Not that there’s anything wrong with that
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- June
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One of our readers is an editor at Spin magazine. He sent me a link to a story by Jeff Pearlman on the origins of the song YMCA and how it came to be played every day at Yankee Stadium.
All I can say is that a lot of folks have no idea what they’re dancing to.
Meanwhile, another reader has started a petition to get rid of YMCA at Yankee Stadium. We wish you well in your quest, Sean.
I’m the wrong guy to ask. I’m cranky and loud, crappy music doesn’t exactly help writing on deadline. But YMCA and Cotton-Eye Joe have always struck me as curious choices for music at a game. But the Yankees have their script and they cling to it like grim death. It hasn’t changed much in years.
It could be worse. At least they don’t play Who Let The Dogs Out? or the inspid Sweet Caroline. That song is just creepy.
It’ll be interesting to see what changes, if any, will be made at the new Stadium. Hopefully the Yankees will urge fans to sit quietly between innings and read blogs on their PDAs.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Josh Thomson
See, I kind of like the tradition.
Anyway, Cotton Eyed Joe is a summer camp thing.
Sweeeeeeet Caroline Oh Oh Oh I’m gonna puke.
Or how about that stupid song, they play at Shea. “clap your hands, clap clap clap your hands”. that song makes my ears bleed!
At least they dont play “Barbie girl” by Aqua!
They played Sweet Caroline at my older brother’s wedding–and my brother’s a Yankee fan, mind! I almost had to leave the dance floor.
anything is better than that annoying guy who always bangs on his stupid cowbell at yankee stadium. You hear it nonstop on tv. I hate him!
I’m a diehard Yankees fan, but I love the song Sweet Caroline. I don’t consider it a Red Sox song, but rather a New York Rangers song. The Rangers play it after every victory. They also play it at Giants and Jet games.
Kevin
Yea Let’s Go Rangers. Hockey draft tomorrow can’t wait. Ok back to baseball.
They should start playing “The Thong Song” at the games.
Please, please, PLEASE just get rid of God Bless America during the seventh-inning stretch. Enough, already.
Apologies if this was already posted-
Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez voted most overrated by their peers.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/06.....116261.htm
Pat- funny how they were asked who they’d start a team with, and it was Alex followed by Jeter.
does anybody now if pat venditte is making his debut tonight because the si yankees r on sny so i might wann watch that
Wow, Erick Almonte and Jackson Melian playing roles in a big 4 run inning against Alan Horne tonight. Blasts from the past, huh?
What they need to start a petition to get Melky out of the starting line up. The buy has horrible numbers and they are falling. Brett Gardner should be starting over Melky in his .313 OBP.
jennifer
it’s like players can’t decide if they love them or hate them.
check out this blog everyone
beegcellent.com
Perhaps running close to “YWCA” and the others would be “Macarena” by Los Del Rio, or even worse, by The Chipmunks. The worst isn’t the song, but, the northern cities that play it, is “Thank God, I’m A Country Boy”.
I’m amazed that you didn’t know that.
John’s post will probably be deleted but you can search Youtube for “Mets fan at Yankees Stadium” and click on the video “Don’t wear a Met’s Jersey to Yankees stadium” to hear the creatures version of that song.
Can the Cubs score?
In Melky’s defense, he drew a walk, stole second and third and then scored the tying run today. Let’s give him another day.
I read that article – thanks for the link. It’s misleading – they asked 495 players and 10% answered Derek Jeter. It’s not like a huge majority of players said that. Just that of the players they said that about, Jeter got the most votes.
Yeah, well, we were driving down this dark road, and I hit a kid. [the crowd reacts with stunned silence.] So, we got out, and sure enough he was dead. So, we just took off. Pretty fast. And two hours later, I wrote “Sweet Caroline”. Sweet Caroline. Good times never seemed so good. Thank you.
- Neil Diamond (or Will Ferrell)
Gardner is 10 for his last 43, has stolen no bases in 9 or 10 games, and has struck out every 4th at bat this year. He may not be ready yet.
Think the Cubs are overrated?
I’m with you Toast. I’m hoping they lose the Kate Smith tape when they move across the street.
Pinstripes, that cowbell guy is actually some old guy named Freddie who walks around the home plate area every game with a frying pan that he and the tourists hit with a spoon. Some say “he’s cute” or just “a sweet old man” but, you’re right, it is totally irritating and he doesn’t know enough to not bang it during our guys’ crucial at bats or pitches.
