I am going to catch some heat for this list, music is so subjective and listener based that nearly every list will be different for sure. To lesssn some of that blow back my list is in random order as they came to the page.
Before anyone asks where “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” is, I thought it would be best left in its own category along with songs like the “National Anthem” or “Amazing Grace” that are cultural treasures rather than a commercial song.
Centerfield by John Fogerty is a special song to baseball in my opinion, it’s not directed towards any one team or even a league of play, it is the desires of a every child and player who has ever held a ball in their hand, to just play the game. Several legends receive their shout outs including one fictional character, but the song is not an homage as many in history have been.
Whenever I am watching Bull Durham or hearing it at a park the song never grows old, it makes me feel like playing.
Bill Lee by Warren Zevon is actually a horrible and quirky song, but like an ugly dog it is so bad it is good and like its namesake incredibly odd. I honestly can not listen to it all that often but if there was ever a song that so perfectly reflected it’s message it is “Bill Lee.”
Paradise by the Dashboard Light by Meatloaf is not as traditional a baseball tune as any other on this list, in fact the song is not really about baseball, it is about two teens making out in a car on Lover’s Lane. Once you throw in the baseball to add significance and description to their “doings” it becomes sort of a baseball song. But when you use Phil Rizzuto to do the deed it is a damn great baseball song. Probably the most mainstream style music on this list, you could hear “Dashboard” playing on most any passerby’s car with a different feeling in each listener.
Tessie by the Dropkick Murphys is sometime forgotten as a baseball song, not by Bostonians, but by Hardcore Punk fans who love the Dropkicks. Even Sox fans sort of miss the meaning because most don’t understand Tessie is not some girl, “Tessie” is a Broadway tune that the Boston teams sang to the opposition to distract them in the early 1900’s. The Dropkicks took that history and turned it into a tune about the Rooters who sang a tune. Why Fenway plays “Sweet Caroline” in the 7th rather than “Tessie” is a mystery to me.
To the Veterans Committee by the Baseball Project is one of dozens of great songs from a supergroup formed of three REM members and two alternative rockers who have a long history in the genre. All of their songs are about baseball as their band name suggests, but this one is extra-special for any fan of Dale Murphy and a rallying cry to plead his case as a forgotten member of the Hall of Fame. They also have a great tune titled, “13” that calls out specifically one PED user, but really is a message to all.
I could run this list all day long. What are your favorite tunes?
Destination: OCTOBER 