A High Five for Glenn Burke

Silas Wade is giving a presentation in his middle school English Language Arts (ELA) class. He is dressed in his baseball uniform and has turned his classroom into “a makeshift baseball field for [his] oral presentation” on Glenn Burke, a baseball player who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (7). Silas gives a charismatic, theatrical presentation about Burke, explaining that in 1977, he invented the high five. Burke was also an incredible baseball player: He was known as a “five-tool talent” because he was good at all five major baseball skills.

At the end of Silas’s presentation, Silas feels relieved that his presentation went well and that he “finally did it” (11). In his mind, his accomplishment is much bigger than just the presentation.

Silas is at his baseball game. His team is called the Renegades. Silas and his teammates in the dugout call out encouraging words to their teammates on the pitch, while also heckling the opposing team players. Silas leads these chants; he and his teammates imitate animals like monkeys, fish, and cats to taunt the other team and keep their own players “loose and fired up” (13).