Songs of the National League East
The first in a series looking at team songs in Major League Baseball by division.
Perhaps no sport lends itself to music than baseball, as “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” has become the official anthem of the seventh inning stretch. However, most teams have their own songs written specifically for them and this does not include the series of songs recorded by Terry Cashman who after did special editions of “Talkin’ Baseball for most of the Major League Baseball teams.
New York Mets
“Meet the Mets”
Perhaps the most famous of the team songs, “Meet the Mets” was written in 1961 ahead of the Mets inaugural season in 1962 by Ruth Roberts and Bill Katz. The original “Meet the Mets” was recorded by Glenn Osser’s orchestra. The recording was not officially released until 1963, when a 45 rpm was sold at concession stands at the Polo Grounds for $1, with an instrumental version on the B side. The original “Meet the Mets” has stood the test of time, though in updated versions were recorded in 1975 and 1984.
Dig that funky beat on the 1975 version, complete with wah wah pedal.
The 1984 version was special for Mets fans of the 80’s as it came out around the time of the Mets rise in the 1980’s and was used during some of their great years up until Shea Stadium was torn down, though the original Meet the Mets eventually became more prevalent again.
Besides the official team song, the 1986 Mets attempted their own rap song, perhaps inspired by the Chicago Bears’ “Super Shuffle.” It was called “Get Metsmerized” and it was an absolute train wreck. The team refused to promote it or endorse it and it never gained any traction, causing friction between George Forster who was a big part of the song’s creation.
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Later that season the Mets produce “Lets Go Mets” which became a chart-topping music video with professional recording artist so we would not have to endure the players actually attempting to sing.
Miami Marlins
“We are the Marlins”
Upon moving to their new stadium in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood in 2012, the Florida Marlins became the Miami Marlins came out with ugly uniforms, an ugly logo in a tacky ugly stadium with an ugly home run display on the wall. Why not come out with a cheesy song to put a cherry on top of this tacky mess. The song was not well received and later denied by the team with no official information of where the song that appeared on the internet officially came from.
Washington Nationals
“Nuts about the Nats”
When baseball returned the Nation’s Capital in 2005, it was only natural a song would celebrate the Washington Nationals. Released in 2008, “Nuts about the Nats” became a catchy jingle as fans got to enjoy their new stadium in the heart of DC. The song was written and produced by Edd Kalehoff and Charlie Brotman and has the sound of second rate marching band.
Montreal Expos
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“Les Expos sont la”
When baseball expanded north of the border in 1969, the Montreal Expos came with a song much like the expansion Mets did. “Les Expos sont la” written and performed by Marc Gelinas along with a children’s choir is one of the more cheerful sounding songs in baseball that hearing it brings a smile to your face thinking back to the old pinwheel Expos caps. The song whose title translates to the Expos are here is sung completely in French, but you don’t need to understand a word to enjoy it and remember the good times in Montreal before their fans were screwed by the strike, Jeffrey Loria and Major League Baseball.
Neither the Philadelphia Phillies or Atlanta Braves have had prominent team songs.
UPDATE I had a Twitter Follower show me something I have never heard before and have looked for a song written about the Phillies. This came out in the 1950’s
The series will continue with songs of the National League Central.
Frank Fleming is the creator of the Sportsecyclopedia.com