Duncan hit a HR vs journeyman Aquilino Lopez
Alan Horne
6.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K’s
PT/S: 96-53, GO/AO: 5-7
weird line
Doreen, 29 of those players that answered Jeter were shortstops.
I was at a game recently and the guy who was the cowboy in the original band was sitting in my section. The guy was living in the past so hard that it was scary. He came to the game with his cowboy hat and leather jacket, got super psyched when they played the song (making sure to draw as much attention to himself as possible), and promptly left. What a tool.
I do like the Yankee Stadium YMCA tradition, though. The Cotton Eye Joe thing, not so much.
GB7 -
Very funny!
Brett Gardner seems to have developed a case of back-up quarterback syndrome.
The team doesn’ think he’s ready to handle the job yet but the promise of what he could be is just so enticing for the fans.
I don’t see what the complaint is about “God Bless America.” It isn’t long and I don’t think it anything offensive in it unless you don’t believe in God, and even then, if you don’t believe in God, then why would it bother you?
I don’t mind if they bring “YMCA” to the new park. I lived through the 70s and the song and the Village People were everywhere, Studio 54, roller disco, etc., etc., etc. The song no more represents gay people today than Liberace does. It’s an over-the-top time capsule piece. Cotton-Eye Joe? Harmless.
On the other hand, the Steinbrenners do have choices to make about the atmosphere of the new park. I’d like them to lower the decibels and re-establish a nice retro noise level. It’s gotten out of control; sitting at the stadium these days is like being inside a huge pinball machine during a Who concert. It’s not that it’s loud as much as all the music and effects are cheesy and pointless.
As for the guy who bangs on the pots and pans… draw and quarter him.
And keep “God Bless America.” It’s a fine sentiment and an appropriate gesture. Stop hating on America.
Here is my list of things that hopefully will get better when it comes to scoreboard guys in the new stadium:
1. New sound system the one they have is horrible depending on where you sit you cant hear a thing. There is 1 pA tower and it is lamo
2. Cotton Eyed Joe HAS to go
3. The guy that they ALWAYS show dancing to cotton eyed Joe also has to go. I dont care if he is one of the scoreboard guys friends he is totally annoying and is there a reason we have to see him EVERY game.
4. God willing Bob SHeppard will be back if not the current guy either has to go OR he needs to speak wih his onn voice and not pretend to do a cheap Sheppard imitation. I have been told by someone who met him last week that this is how he has been told to address and if that is the case the Yankees really need to get a clue.
5. Freddie says guy – I have no issue with him but would like to know how he gets into every game.
“And keep “God Bless America.†It’s a fine sentiment and an appropriate gesture. Stop hating on America.”
Well said – agreed.
Now from MLBtraderumors via the desk of Captain Obvious:
Erik Bedard is “now officially on the market.” Bedard’s value has diminished since the Mariners acquired him, however.
Staten Island has number 62 pitching now, a 6″5″, 230 pound right handed fireballer named Jason Kiley. I think he’s trying to get Chamberlain’s old job.
They also have Melky (Mesa) playing left field, now.
And the Cubbies take the lead!
Cubs just scored 2 in top of 7th. Go Cubs! Gotta make the Rays keep losing
Brett Gardner seems to have developed a case of back-up quarterback syndrome.
He’s probably going through the they probably want to trade me syndrome, Brett’s 1 yr. away from Rule 5 he probably doesn’t know what he can keep doing, but he is playing himself to backup 4 OF/pinch runner status.
Gardner is doing what Cabrera is doing. They both fancy themselves as power hitters after hitting a few earlier.
Please don’t misunderstand. I have no objection to “God Bless America” and am all for it to continue, just, can we have some other artists sing it? I think it’s been the same Kate Smith recording since the weeks after Sept. 11.
GB7
Who are the announcers at the SI Yanks game? Mike Schmidt was in the booth earlier.
God Bless the Service Men and Women fighting overseas. We can remember their heroics with the National Anthem at the front of the game, or at other times during our day. Steinbrenner needs to get over his guilt for whatever that thing he did for Nixon in the 70’s, and ixnay the “God Bless America,” during the 7th inning stretch. 911 was a nightmare, but here we are seven years later having to replay the event over and over again, bringing the game to a screeting halt, and turning the stadium into a 50K seat funeral parlor. Life is enough of a pain in the rear, and a nightmare at times, is it too much to ask for an escape for 9 innings of a ballgame, and forget the problems of the world!?
