Number 25 Adam LaRoche “Copperhead Road” Steve Earle
Steve Earle scored a minor hit in 1988 with Copperhead Road, a raucous ode to a Vietnam Vet turned marijuana grower. The song’s thumping bagpipe sample inspired a country line dance and also makes for a terrific walk up tune. Full marks to Washington Nationals’ first baseman Adam LaRoche for knowing his music history.

Number 24 Ben Zobrist “Say it Now” Julianna Zobrist
Julianna Zobrist’s jaunty, heavily produced and not-all-that-popular dance pop single “Say it Now” would typically be an odd choice of a walk up song. But, as you may have guessed, Zobrist is the wife of Tampa Bay Ray’s star Ben Zobrist. So while “Say it Now” is unlikely to strike fear in the pitcher’s heart or fire up the crowd at the Trop, it surely helps Zobrist out on the home front.

Number 23 Derek Jeter “Square Dance” Eminem
For his 2013 walk up song Jeter chose “Square Dance” by Eminem, which begins with the lyric “People it feels so good to back,” a reference to all of his recent injuries. Given that the maladies continued throughout the year maybe the Yankee captain would have been better off with Machine Gun Kelly’s “Invincible” if he wanted to do the white rapper thing.

Number 22 Koji Uehara “Tweezer” Phish
Phish has been known to stretch out the performance of their song “Tweezer” to well over thirty minutes. This makes it an odd choice for a pitchers walk out song. But after Red Sox‘s closer and apparent Phish-head Koji Uehara’s utterly unreal 2013 — which included an ALCS MVP and basically no base runners — maybe jam bands will be the new thing in walk out tunes. If so expect to be slowly bobbing your head along with Grateful Dead and Widespread Panic at your local ballpark.

Number 21 Jason Bay “State of Love and Trust” Pearl Jam
The recently retired Jason Bay was once a very good baseball player. But for the last four years of his career he was a very bad baseball player who was been paid tens of millions of dollars for stinking. On the bright side, he knows how to match his walk up music to the city he’s playing in. During his final season and first as a Mariner, the Canadian-born leftfielder came to the plate to the grunge sounds of Seattle’s own Pearl Jam. And, no, it didn’t improve his hitting one bit.

Number 20 AJ Pierzynski “Weathered” Creed
Boston Red Sox‘s catcher AJ Pierzynski is probably the most hated man in baseball for his dirty but often cunning tactics and highly punchable face. Creed is probably the most hated band in America because, well, they’re Creed. When Pierzynski came to the plate in 2013 Creed’s “Weathered” played. Well done, AJ. You’ve trolled us yet again.

Number 19 Chris Perez “Firestarter” Prodigy
They call relief pitchers “fireman” because they come in the game and put out the flame of baserunners. Yet then-Cleveland Indians closer Chris Perez used the Prodigy hit ‘Firestarter” as his entrance music in 2013. Maybe that’s why he’s no longer the Cleveland Indians closer. Nevertheless, the 1996 big beat classic is a pretty terrific walk up song. For a hitter, that is.

Number 18 Daniel Murphy “I’m Shipping Off To Boston” Dropkick Murphys
The Dropkick Murphy’s song “I’m Shipping Off To Boston” has been a walk up favorite ever since Martin Scorsese put it in the “Departed” soundtrack in 2006. But what we like about New York Mets‘ second baseman use of the tune is that his last name is Murphy. Now if he only played for the Red Sox. Or had a wooden leg.

Number 17 JJ Putz “Thunderstruck” AC/DC
AC/DC will forever associated with dominant closers, thanks to Trevor Hoffman’s use of “Hells Bell” throughout his career. JJ Putz isn’t quite in Hoffman’s class as a ninth inning man. In fact, he no longer closes for the Snakes. But the Arizona reliever still dominant enough to credibly continue the Australian rocker’s special baseball legacy. As for Thunderstruck, if there has ever been a more dominant hard rock song we’ve yet to hear it.

