ESPN: George Thorogood talks baseball, blues

George Thorogood is no Doug Sahm.

Who would you rather party with—the 1969 Mets or the 1986 Mets?

Oh, the ‘86 Mets. They’re closer in age to me. ... My idea of partying is sitting at a bar and nursing a beer for two hours and talking baseball. I did that in Pittsburgh once. I was with Ed Lynch and Keith Hernandez, and for about three hours we went through two beers and 50 years of baseball. That’s my idea of partying.

Keith Hernandez is great to talk to. He’s my favorite announcer. He’s articulate. He’s intellectual. He knows the game. He comes from a side that’s not a real jock side. He’s got a style, and I really enjoy his approach to the game. You know what Keith Hernandez once said? He said he couldn’t get interested in the game until his team was losing by about three runs. He didn’t think the game was interesting until then. Isn’t that amazing? That’s a champion. Joe Montana didn’t start playing [hard] until the fourth quarter, when his team was down by two touchdowns. Keith’s brain would wake up down by three runs. He’d say, “Now the game’s interesting to me. If we’re up 10-0, it doesn’t mean anything.” That’s a real gamer.

Do you have any baseball mementos or memorabilia?

All my memorabilia, and all my cherished things are in my heart and in my brain—although I do have a baseball cap that was autographed by both Joe DiMaggio and Willie Mays. That’s the only thing I got—only the two greatest players who ever played. (Laughs.) I don’t believe in collecting things. I’m fond of saying, “It’s not the things that touch your hands that matter, it’s the things that touch your heart.”