Play Ball

Remember that great teacher or professor, you know the one, the class where entertainment tax would be charged except you learned so much while having that great time? That was this session!

Andy Strasberg obviously loves baseball, loves “Take Me Out To the Ballgame,” and loves telling the story of this song -- the third most played song in America, he told us. Only “Happy Birthday” and “The Star-Spangled Banner,” in that order, play more often.

So how do you write a whole book about one song? And how do you fill an hour and a half presentation telling about it? For Andy Strasberg, easy, and fascinating.

After handing out king-size Baby Ruth candy bars to everyone, well, almost everyone -- attendance was larger than Andy anticipated (I sat in the second row and cherished my treat) -- he told about the history of the song, the culture of Tin Pan Alley, the lives of the composer and lyricist, events of 1908 -- the year the song was written, controversy about the correct lyrics, singers who sang the song and styles of music it has been played in, how it came to be sung during the 7th inning stretch, and more. Andy projected photographs, showed film clips and of course, played music, some for all to sing along.

For Red Sox fans, Andy’s love affair with baseball is lifelong. He attended Ted Williams’ baseball camp. One of the photos shows Andy as a gangling teen standing with none other than the Splendid Splinter himself.

Both content and style of presentation were superb. If you have a chance to see Andy on his book tour, my suggestion is do it.