George Will on the "Origins" of the Seventh Inning Stretch

Summary of George Will on the "Origins" of the Seventh Inning Stretch

by Slate Podcasts

1m•June 7, 2019
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Summary — "George Will on the 'Origins' of the Seventh Inning Stretch" (Slate Podcasts)

Overview

A short exchange on a Slate podcast in which the host asks George F. Will a baseball-trivia style question: what the seventh-inning stretch has to do with Handel’s Messiah. Will offers the traditional lore tying the seventh-inning stretch to President William Howard Taft and the host draws the parallel to why audiences stand for the “Hallelujah” chorus. The discussion is brief, light, and acknowledges the apocryphal nature of such stories.

Key points and main takeaways

  • The supposed origin of the seventh-inning stretch is often linked to President William Howard Taft (the “lore” cited in the clip).
  • The similarity with Handel’s Messiah is that people stand during a widely recognized musical moment — the “Hallelujah” chorus — just as crowds stand during the seventh-inning stretch.
  • Both stories are presented as charming bits of lore rather than rigorously confirmed history; participants willingly accept the lore because it’s enjoyable (“Sometimes it’s too good to check.”).

Notable quotes / insights

  • Host: “What does the seventh inning stretch have to do with Handel’s Messiah? How are they similar?”
  • Guest (paraphrase): The lore attributes the seventh-inning stretch to William Howard Taft’s presence/size.
  • Host: “I choose to believe both.”
  • Guest: “Sometimes it’s too good to check.”

Topics discussed

  • Origins/lore of the seventh-inning stretch
  • The tradition of standing for the “Hallelujah” chorus in Handel’s Messiah
  • The interplay between historical fact and appealing folklore
  • Brief bio note: George F. Will — longtime Washington Post syndicated columnist and author of The Conservative Sensibility

Action items / recommendations

  • Take the Taft-origin story and the Messiah-standing parallel as entertaining lore rather than confirmed history.
  • If you want the factual history, consult deeper sources on the seventh-inning stretch origins (baseball history references) and the “Hallelujah” chorus tradition (music performance history).
  • For more from George Will, consider reading his book mentioned in the clip: The Conservative Sensibility.