(Debuted May 25, 1985, Peaked #44, 13 Weeks on the Chart)
In a couple of weeks, the 2012 major league baseball season kicks off. With that in mind, this is the perfect time to toss out this song. Though it's been a familiar presence to those of us who are fans of the sport ever since it was released, it oddly missed the Top 40 during its chart run.
Centerfield was John Fogerty's "comeback" LP after nearly a decade away, and it touched on a lot of topics that called back to his childhood. And at that point in history, baseball was having a golden age and Fogerty was about to turn 13 when the New York Giants moved west to his native California. The song began after Fogerty watched the 1984 All-Star game from the seats behind centerfield in San Francisco's Candlestick Park.
Awash with references that most baseball fans would recognize, "Centerfield" name drops legends like Joe DiMaggio and Willie Mays, tips its cap to Casey At the Bat, and exhorts the coach to put him into the game. Over the years, it's become a very popular song at baseball games, and its synthesized hand-clapping that starts the tune has even been used for events for different sports.
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