Yankee
Music
Cheesy
Anthems
Is there any music at the ballpark that ISN’T cheesy? You sit there in the stands, a few raindrops start falling and the next thing you know you’re listening to a Hammond Organ playing “Raindrops keep falling on my head”. And you’re complaining about THIS one? Isn’t that part of the overall charm of going to the ballpark?
Speaking of ‘music to my ears’ I can’t wait for Bob Sheppard to get back.
5. Freddie says guy – I have no issue with him but would like to know how he gets into every game.
-Prolly the same way any of the other 50,000 people get into the stadium. They get tickets, genius. Freddie is a season ticketholder, and supposedly Modell’s picks up the tab for his tickets.
So finally, we get the truth….Giambi’s mustache is a tribute to the Village People. I think it looks FABULOUS!! You know, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
gayle
How about getting rid of the video of the old fat guy dancing. That video has to be 5 years old, the guy is probably 6 feet under, and people laugh at it thinking it is live.
God Bless America is a prayer set to song. It is asking for guidance. I think America could use guidance especially when deploying troops.
JimmyH
I agree, they should shake it up a bit. I love Ray Charles version of America the Beautiful.
Doreen, one of them is Dave Gallegher and the other is Dave Madigan (I believe). The radio broadcaster is Warner Fussell.
Jennifer, I agree!! That really irks me – especially when it’s colder out or raining and everyone is shocked because he is in his short sleeves!!!
Jimmy H -
I like your idea of switching up the versions of GBA every once in a while.
they should work in punk rock song by bad religion.
greenberet Dave Gally was my neighbor when I was a kid. My brother and I would always go to his house he was a really nice guy.
I don’t mind “raindrops keep falling on your head” when it rains, or the other obvious tunes on the organ, or leading the crowd into a “let’s go yankees” kind of chant. I’m against the pre-recorded stuff. I’m for more of the Hammond Organ and less of MTV’s playlist. Take it back to a quieter time at the park.
“Steinbrenner needs to get over his guilt for whatever that thing he did for Nixon in the 70’s”
It is ok – President Nixon pardoned him!
“Life is enough of a pain in the rear, and a nightmare at times, is it too much to ask for an escape for 9 innings of a ballgame, and forget the problems of the world!?”
Sounds like you’re the one who needs to get over themselves. It is the 7th inning stretch – intended as a pause. Sorry you can’t deal.
And another thing, I think just about every team in the Major’s plays “Take me Out to the Ballgame.” What’s wrong with that? It’s fun? You can sing along with your family? You don’t have to relive memories of that horrible day in American History? Or prop up the Owner’s insecurities about his patriotism?
Just being honest.
Thanks GB7. I remember when Dave Magadan was supposed to be the next great hitter for the Mets. He was a good hitter for the Marlins, though, right?
Kat- There is another video they always show, can’t remember at what point, but again people think it is live. Um hello they show it at every single game.
And every once in a while, play “Take Me Out To The Ballgame”, like they used to during the 7th inning stretch, before it was replaced by the Kate Smith recording.
whoops – Reagan pardoned the Boss. My apologies.
They have 2 and a half minutes between innings and Kate smith’s version plays for 1 minute and 10 seconds. Get over it, already. Go to Iraq and you won’t have to listen to it…..just 2 hours of chanting, 3 times a day piped in from every street corner in the country.
murphydog
Agreed, I’ll flip on the Mets game from time to time, and they play this loud tinny music.
The funniest thing I heard was the guy got on the pa and said
“okay met fans but your hot dogs down get up and clap your hands, lets go mets lets go mets.”
Um something is wrong when you have to tell your fans to get up and clap.
what the hell some scrub named Guzman hit a HR off of Melancon, that is a very very very rare thing.
yankee2123:
“Life is enough of a pain in the rear, and a nightmare at times, is it too much to ask for an escape for 9 innings of a ballgame, and forget the problems of the world!?”
Escape is fine. It’s appropriate and necessary. But how does it ruin your “escape” to spend a grand total of two minutes while you are living it up at a ballgame to think about someone besides yourself who happens to be dodging bullets instead of foul balls?
