Well, it's spring. The time of year when people start tiptoeing through the tulips, taking a walk on the wild side, riding bicycles, and listening to the robins rockin' out in the tree tops. Also, I recently read Moneyball by Michael Lewis and baseball season has started. So, baseball it is.
Baseball is the kind of game I always like playing more than watching. I played softball growing up; pitching, third base, and some outfield. I always enjoyed being at bat though. I have a fond memory of hitting a line drive right at my coach's stomach one day at softball practice. (He was fine.) Lots of people love baseball, in their own way. So, naturally, the "great American pastime" has inspired some to write songs about the game.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game is the most obvious. It was written by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer in 1908. These guys, surprisingly, weren't even baseball fans, and hadn't even seen a game until several years after the song was written. There is more to the tune that most people are aware of --typically only singing the choruse. In the song, a young lady is asked out on a date, but refuses to go unless her beau takes her to a baseball game. Take Me Out is traditionally sung during the seventh-inning stretch. The seventh-inning stretch is the break taken between the top and bottom of the seventh inning of the game. People stand up, stretch, maybe take a short walk or get a snack. When needed, the song also makes a dandy waltz!
Another popular song that captures the atmosphere of the game is John Fogerty's 1985 Centerfield. Put me in, coach! The opening guitar riff is instantly recognizable, and the hand claps have made their way into baseball tradition. They can be heard often throughout a game. The song makes reference to many baseball legends: Joe DiMaggio, Ty Cobb, and Willie Mays. In the second verse, Fogerty references the poem Casey at the Bat, written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer.
PLAY BALL!!
