Talkin' Baseball

Talkin' Baseball is a 1981 song written and performed by Terry Cashman. The song describes the history of American major league baseball from the 1950's to the beginning of the 1980's.

Lyrics

The lyrics to the original 1981 recording:

The Whiz Kids had won it,
Bobby Thomson had done it,
And Yogi read the comics all the while.
Rock 'n roll was being born,
Marijuana, we would scorn,
So down on the corner,
The national past-time went on trial.

We're talkin' baseball!
Kluszewski, Campanella.
Talkin' baseball!
The Man and Bobby Feller.
The Scooter, the Barber, and the Newc,
They knew 'em all from Boston to Dubuque.
Especially Willie, Mickey, and the Duke.

Well, Casey was winning,
Hank Aaron was beginning,
One Robbie going out, one coming in.
Kiner and Midget Gaedel,
The Thumper and Mel Parnell,
And Ike was the only one winning down in Washington.

We're talkin' baseball!
Kluszewski, Campanella.
Talkin' baseball!
The Man and Bobby Feller.
The Scooter, the Barber, and the Newc,
They knew 'em all from Boston to Dubuque.
Especially Willie, Mickey, and the Duke.

Now my old friend, The Bachelor,
Well, he swore he was the Oklahoma Kid.
And Cookie played hooky,
To go and see the Duke.
And me, I always loved Willie Mays,
Those were the days!

Well, now it's the 80's,
And Brett is the greatest,
And Bobby Bonds can play for everyone.
Rose is at the Vet,
And Rusty again is a Met,
And the great Alexander is pitchin' again in Washington.

I'm talkin' baseball!
Like Reggie, Quisenberry.
Talkin' baseball!
Carew and Gaylord Perry,
Seaver, Garvey, Schmidt and Vida Blue,
If Cooperstown is calling, it's no fluke.
They'll be with Willie, Mickey, and the Duke.

Willie, Mickey, and the Duke. (Say hey, say hey, say hey)
It was Willie, Mickey and the Duke (Say hey, say hey, say hey)
I'm talkin' Willie, Mickey and the Duke (Say hey, say hey, say hey)
Willie, Mickey, and the Duke. (Say hey, say hey, say hey)
Say Willie, Mickey, and the Duke. (Say hey, say hey, say hey)

References in song

The song's refrain of "Willie, Mickey and the Duke" refers to Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, and Duke Snider, three Hall-of-Fame center fielders, all of whom played in the same city at the same time--Mays for the New York Giants, Mantle for the New York Yankees and Snider for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Other players and managers are referred to in the song, some by full name, some partial name, and some by nicknames. Those mentioned, in order, are:

Bobby Thompson
Yogi Berra
Ted Kluszewski
Roy Campanella
Stan Musial (The Man)
Bob Feller
Phil Rizzuto (The Scooter)
Sal Maglie (The Barber)
Don Newcombe (The Newc)
Casey Stengel
Henry Aaron
Jackie Robinson (One Robbie going out)
Frank Robinson (One Robbie...coming in)
Ralph Kiner
Eddie Gaedel
Ted Williams (The Thumper)
Mel Parnell
George Brett
Bobby Bonds
Pete Rose
Rusty Staub
Grover Cleveland Alexander
Reggie Jackson
Dan Quisenberry
Rod Carew
Gaylord Perry
Tom Seaver
Steve Garvey
Mike Schmidt
Vida Blue

The line "And Ike was the only one winning down in Washington" refers to U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower. "The Bachelor" and "Cookie" mentioned in the song's bridge are not baseball figures, but childhood friends of Cashman's.

The line "And the great Alexander is pitchin' again in Washington" is actually a double reference--to Grover Cleveland Alexander and to U.S. President Ronald Reagan. When the song was released, Reagan had recently assumed the presidency; the line refers to the fact that in his former career as a film actor Reagan had portrayed Alexander in the movie The Winning Team.

Explanations of some other references in the song:

"The Whiz Kids": a nickname for the Philadelphia Phillies in the early 1950s.
"The Oklahoma Kid": Mantle, who was from Oklahoma.
"Bobby Bonds can play for everyone": Bonds played for eight teams in his career.
"Rose is at the Vet": Pete Rose had joined the Phillies, who at the time played at Veteran's Stadium.
"Rusty again is a Met": Staub had been traded away by the Mets following the 1975 season but returned in 1981.
"If Cooperstown is calling, it's no fluke": The Baseball Hall of Fame is sometimes referred to colloquially as "Cooperstown," the site of its location. Ultimately only five of the players mentioned in this verse were elected to the Hall of Fame. Jackson, Seaver, Carew, Perry, and Schmidt made it; Quisenberry, Garvey and Blue did not.

Later versions

The song quickly gained popularity among baseball fans and soon Cashman began recording alternate versions of the song, each focusing on a single major league team. In some cases, the team-specific versions have been rewritten and updated over time.