Number 16 Prince Fielder “Requiem:” Lacrimosa Mozart
Although it is often said Fielder is a vegetarian, he’s actually been back eating meat since 2009. But even though the Texas Rangers’ first baseman is no longer the rare morbidly obese vegetarian he remains something even rarer: a professional athlete (or person under thirty) who listens to classical music. We know this because the rotund slugger sometimes comes to the plate the sounds Mozart’s Lacrimosa Requiem.

Number 15 Wade Leblanc “Born on the Bayou” Creedence Clearwater Revival
Wade LeBlanc has been a fairly mediocre pitcher over his six year big league career. His choice of walk up music, however, is pretty stellar. Not only is Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Born on The Bayou” one of the finest songs ever recorded and the perfect embodiment of the legendary group’s style of “swamp rock,” but Wade Leblanc is from Lake Charles, Louisiana, which is right in the heart of Bayou country

Number 14 Andre Ethier “Royals” Lorde
Lorde scored one of the biggest hits of 2013 with Royals, her screed against conspicuous consumption. The 16-year old from New Zealand said she got the inspiration for the song’s title after seeing a picture of Royal’s legend George Brett in National Geographic magazine. Andre Ethier, who plays for the Dodgers, started to using Royals as his walk up song late in the 2013 season. Given all the trade rumors surrounding the Dodgers’ outfield, maybe Ethier ends up in Kansas City and everything comes full circle.

Number 13 Josh Willingham “Your Love” Outfield
For some reason, multiple bigger leaguers use the Outfield hit “Your love” as their walk up music. It’s a solid eighties tune, sure, but it is also in no way suggestive of baseball player who is about to punish a baseball with his bat. We guess the link to baseball is the name of the band. And since Josh Willingham actually plays the outfield, when he’s not strutting up to the plate with “Your Love” in background, he gets credit for it.

Number 12 Kevin Jepsen “Call Me Maybe” Carly Rae Jepsen
“Call Me Maybe,” the Carly Rae Jepsen song that wormed its way into ears everywhere in 2012 has no business as any grown man’s walk up music in 2014. But we’ll give Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Kevin Jepsen a pass here because his last name makes the selection sort of funny. And no, Kevin isn’t related to Carly Rae. And the Canadian pop star is currently dating singer Matthew Koma, so if this was an attempt on Kevin’s part to curry romantic favor with his surname twin it hasn’t seemed to work.

Number 11 Andy Pettite “Boys of Summer” Don Henley
Don Henley’s haunting 1984 hit Boys of Summer is about facing middle age and remembering the glory days of youth. What better song for Pettite, a 41-year old five time World Series champion, to come out to in his last year before retirement. Especially since the “Boys of Summer” phrase has also long been associated with baseball players, completely independent of the Henley song

Number 10. Shane Victorino “Three Little Birds” Bob Marley
Throughout most of his career Victorino played the Bob Marley song “Buffalo Soldier” before his at-bats. But the Red Sox‘s right fielder switched it up mid-season in 2013 and moved to another Marley classic, “Three Little Birds.” The Fenway faithful certainly took the change and now sing the songs “every little thing is gonna be alright” chorus whenever the Flyin’ Hawaiian’ comes to the plate or makes a good play.

Number 9. Chris Davis “I Get Wicked” Thousand Foot Krutch
Nobody was more wicked to pitchers in 2013 then Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis, who seemingly came out of nowhere to slug 53 home runs and knock in 138. But don’t say he didn’t worn opposing hurlers of his plans to annihilate their offerings with extreme prejudice : Davis approached the plate in 2013 to thomp of the Thousand Foot Krutch hit “I Get Wicked.”

Number 8. Ichiro “Party Rock Anthem” LMFAO
He doesn’t say much and always looks so serious, but there have long been inklings that Ichiro is a pretty funny guy. Like that time the Yankees right fielder deeked everybody (including his poor pitcher) by pretending he was going to have to jump up against the wall to make a catch before snagging it easily before the warning track. What we’re trying to say is that we’re pretty sure when the cameras aren’t rolling the Japanese hitting machine dons goofy glasses and does a bit of shufflin’’.

