Folks, we're essentially closed with no plans to reopen. That said, I couldn't resist the opportunity to celebrate one of my very favorite holidays on the calendar. For today is Opening Day. Sure, there's Christmas. And y'all know I'm more than a bit partial to Martin Luther King Day. But Opening Day of the baseball season is a celebration of childhood, innocence, and (most of all) HOPE. For one day of the season, no matter where you live or who you root for, your team is tied for first place with the chance of going 162 - 0. Hey, it could happen. Well, probably not, but it is still at least possible on this one day. For this is a day when all things are possible.
So here are some of my favorite musical salutes to baseball--most of which may have been featured here before (and so what if they have)--on this Opening Day 2018. Might make a good soundtrack for a rain delay. Good luck this season, everybody, and Let's Go Mets!
So here are some of my favorite musical salutes to baseball--most of which may have been featured here before (and so what if they have)--on this Opening Day 2018. Might make a good soundtrack for a rain delay. Good luck this season, everybody, and Let's Go Mets!
Time for the seventh inning stretch. We'll be back after this word from our sponsors.
-And we're back. On June 12, 1970, Dock Ellis--then a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates--was in Los Angeles believing his team had an off day. Problem One: The team was in San Diego. Problem Two: It was NOT an off day. Problem Three: Dock was scheduled to pitch that very night. Dock's girlfriend, reading the paper, informed him of these facts and they hustled to the airport with Dock arriving at the ballpark just before game time. None of which did anything to alleviate Problem Four: Dock Ellis had been up all night after taking LSD and then took more in the morning. Dock told the manager he wasn't feeling well, hoping to get out of the assignment, but the staff was depleted and Dock was the only rested arm they had. Dock was wild that night. He was beyond wild. By the fourth inning, he says he couldn't feel the ball and couldn't see the catcher. He thought Jimi Hendrix was the batter and Richard Nixon was the umpire. But, by the fourth inning, he also knew that he hadn't allowed a hit. And, though he says he lost complete track of time and space, Dock Ellis, indeed, threw a No Hitter that night. It took many years before Dock admitted the circumstances behind his No-No, and many more years before Chuck Brodsky wrote this song about it.
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