[DOOR FLIES OPEN]

So with baseball season officially underway, and the Cardinals having already poisoned our screens, it’s time for the annual argument about baseball songs.

But, because “the national pastime”, we have to start with the anthem:

Now, there are many, many lists in this world that can chart things like this, but I just want to look at the history of some of them. And since blind objectivity & tilting at windmills are [DFO] standards, let’s do this ourselves.

Now, to properly assess baseball songs, you really need to look at the eras, rather than the individual songs, because they are going to be products of their times. Songs from the 40s & 50s can’t really match up to 80s & 90s rockers. To start my arbitrary historical tour of baseball tunes, we’re going back to the 40s.

Now, “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” dates from 1908 and has a bunch more lines than the little kids & fat drunks belt out  during the 7th inning stretch.

It’s more spoken-word poem than song, and its merits as a song are really a ballad about being young & pursuing a dream. The song was popularized by Gene Kelly & Frank Sinatra when they tapped it into our grandparents’ heads in 1949.

It’s got what Americans love most – kitsch & history. Sure those times don’t exist any more, but that’s what makes it endearing to lots of people – the “once was” that never actually was.

Of course, as Elton John once said, the best way to become famous in America is to record a baseball or Christmas song. And if you could combine the two, that’d make for immortality.

So, Bob Hope’s conductor Les Brown recorded one of the most famous baseball songs in 1941, when he tied in his signature big band sound with the most popular player of his day. The results? A quintessential song about American’s pastime in the months before the war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q6odQuCxFU

After the war, as baseball’s integration started, Count Basie got his licks in with a song about the pioneer of the era. Fascination with Jackie & Basie’s smooth orchestration made this a big hit with some small crossover appeal.

Both songs have the big band sound that Americans loved, but the “race music” era meant that the two would never really meet.

Anyway, I don’t want to clog up too much space on a Saturday night, but I just figured I’d dive into the musical history books for a change. Next week, I’ll parse some songs from the 1950s.

Tonight’s sports:

• MLB:
  • New York Yankees at Washington Nationals – 7:00PM | FOX / Sportsnet
  • Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres – 9:00PM | FS1 / Sportsnet360
• UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till: From Abu Dhabi
  • Prelims – 5:00PM | ESPN / TSN2
  • Main card – 8:00PM | ESPN / TSN3
• Left turns:
  • NASCAR XFINITY Series: Kansas Lottery 250 – 5:00PM | NBCSN / TSN
• Fútbol:
  • Liga MX:
    • Guadalajara vs. León – 8:00PM | TELMUN
    • Cruz Azúl vs. Santos Laguna – 9:30PM | UNI
  • MLS is Back Tournament:
    • Orlando vs. Montreal – 8:00PM | ESPN2 / TSN
    • Philadelphia vs. New England – 10:30PM | ESPN2 / TSN
• Southern hemisphere tackle sports:
  • Super Rugby Aotearoa Round 7:
    • Blues vs. Chiefs – 11;30PM | TSN2
  • Australian Rules Football:
    • West Coast vs. Collingwood – 1:30AM | TSN / FS2

It is so nice having a full docket back on the schedule.