrote to tell me about it. Babe Ruth was a really famous baseball player too. Just like Louis Sockalexis was. I like to read about famous people. Have you read any good books about Babe Ruth?
The lady who wrote about traveling around Alaska sounds like Pam Flowers. Do you think that is the person whose book you read? She had some exciting adventures. I even like her picture book, “Big Enough Anna”. We have it in our library. When you have written something it can be very helpful if you reread it aloud one last time. Writing can be very exciting!
Thanks,
Mrs. B.
I feel so bad that I missed the guest speaker! I’m not that much of a baseball fan but I like Manny Ramirez. I am more of a swimmer I like Ian Crocker. ( Proably because my swim coach teached him.)
Bye,
Elena C.
Hi Elena,
Manny Ramirez has had an interesting career in baseball and I would like to meet him! Even more I would enjoy meeting Ian Crocker and your coach. I’ll bet your coach is glad that he (she?) taught Ian. It would be very exciting to teach someone who became famous later on. That is one great thing about teaching and being a librarian - we don’t know how you will “turn out”, but we think all kids have great possibilities.
Thanks for writing,
Mrs. B.
Hi, my favorite baseball player is David Ortiz because he is really good at hitting. In 2006 he hit 54 homers. And he would always hit the game winning homerun. And my other favorite baseball is Dice-k Matzusaka because when he played his first game he got 10 strikeouts against the Kansas City Royals.
Hi Shane,
I really like your writing! You write with enthusiasm and with knowledge. Because you told me so much about David Ortiz, I would like to meet him too. Is 54 homers a record? I don’t know as much about baseball as you do; is Dice-k Matzusaka pitching ten strikeouts a really amazing feat? It sounds amazing to me.
Thanks for writing,
Mrs. B.
Hi, I liked hearing about Mr.Rice too. Sorry I don’t like baseball but I do like soccer and my favorite soccer player is Mia Ham because she is my role modle. The person that I would like to come in would be the auther of the book Hoot because that was the best book that I think I ever read in my life.
Hey Brianna,
I guess you can tell from my other posts to other people that I don’t know a lot about baseball, but I am always interested in learning more. Louis Sockalexis sounded like a really amazing baseball player. Mia Hamm is a really amazing soccer player. Mia Hamm is a great role model for girls who like to play sports because she is a good sport and she is a hard worker. We all can be hard workers and good team players no matter where we work or play.
Carl Hiaasen, who wrote Hoot, is a hard worker too. He makes the words in his book be alive with meaning! That takes a lot of talent too.
Thanks for writing,
Mrs. B.
Hi, my favorite baseball players is Jason Varitek and Daisuke Matsuzaka. Although Varitek has been my favorite longer, Matsuzaka has become quite a name to remember. Varitek became the Red Sox’ third captain since 1920. An outstanding all-american career @ Georgia Tech gave the Seattle Mariners an easy choice in the first round. Then, he excelled as a prospect and was traded to the Red Sox, where he is now! Did you know he played shortstop in the little league world series for Delmonte Springs, Florida! He’s is truly awesome.
-Graham M.
Hi Graham,
Your favorite baseball players are two really great people. I heard about Daisuke Matsuzaka from another writer, Shane, who told me that he had ten strikeouts in his first game. That sounds awesome. Jason Varitek sounds like a great role model. He is a hard worker and a good person. We can all be like that, of course, and that’s why he’s so inspirational. Do you play Little League baseball? Who knows, you may be awesome too!
Thanks for writing,
Mrs. B.
Hi, I did not really enjoy it because I do not like baseball. In answer to your question, the sports I like are archerry and track. The only reason I did not sugest someone to come in is because they died in 1945.
Hi Andrew,
I guess the interesting part about Mr. Rice’s talk was not really the baseball part, but the part about the man Louis Sockalexis. Whatever sport you like, the facts about Mr. Sockalexis’s career were very interesting. I wondered what his life might have been like without the prejudice that he experienced because he was a Native American.
I like archery too! A very long time ago, I was really good and received an award for doing well in archery. It was my favorite sport and I practiced a lot. Who is the person you would have liked to hear? Maybe there is a biography about them.
Thanks for writing,
Mrs. B.