Number 7. Carlos Beltran “Welcome to the Jungle” Guns n Roses
“Welcome to the Jungle” is an ideal walk up song because it sends the message that not only is the hitter going to bring the pitcher to his knees but he may also make him bleed. Intimidating stuff. About a half dozen big leaguers use the Guns n Roses hit when they come to the plate, but Beltran gets the credit because he’s the oldest and the best.

Number 6. Kevin Youkilis “Just a Friend” Biz Markie
Biz Markie’s comedic rap song “Just a Friend” is sort of a weird choice for walk up music or, really, for any sort of ceremonial application. But, then again, who doesn’t want to start belting out the karaoke classic’s out-of-tune chorus whenever you hear it play. Well done, Kevin Youkilis. We wonder if he is going to use the ditty this year when he plays in Japan.

Number 5. Shin Soo Choo “Gangham Style” Psy
Shin-Soo Choo is clearly the most famous South Korean baseball players there’s ever been. And Psy’s “Gangham Style” is clearly the most famous song to ever emerge from the Korean peninsula. So late in 2012 Choo did the right thing and aligned all things famous and Korean by adapting the danceable novelty hit as his walk up tune.

Number 4. Joey Votto “Paint it Black” Rolling Stones
Joey Votto is known for his Ted Williams-like batting eye and for almost never popping out. He’s also known for his walk up music, the unique, sinister intro to the Rolling Stone’s hit “Paint it Black.” Votto’s been using the tune for years and were pretty sure the pitchers in the National League now cringe whenever it’s on the radio.

Number 3. RA Dickey “Game of Thrones Theme”
RA Dickey is awesome. He climbs mountains. He gives great interviews. He wins Cy Youngs. He’s a pitcher even though he was born without a ulnar collateral ligament. He also has great taste in television, and uses the “Game of Thrones” theme as his walk out music. The knuckler is coming!

Number 2. Chase Utley “Kashmir” Led Zeppelin
With its intricate Middle-Eastern arrangement and stomping beat, the Led Zeppelin epic “Kashmir” comes on like an approaching army. A very large approaching army. Chase Utley, who has used Kashmir as his walk up music for most of his career, is only one man. But in his prime he was about as intimidating a hitter as there was baseball — especially come postseason — and Kashmir has always fit him to a t.

Number 1. Mariano Rivera “Enter Sandman” Metallica
No recent baseball player is as associated with a song as Yankee legend Mariano Rivera is with his entrance music, Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” Initially Rivera wanted to go with Guns and Roses “Paradise City” as his song, but a member of the Yankees production team convinced him “Enter Sandman” — a dark tune about being put down forever — was a choice far more befitting a shutdown closer. The rest is history, and when the Yankees retired Rivera’s number at the end of the 2013 season Metallica was on hand at Yankee Stadium to serenade the future Hall of Famer with the song they will now be forever linked through.

The Ernest Thayer poem “Casey at the Bat” is the most famous of all baseball poems and one better known poems of any kind in American history.

Using the pen name “Phin,” Thayer published the verses (full name “”Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888”) in the San Francisco Chronicle on June 3, 1888.

Actor/singer/comedian DeWolf Hopper later popularized “Casey at the Bat in his vaudeville routine and over the years performers from Jackie Gleason to Elliott Gould to James Earl Jones to Penn and Teller and even Homer Simpson have put their own unique spin on Thayer’s now immortal words.

Casey is believed to be based on Mike “King” Kelly, the first real baseball star and the $10,000 beauty,” thanks to the the then-unfathomable sum of money the Boston Beaneaters had paid to buy Kelly from the Chicago White Stockings in 1887.

Other clues that Casey is Kelly are that Thayer covered Kelly during his 1887 exhibition tour of San Francisco, and that the name Casey implies an Irish ancestry, which could be construed as reference to Kelly being Irish.

If Casey is “King” Kelly that would seen to make Mudville Boston.

However two other Massachusetts cities, Holliston (which has a neighborhood called Mudville) and Worcester (where Thayer grew up), have both long claimed to be the real Mudville.

As for Thayer, he always insisted that the poem “has no basis in fact.”

