Let's sing John Fogerty's.."Centerfield"..BB 2009 is here !

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Posted By: Pennsylvania Ted

So, let's celebrate, today starts the 2009 Baseball season..Pitchers & Catchers report today.

Start singing, or humming to yourselves John Fogerty's.."CENTERFIELD"....and, it will put you
in the right mood........


Well, beat the drum and hold the phone - the sun came out today!
Were born again, there's new grass on the field.
A-roundin' third, and headed for home, it's a brown-eyed handsome man;
Anyone can understand the way I feel.

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.

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.

Yeah! I got it, I got it!

Got a beat-up glove, a homemade bat, and brand-new pair of shoes;
You know I think it's time to give this game a ride.
Just to hit the ball and touch 'em all - a moment in the sun;
(pop) it's gone and you can tell that one goodbye!

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.

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.



And, a Happy Valentine's Day....too.


TED Z

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Posted By: barrysloate

Ahhhh.....nothing like the sound of the hypodermic needle piercing one's buttocks...Play Ball!

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Posted By: JDRUM

Not to worry,.............it's only a Vitamin B-12 shot.

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Posted By: Fred C

Barry, it almost sounds like you want to write a new chorus to that song!


Ah, spring training! Finally!

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Posted By: barrysloate

Under the circumstances, how can you not be cynical? But I do love the start of spring training.

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Posted By: Donald Miller

Ted,

Thanks so much. I have always wanted to know the words to the song. you made my day.



Don(no baseball yet in cold) South Dakota

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Posted By: john/z28jd

Pirates reported to Bradenton yesterday so I've already been in Spring Training mode since exactly 10amEST Friday morning

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

Baseball is not a game. It isn't a season. It is a continuum, handed down generation by generation. When I play catch with a son, I think of playing catch in my back yard with my Dad. And now, I think he thought of baseball with his dad when he was a kid... It is the smell of the leather glove, the sound of cleats on concrete and gravel, the crack of a fungo bat. It's taking a grandkid to a game, knowing one day that he'll take a great great grandkid that you'll never know to a game one day... That's what baseball is.

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

FRANK W

Since 1846 Baseball has been a continuum in the American psyche.....and, as you very well said,
it has passed down from generation to generation. I sure hope this continues, because there are
growing signs that bother me.....public schools abandoning their BB programs.....parents and kids
becoming fed-up with these BB player's substance abuse.....and, most egregious of all, the exor-
bitant cost of going to the ballpark of one's choice.


JOHN D

Your mention of Bradenton brings back fond memories of being there in March of '72 and sitting in
the stands along the RF line between 1st base and the foul pole....and having a friendly exchange
with Roberto Clemente.


TED Z

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Posted By: David McDonald

Say Hey Willie, Ty Cobb and Joe DiMaggio

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

Nice pictures reflecting these lyrics in Fogerty's song......

" So say hey willie, tell ty cobb and joe dimaggio;
Don't say "it ain't so", you know the time is now. "


TED Z

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Posted By: barry arnold

great song, Ted. many thanks for the memories.
it's one of my favorites.

i have to admit that one of my favs is Wabash Cannonball---thanks to Dizzy
Dean's rendition of it during the 7th inning stretch after one too many falstaffs. Even as a young little leaguer, i loved hearing him while he
and Pee Wee 'called' the game.

best,

barry

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Posted By: JimCrandell

How about we start singing Centerfold instead of Centerfield by the J Geils Band--that puts me in the right mood.

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Posted By: Marty Ogelvie

Jim, that made me laugh..

However, I do love the song Centerfield. Anybody that loves baseball and dreamed of playing as kid probably get chills when hearing the lyrics 'Put me in Coach'!

marty

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Posted By: Dan P.

Happy Pitchers and Catchers Day everyone.

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

Email me......

TED Z

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

You are recalling some great memories bringing up Dizzy Dean's rendition of the "Wabash Cannonball".

Prior to your hearing Dean sing this song, did you know that he was teamed with Mel Allen doing the Yankees' games ?

I was 11 years old when I first heard Dizzy sing and it was a riot. Just as entertaining, was Diz's calling of the games.

Thanks for the memories,

TED Z

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Posted By: barrysloate

Ted- in the late 1960's Dizzy used to appear pretty regularly as an announcer on the Saturday afternoon Game of the Week. I remember he was a real character.

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

Ok... what were those great words we used to hear??

I remember an occasional 'ain't'.
And baserunners 'slud' into bases.
If the runners were going on a foul ball, then they'd return to their 'respected' bases.

The only way a Falstaff could be described was 'ice cold Falstaff'.

There was something about teachers getting after him or the network for what he'd say, 'ain't' being one of 'em, and he said something about how the teachers should stick to teaching, he'd stick to baseball, that there were a lot of people saying 'isn't' who 'ain't' eatin'.

