Fifteen years ago, I sat front row on the third-base line at Wrigley Field at a Cubs-Padres matinee. It was my first real encounter with baseball—I was still oblivious to the Cubbie curses, and I was more captivated by the sand-covered Tony Gwynn home run ball that landed in my possession somehow after being thrown back by the Cubbie faithful than I was in the game. Of course, all of this was accompanied by the endearing, often non-sensical, babbling that was Harry Caray’s broadcasting, along with the first of many seventh-inning stretches I’d hear sung from the booth. That intersection of baseball and music has long been a running theme, as they remain two of the most essential components of American culture today.
As opening day brings about the start of another MLB season, we decided to revisit this cross-section of baseball and music, taking a look at each professional team through the eyes of musicians that are die-hard baseball fans. Paste rounded up at least one musician for every ballclub—from The Decemberists (Cubs) to Rush (Blue Jays), Randy Newman (Dodgers) to The Hold Steady (Twins) in search of what draws these musicians to devote themselves to America’s past time (be sure to check out the baseball edition of our Signs of Life podcast in the media player to your right).
AL East
Baltimore Orioles
Musician: Erin McKeown
Why she loves the Orioles: “I’m from Virginia, far south of Washington D.C. Still, growing up, the Baltimore Orioles had my heart. Several times a season, starting at age 5, my dad and I would make the three-plus-hour trip up to see a game. In 1995, my senior year in high school, Cal Ripken…was closing in on breaking Lou Gehrig’s streak of consecutive games played. That fall, we went to a game, and I brought my beloved field hockey stick, second only to my guitar for my teenage affections. After batting practice, I worked my way down to the field, leaned over the railing, waved my stick and called ‘Cal! Cal! Over here, Cal!’ He spotted me and I handed him the stick. Weighing it in his hand for a second, he made a motion that was somewhere between a putt and a home run cut. “Keep it up,” he said, and signed the wide, flat shaft. To this day, I’m convinced I have the only field hockey stick ever signed by Cal Ripken. Please don’t tell me otherwise.”
Teenage Baltimore O’s crushes: Brady Anderson, Cal Ripken.
Fan-o-meter: 76/100
Musician: Steve Colmus
Band: J. Roddy Walston and The Business
Why he loves the Orioles: “It isn’t easy being an O’s fan these days, after 13 consecutive losing seasons, intermittent steroid scandals and the hordes of Yankees and Red Sox fans that take over our stadium 18 games a year because they can’t afford tickets to their own. But some friends and I, including our guitarist Billy [Gordon], were able to lay irrational enthusiasm to tape in the form of a couple of songs about the Birds—”How ‘Bout Dem O’s” and “Oh Oh Orioles”—that the team plays during games at the Yard. No matter how bad things get, my evening clarity ritual involves lugging a radio and some beers on the roof with friends and listening to Joe Angel and Fred Manfra—two titans of their craft—call the games, making the small victories feel, momentarily, every bit as satisfying as the elusive big ones.”
Rooftop beer of choice for O’s games: National Bohemian (Natty Boh).
Fan-o-meter: 84/100
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