Pop Flies and Pop Songs: Baseball's Representation In Music

I woke up this morning with John Fogerty's "Centerfield" in my head, and that song remained there most of the day. So for today's post, I decided to make this post about baseball songs Baseball and music have gone together from the very beginning, not just baseball in music, but music at baseball games (this is a whole other topic for another time). From the 1800s music, such as the 1889 song "Slide, Kelly, Slide" (which is a tribute to one of the early stars of the game, Mike "King" Kelly) to any of the different pieces by The Baseball Project (which includes a few members from R.E.M.). You'll get your share of songs that make no sense whatsoever, of course, but you also end up with some classics. And so, without further ado, it is my top 5 baseball songs!


#5- TIE Joltin' Joe DiMaggio, Les Brown (1941). A big band tribute to not only one of the greatest players of all time, but one of the greatest achievements in baseball history.

#5- TIE Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball? Count Basie (1949). Another big band song, this 1949 song is a good example of the excitement and popularity of Jackie Robinson a few years after he broke into the majors.

#4- Glory Days, Bruce Springsteen (1984). This one needs a little explaining. Yes, verse 1 talks about a former high school pitcher, but that's about it. But when you think about it, baseball is just as much about the past as it is about the present and future. Everything about baseball's present is linked to it's long and illustrious past, and the "Glory Days".

#3- Home Run, Geoff Moore & the Distance (1995). In my opinion, this is '90s music at it's finest. A catchy tune with a rock feel to it. Geoff  Moore was an early star of the CCM genre, and this was one of his biggest hits. Many people associated with baseball like to draw metaphorical comparisons between baseball and life, and this was Moore's version.

#2- Take Me Out To The Ballgame, Jack Norworth (1908). This particular recording is the original recording by Edward Meeker. Fun fact about this song: Jack Norworth had never even been to a baseball game when he wrote this classic and iconic song. The inspiration for the lyrics came one afternoon while riding a New York subway and he saw an advertisement for an upcoming game at the Polo Grounds. He did, eventually, go see a game.

#1- Centerfield, John Fogerty (1985)- Yes I know, it seems almost scandalous for me to not have Take Me Out To The Ballgame at the top of the list, but this was always one of my favorites. The descriptions, the excitement of wanting to get into the game, and (since I'm a Yankees fan) they even mentioned Joe DiMaggio. What are the odds of Joltin' Joe making this list TWICE (DiMaggio was also mentioned in Simon and Garfunkel's Mrs. Robinson, but that was the only baseball line in the song).

Got a favorite baseball song that was left off this list? Comment below!