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With opening day a little under a week away, what better time for fans to step up to the plate for The Baseball Project’s third album, 3rd, which comes out today on Yep Roc Records.
Scott McCaughey (Young Fresh Fellows, The Minus 5) and Steve Wynn (The Dream Syndicate) formed the loose conglomeration in 2007 as a way for two baseball fans with a shared musical vision to pay tribute to the national pastime. R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and Mike Mills, along with Zuzu’s Petals drummer Linda Pitmon fill out the official roster of this musical all-star team. The group has already released two previous volumes in Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails and High and Inside.
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The new platter features 17 new innings, covering such subjects as Hall of Famers Babe Ruth (“The Babe”) and Hank Aaron (“They Don’t Know Henry”), disgraced Mets/Phillies outfielder Lenny “Nails” Dykstra (“From Nails to Thumbtacks”) and acid-tripping pitcher Dock Ellis (“The Day Dock Went Hunting Heads” against the Reds). Accompanying the album is a new bio written by award-winning journalist Dan Epstein, author of Big Hair and Plastic Grass: A Funky Ride Through Baseball and America in the Swinging ’70s.
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During the band’s career, The Baseball Project has performed on The Late Show With David Letterman and sang the national anthem at Fenway Park in Boston (see below). The Baseball Project will tour the U.S. this summer, performing as they are uniquely able, at rock clubs and baseball parks alike, with tour dates to be announced at thebaseballproject.net.
The new album was recorded at The Type Foundry in Portland, Ore., with studio engineer and fellow baseball junkie Adam Selzer.
Track list:
Stats
From Nails to Thumbtacks
¡Hola America!
13
The Day Dock Went Hunting Heads
To the Veterans Committee
Monument Park
Box Scores
They Don’t Know Henry
The Babe
They Are the Oakland A’s
Pascual on the Perimeter
The Baseball Card Song
Extra Inning of Love
Larry Yount
A Boy Named Cy
They Played Baseball
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
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