accepted and was later named to the Executive Committee as Special Assistant to Community Affairs. "He had many firsts in his life. He became the catalyst of many emerging civil movements. His impact on the national pastime proceeded several breakthroughs in the social and political arena"(Lester, p.3). In his book, Never Had It Made he recapped his life, "As long as I appeared to ignore insult and injury, I was a martyred hero to a lot of people who seemed to have sympathy for the underdog"(Lester, p.2). Many important people have lived past their professional baseball careers, continuing in politics or community development, using their popularity to raise money. Many players also use this influence to sell products. Whether it is Nolan Ryan plugging Advil or John Kruk endorsing Pert Plus shampoo, they all have found ways to reach out to American society. The personality of the players and their values transfer to the product they endorse. The general public sees the player's endorsement as a promise that the product will stand up to its application. Overall, professional baseball players, exhibit a great deal of influence on the public because of their popularity. This influence has led to many acts and movies. The first performance that comes to mind is Abbot and Costello's Who's on First? routine(Abbott, p.1-5). Though it was created during a different era than my own, it shows how long the game of baseball has gripped the enthusiasm and interest of American culture. Many motion pictures have recently been made regarding the subject of baseball. Field of Dreams was a movie about a farmer who heard a voice telling him to, "Build it and they will come!" Christopher Sharrett of USA Today, described it as a motion picture that "used baseball as an image of a golden, half-remembered past" (Sharrett, p81). The farmer built a baseball diamond in his corn field. He had faith in this voice and followed by it even when his farm was being for...