The complete poem is below. Between each stanza we’ve explained what is going on, as the archaic language of the 19th century may be a bit confusing to some readers.

The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville nine that day;
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play,
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

(We know it’s the bottom of the ninth because Mudville is the home team and there is only an inning left. After Cooney and Barrows both ground out, the Mudville nine are one out away from losing four to two, and they have no runners on base.)

A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, “If only Casey could but get a whack at that–
We’d put up even money now, with Casey at the bat.”

(Casey was Mudville’s best hitter, and the remaining fans — some had already left — were hoping against hope that Casey would get a chance to hit and tie or win the game. In fact, the crowd believed if they could get Casey to the plate they’d have a 50 percent chance at victory.)

But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the former was a hoodoo, while the latter was a cake;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Casey getting to the bat.

(Since there were two outs Casey could only hit if Flynn and Jimmy Blake were able to get on base in front of him. The problem was that Flynn was a hoodoo, meaning he was bad luck, and Jimmy Blake was a cake, meaning he was a very bad player. It didn’t seem likely both players would be able to get on base and insure a Casey plate appearance.)

Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despised, tore the cover off the ball;
And when the dust had lifted, and men saw what had occurred,
There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.

(Much to the surprise of the crowd and both teams, Flynn was able to hit a single and then Blake followed with a double. This left runners on second and third base.)

Then from five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It pounded on the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.

(Since Flynn and Blake had reached bases, Casey would get to bat. The crowd celebrated this by letting out a thunderous cheer.)

There was ease in Casey’s manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey’s bearing and a smile lit Casey’s face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt ’twas Casey at the bat.

(Upon strolling to the batter’s Casey acted very confidently. Smiling and tipping his cap to the cheering crowd. Casey is clearly a man who expects to perform in a pressure situation.)

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt;
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance flashed in Casey’s eye, a sneer curled Casey’s lip.

(Casey is a showman, and his mannerisms upon reaching the plate just encouraged the crowd more. He also shows contempt for the opposing pitcher with a sneer.)

And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped–
“That ain’t my style,” said Casey. “Strike one!” the umpire said.

(Casey takes the first pitch, a strike, and he does so with great swagger.)

From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore;
“Kill him! Kill the umpire!” shouted some one on the stand;
And it’s likely they’d have killed him had not Casey raised his hand.

(The crowd is furious that the umpire would dare call a strike on Casey. They are so angry it seems like they might rush the field and attack the man in blue. But Casey waves them off. He’s not remotely worried about being down 0-1 in the count and doesn’t think the crowd should be worried about this slight inconvenience either.)

With a smile of Christian charity great Casey’s visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the dun sphere flew;
But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, “Strike two!”

(After Casey is able to calm the crowd, the game goes on. The next pitch comes, and again Casey doesn’t swing. The umpire rules this pitch a strike as well.)

“Fraud!” cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered “Fraud!”
But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Casey wouldn’t let that ball go by again.

(Again the crowd is in an ump-killing tizzy. But then they notice a change in Casey’s demeanor. No longer is he casually arrogant. Being down 0-2 has made Casey angry and focused. And the crowd figures a more motivated Casey is sure to deliver in the clutch.)

The sneer has fled from Casey’s lip, his teeth are clenched in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go.
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey’s blow.

(Casey is furious. The two called strikes are an affront to him and his talent. So when the third pitch comes he swings as hard as he can. And misses.)

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville–great Casey has struck out.

(Casey has struck out on three pitches and the game is over. A single would have tied the game and a homer would have won it. But instead Casey choked, sending the entire city of Mudville into great despair.)

When it comes to writing songs about sports, baseball definitely leads the pack as lyrical subject. Here are the ten best baseball songs of all-time.

Number 10: “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” Jack Norworth & Albert Von Tilzer, 1908
It’s probably safe to say that Take Me Out To The Ballgame is more catchy than it is good.  But the song that’s been called the unofficial anthem of Major League Baseball certainly belongs on any list of the top baseball tunes.

