Compiling this list took months of research and involved whittling down more than 300 songs to just the 42 listed below.
After going back and forth about what constitutes a “baseball song,” I settled on a relatively broad definition: songs that are either explicitly about the game, or which use it as a metaphor or backdrop for life in general.
That means songs with just a perfunctory baseball reference didn’t make the cut.
In the end, the list below is one of the most comprehensive that has been published. It includes many classics and standards, as well as a number of songs from relatively unknown indie artists that I hope you’ll be excited to hear for the first time.
In the future, my plan is to write mini reviews for each of the entries below. For now, here’s my list, with each title linked to a YouTube video of the song. (I’ve embedded the videos for my top 10 picks.)
I’ve also created a Spotify playlist, though it does not include The Tinklers “Hank Greenberg” and Ben Gibbard’s “Ichiro’s Theme,” which aren’t available on the platform.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about this list, so let me know in the comments section below!
- Terry Cashman – “Talkin’ Baseball® (Willie, Mickey & The Duke)”
- Dave Fishberg – “Van Lingle Mungo”
- Jerry Jeff Walker – “Nolan Ryan (He’s a Hero to Us All)”
- Whiskey Falls – “Load Up The Bases (The Baseball Song)”
- Trace Adkins – “Swing”
- Corey Smith – “The Baseball Song”
- Nichole Wagner – “Rules of Baseball”
- Doug Kolmar – “Baseball on the Radio”
- The Tinklers – “Hank Greenberg”
- Ben Gibbard – “Ichiro’s Theme”
- The Mountain Goats – “Cubs In Five”
- Peter, Paul and Mary – “Right Field”
- Teresa Brewer ft. Mickey Mantle – “I Love Mickey”
- The Mountain Goats – “Doc Gooden”
- Audio Disorder – “Grover Cleveland Alexander”
- Frank Sinatra – “There Used to be a Ballpark”
- The Treniers – “Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song)”
- Les Brown & His Orchestra – “Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio”
- Billy Bragg & Wilco – “Joe DiMaggio Done It Again”
- Bob Dylan – “Catfish”
- Gord Bamford – “Baseball Glove”
- Nina Simone – “Baseball Boogie”
- Natalie Cole – “Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball”
- Jean Grae and Natural Resource – “Negro League Baseball”
- Ultramagnetic MC’s – “Saga of Dandy, The Devil & Day”
- Eddie Vedder – “All The Way”
- The Grundybergs – “Playing Baseball With Walt Whitman”
- Ry Cooder – “3rd Base, Dodger Stadium“”
- Adam Stengel – “Willie Mays”
- Chuck Prophet – “Willie Mays Is Up At Bat”
- Kenny Rogers – “The Greatest”
- Bruce Springsteen – “Glory Days”
#10. Caroline Spence – “Softball”
#9. Alabama – “The Cheap Seats”
#8. Willy Tea Taylor – “Brand New Game”
#7. Steve Goodman – “A Dying Cubs Fan’s Last Request”
#6. Todd Snider – “America’s Favorite Pastime”
#5. Michigan Rattlers – “Baseball”
#4. John Fogerty – “Centerfield”
#3. Peter Cooper – “Opening Day”
#2. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – “My Oh My”
#1. Peter Cooper – “715 (For Hank Aaron)”
PdELANO
April 12, 2025 at 10:37 am
Unselfishly, I have to nominate songs from The Baseball Project that span so many teams and players.
Selfishly, I just released this song about Fenway Park’s terrific organist: https://open.spotify.com/track/3A2HxnrEdinlRRmUYYUve6?si=WfsrxR45RfSQ05w6TycDRw&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A31AYizuxlurHCe58GNiQFQ
Jim Malec
April 12, 2025 at 11:41 am
Thanks for sharing your song! I invite other readers to do the same.
I didn’t include any Baseball Project songs on this list because they have such a vast catalogue that I view their work as existing in its own silo. You could make a “100 best baseball songs list” and 50 of them would be from TBP… but I’m not sure that’s what people are looking for when they’re researching this topic. (I.e., you can just listen to TBP’s discography without my recommendations.)
Eric C Gray
February 2, 2025 at 3:44 pm
Jim, great list, although I know very few. It is so helpful to me right now, as I am preparing a presentation on the intersection of baseball and music at a baseball conference.
I have written two books about folks’ baseball memories, and I am working on one now about concert/music memories.
Would love to invite you to contribute a story for (there will probably be a third baseball book). I go to DC frequently, including in a couple weeks, as my son and his family are there. Would love to meet up sometime if you are interested.