Top 10 Songs About Baseball

The good old summertime - warm weather, beaches, outdoor activities, hotdogs, lemonade and the season of America's favorite pass time . . . Baseball! Those warm summer nights watching the fireflies, running with sparklers and staying up until 10p.m. That was late for me. I also remember my dad taking me to my first major league baseball game at Connie Mack Stadium , formerly Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania .

We took the Broad Street subway then caught the trolley which dropped us off in front of the ballpark. It was a night game. Seeing the bright lights, the diamond shaped green field for the first time reminded me of Dorothy opening the door of her tornado relocated home and discovering she wasn't in Kansas anymore. Like Oz, the ballpark was a magical place for me, a place I'd seen only on our sixteen-inch black and white television set. I still remember the smells; peanuts, popcorn, my dad's cigar smoke and the sweet scent of the ballpark grass. The crowd rising to their feet cheering as the players took to the field. I was privileged to see one of baseballs finest, "Southpaw" Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, Sandy Koufax pitch before he retired in 1966. During the seventh-inning stretch we'd stand as the old park organ played one of my favorite baseball songs, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Of course it made my top 10 favorite songs about baseball.

10.Cheap Seats, performed by Alabama, 1993
"We like beer flat as can be
We like our dogs with mustard and relish
We got a great pitcher what's his name
Well, we can't even spell it
We don't worry about the pennant much
We just like to see the boys hit it deep
There's nothing like the view from the cheap seats"

9. Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball? By Woodrow Buddy Johnson & Count Basie, 1949
"And when he swung his bat
the crowd went wild,
because he knocked that ball a solid mile.
Yeah boy, yes, yes. Jackie hit that ball."

8. Joltin' Joe DiMaggio - by Alan Courtney & Ben Homer, 1941
"He'll live in baseball's Hall of Fame
He got there blow by blow
Our kids will tell their kids his name
Joltin' Joe DiMaggio"

7. Glory Days, written and performed by Bruce Springsteen, 1984
"I had a friend was a big baseball player
back in high school
He could throw that speedball by you
Make you look like a fool boy
Glory days well they'll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days"

6. Catfish by written and performed by Bob Dylan & Jacques Levy - The Bootleg Series
"Lazy stadium night
Catfish on the mound.
"Strike three," the umpire said,
Batter have to go back and sit down"

5. Right Field - Performed by Peter Paul and Mary, 1986
"Playing right field, its easy you know,
You can be awkward, you can be slow,
That's why I'm here in right field,
Just watching the dandelions grow."

4. Talkin' Baseball Willie Mickey and the Duke - written and performed by Terry Cashman, 1981
"We're talkin' baseball!
Kluszewski, Campanella.
Talkin' baseball!
The Man and Bobby Feller,
The Scooter, the Barber, and the Newc,
They knew 'em all from Boston to Dubuque.
Especially Willie, Mickey, and the Duke."

3. The Greatest, written and performed by Kenny Rogers, 1999
"Little Boy, in a baseball hat
Stands in the field with his ball and bat
Says I am the greatest player of them all
Puts his bat on his shoulder and he tosses up his ball

And the ball goes up and the ball comes down
Swings his bat all the way around
The world's so still you can hear the sound
The baseball falls to the ground"

2. Centerfield - Put MeIn Coach, Wirtten and Performed by John Fogerty, 1985
"Well, I spent some time in the Mudville Nine, watchin' it from the bench;
You know I took some lumps when the Mighty Casey struck out.
So Say Hey Willie, tell Ty Cobb and Joe DiMaggio;
Don't say "it ain't so", you know the time is now.

Oh, put me in, Coach - I'm ready to play today;
Put me in, Coach - I'm ready to play today;
Look at me, I can be Centerfield."

1. Take Me Out to the Ball game, Written by Jack Norworth, composer, Albert Von Tilzer, 1908
"Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack,
I don't care if I never get back,
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game."

For those of you who've never attended a baseball game or had the thrill of singing Take Me Out to the Ball Game with thousands of baseball fans put both on your, "Things I've Absolutely Got To Do" list. And don't forget to treat yourself to a stadium hotdog and lemonade.

Source(s):
http://www.baseball-almanac.com
http://www.baseball-statistics.com/Ballparks/Phi/Shibe.htm
http://www.conniemackstadium.com
Personal memories of my first major league Baseball game