The Great American Baseball Box

by Great American Baseball Box / V

Overview

Baseball, more so than any of the other major professional sports, is built on the awareness that anything that happens in the current game being played becomes immediately a part of a long, storied, and statistically verified past, uniting everything in the single arc of a ball toward the plate, where the swing of a bat can change the moment, but that swing and its result -- good or bad, according to one's allegiance -- takes its place in a legendary past a second later, a cipher in a game that worships ciphers. Baseball is instant nostalgia, which is why this four-disc box set of baseball ephemera is bound to get a good deal of media attention. Consisting of one disc of baseball songs, a disc of play-by-play broadcasts of historic baseball moments, a disc of interviews with players and managers about those historic moments, and a final disc of baseball poetry, comedy routines, and audio of baseball players doing commercials, The Great American Baseball Box (which comes in a box shaped like second base) is packed full of more nostalgia than ten boxes of doo wop hits. Thankfully the booklet that accompanies the set approaches the whole enterprise from a sane and balanced perspective, linking baseball and its history into the larger scheme of American cultural history, so that when you hear Count Basie's "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?" from 1949, two years after Jackie Robinson first stepped on to Brooklyn's Ebbets Field to break baseball's color barrier, the full implication of the song (the vocal is sung by Taps Miller) is clear. Likewise, when Bob Dylan equates the multi-million-dollar free agency of pitcher Catfish Hunter in "Catfish" to not working on Mr. Finley's farm any more, it's clear that baseball, at least as it has been written and sung about, has always functioned as a mirror of the larger culture, where greed all too often has been mistaken for a way of life, and whole franchises tumble because of it. Then there is Dave Frishberg's delightful "Van Lingle Mungo," which fashions a whole song out of the names of obscure baseball players, and you begin to see the scope of baseball's passion for minutiae, which can be as exotic as you want to make it. In the end, The Great American Baseball Box makes a great gift for a baseball fan, but one wonders how much any of these discs would actually get played past once, unless you're an old-time Giants fan and feel like hearing radio broadcaster Russ Hodges scream, "The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!" (which followed Bobby Thomson's famous shot off of the Dodgers' Ralph Branca in 1951), over and over again. Baseball grounds its present in the past on a daily basis, and this set is a monument to that. But baseball is also a game of contradictions (much like the country that gave birth to it), and everyone knows that the only pitch that matters now is the next one. ~ Steve Leggett

Product Details

Release Date:	10/18/2005
Label:	Shout! Factory
UPC:	0826663144024
Rank:	150843

Tracks

Disc 1

1. It's a Beautiful Day for a Ball Game  -  Simeone
2. Centerfield  - John Fogerty
3. I Love Mickey  - Teresa Brewer  - Mickey Mantle
4. D-O-D-G-E-R-S Song (Oh, Really? No, O'Malley)  - Danny Kaye
5. Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?  -  Basie  - Taps Miller
6. Talkin' Baseball (Willie, Mickey & "The Duke")  - Terry Cashman
7. Catfish  - Bob Dylan
8. Take Me Out to the Ball Game  -  Andrews Sisters  - Dan Dailey  - Jack Norworth
9. "Joltin'" Joe DiMaggio  - Betty Jane Bonney  -  Brown
10. Baseball Boogie  - Mabel Scott
11. The First Baseball Game  - Nat King Cole  - Gene DePaul
12. Right Field  -  Peter
13. Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song)  -  Treniers
14. Van Lingle Mungo  - Dave Frishberg
15. A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request  - Steve Goodman
16. The Ball Game  - Wynona Carr

