The Great American Baseball Box is a baseball fan’s dream because, other than the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s archives, this is quite possibly the greatest collection of historical baseball recordings ever assembled. It is a portable audio Cooperstown that enlightens and entertains the listener about America’s pastime. Contained within the box, whose cover is textured like a base, are four CDs that offer up over four hours of baseball’s legacy.
Disc 1 is a collection of music that’s associated or influenced by the game. The theme from every seventh-inning stretch, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”, performed here by The Andrews Sisters, and the lesser known “It’s A Beautiful Day For A Ball Game” by The Harry Simeone Songsters capture the fans’ enthusiasm for a day at the ballpark. Players are memorialized in songs like “Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit that Ball” by Count Basie & His Orchestra, “I Love Mickey” by Teresa Brewer and the song’s namesake, Mickey Mantle, and “Catfish” by Bob Dylan. The joy of playing the game is expressed in John Fogerty’s “Centerfield” and Peter, Paul & Mary’s “Right Field”. It’s not all fun, though, especially when your favorite team is a perennial loser. Dedicated fans can go a whole lifetime without seeing their team find success. Steve Goodman turns that frustration into laughter with “A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request”.
Disc 2 features the games. These clips are not only classic baseball moments, but some have grown to such iconic heights in our culture that people who don’t know their context know them. It transports the listener back to a time when a wonderful storyteller wouldn’t just deliver the play-by-play, but instead would craft a tale so wonderfully that you felt like you were in the stands.
Highlights include “The Shot Heard Round The World” when New York Giants’ Bobby Thomson homers against the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the National League pennant. Russ Hodges’ classic call “The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!” is one of the most legendary moments in radio history. New York Giants’ Willie Mays robs the Cleveland Indians’ Vic Wertz with an over-the-shoulder catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series immortalized simply as “The Catch”. Ted Williams hitting a home run in his final major-leaguer at bat.
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