Think about music and baseball. Whether it’s the traditional organ at the
ball park or the modern lead up music for the batters, there is always music at
the ballpark. As a fan of the former
Page 2 section of ESPN.com and the weird lists that they would put out, I’ve
decided to make my own list of great baseball music. Some of it is music for situations (“Caught
Stealin’ by Jane’s Addiction when a catcher guns out a base runner stealing
second); some of it is just classic baseball songs (“Centerfield”); some of it
is just songs that are associated with players (Ken Griffey, Jr.’s lead up song
for his whole career was “Down with OPP” by Naughty by Nature).
Without further ado, my best baseball songs in whatever
order I think of them:
1. Enter
Sandman As I wrote about in an
earlier post “Sports’ Spine-Tingling Moments,” when Mariano Rivera comes in to
close out the ninth in Yankee Stadium, he runs across the outfield to
Metallica’s hit. As soon as the opening
riff starts, the entire stadium goes ape shit.
606 times, he’s gotten the save.
75 times, he’s gotten the W. I
will see Mariano pitch at least one more time (when the Yanks visit Seattle
this summer), but it looks doubtful I’ll ever see him come out of the bullpen
to Enter Sandman again. (Just added, in Mariano’s Sunday Conversation on ESPN
he admitted that if it had been up to him, he never would have chosen this
song. He doesn’t “listen to that type of
music.”
2. Centerfield When listening to this song and thinking
about little league it’s just a great song about wanting to get into the
game. Put me in coach, I’m ready to
play, today. Look at me, I could be,
centerfield. But when you really look at
baseball, this is a gutsy request.
Centerfield is the fastest position on the team. Where the shortstop is the leader of the
infield and nothing can happen without the pitcher/catcher battery, the
centerfielder has the most area to cover.
Little league might not get as many hits out to the deep field (outside
of the serious programs in the Little League World Series every year). The “kid” who wants to get in and play,
especially centerfield, is a gutsy little guy.
3. Take Me out to the Ball Game My students in Japan were learning this
one. You can’t CAN’T have a seventh
inning stretch without this ode to peanuts and Crackerjack at the
ballpark. For those of you old enough to
remember Harry Carey singing it (badly) during Cubbies games, it takes on a
whole other legendary status. The song
is simple and fun, and really just silly.
You can stand up and sing it while your team is getting creamed, or you
can stand up and sing it while you’re up big.
It is just that great. Can you
possibly stand up and sing it without swaying with total strangers in the same
section? No, no you cannot.
4. Star-Spangled Banner There are kids out there who think the
last words to the first verse of our national anthem are “play ball!” The Star-Spangled Banner and baseball are
linked in the definition of American.
The poor song has had its ups and downs.
I heard David Hasslehoff sing it in Dodger Stadium. I heard Rosanne Barr sing it (thankfully on
TV so I could mute it). Good, bad, or
ugly, this song is forever linked to MLB ball.
5. Down with OPP Like Enter Sandman, this isn’t a purely baseball
song. This was Ken Griffey, Jr.’s lead
up song for his entire career. With so
many players changing with popular music or changing with streaks or slumps,
Griffey had this always play. Now, I
might also be a bit biased because every time I hear it, I’m reminded of
hanging out in high school with my best friend, Nate.
6. All the Way
Vedder’s pen to being a Cubbies fan.
Written on the eve of the 100th year of the Cubs Curse,
Vedder captures our hero worship of our favorite players. The magic of walking into our sacred
stadiums. The hope that the Cubs will
one day finally return to glory after a century.
7. Cheap Seats
Alabama goes to the minor leagues and sings about being a fan in the
stands. There is a celebration of the
ballpark experience. Yelling at the
umps, sitting way out in the outfield and not having enough people to do a
decent wave…kind of like late season Seattle lately. Here’s hoping again this season.
Honorable mention: Empire State of Mind, Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio,
Talkin’ Baseball, For Boston (Drop Kick Murphys version even though it has been
mostly used for BC football), New York, New York (Yankees play Sinatra after a
W, Liza Minnelli after an L), Here come the Mets, Say Hey.
Why it’s not on the list: God Bless America. This song has been crammed into
baseball. In the days after 9/11, we
were driven to feel like patriotism had to permeate every damn aspect of
American life or “the terrorists win.”
The Yankees, Dodgers, Mariners, and Braves (arguably the four corners of
baseball) play it every game; others during major patriotic holidays and
post-season games. This song is not
baseball. It was proposed to replace “Take
Me Out to the Ball Game,” but has since been coupled with it, rather than one
or the other. To me, this forcing in is
akin to the outspoken religious leaders smacking you upside the head with their
religious views. We know that this is
America’s pastime; we don’t need to have the American patriotic songs every
time we turn around.
In the grand scheme of things, music affects just about
everything. Put the wrong score with a
movie and it changes the mood. Put an
awesome score with a movie that sucks and it can at least help carry one
aspect.
Hearing certain songs in sports, especially baseball, takes
us back to ballpark memories. We can
hear our favorite players’ songs. The
traditional songs also remind us of the kids’ game. The beauty of watching grown men play this
game, the hope at the beginning of every season, and the joy we feel as our
team takes the field. Baseball songs and
baseball music helps to immortalize these feelings.
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