Thanks for writing everyone! I enjoyed reading your thoughts and hope you will continue blogging to the group. Our next topics will be about the Material World, but you may continue writing about sports if that is of interest.
thank you for replying i liked to read what you said. I worder what took him to get to where he is now? what was differant about bascketball now then it was back then? Write back soon.
Maevel
Hi Maeve L.,
Sorry it took so long to reply. A lot of things have changed in Basketball. When I learned to play, girls on defense weren’t allowed to run the full court and we had to pass the ball after two bounces. Girls’ basketball was very different! Do you love playing basketball?
Thanks for writing,
Mrs. B.
I thought you would mention mrs.b, she did dress up as Tom Brady on halloween and yes I would love to be a pro (not very likely,) but you must strive for your personal best every section of your life (even in school) somday, I belive at least I will play football as a hobbey of mine.
Brian T.,
What a great blog! Very thoughtful and full of good insights. If we aim for our personal best (even in school!) then we will all do well. Playing football as a hobby will be fun. Isn’t that a great idea? Enjoy aiming for your personal best and remember to have some fun, too.
Mrs. B.
he was an amazing player and I can’t believe he didn’t treated well
I wonder if Socalexis is in the hall of fame now. Is anybody gonna come visit us as a guest speaker again.I hope it’s a soccer player!
Hi Rahul,
Glad that you wrote! I know, I can’t believe that Louis Sockalexis was not treated well either. But a long time ago people didn’t care or didn’t think that all people have equal rights. Today most people know how to behave! I’m glad to hear that you like soccer. I’ll ask Mr. Halligan if he knows of any soccer players who might be available to come and speak. Mr. Halligan coaches the high school soccer team and he knows a lot of soccer players!
Thanks for writing,
Mrs. B.
I think that those are good qualities too! I think that she always is honest about if she fouled somebody and she takes the blame for herself. It is cool that she came out with a book. It is called:Go For The Goal. It is a book about how to handle life and soccer. (At the same time!) It is a really cool book. I dont know when it was published though. I think you should put it in the library if you dont have it already!
Thanks for talking!
Katherine L
Hi Katherine,
I hope you had a great vacation and I apologize for taking so long in approving your comment. I was battling a cold over vacation. Ugh. I like what you said about taking the blame for our own actions. Mia Hamm is a great role model. You can check our library materials database to see if we have the book: Go for The Goal. Then, if you discover that we don’t have the book, you may recommend it for purchase.
Mrs. B.
Hi, Mrs. Becksvoort, I will actually talk or should I say ”blog” about a little of both. In material world I am studying Cuba with Sean Sanderson I really wanted to do Haiti but I ok with Cuba too.I have one Question for you if you dont mind. I fyou were able to study a country what would it be?
I will tell you my top three Favorite sports 1.horseback riding 2.snowboarding 3. swimming.
Bye Mrs. Becksvoort
Hi Lola,
I think Cuba would be a fantastic country to study! Their President has been in office for a Very Long Time. I remember when he took office. Now he is ill and you will probably see the time in the near future when he lets someone else be President. That’s pretty exciting! If I could choose a country… I think I would pick a place that I would like to visit. One place I would like to visit is Belgium. It is a very small country, but it has the world’s best chocolate. Imagine how much fun that could be.
Mrs. B.
I thought ed rice was very interesting. I think that mr.sockalexis should deffinetely be in the hall of fame I have one question why didnt he go into the hall of fame before? is it because he was an indian. Thank you for having him in
My favorite player is dicecae he us a brilliant pitcher who just made his world famous debut who is your favorite player.
I thought that Mr. Rice was a very good speaker even though My favorite sport is not baseball I still enjoyed his speach and I learned alot! My favorite sport is basketball and my favorite basketball player is Hakeem Olajuwon and I would like to have him come and talk to our school becuase he is a great role modle and he was and african basketball palyer,he was very talented. He was a great basketball player and I think that people would be very Interested in hearing about his life becuase I was when I read a book about him.
Thank you for writing back to me. My swim coach is probply in his eightys. He has been at the YMCA for 51 years!!! Last year he got a big party and Ian Crocker’s parents showed up!!! I think that was really big for him. I am going to swim on a summer team with him anad my other coachs.
Bye,
Elena
P.S. write back!!!
