NYCBP Blog

The votes are in, and Gretchen Wilson’s version of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” has won the online poll conducted by ESPN.com of nine artists' renditions of it to mark the 100th anniversary of that song!

Here, again, is the winning video:

Labels: Baseball, Eddie Goldman, Gretchen Wilson, Take Me Out to the Ballgame

As we wrote about last week, a poll is being held on ESPN.com to mark the 100th anniversary of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”. Originally, videos of this hallowed song by nine contemporary artists were posted on that site, with voting open to the public.

Now that list has been pared down to just three, and, to the surprise of no one who has ever waded through the pools of water in Yogi’s men’s room, one of those versions is by our favorite redneck woman, Gretchen Wilson.

I already reviewed Gretchen’s video in the first post on this topic, but some comparison to the other finalists is helpful.

The remaining two videos are actually not bad.

One, by Ozomatli, gives the song a Latin flavor and has a tenor sax lead. But when they tell us to “root, root, root for the Dodgers,” they automatically lose.

The other finalist is by the Punch Brothers. Theirs is a sort of folk-bluegrass version with lots of strings in their band. While their advice is certainly less loathsome, to “root, root, root for the Cubbies,” who are currently atop the National League Central and have the best record in that league, it still falls short to the more energetic version by Gretchen.

Gretchen, a Cardinals’ fan raised near St. Louis in Illinois, does wear a Redbirds’ cap and shirt, but keeps the lyrics traditional, singing “root, root, root for the home team.” For whatever reason, budgetary or otherwise, her video has higher production values, and is based around Little Leaguers, and not just her band playing. The young pitcher at the start of the video has a Yankees’ cap on. The focus on the kids adds a more universal and cheerful tone to this one, which was my choice anyway even before seeing the other two finalists.

Voting is continuing now, with the winner to be announced July 13.

So vote, vote, vote for the redneck. And have some beer while you’re at it.

Labels: Baseball, Eddie Goldman, Gretchen Wilson, Take Me Out to the Ballgame

While I pay little attention these days to the national juicetime, in favor of more civilized sports like boxing, I still am somewhat sentimental about some of the culture and traditions of baseball which evoke the innocence and grace we once believed were inherent in the sport.

The grand old song “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” is part of that revered tradition, and now there is a poll which is being held on ESPN.com to mark the song’s 100th anniversary. Nine artists recorded videos of this song, which were first played on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” and then posted online. Voting has started already, and runs through July 6.

Our attention, of course, centers on the version sung by Redbirds’ fan and Redneck Woman, Gretchen Wilson. Here, for your viewing pleasure, is that video:

Labels: Baseball, Eddie Goldman, Gretchen Wilson, Take Me Out to the Ballgame