Yes he was, Dorren. He’s Lou Piniella’s nephew. Lot of hitting talent, there. Madigan was pretty good, just couldn’t stay healthy.
***Doreen***
GB7:
“Go to Iraq and you won’t have to listen to it…..just 2 hours of chanting, 3 times a day piped in from every street corner in the country.”
Ooh rah
How ya’ been?
I forgot about him being Piniella’s nephew, GB7.
Doreen one of them is Gary Apple not sure who the other is
Ray Charles’ version of America The Beautiful would be fine, but it is longer than God Bless America.
Both God Bless America and America the Beautiful have been talked about to replace the Star Spangled Banner.
I don’t see where it changes the pace or feel of the game to play either song.
Doing great, Murph. Thanks for asking. How’s your corner of the world?
Are you seein’ that garbage in Tampa….the Chicago pitcher came in and did this :
Walk
Walk
Hit the Batter
Hit the Batter to force in a run
( they took him out after that last one….YA THINK ??? )
A few comments on the music selection:
A. Really, Pete? You didn’t know that was what YMCA was about? Though, I think, for the Yankees, it’s more about the grounds crew getting to dance than sweet, public man love.
B. I’ve always been embarrassed by the playing of “Cotton Eyed Joe”. In fact, me and some other 30 year old friends of mine were at the local college bar one night when that came on and everybody started dancing to it. We couldn’ t believe it, until I realized that for us it’s a cheesy song from high school, for those kids it’s retro.
C. I’m an atheist and I dig “God Bless America”
D. Remember when it was just Eddie Layton? (Actually, going by the median age of most blog commenters, probably not. Leave it to the damn interwebs to make a 30 year old feel old.)
As far as I know at least to all the games I have been to over the past 4 years I have had season tickets (partial though they may be) they do play Tke Me Out to the Ballgame after GBA.
What happened to the CUBS?
New pitcher for the Cubs comes in and gives up a Grand Slam…the Cubs are about to be swept by the Rays….Chicago Cubs Fans ( and I know this ) are SO expecting a collapse….this could be the beginning of the end….DANG !
Kate- Good point, I forgot that America the beautiful is long.
Anyway I love that The Yankees till play God Bless America. No one should ever forget what happened that horrible day, or forget that their are Americans fighting a war.
I’m watching Tampa – what a joke of an inning. If we had an inning like that, people in here would be calling for heads. More importantly, it doesn’t look like Tampa will be dropping a spot in the WC standings tonight.
Gayle, you’re correct. Magidan is connected to the Red Sox. Have no idea why I said that. Just remember reading his name earlier. Apple and former player Gallegher.
Anyone know if Sean Gallagher is related to Dave? I know he had a young son when I knew him. I can’t recall his name.
“What happened to the CUBS?”
The same thing that happens to all National League teams in June: interleague play.
I was wondering today if there’s less movement in the standings in June than any other month since most of the NL teams are busy losing while all the AL teams are winning (except for the Mets who actually have a winning interleague record this year).
It seems to me the Yanks and Sox always stay deadlocked during June because they bothe beat up on the NL. Anyone have any data to support or refute that?*
*I’m too lazy to look it up myself.
Walk
Walk
Hit by Pitch
Hit By Pitch
Grand Slam
Triple
Double
Stolen Base
Sac Fly
SAC FLY ???? So they only scored 7 runs and have only 2 more outs in the inning ?
Wow….talk about the wheels FLYING off the Wagon….Makes our bullpen look like ALL-Stars !
Houston about to lose their 8th in a row. OUCH.
There ya go…..next batter….DOUBLE….
Vanditte is pitching right now
Oh Tampa…so not cool. You’re supposed to let the cubs win at least one!
FYI, Venditte, the switch pitcher is pitching right now on SNY in the 9th
Pat Vendette sny everyone.
Pat Venditte is now pitching for Staten Island. He warmed up both ways.
GB7:
Glad to hear it. Me and mine are fine, thanks.
ERA = 189.00 for the Cubs Pitchers in this inning…They have given up 7 runs and only retired one batter….SUPER !
YMCA is horrible and I’ve been waiting for it to go away for years. Every year I go to my first game of the season and hope…but I’m always disappointed.