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Hi, the person who died that I liked was George S. Patton. He is probably one of the most famous american general, as being the the first man to lead a mechanized cavalry charge and brought victory to the Allies many many times in WWII. He was killed in a car crash during the victory parade in Berlin.
Hi Mrs.B I like Material Worldn is really fun! I am so glad that I got Italy because my grandparents went there and they have a good backround and I can ask them good qestions so I can have some backround on it.
Hi, you know 54 homeruns is a record for the Red Sox but not in the Major League Baseball. The real record was 70 homeruns and it was set by Mark MCcgwire. But I think 54 homeruns alot of homeruns for David Ortiz. 10 strikeouts in 1 game is alot. The record for most strikeouts in a game was 20 and i was set by Roger Clemens when he was on the Red Sox! He was a great player and now he is in the hall of fame. And I think David Ortiz will go to the hall of fame too. And also Dice-k matzusaka will go too.
Ed Rice was so awesome. I think that it is cool that he wants to get Louis Sockalexis in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Is also cool that he was so energetic. My favorite sports person is Michal Jordan because he is nice and a good sport and a player.
I really enjoyed listening to Ed Rice because he talked about an inspirational man in Louis Sockalexis . I love baseball and I’d have to say my favorite player are Manny Ramirez because he has a ton of fun on the field. If I could have anyone come to talk to us it would be Stevie Wonder because he is really inspiring.
Hi Nate,
It’s great to hear that you love baseball and that you have a favorite player like Manny Ramirez. It’s super that he has fun doing his job (baseball) and that you and I can enjoy watching him. Wow! Wouldn’t it be fantastic to meet Stevie Wonder? He really is inspiring AND I like his music a lot.
Thanks for writing,
Mrs. B.
My favorite baseball player ever is David Ortiz. He is my favorite player because he hits a lot of home runs and seems to be a nice guy. I read an article that he and Vlademir Guerrero donated $15,000 to charity.
Mr.Rice had a nice speech about how he was going to prove to Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame that Louise Sockalexis was the first Native American baseball player. Someone else said they were before Mr.Sockalexis but Mr. Rice has proven that Louis was first.
Hi Matt,
I’m so glad you were listening so well when Mr. Rice spoke to us. He was very interesting and I enjoyed having him visit us. I learned more about Louis Sockalexis by listening to Mr. Rice than I knew was possible. What a dedicated writer and speaker - he just wants to let people know about this amazing baseball player.
Thanks for writing,
Mrs. B.
Hi,
I may not know alot about Ed Rice, but I do know alot about Louis Sockalexis and baseball. I always keep up with the Boston Red Sox and their games. My favorite player on the Red Sox is Manny Ramirez because he is a consistant hitter plus he has homerun power. Last year I did Louis Sockalexis for the White House Tea and he wasn’t a power hitter but he could get on base and steal. Thank you for reading.
Addison
Hi Addison,
You are right, Louis Sockalexis was a super player. Mr. Rice told us about the great throwing that Louis Sockalexis did. He could throw more than 400 feet. That’s a long way to throw a ball! Manny Ramirez is fun to watch. When you play baseball, what position do you like best?
Thanks for writing,
Mrs. B.
Hi Mrs. Becksvoort and Falmouth Middle School students!
I don’t have much time “to blog” because I teach 6 college classes and am very busy grading papers…but I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed my visit and enjoyed seeing some of the above comments.
I noticed that some of you thought I said Louis could throw a ball “480 feet”…The absolute longest throw I read about that made sense to me was one that was measured at 416 feet…That was around the “world record” at the time, by the way!
Also, the player on the Red Sox that I know personally is not Tim Wakefield, but Mike Timlin. Mike Timlin lost his mother to ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. And it is Mike Timlin who makes a $500 donation to The Angel Fund (theangelfund.org) in Boston every time he makes an appearance pitching in relief. Mr. Timlin just came off the disabled list and I’m rooting for him to have just one more wonderful season pitching Major League baseball.
Again, I had a wonderful time…Thank you for the very nice reception and great questions!
If you have any more questions about Louis Sockalexis, don’t hesitate to send them along to me.
Best wishes to you all, especially Mrs. Becksvoort, Mrs. Paul and Ben…!!!
Ed Rice