Baseball related songs: “Baseball song” by Matt Wessel
In this edition of baseball related songs, we pay attention to “Baseball Song” performed by Matt Wessel. This song caught my attention when it was placed on Facebook by a Facebook friend of mine who is an umpire himself.
Matt Wessel is a 37-year old singer-songwriter from Gurnee, Illinois, close to Chicago. As a result, Matt is an avid Cubs fan. Matt started to write at the age of 16 when his father passed away from cancer. His music always has been a combination of religious and non-religious music. His goal is to carry some kind of message of hope of life. A lot of what Matt does comes from his faith and spirituality. When he realized his songs had a big impact on others, he wanted to write even more.
According to Matt’s website, the American Cancer Society awarded him with a Distinguished Service Award (Youth Category) in the summer of 2004 and a Chairman’s Award (Illinois Division) in the fall of 2005 for his work with the Concert For Life and for his support of the ACS. In 2006, Matt was asked to play at the ACS’s Celebration on the Hill in Washington, D.C. with a handful of other musicians. The event drew over 10,000 attendees from across the country. Matt and his musicians played a 20-minute set in front of the U.S. Capitol building. Matt has also made many guest appearances at various Relay For Lifes throughout the Midwest. In 2013, the American Cancer Society recognized Matt and the Concert for Life as one of their 100 outstanding volunteer stories as part of their 100-year anniversary.
Where most baseball songs are about the game itself or its players or ballparks, “Baseball Song” is about an umpire. On my question, if the reason for this song was Matt is/was an umpire himself, he answered: “I used to work as an umpire when I was in high school — umpiring ages 8-13. I loved it. Absolutely loved it. For a while, I thought I would be a major league umpire. The idea to write the song came after the man who used to be my boss when I worked as an umpire said, “You should write a song about umpires!” And so I did.”
“Baseball Song” may not be the best known baseball-related song compared to “Centerfield” by John Fogerty, just to name one, but it still is one of those little gems you will find once in a while.
The lyrics of “The Baseball Song” are as follows:
You ask me if I need glasses
And you tell me I’m blind as a bat
You say that I’m ugly and stupid
And you cordially say that I’m fat
Now you’re pitcher just walked that one batter
That’s his fourth or his fifth of the game.
Now you’re yelling at me
And you’re spitting at me
And you’re asking if I am insane…no…
‘Cause I’m the umpire what I say goes
There’s a play at the plate, he’s out by a nose.
You can try as you might to argue my call,
But it’s my world when I say, “play ball!”
Now you’re clean-up man just hit a single
There’s a look of surprise on your face
But the guy that was standing on second
Well, he’s foolishly rounding third base
Now the guy in left field’s got a cannon
And his throw beat your runner by far
Since the result of his slide
Is not yours to decide
I don’t care how disgusted you are.
I’m the umpire what I say goes
There’s a play at the plate, he’s out by a nose.
You can try as you might to argue my call,
But it’s my world when I say, “play ball!”
Now you argued my calls in the second
And you argued my calls in the third
Now you’re booing my calls in the seventh
This is getting a little absurd
Now you’re team, they’re down by a dozen
Yet you still say that I am to blame
Well, I’m sick of your whine
And you’re way out of line
So I’m tossing you out of this game
I’m the umpire what I say goes
There’s a play at the plate, he’s out by a nose.
You can try as you might to argue my call,
But it’s my world when I say, “play ball!”
To conclude this blogpost, I’d like to thank Matt Wessel for taking the time to answer my questions.