How cool!!
How is Barry Zito overrated? Whats his record again?
Yes we get to see it
They keep switching.
Come on announcers.
Henriquez is confused
You guys are awesome. I had just switched the channel. Now I’m back to watching the game.
switch hitter vs switch pitcher
I want a brawl here
Here’s the pertinent part of what Pete was linking to:
“In February 1996, five years after Morali’s death from AIDS, a onetime aspiring priest from Tampa, Florida, the son-in-law of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, changed everything.
Joseph Malloy (former general partner, New York Yankees): It was the opening of Legends Field, our spring-training stadium in Tampa, and a couple of the grounds crew guys approached me with the idea of bringing a little excitement to the exhibition games. In the middle of the fifth inning, when they dragged the infield, the guys wanted to do the arm motions to “Y.M.C.A.” I hadn’t heard the song for a long, long time, but the crowd absolutely loved it. I thought, “Hmmm, this might work in New York.”
On April 9, 1996, the Yankees opened at home against the Kansas City Royals. With a driving snowstorm battering players and fans alike, five Yankee Stadium groundskeepers began their customary walk to clean the infield in the middle of the fifth inning. Then, from the speakers, a familiar horn riff and disco beat kicked in.
Juan Gonzalez (from his New York Daily News column, October 29, 1996): They began to dance, strut, and gyrate around second base while they dragged the field. The capacity crowd roared with approving laughter. We all cheered and applauded, and for a moment we all felt a little warmer inside. It was baseball poking fun at itself, reminding us all that this huge, multibillion-dollar, cutthroat business is, after all, about people having a good time.
Molloy: I remember looking at [Yankees] Wade Boggs and Derek Jeter and seeing them swaying to the music. When those grounds crew guys dropped their rakes and performed, you had to watch. From the owner’s box, I would do the Y-M-C-A motions with the crowd. I should have trademarked it.
Michael Musto (columnist, The Village Voice): “Y.M.C.A.” is one of many cultural phenomena that started as a gay in-joke and eventually became stripped of its winkiness and subsumed by the mainstream. Back in the ’70s, the masses did those crazy hand gestures along with the song, truly thinking it was an upbeat number about how nice the Y is, but at least the sophisticated crowd was plugged into the real meaning. The Studio 54 set knew full well the Village People were a campy assortment of gay stereotypes nodding to the gays with coded sexual allusions and macho posturing.
Molloy: “Y.M.C.A.” is about homosexuality? I had no idea until this very moment. Wow! Well, it’s a great song that makes people feel good. That’s what’s important.
Not long after Yankee Stadium made “Y.M.C.A.” a fifth-inning staple (which is still being done 12 seasons later), other teams took notice. Also in ‘96, the Oakland Coliseum was undergoing a $200 million renovation. As an A’s batter stood at the plate, trying to concentrate while, say, Randy Johnson unleashed a 97-mph inside fastball, the noise from bulldozers and jackhammers filled the air.”
Doesn’t the hitter have to choose, than the pitcher.
Stage a comeback Cubbies.
Like now
lol wow this is awesome
You know this ump has no clue what to do here haha.
by rule the batter has to announce his side first.
So much for this being “the year” for the Cubs. Awful.
There is a rule, and I think the pitcher has the last choice.
Jennifer –
I thought that, too. In fact, didn’t we all discuss this very situation when he was first signed????
Now that Peterson no longer works for the Mets, I wonder if Zito will try and find him to help save him
Someone call sny and tell them.
Doreen
Yep, I think someone looked it up.
My god the rules are easy, the batter has to announce his side before he gets to the circle the pitcher announces his side last.
It has to be batter chooses first. The ump kept letting him switch gloves.
Jennifer, I agree that we should never forget that horrible day. I used to work in the WTC and knew about 50 people, though only 12 of them really well, who were lost forever that day. The next day my Mother died.
When I hear God Bless America now it reminds me of those people, but also seeing how NYC recovered from it, it reminds of hope for a better tomorrow.
I went to school at UMASS Amherst (as Pete knows), and I was also an orientation counselor there for the past 2 years (orienting the new freshmen). Whenever we closed each session (there were about 8 sessions of 300+ students), I would host a “closing session” and, in accordance with UMASS tradition, I would have to start the closing with “Sweet Caroline”, since it was Red Sox country. It was an absolutely horrific moment for me, as a Yankee fan and I’m still scarred to this day.
