Talkin' Baseball

Terry Cashman is one of those music business "jack-of-all-trades" guys who has, in turn, been a performer, songwriter, producer and label head. He co-wrote "Sunday Will Never Be The Same" a soft rock top 10 for  Spanky and Our Gang in 1967. In the 70's he co-founded Lifesong Records which hit gold with Henry Gross' Beach Boys sound-a-like weeper "Shannon." But he found everlasting fame, at least in sports circles, with his "Talkin' Baseball(Willie, Mickey and the Duke)" tune from 1981. Fans who were disappointed by the month's long Baseball strike bought it in droves. And, in true record biz fashion, Cashman would give them more of the same, with some variations, doing version's tailored to each major league team, the Baseball Hall of Fame, even a version for the The Simpson's TV Show. The original was not without charm, especially when heard in the run up to Opening Day, and it was kinda cool to hear a version with the hometown nine. But Terry did run it into the ground a bit. And his albums, featuring other baseball themed tunes, could be tough sledding. Most of them are on Spotify so you can hear for yourself. That "Talkin' Baseball" backing tape has got to be see-through by now!

Here's the vintage Tiger's version!

As I write this the Tigers just coughed one up to the Twins on  a walk off extra base hit. Phil Coke, who closed out the game in the away opener, got his feelings hurt when he nearly got taken over the wall. The best teams are gonna lose 60 games a year, even with Mariano Rivera on the mound in his prime, but this will open up the tiresome debate over whether the Tigers can thrive with a so-called "closer-by-committee." With opening day 36 hours away let's focus on the positive!

Above is the 68 Theme Song. Below is the 84 vintage Theme!