Oddly, neither the song’s lyricist Jack Norworth nor composer Albert Von Tlizer had ever watched a baseball game when they wrote the ditty that is still played during the seventh inning stretch of most major league games. (It has also given Cracker Jacks literally hundreds of millions dollars worth of free advertising over the years.)

While you surely know the chorus of the song, which is what is performed during baseball games, the original “Take Me Out To the Ballgame” is actually a fully developed ballad about a young lady who is so baseball mad that she turns down a date with her boyfriend to go the ballpark and watch her favorite team play.

Key Lyrics:
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.

Number 9: “Cheap Seats” Alabama, 1993
Minor League baseball and country music have a lot of similarities. Both are full of hard luck stories, dusty old towns and life on the road. So it would be appropriate that the legendary country music band Alabama would write what many consider to be the finest song about minor league baseball.

“Cheap Seats” tells story about minor league team in a town that’s neither big or small. The town’s residents go to games, and eat hot dogs with mustard and relish while drinking flat beer. They aren’t always sure who the players are, due to the transient nature of the minor leagues.  But they cheer just the same. The song’s official video features the band singing and footage of minor league baseball games.

Key Lyrics:
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.

Number 8: Talkin’ Baseball (Willie Mickey and The Duke) Terry Cashman, 1981
Terry Cashman, a singer-songwriter who had also played minor league baseball in the late ‘50s, was depressed about the 1981 baseball strike.  So he wrote a song which described the history of baseball from the ‘50s to the present — basically the span of his fandom.

“Talkin’ Baseball” became known for its “Willie, Mickey and The Duke” refrain and Cashman says the song was in fact inspired by a poster of the three famous New York City center fielders.

But they are hardly the only players referenced in the song. Yogi Berra, Bob Feller, Henry Aaron, Tom Seaver, Mike Schmidt and George Brett are just a handful of the legendary players who are referenced.  And all the name dropping makes the song an ear feast for any serious baseball fan.

Key lyrics:
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.

Number 7: The Greatest Kenny Rogers, 1999
Say what you will about Kenny Rogers or his chicken, but there is no doubt the man can belt out a ballad. “The Greatest” was actually written by Dan Schlitz, who also penned the signature Kenny Rogers song ‘The Gambler, and it tells the tale of a little boy, a baseball and a baseball bat.

Bragging that he is “the greatest,” the boy imagines he is at-bat with the game on the line and throws the ball up in the air to hit it. Swing and a miss. While this doesn’t affect the youngster’s confidence, it doesn’t make him a better hitter either, and he swings and misses two more times — three strikes and you’re out.

But such failure doesn’t deter this future big league, and the song humorously ends with him telling his mother what a great pitcher he is.

Key lyrics:
Now the little boy doesn’t say a word, picks up his ball he is undeterred.
Says, “I am the greatest that there has ever been”
And he grits his teeth and he tries again.
And the ball goes up and the ball comes down

Number 6: “(Someday We’ll Go) All the Way” Eddie Vedder 2007
While Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder is associated with Seattle, thanks to his band’s grunge sound, he spent a good chunk of his childhood on the North Side of Chicago and has been a lifetime Cubs’ fan.

In fact, Vedder had been a regular at the Cubs fantasy camp where he met Ernie Banks, who requested Vedder write a song about the Cubs.

You can’t turn down a Hall of Famer, so Eddie Vedder penned the song “(Someday We’ll Go) All The Way. Written and performed in the style of a sing-along drinking song or sea shanty, the song discusses the Cubs and the majesty of Wrigley Field with the “someday we’ll go all the way” refrain gently referencing the’ Cubs hapless streak of not winning a World Series since 1908.

Key lyrics:
We’re like brothers in arms in the streets and the stands
There’s magic in the ivy and the old scoreboard
The same one I stared at as a kid keeping score
In a world full of greed, I could never want more
Than someday we’ll go all the way

Number 5 “Joe Dimaggio Has Done It Again” Billy Bragg and Wilco, 1999
For the Mermaid Avenue albums, singer Billy Bragg and Wilco teamed up to write and record songs built from the previously unheard but completed lyrics of folk singer Woody Guthrie, who had died in 1967.