If you look at his career stats, that one game in 1947 stands out... 6 years after he'd retired he's pitching. He was broadcasting, and not speaking well of the Browns' pitching. Eventually someone said he should shut up unless he could do better. He started a game, worked 4 innings allowing 3 hits and a walk, but no runs. He faced 14 batters so he must have coaxed batters into 2 double plays. He was 1 for 1 at the plate. "It ain't braggin' if you can do it!", and he was back in the broadcast booth for the end of the game. I'm glad he's in the Hall.

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Posted By: John K

Ted, MLB has a package of tapes (which I have) of the 15 minute Dizzy Dean Show for Johnson's Wax. I believe Diz does The Wabash Cannonball on one of the shows. It's probably on CD by now. Also, there is a CD called Baseball's Greatest Hits with songs like "Joltin' Joe DiMaggio," "Say Hey," "I Love Mickey," "Willie, Mickey & The Duke," "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?" and Abbott and Costello's "Who's On First." Available on Amazon.

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

FRANK W

That's a great Dizzy Dean story....thanks for sharing it with us. I have two follow-up thoughts to add to it.

1st....I am wondering if that event, or Diz's "corruption of the English language" shortened his stay at the
Sportman's Park broadcasting booth ? I say this, because I recall Dean joining Mel Allen at the broadcast-
ing booth when I was 10 or 11....so, that was in 1949 or 1950.

2nd....Also, I wonder if Dizzy motivated Ned Garver, who was a rookie for the Browns in 1948 ?





JOHN K



Thanks, I'll check out the "goodies".


TED Z

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

Here's 7 silent seconds of Diz windin' and firin' one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9pjc7gDNKU

That shows his uniform number... 17 on his back.
TIRVIA QUESTION TIME: The Cards retired #17, who was the last roster player to wear that number???


An audio link, through the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture site.... sounds like only Diz singing, no Mudcat Band, or whatever it was called. This is sounds to be a studio production, instead of an impromptu clubhouse version




The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture site has more stuff on Ol' Diz, at this link:

Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture



'Ain't' 'Slud' 'Swang' 'throwed' .... we could have listened and watched worse, kids do today.

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

I just love that.....thanks for posting Dizzy's singing.

Incidently, this ole memory of mine is still serving me good stead....Dizzy Dean signed
on to the Yankees broadcasting booth when I was 11 years old.....in April of 1950.


TED Z

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Posted By: Scot Reader

Ray, people will come.

They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway, not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. "Of course, we won't mind if you look around," you'll say. "It's only twenty dollars per person." They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it; for it is money they have and peace they lack.

And they'll walk out to the bleachers, and sit in shirt-sleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game, and it'll be as if they'd dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick, they'll have to brush them away from their faces.

People will come, Ray.

The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again.

Ohhhhhhhh, people will come, Ray.

People will most definitely come.

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Posted By: barry arnold

hearing ole Diz sing,reliving one of the best baseball flicks ever, and
remembering the old days with ole friends----
ain't(in honor of Diz) this board grand!!!
many thanks.

best,

Barry

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Posted By: Richard Simon

Centerfield lyrics and a Field of Dreams quote (great lines in a great movie, beautifully spoken by James Earl Jones) in the same thread as spring training is upon us. Way to go guys! Happy Spring Training to all!!
LET'S GO METS!
=

I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.
Unknown author
--
We made a promise. We swore we'd always remember.
No retreat baby, no surrender.
The Boss

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

I was very lucky growing up in New Jersey during the late 1940's thru the 1950's, listening to Mel Allen
and Red Barber, it couldn't get any better than these two guys.
Add to this mix Dizzy Dean in 1950, and followed by Phil Rizzuto in 1957, and later on Bill White. Listen-
ing to them announce the Yankees games was very entertaining.

Why not tell us about your BB broadcasting booth (TV and/or Radio) guys ?

TED Z

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Posted By: Fred Y

Ted---



Don't forget "the 'Ole Possum" Jim Woods in that Yankee mix!

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

I had forgotten about Jim Woods....how did he get the nickname "possum" ?

The "Huckleberry" replaced Woods in the broadcast booth in 1957.

TED Z

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

The only song that comes to mind with the opening of this baseball season is Neal Young's "Needle And The Damage Done".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0t0EW6z8a0

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Posted By: Mark

Hunter Stockton Thompson July 18, 1937 February 20, 2005 .

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Posted By: Fred Y

Ted--



("I had forgotten about Jim Woods....how did he get the nickname "possum" ?)



I believe Mel gave it to him, as I seem to recall ONLY Mel introducing him that way when he turned the game over to him, but I couldn't swear to it!

Here's the answer:

Woods picked up his nickname of "Possum" while with the Yankees. Woods had a slight overbite and close-cropped gray hair. When he walked into the clubhouse fresh from a haircut, Enos Slaughter sized him up and said, "I've seen better heads on a Possum."

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

Thanks for finding out.

I met Enos Slaughter at the 1982 National in St Louis and had a nice conversation with him. A great sense of humor,
so I'm not surprised that he came up with "the possum".

TED Z