“Take me out
to the ball game,…” 
Jack Norworth

This is a trivia question which might stump the most devoted fans of the game of baseball: Who wrote the song “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”?

We’ve all heard it. We’ve all sung it. Most people know the lyrics (or something close to the actual words) from memory. The song, composed in 1908 by Albert von Tilzer with lyrics by Jack Norworth, is sung with enthusiasm in every major league ballpark following the final out of the top of the seventh inning, when fans at the stadium stand for the traditional “seventh inning stretch.” Take Me Out to the Ball Game is as much a part of baseball as the National Anthem, hot dogs, and sunflower seeds.  

The lyrics of the song include references to familiar things one might associate with the game of baseball, such as peanuts and crackerjacks. Not surprisingly, the song encourages fans to root, root, root for the home team, acknowledging the disappointment associated with a home team loss. It’s the end of this golden oldie, however, to which I can most easily relate. 

I began my short-lived baseball career in fifth grade, I played on the Saint Gabriel School 5th grade baseball team. We won the CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) city championship that year, though my contribution to the winning season was negligible. The following summer, that same group of guys participated in the PAL (Police Athletic League) season. Most of those games were played at Park Merced Field, across the street from Harding Park Golf Course. Except for one memorable game, in which I inexplicably ended up pitching the last inning and striking out the side to preserve a win, my contribution to the team was equally inconsequential. 

My problem as a baseball player is that I had an absolute fear of getting hit by a pitch. I don’t recall it ever happening, but that might be due to the fact that I was so afraid of the ball that I rarely stayed in the batter’s box long enough for that to be a possibility. As a result, although I had a relatively good arm and a profound understanding of the game, rarely, if ever, did I hit the ball. My goal when I stepped into the batter’s box was to draw a walk. Umpires don’t look favorably upon such weakness.

This brings me back to the song. The lyrics to which I most easily relate are well-known throughout America: “For it’s one, two, three strikes. You’re out!” My entire baseball career can be summed up in those eight words. 

Still,… I love the game.