The second volume of the project contains the song Joe DiMaggio Has Done it Again,” which is ode to the Yankee Clipper.  Or, more specifically a majestic home run, that DiMaggio hit. It is the first of three classic baseball songs that reference Joe DiMaggio, whose grace and elusive personality have long seemed to inspire songwriters and creative types.

Key lyrics:
Up along the clouds where the eagles roam
Joe cracked that ball to whine and moan
His buddies all laugh as they trot on in
Joe DiMaggio’s done it again

Number 4 “Catfish” Bob Dylan, 1975
Bob Dylan has always had a talent for biographical songs, most prominently “The Hurricane” about boxer Rubin Carter and “Joey,” about mobster Joey Gallo.

He also wrote a song about Catfish Hunter, the Hall of Fame pitcher for the A’s and the Yankees, who each dominated the 70s when they had Catfish on the mound. The song was part of the 1976 recordings for the album Desire, but it didn’t make the final cut. However Joe Cocker covered the song on his 1976 album Stingray, as did Kinky Friedman on his 1976 album Lasso From El Paso.

The original song was finally released on the 1991 Dylan compilation “The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991.” The tune makes reference to Hunter’s famous free agent move from the A’s, where he won three three World Series, to Yankees, where he won two more.

The song has him striking out Reggie Jackson. This is notable because 1975, the year it was recorded, was the only season in Hunter’s career that he didn’t play on the same team as Jackson.

Key lyrics:
Even Billy Martin grins
When the Fish is in the game.
Every season twenty wins
Gonna make the Hall of Fame.

Number 3: Glory Days Bruce Springsteen 1984
Glory Days was the fifth single off of Bruce Springsteen’s mega-hit album Born in the USA. In the song’s first verse the protagonist runs into an old friend who had been a baseball star in high school and they reminisce about the good times they had. The pitcher with the great “speedball” was based on Springsteen’s childhood friend Jim DePugh, who he had played Little League with.

The song’s baseball theme is even more drawn out in the accompany music video. In it, Springsteen pitches to a wooden backboard with a strike zone and then to an actor playing his son. Bruce pretends he is facing then San Diego slugger Craig Nettles, who “gets him the bottom of the ninth.”

Key Lyrics
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

Number 2: “Mrs. Robinson” Simon and Garfunkel
Paul Simon didn’t specifically write Mrs. Robinson for the movie The Graduate, which both featured the tune and also debuted it on its soundtrack. In fact the original lyric it was Mrs. Roosevelt, as in Eleanor, the former First Lady.

But the “Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio” part, in which Simon laments the disappearance of the Yankee Clipper from public life, was always the same.

The song initially annoyed DiMaggio, who replied that he hadn’t gone anywhere. It also apparently irked Mickey Mantle, who was Simon’s childhood hero but never got a song.

Simon explained to DiMaggio that it was a sincere tribute to his unpretentious heroism during what was a simpler time. After hearing this, DiMaggio went on to embrace the song.

As for Mantle, Simon diplomatically told him that the selection of DiMaggio as a subject was simply about the number of syllables in their respective names.

Key Lyrics
Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?
A nation turns its lonely eyes to you
What’s that you say Mrs. Robinson
Joltin’ Joe has left and gone away.

Number 1: “Centerfield” John Fogerty, 1984
Whether with Creedence Clearwater Revival or as a solo artist, John Fogerty had a special knack for writing hard-driving songs with unforgettable chorus. “Centerfield” was the title track of Fogerty first solo album, which he wrote in 1984 after a nine year hiatus from music.  It was as catchy and as rockin’ as anything he had done before or since

The song is all about the optimism of baseball — the new grass on the field, the bench warmer who believes he has what it takes to be a starter. Fogerty references center fielders Willie Mays, Ty Cobb and Joe DiMaggio in the tune.

“Centerfield” has become a staple at ballparks over the years and in 2010 the song was honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame with Fogerty becoming the first musician to ever be celebrated at the Hall’s induction ceremony.

Key Lyrics
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;
It’s gone and you can tell that one goodbye!