Respuesta :
In this excerpt from "Brighton Beach Memoirs" by Neil Simon, the playwright provides historical context by referring to Italian baseball players. It is clear that in the time this play was written, there were many Italian baseball players. The reference to Italian food, Eugene's mother, or Eugene's middle name don't give us a good reference in history as they could all be relevant in any time period. The amount of Italian baseball players, however, could give us a good idea of when the play took place historically.
Answer:
referring to Italian baseball players.
Explanation:
As stated in the excerpt from "Brighton Beach Memoirs," the author Neil Simon provides the historical circumstances surrounding Eugene by mentioning that Italian baseball players were successful at the time. In that respect, a background frame of reference helps understand the setting of the play.