Gammons' version blows...

Egads, that was horrible. Sounds like he is having an aneurysm all over again.

Pizzarelli and his group kill it, of course.

Not looking forward to Gretchen Wilson or - wait for it - REO Speedwagon. Yowza!!

I didn't say it sounded good... It's just fun to see Gammons play.

Fair enough Tike....

I was a little harsh, but he was all over the place. But, as a guitarist/composer it is neat to see a baseball analyst that can play a little guitar...and I stress, little.

Reminds me of the 7th inning stretch of the Ken Burns baseball documentary, when all the pundits (including Doris Kearns Goodwin and George Will) tried singing it.

What's the point of "honoring" the song if they can't find bands who can sing the correct lyrics. I mean, they're even printed on the link's page. It's 'I don't care if I NEVER get back' people, not ever. Never. All three posted versions get the lyrics wrong. FAIL.

It was pretty awful, and ESPN needs to stop humoring Gammons' belief that he is an artist worth paying attention to.

SantoFan:

If you are obsessing over the use of EVER instead of NEVER in the performances by John Pizzarelli and the Punch Brothers then you are missing some stunning music.

God REO Speedwagon is going to screw this up. It's gonna make me wish Harry Carey were still alive to butcher it while drunk again.

I'd rather see Peter Gammons in his underwear.






(On second thought, check that.)

So where's The Hold Steady?

Jim - surely you can see that it's ridiculous to pay tribute to an iconic song and not even be bothered to get the lyrics right. ESPN couldn't afford to have a fact checker around to say, 'great cut guys, but it's actually never.' How hard is that? And to get it wrong on every cut, with the printed lyrics posted in a sidebar in bold on the same page, is even stupider. I like the Punch Brothers, have seen them play, have their album, liked the musical aspect of their version, but that doesn't mean that it's not a poorly executed concept.

They all pale in comparison to The Hold Steady's version.

Edit: Vortex beat me to it.

I am disappointed that Spinal Tap isn't in the contest. After all Mick Shrimpton is quite the baseball aficionado.

If anyone has seen the outtakes from the movie there is an clip of them being interviewed over the radio in Chicago. A caller phones in with a question...."Please settle a bet I have with a friend. I say Fergie Jenkins has 50 shutouts with the Cubs and my friend says he only has 46. Can you tell us who is right?"

Just as the deejay is about to tell them it is the incorrect station to call and hang up on them, Mick Shrimpton cuts in with, 'No mate. You're both wrong. Fergie Jenkins had 49 career shutouts but not all came with the Cubs. He pitched for the Cubs from 1965 through 1973 where he got 27 shutouts. He then went over to Texas where he 10 shutouts. From 1976 to 1977 he was with the Boston Red Sox where he got 3 shutouts, he returned to Texas in 1978 and recorded 7 shutouts and he finished up with the Cubs in 1982 and 1983 with 2 shutouts."

That Hold Steady version is terrible too...

Fact checking has no place in rock and roll.

The only baseball song worth its salt to begin with is this version of the real National Anthem.. Anything else is a mere pretender.

Lloyd? Really??

I'd totally stand for the duration of this. (Fixed link)

Best version of the National Anthem ever

Wow, Candlebox is still around?

I agree with #18. Brilliant.

It would also be a better tribute if they sang the whole song (verses as well as chorus).

I agree with #18. Brilliant.

Thirded! I was so hoping it would be that when I clicked the link.

Last year at THT I did an article about the history of Take Me Out to the Ballgame. What did I learn from this experience? The history is not that exciting, and if you try to make 1,000 words out of it, you will need a whole lot of filler.