Disc 2

17. New York Score Seven Runs in One Inning During the Final Game of ...
18. New York Yankees Sweep Chicago Cubs to Win the 1938 World Series, ...
19. New York Yankees Become the First Team to Win Four Consecutive ...
20. "The Shot Hear Round the World" - New York Giants' Bobby Thomson ...
21. "The Catch" - New York Giants' Willie Mays Robs the Cleveland Indians'
22. New York Yankees' Don Larsen Pitches Only Perfect Game in World Series
23. Ted Williams Homers in His Final at Bat in the Major Leagues.
24. Pittsburgh Pirates' Bill Mazeroski's Game 7 Home Run Wins 1960 ...
25. New York Yankees' Roger Maris Breaks Babe Ruth's Single Season ...
26. New York Yankee's Mickey Mantle Sets World Series Home Run Record with
27. New York Yankee's Mickey Mantle Hits His 500th Career Home Run.
28. The Amazin' New York Mets Win the 1969 World Series.
29. Atlanta Braves' "Hammerin' Hank" Aaron Breaks Babe Ruth's Career ...
30. Boston Red Sox's Carlton Fisk Homers to Win Game 6 of the 1975 ...
31. New York Yankees' Reggie Jackson Homers Three Times in Final Game ...
32. New York Yankees' Bucky Dent Homers to Beat Red Sox and Wind the ...
33. Cincinnati Reds' Tom Seaver Becomes Fifth Pitcher to Amass 3, 000 ...
34. Kansas City Royals' George Brett Has Home Run Disqualified for ...
35. Cincinnati Reds' Pete Rose Breaks Ty Cobb's All-Time Hits Record.
36. Bill Buckner's Legendary Error Continues the Boston Red Sox Curse.
37. Los Angeles Dodgers' Kirk Gibson Homers to Win Game 1 of the 1988 ...
38. Texas Rangers' Nolan Ryan Hurls His Seventh No-Hitter.
39. Toronto Blue Jay's Joe Carter Wins Game 6 of the 1993 World Series ...
40. Baltimore Orioles' Cal Rpikin, Jr., Breaks Lou Gehrig's ...
41. St. Louis Cardinals' Mark McGwire Breaks Roger Maris' Single ...
42. Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa Ties Mark McGwire's Single Season Home ...
43. San Francisco Giants' Barry Bonds Break Mark McGwire's Single ...
44. Arizona Diamondbacks' Luis Gonzalez's Game 7 Hit Beats the New ...
45. Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki Breaks George Sisler's Single ...
46. Boston Red Sox Beat the St. Louis Cardinals to Win the 2004 World ...

Disc 3

47. Philadelphia Athletics' Manager Connie Mack, Red Smith and Andy ...
48. Cy Young Remembers His Perfect Game.
49. Ty Cobb Talks About His Career.
50. St. Louis Cardinals' Player-Manager Frankie Frisch Remembers His ...
51. Babe Ruth Talks About His Goals in Baseball.
52. Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Moutain Landis Declares Baseball Hall of
53. An Ailing Lou Gehrig Announces His Retirement and Bids Farwell to ...
54. New York City Mayor Fiorello Laguardia on the War and Baseball.
55. Boston Red Sox's Ted Williams Talks About His Love of Baseball.
56. Babe Ruth Gives Farewell Address at Yankee Stadium.
57. Brooklyn Dodgers' Jackie Robinson Reflects on Being Baseball's ...
58. New York Yankees' "Joltin'" Joe Dimaggio Announces His Retirement from
59. Leo Durocher Reminisces About Managing the 1954 World Champion New ...
60. Detroit Tigers' Hank Greenberg Reminisces About His Greatest Thrill in
61. New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers Announce Their Move to the ...
62. New York Yankees' Manager Casey Stengel Testifies Before the ...
63. New York Yankees' Whitey Ford Discusses Pitching Fundamentals.
64. Los Angeles Dodgers' Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax Hold Out for New ...
65. St. Louis Cardinals Great Stan Musial on Unionizing Players and ...
66. San Francisco Giants' Gaylord Perry Talks About Pitching.
67. Baltimore Orioles' Brooks Robinson Discusses the 1966 World Series ...
68. Chicago White Sox Owner Bill Veeck on the 1966 World Series.
69. New York Yankees' Yogi Berra Is Inducted into the Baseball Hall of ...
70. Detroit Tigers' Denny McLain Discusses Pitching.
71. Future Hall of Famer Frank Robinson on His Trade from the ...
72. Cincinnati Reds' Johnny Bench on the 1971 National League West ...
73. Boston Red Sox's Carl Yastrzemski Talks About the Upcoming Season.
74. Cincinnati Reds' Pete Rose on the Upcoming National League Playoffs.
75. Oakland Athletics' Reggie Jackson Reveals He Received Death ...
76. New York Yankees' Reggie Jackson Answers His Critics.
77. NBC Announcer Tony Kubek Interviews Atlanta Braves' "Hammerin' ..."
78. New York Yankees' Bucky Dent on His Above-Normal Home Run Production.
79. California Angels' Reggie Jackson Returns to an Ovation at Yankee ...
80. New York Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner Speaks to Rumors He ...
81. Pete Rose Addresses the Dowd Report's Accusations That He Gambled ...
82. Former Baltimore Orioles' Cal Ripkin, Jr., Reflects on His Consecutive
83. NBC Anchor Brian Williams' Account of St. Louis Cardinals' Mark ...
84. Mark McGwire on the Groundskeeper Who Caught His 62nd Home Run Ball.
85. Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa Reflects on His Record-Breaking 66 Home Runs.
86. Sammy Sosa on His Pending Suspension for Using a Corked Bat.
87. San Francisco Giants' Barry Bonds Talk About Hitting His 700th ...
88. Boston Red Sox Manager Terry Francona on the Possibility of ...
89. Philadelphia Athletics Manager Connie Mack Coins the Hopeful ...

