Something To Write Home About Contest

[Wolf Hopper]

Most diehard baseball fans should already know about Seth Swirsky's incredible baseball books.

In 1996, Baseball Letters (A Fan's Correspondence With His Heroes) was released to (deservedly) rave reviews.

In 1999, Every Pitcher Tells a Story: Letters Gathered by a Devoted Baseball Fan followed and was excellent as well.

And, this past March, Something to Write Home about: Great Baseball Memories in Letters to a Fan was released to complete the trilogy.

I have read all three of the books and consider them to be part of any "must have" baseball book collection. If you don't have any of these books, you should get them!

And, here's the fun part - Seth has graciously provided NetShrine.com with a copy of Something to Write Home about: Great Baseball Memories in Letters to a Fan which we will be raffling off in a contest as part of this thread.

Since Seth is a songwriter by trade, we'll make this contest a "musical" one. Here's what you need to do to be entered into a raffle with a chance to win Something to Write Home about: Great Baseball Memories in Letters to a Fan (which, BTW, is a $26 retail value).

In this thread, cite lyrics from a song where the lyrics have a baseball connection AND the song is not about baseball. Winner will be pulled from a hat. The period in which to get an entry into the raffle will end on 11 PM EST on 6/7/03. One raffle entry per NDF member.

Here's an example - -
In Joe Walsh' s "Rocky Mountain Way" - there's a part that goes:
"Bases are loaded and Casey's at bat,
Playin' it play by play ,
Time to change the batter."

Note, again, the song is not about baseball, but there's a baseball reference in there anyway.

When citing, please include the song, artist, and lyrics - you need all three to get your entry.

Now, be careful, you might think "Cool, I'll use John Fogerty's Centerfield!" But, in this contest, you cannot - because that is clearly a song about baseball. Get it?

Yes, to get an entry into this raffle is a little harder than in past ones here; but, this is a very significant prize, and the winner should have earned it.

Good luck to all who choose to enter. And, a huge thanks to Seth Swirsky for making this possible.

[CCLIB]

The most obvious is from 'Mrs. Robinson', when the line went, "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?"

DiMaggio almost sued over that one line, btw, but was talked out of it.

Interestingly, Paul Simon's baseball hero was Mickey Mantle, but the name didn't fit.

[Bubba]

Do little Dance
Make a little Glove
Get outs tonight

I think I git those lyrics right

[JamesI]

Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire

Brooklyn's got a winning team.

And California Baseball

[Wolf Hopper]

CCLIB and James are in!
Bubba, sorry, that's not it.

There's more out there. I know one that was real big back when I was in High School.

[Domeboys]

Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman incorporating The Scooter calling a play into Loaf's song of teenage lust. Holy Cow! Brilliant!

Radio Broadcast:
"Ok, here we go, we got a real pressure cooker
going here, two down, nobody on, no score,
bottom of the ninth, there's the wind-up and
there it is, a line shot up the middle, look
at him go. This boy can really fly!
He's rounding first and really turning it on
now, he's not letting up at all, he's gonna
try for second; the ball is bobbled out in center,
and here comes the throw, and what a throw!
He's gonna slide in head first, here he comes, he's out!
No, wait, safe--safe at second base, this kid really
makes things happen out there.
Batter steps up to the plate, here's the pitch--
he's going, and what a jump he's got, he's trying
for third, here's the throw, it's in the dirt--
safe at third! Holy cow, stolen base!
He's taking a pretty big lead out there, almost
daring him to try and pick him off. The pitcher
glance over, winds up, and it's bunted, bunted
down the third base line, the suicide squeeze in on!
Here he comes, squeeze play, it's gonna be close,
here's the throw, there's the play at the plate,
holy cow, I think he's gonna make it!"

From Young Blood by Bruce Willis:

What crazy stuff, she looked so tough
I had to follow her all the way home
Then things went bad, I met her dad
“Look, get your hands off my daughter
Before I play a little Hank Aaron medley on your head!"

[Suitcase]

but it's a little bit of a stretch. It's a song about SOFTBALL featuring baseball players, courtesy of one of the longest running sitcoms in history: The Simpsons.

TALKIN' SOFTBALL

Well Mr. Burns had done it, The power plant had won it, With Roger Clemens clucking all the while, Mike Scioscia's tragic illness made us smile, While Wade Boggs lay unconscious on the barroom tile... We're talkin' softball... From Maine to San Diego. Talkin' softball... Mattingly and Canseco. Ken Griffey's grotesquely swollen jaw. Steve Sax and his run-in with the law. We're talkin' Homer... Ozzie and the Straw.

I hope to post again if I come up with something else more along the intended lines of the contest...

[liskers]

Bruce Springsteen, Glory Days
"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"

Theme Song from "The Jeffersons"
"Now we're up in the big leagues,
Gettin' our turn at bat
As long as we live, it's you and me baby
There ain't nothin wrong with that"

Seung Song, Montreal RHP

I'm sure you'll have some cosmic rationale
But here you are in the ninth
Two men out and three men on
Nowhere to look but inside
Where we all respond to
Pressure

[Suitcase]

...in case the Simpsons song was a no go.

Jitterbug Boy/Tom Waits

Because I slept with the lions
And Marilyn Monroe
Had breakfast in the eye
Of a hurricane
Fought Rocky Marciano
Played Minnesota Fats
Burned hundred dollar bills
I eaten Mulligan stew
Got drunk with Louis Armstrong
What's that old song
I taught Mickey Mantle
Everything he knows

He makes another baseball reference earlier in the song: "I seen the Brooklyn Dodgers playing at Ebbets Field." Cool tune; Waits sounds like Randy Newman after a long night on the town on this track.

[marlinfan]

Dire Straits - The Bug

Sometimes you're the Louisville Slugger
Sometimes you're the ball.

[dave7636]

The Song Is "Baltimore" by Five Chinese Brothers

Once we won the Series, took it going away
Once we sat on top of the NFL and the NBA
But all that's over now, time went and slammed the door
And even I packed up and left the city of Baltimore
You know, the older we get the more we stay the same
I just found out my radio can pick up the Oriole games
I tune in every half-hour to get the score
And remember the days when I was growing up in Baltimore

[chickgandil]

I can see you-
Your brown skin shinin' in the sun
I see you walkin' real slow and you're smilin' at everyone
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone

--Don Henley, "Boys of Summer"

Because as we all know the boys of summer are baseball players.

(this was better than my number two pick, and you don't want to know what that was).

[nyy26wc]

Zanzibar, by Billy Joel--

Rosie knows he's such a credit to the game
But the Yankees steal the headlines all the time