Upon seeing The Baseball Project (again)

I’ve been a little down lately. Not a lot down. But a little. I’ve got a bum shoulder, lately turning 50 has seemed like something that might actually happen to me someday, and pretty soon we’re probably going to kill a bunch of Syrians. Good times.

And then I saw The Baseball Project last night and was reminded once again just how much joy can be found in the world, if one takes just a moment to look for it. While I’m not generally disposed toward nostalgia -- someone once described nostalgia as a disease -- I took a great deal of pleasure in hearing this song live:

After the show, I spoke to Scott McCaughey for a few minutes, and was further heartened by the news that the band -- with Mike Mills joining McCaughey, Peter Buck, Steve Wynn, and Linda Pitmon -- has nearly finished recording its third album. They played a few of the new songs, including one about Bernie Williams (figuratively) overshadowed by the great Yankee center fielders memorialized in Monument Park, another about Doc Ellis plunking a bunch of Cincinnati Reds in a 1974 game, and Mills’ tune about Dale Murphy and the Hall of Fame.

It was also a special thrill to hear the latest version of “Harvey Haddix” ... with Matt Cain and Phil Humber added to the list of perfect-game throwers.

In my more logical moments, I do understand that The Baseball Project isn’t for everybody; that the whole thing might have been invented specifically to entertain me, and me alone. But if you care about baseball history and appreciate brilliant musicianship and still haven’t bought a CD or downloaded some tracks or gone to one of the shows, I’m not sure what you’re waiting for.