#Shortstops: Doctor Who’s On First

Who’s on first?

It is one of the most memorable phrases of baseball related Americana. Abbott and Costello’s gold record for “Who’s on First” hangs on a wall in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s Library.

A recording of the pair’s “Who’s on First” vaudeville sketch plays on a loop on the Museum’s third floor, and many visitors to the museum are seen wearing jerseys with the name of Who and the No 1. Every baseball fan knows the term, but one item in the Museum’s collection entitled “Who’s on First” playfully challenges the Abbott and Costello namesake with arguably a more famous piece of British pop culture: Doctor Who.

Doctor Who is a television show first produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1963. The science fiction program follows an extraterrestrial humanoid named the “Doctor”. The Doctor is a species known in the show as a Time Lord from the planet of Gallifrey. The Doctor travels through time and space via his ship known as the T.A.R.D.I.S. (Time and Relative Dimension in Space) attempting to save civilizations from destruction or aid those in need.

One unique feature of the show that has allowed it to continue for years with various actors playing the lead is the Doctor’s ability to regenerate. That is, when a Time Lord is on death’s door, they are able to completely change themselves into a new person. While the memories from the previous forms transfer to the new form, nothing else remains. As the Doctor takes on various faces, personalities, and with the newest regeneration a new gender, it is important for fans to differentiate between which incarnation they are referring (much like James Bond fans using the actor’s name). Whovians – as fans are called – number the various forms of the Doctor. The newest form of the Doctor is the 13th, played by Jodie Whittaker.

The versions of The Doctor seen on the shirt in the Hall of Fame’s collection include the 10th (David Tennent) on second, the 11th (Matt Smith) on first, and presumably the 12th (Peter Capaldi) batting, but it is unclear from the image exactly which version of the Doctor is at the plate, which is backwards. Also, the foes of the Doctor are seen on defense. The Doctor’s first foe – the Daleks – are represented on the mound. In right field is a Cyberman, another classic Doctor Who foe. In left field is a newer villain from the series: A Weeping Angel.