by Ryan Gray

Created on: April 23, 2008   Last Updated: April 02, 2010

"Alright everybody! Let me hear ya! A One...A Two...A Three..."

Harry Caray's rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," accompanied by the Wrigley Field crowd in Chicago during the Seventh-Inning Stretch, is one of the great traditions in baseball history. Ending that tradition - regardless of who is leading the performance - would leave a sad note in the baseball history books.

As a baseball fan since I was about five years old, just getting a chance to see a game in person or on television is a great experience for me. (Hearing certain guys call a game on the radio isn't bad, either.) Because of that, I loved the days when I stayed home after school and had the chance to tune in to WGN to catch the end of the afternoon Cubs games.

The first time I heard Harry and Steve Stone on the microphone, I was hooked. Then when Harry entertained the fans during the Seventh-Inning Stretch, I quickly realized that was something I should not miss. His charisma and passion for the game spilled out of the press box whenever he started to sing, and when the fans joined in that made the entire experience addictive.

When Harry died he took a part of every baseball fan to his grave. But, thankfully, team officials did not let the tradition die with him. Some new faces stepped in to become guest conductors during the seventh inning. A few of them were pretty good - Bill Murray did a wonderful job, and I heard a great version of the song from Boyz II Men once. Some were not - Coach Mike Ditka hit a few bumps (and potholes) in the road but still managed to finish the job. The bottom line was that the tradition lived on, and lots of people benefited from it.

The day I went to Wrigley with family members a few years ago I was deprived of the "day game" experience since we sat in the shade under one of the facades. However, all of those thoughts were wiped away during the Seventh-Inning Stretch.

The guest conductor that day was none other than Cubs Hall-of-Famer Ryne Sandberg. He isn't much of a singer, but that didn't matter to anyone in the stadium. Ryno leading "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at Wrigley on a Saturday afternoon in July. It's one of my best personal memories as a baseball fan.

The past few years, due to an odd arrangement by our satellite television provider, we have been without WGN. That wiped out nearly all of the Cubs games available at our house; but my work hours these days don't allow me to watch afternoon baseball through the week anyway. Despite all of that, I can still hear those old broadcasts from the Windy City as if they were happening right now. And I'm concentrating on every word.

"For it's one...two...three strikes you're out at the old ballgame! Good job everybody! Now, let's get some runs so we can beat these guys."

Learn more about this author, Ryan Gray.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.