What we need to do is get Rick Peterson under contract and then trade him to the Giants for Tim Lincecum.
Because the Giants have a lot more money tied up in Zito than they do in Lincecum. So they’d totally do it.
With that said, I’d like to see some new traditions at the stadium (new songs), but I’m sure they’ll carry those over, at least in the beginning, in order to give it that ol’ stadium feel.
Just from this I like Pat already haha.
Awesome job by Venditte
Kate I’m so sorry to hear that
The rule is pretty clear. Batter picks a side, pitcher picks a side.
Mark -
Me, too!
One of the great things about music is how the listener is entitled to their own interpretation. Someone who is enjoying a song can take ownership of that song, and it can mean something or nothing to them, but it is their choice to do so. A song can mean one thing to one listener, but something entirely different to another. It’s one of those things that makes music such a unique and individualistic form of entertainment.
To me, Y.M.C.A. isn’t a “Gay” song. It’s just another song that can be enjoyed for various reasons just like any other song.
I like Y.M.C.A. and Cotton Eye Joe at the ballpark because they are entertaining. Stupid? Crappy? There’s an argument for that. But that’s the great thing about music. It’s entertainment value is debatable. What makes a song tick for one person may not do the same for another.
Like, I could thing Bruce Springsteen is a total cheeze. You can argue the entertainment value by saying, “Well, he has grammys and tons of awards”. Ok, but so do the Spice Girls. Everybody has an opinion in music. It’s always a great debate.
JGNYC
Sit in the bleachers during YMCA you get a whole different perspective on it.
WRONG! By RULE the PITCHER must declare first if he has the ability to throw with either arm… sorry Brandon.
Count me in on the sick of the noise pollution gang! I used to leave games with a sore throat from cheering… now I get one from trying to talk to theperson next to me!
Definitely say goodbye to God Bless America and/or Kate Smith..
Gardner is a fourth outfielder and nothing more… I supported him replacing Duncan on the roster because I felt his speed and defense would be more valuable assets… and I still do. But he’s not an every day major leaguer.
Didn’t Joba look good? Haven’t heard much from the “keep him in the pen” crowd lately.
I hope they keep Y.M.C.A. because it’s become tradition, and it’s entertaining to watch those groundskeepers do something other than mope around the bases. Cotton Eye Joe can go for all I care. Not because I think the song sucks, but I just never got over the switch from Joe to Joey in the DJ booth.
Everyone knew this about YMCA. Haven’t you ever seen a pride parade?
I really can’t believe that people are calling for the ouster of God Bless America. That is just insane to me. Should we also do away with the moment of silence for our men and women serving throughout the world to protect our freedom and our way of life?
My brother won’t turn the tv to SNY
Sounds like he was really cool though.
One song I will never get tired of hearing is “Enter Sandman”. I will be very disappointed when that is no longer played.
Umpires ultimately restored order, applying the rule (the same as that in the majors) that a pitcher must declare which arm he will use before throwing his first pitch and cannot change before the at-bat ends.
meaning he can switch just not during the AB right ?
Joe: Amen.
I can live without “YMCA” and “Cotton Eyed Joe” at the new stadium. Personally I hope they keep the Westminster Chimes for runs scored and the air raid siren for home runs. The Dunkin’ Donuts Subway Race is always good for a laugh as well.
Who cares if YMCA is a gay song?
Are there really people out there still that have so much hatred for gays that they actually will change their opinion of the song based on its origin?
It’s pathetic. You think the country and the world has come a long way, only to find out it hasn’t.
By the way, there are at least a few homosexual readers on the blog at the moment, if you consider statistics and and volume of traffic this blog gets. So I say just drop the subject and move back to baseball.
I just emailed Pete, hopefully he can ask an ump. I don’t want to trust any old website. I went to mlb rules and pitcher, and don’t see anything about a switch pitcher.
I thought the rule was pretty clear and the batter has to declare first. I’m will be distaught if I find out that I can’t trust information given in the LuHud comments section.
switch pitcher????….. wow…….If a pitcher starts a game throwing righty, he can’t throw with his left hand during that game.