Disc 4

90. Casey at the Bat  - DeWolf Hopper
91. The Man Who Fanned Casey  - DeWolf Hopper
92. Babe & Lou, The Home Run Twins  - Lou Gehrig  - Babe Ruth
93. Colgate Sports Newsreel with Bill Stern and the "Strange But True" ...
94. Babe Ruth Answers Questions from His Young Fans.
95. "Two Top Gruskin" - Duffy's Tavern Radio Program
96. Joe Dimaggio Answers Mailbag Questions from His Fans.
97. Ralph Kiner Sponsors Whaties and Trades Barbs with Bob Hope, Bing ...
98. Richie Ashburn Gets His Energy from Eating Wheaties!
99. Bob Feller Speaks to Announcer Bill Stern About Baseball and ...
100. Who's on First?  - Bud Abbott  - Lou Costello
101. The Seventh Inning Stretch Sponsored by Falstaff Beer
102. Joe Dimaggio Marries Actress Marilyn Monroe
103. Mutual and Falstaff Beer Present the "Game of the Day."
104. Dizzy Dean Promises Dinah Shore Some Christmas Snow.
105. Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey Laments the Future ...
106. Hit a Home Run with Falstaff Beer!
107. Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Walter Alston Sponsors Packard Bell ...
108. Roy Campanella Promotes Packard Bell Television and Hi-Fi's.
109. Don Drysdale Endorses Proposition "S" for Better Schools.
110. Fond Remembrances of Ebbets Field and the Brooklyn Dodgers Before ...  -  Boston Symphony Orchestra
111. Reggie Jackson Promotes the Volkswagen Rabbit.
112. Tommy Lasorda Is Bleeping Mad After New York Mets' Dave Kingman ...
113. Announcers Comment on the Start of 24-Hour Sports Network ESPN and Its
114. "Beisbol Been Good to Me" Comedian Garrett Morris of Saturday ...
115. Announcer Mel Allen and This Week in Baseball
116. Detroit Tigers Promote an Upcoming Series with the Seattle Mariners.
117. Boston Red Sox Fans Speculat That "The Curse of the Bambino" May ...

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Mickey Mantle   Primary Artist
Peter, Paul and Mary   Primary Artist
Lou Costello   Primary Artist
Count Basie Orchestra   Primary Artist
Bud Abbott   Primary Artist
DeWolf Hopper   Primary Artist
Babe Ruth   Primary Artist
Dan Dailey   Primary Artist
Harry Simeone Chorale   Primary Artist
Dave Frishberg   Primary Artist
The Treniers   Primary Artist
Nat King Cole   Primary Artist
John Fogerty   Primary Artist
Mabel Scott   Primary Artist
Lou Gehrig   Primary Artist
Les Brown & His Orchestra   Primary Artist
Boston Symphony Orchestra   Primary Artist
Bob Dylan   Primary Artist
Betty Jane Bonney   Primary Artist
The Andrews Sisters   Primary Artist
Steve Goodman   Primary Artist
Danny Kaye   Primary Artist
Taps Miller   Primary Artist
Wynona Carr   Primary Artist
Teresa Brewer   Primary Artist
Terry Cashman   Primary Artist
Shout Factory All Stars   Glossary
Gerald Beg   Glossary

Technical Credits

Gordon Skene   Producer
John Fogerty   Composer
John Roberts   Package Supervision,Artwork
George McWilliams   Package Design
Steve Hochman   Essay
Gene DePaul   Composer
Gerald Beg   Annotation,Research
Bob Dylan   Composer
Jeff Palo   Producer
Jack Norworth   Composer
Derek Dressler   Project Assistant
Dave Frishberg   Composer
Terry Cashman   Composer
Julee Stover   Editorial Supervision
Jason Ko   Package Design
Shout Factory All Stars   Producer
Todd Gallopo   Package Design