Major League Baseball's 2011 regular season ended in stirring fashion on Wednesday (Sept. 28), and with the playoffs kicking off on Friday (Sept. 30), there's plenty of drama still to come. Before Sabathia faces off against Verlander, the Rangers begin their trek back to the World Series and the Phillies' rotation of aces is unleashed upon the postseason, check out these 10 songs that nod to America's Pastime and add to its lore. Whether it's Kanye West racking up the hits, Bob Dylan penning a tribute to a big league hero or William Hung coming on in comic relief, these tracks will get even Red Sox and Braves fans pumped for October.
John Fogerty, "Centerfield" (1985)
Creedence Clearwater Revival rocker John Fogerty took in a 1984 game from the centerfield bleachers in San Francisco's Candlestick Park and wrote this slice of Americana. Decades later, it's become a ballpark staple, from its opening handclaps to its infectious chorus.
Choice Lyric: "Well, beat the drum and hold the phone - the sun came out today/We're born again, there's new grass on the field"
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St. Lunatics, "Batter Up" (2001)
St. Lunatics, Nelly's St. Louis collective, saluted the sport with a solid Dirty South jam off their 2001 album "Free City." Let's forget about the song for a second and focus on its music video, which features the following highlights: a pitbull in the batter's box; a bunt home run; a scoreboard that reads 420-0; and Nelly driving from home to first base in a red convertible. If real baseball was like the "Batter Up" video, football would be a footnote in American culture!
Choice Lyric: "Well you should see me now, I'm eaten' Wheaties now/I'm stealing second and third and looking home, peeping greedy now"
The Mountain Goats, "Cubs in Five" (1995)
The lead track of the Mountain Goats' "Nine Black Poppies" EP, "Cubs in Five" combines John Darnielle's lo-fi aesthetic with a romantic declaration as hopeless as the Chicago Cubs' playoff history. The Cubbies may never "beat every team in the league" (they certainly didn't this year), but at least the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made it "all the way to January" seven years after the song was written.
Choice Lyric: "And the Chicago Cubs will beat every team in the league… and I will love you again/I will love you, like I used to"
Dropkick Murphys, "Tessie" (2004)
In 2004, the Boston-based Murphys decided to record a cover of "Tessie," an old ballpark rallying cry Red Sox nation hadn't used since 1918 - the last time the club won the World Series. The Red Sox won the championship that year behind the Murphys' re-worked version, and it became a Fenway Park staple - though it's not likely to receive much airplay this October.
Choice Lyric: "The Rooters gave the other team a dreadful fright/Boston's tenth man could not be wrong/Up from "Third Base" to Huntington, they'd sing another victory song"
Bob Dylan, "Catfish" (1976)
This bluesy folk song tells the story of Jim "Catfish" Hunter, the country-bred Hall of Fame pitcher who left Oakland for a big payday with George Steinbrenner's Yankees. Though far from a Dylan standard (it took 13 years to be released before making a 1989 rarities compilation), "Catfish" is a likely favorite of baseball geeks and New York Yankee buffs.
Choice Lyric: "Come up where the Yankees are, dress up in a pinstripe suit/Smoke a custom-made cigar, wear an alligator boot"
Due Up: Kanye West, Bruce Springsteen, Ozzy Osbourne