You know
maybe venditte will pass along the business card of the custom glove maker to the 6 fingered guy we just picked off of waivers. It’s intra corporate synergy….
tee hee
This is all I could find right now..It was asked in 2007
The pitcher may switch pitching arms prior to each batter. Once he has established himself as a right or left handed pitcher for an at bat, he must finish that at bat pitching from that side before being able to switch. While there may have been more, I can only recall one guy getting to the majors doing this. He played for the Expos and I have no idea what his name was, which probably is a good indication of how effective he was. The issue with this is developing players to be able to do it. Once a kid learns he can throw 90 mph with his right arm, he’s probably not going to put a lot of work into pitching with his left. However, if a guy could master the art of doing it, it could be effective. I hope this answers your question.
Keyword is that AB, not the inning.
cotton eye joe is an embarassment to the yankees.
The season must be getting to JP Ricciardi!
He had a radio meltdown and threw Adam Dunn under a bus when a fan asked about the Jays looking at Dunn. Wow.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=3453059
On a semi-related note, how about YES getting rid of that annoying FOX “Happy Hour” Business Report…
what a d….
“Everyone knew this about YMCA. Haven’t you ever seen a pride parade?”
My thoughts exactly. No mystery here. The article just proves what $#&@ing imbeciles baseball players are in general. I’ll bet Mussina knows, though!
(interpret that how you’d like)
God Bless America is a downer.
It’s a fine song, but when I hear it, I’m reminded of the ending “the deer hunter”
I attend the game to get away from everything. don’t kill my buzz with serious fair.
I attend mass on Sunday, yet I wouldn’t want to pray at the game.
more on the switch rule
A batter cannot switch sides once the pitcher is ready to pitch.
The pitcher may switch pitching arms prior to each batter. Once he has established himself as a right or left handed pitcher for an at bat, he must finish that at bat pitching from that side before being able to switch.
Again did I prove my point ? Thank You
I am a big fan of “God Bless America” in the 7th. Oddly enough, the only time MLB.tv cut away from it this year was June 7th, two years after my friend John was killed in Mosul. I think of him every time the 7th inning rolls around, smiling down on us, beer in one hand… beer in the other hand.
Cotton Eyed Joe, on the other hand… ugh.
Stormrider, I wish there was a way I could thank your friend for his service.
Rebecca,
Thanks for saying so. I can’t think of anything else to say other than that.
My humble opinion, please don’t take in personal, but….
The chimes have to go. Everytime they score a run, I feel like someone is sticking an icepick in my eardrum.
Y.M.C.A., Why not? Its stupid fun.
God Bless America. Great song, but how about playing a version from sometime after 1947.
Cotton-Eyed Joe……..even the South is embarassed by that one.
I’m a much more jaded Yankee fan (surprise) than most and I’m tired of the YMCA, Cotton Eyed Joe, God Bless America and the Freddy the pan guy.
I’d much rather hear Take Me Out To The Ball Game in the 7th inning stretch. I miss hearing it to be honest.
Does that make me anti-American? I don’t think so. I’m not. I just would like it to feel like a baseball game again. Not to mention that many people have said that George kept it to ice the opposing pitcher. I’m not saying I believe that rumor, but if it’s true they should go back to Take Me Out to the Ballgame.
YMCA is completely annoying to me at this point, but I also sit in my seats at almost every home game and see people get insanely happy every time they play it and the grounds crew do their dance.
It’s old hat and lame to me, but to people who don’t go to as many games as I do they love it so I’ve learned to let it go and not let it bother me. I mostly get a kick out of watching people get a kick out of it.
Cotton Eyed Joe is a disgrace. If Cashman and any Yankee execs peek in this thread, you need to stop that. Seriously. We’re in NY. We’re not in Kentucky. It makes no sense. Not even in a funny way. How that ever became a game staple is beyond me. Someone once told me that Clemens pushed for it. Seriously. I heard Clemens even bought the idiot in the video the cowboy hat and boots he wears.
As for Freddy the pan guy, I understood where Pete came from when he knocked him in the other post. It gets annoying at times. My seats are on the lower level in left right near one of the main walkways and he’s often right behind me with screaming kids who want to hit the pan and take pictures while I’m trying to watch the game. I know that makes me sound like Scrooge or something, but it gets to you.
Not to mention that I wouldn’t let anyone in my family ever touch that spoon without surgical gloves on.
I kind of wish they’d confine him to an area so if people feel compelled to hit the pan, they can go find him. I don’t think he shouldn’t be there, but I do think his walking around with the sign bothers people and gets in the way of their view.
I appreciate what he thinks he’s doing and how it’s his life. I wouldn’t want to take that away from him. But maybe they can put him behind home plate near the handicap seats and let him camp out there all game instead of the roaming.
I know we all should be tolerant, but there is a smarter way of letting him do his thing.
As much as I like “God Bless America,” “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” is a classic. I mean, it’s been around for 100 years… it’s one of the most upbeat songs ever created. Next year, the Yankees should just change it back… nothing against what happened, but it’s for old times sake.
IMO as long as we have troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, I don’t have a problem with “God Bless America” being used for the stretch, although I’d appreciate a few different versions. It may sound cliched, but I applaud the Yankees for doing this.
Don’t they play both God Bless America and Take Me out to the Ballgame?
calling someone anti-ameican for not wanting to hear a 60-year version of god bless america is like calling someone anti-american for not wearing a flag pin. one of my best friends from college died on 9/11 and i’m pretty sure he’d be cool with take me out with the ballgame and eating hotdogs as showing we’re americans at a game.
but i do think they should pull the troops out of iraq and bring ‘em to the stadium to forcefully remove freddy and his spoon. that’s definitely a weapon of mass irritation they’d be able to easily find.
They play both songs in the stretch. GBA first, then Ballgame.
I agree. Kate Smith’s version of GBA is dull.
Maybe they can jazz it up have Lindsey Lohan or Brittney do a burlesque version.
Play that funky music white boy.
“Don’t they play both God Bless America and Take Me out to the Ballgame?”
Yes. Anyone that says ‘Bring back Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ probably doesn’t go to many games.
It’s been played every time I’ve been to the stadium (I go to ~5-10 games a year).
V, can you clarify the rule about the pitcher or the batter having to declare first? There’s been some dissention since you made your ruling.
p.s. they’re going to discuss it soon on Baseball Tonight.
You can thank the Texas Rangers for the Cotton Eyed Joe phenomena–they did it there for years. I can’t remember how surprised and aghast I was when I realized they started doing it at Yankee Stadium.
As far as YMCA, it has nothing to do with it being a gay song–but who needs it? Sure at the moment at that snow game it was a funny moment, but in general who needs to see the groundskeepers do anything aside from maintaining the grounds?
Are we eventually going to have umpires dancing to Disco Inferno between the third and fourth?
For those of you in denial–YMCA and Cotton Eyed Joe are just as much of an abomination (in a baseball context) as Sweet Caroline or any other garbage exclusive to other ballparks.
I mean I guess times change, and if thats what people want–well, that’s fine–but don’t talk about tradition unless you’re talking about the organ playing.
And for the people who claim that they should play Take Me Out the Ballgame again–I mean, c’mon, you haven’t been to ONE game in the last 8 seasons? They have never stopped playing Take Me out…even following the extra long versions of God Bless America.
Do they still play “Rock and roll part 2″ at stadiums over there? Was always surprised to hear it after Gary Glitter was sent down for kiddie porn charges.
If you really believe that our servicemen and women are fighting in wars to “protect our way of life,” and if you can’t understand why God Bless America might be offensive to any American, whether religious or not, you really need to get a grip. What if they played “Allah Bless America” over and over, would you wonder why one particular way of thinking was being shoved down your throat?
I grew up in the greater NYC area. It’s sad for me to come to this board and find that now many of its inhabitants are no longer worldly and sophisticated but instead hold attitudes that you’d find in the back country of Appalachia.
I’m all for “never forgetting” 9-11. The worst part of 9-11 is that America had a chance to wake up and look at its foreign policy and the roots of its conflicts, and instead was hoodwinked again by its leaders and chose to go back to sleep. And our servicemen and women are dying for this.
Please push for removal of all music. The organ works just fine. (and no, I was not born before 1940)
Agreed about that Fox Business Happy Hour thing being annoying. Those people who do that segment seem to be enjoying the “Happy Hour” portion a bit too much. I’m pretty sure they’re drunk.
I took a Yankee Stadium tour last week. The tour guide said that the current Cotton Eyed Joe is a different guy than when they started. And that he’s going by Cotton Eyed Joey to avoid copyright. Not sure if he was joking…..