Dodger Blue by Richard Aberdeen

Dodger Blue by Richard Aberdeen

Dodger Blue is a song that appears in chapter twenty-three of Uncommon Sense by Richard Aberdeen. In his words Dodger Blue is, "DEDICATED TO: Jackie Robinson, Lou Gehrig, Roberto Clemente, Roy Campanella and Hank Aaron, heroes that go way beyond their particular sport of profession. Also dedicated to Pete Rose, when measured at the major league level, someone with perhaps little more than average natural ability, who through great determination and by very fine example of continual hustle, became one of the top ten greatest baseball players of all time. We very much need more athletes such as Mr. Rose for our children to emulate and we need far less of the self-righteous hypocrites who would seek to prevent such a great player and fine example as this from being honored among the legends of our national sports legacy."

"Given modern technology, it would be relatively simple to reward our athletic professionals as modern Golf and Tennis does; i.e., by what they produce. Unlike traditional blue collar labor negatives when resorting to 'piece-work', where greedy company owners historically develop the bad habit of paying less and less for the same amount produced, modern American professional athletes have clearly demonstrated, because of their unique abilities and marketing potential, that they carry enough clout to offset such capitalist avarice at this level - if they must eventually strike, may they at least strike for reasonable raises in reward based on the merit of what is produced." - Richard Aberdeen

Sung to the tune Deportee by Woodie Guthrie & Marting Hoffman

The chalk lines are faded, the bleachers are empty
The parking lot's vacant at the ravine stadium
The fans have all taken up bad-mitten and checkers
On a hot summer evening there's nothin' else left for fun
The owners' and players' greed knows no boundaries
They've taken the fans on a phony hype ride
Though they both earn enough money to buy a jet airplane
'Till they have more than God, they won't be satisfied
Now, is this the best way to run America's pastime?
Is this fair to the fans who are loyal and true?
Like the late Billy Martin and Tommy Lasorda
There's no more real Yankees, no one bleeds Dodger Blue

Goodbye to Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio and Babe Ruth
Adios Lou Gehrig and true heroes for our youth
You won't see the great Clemente up on the big sports screen
The owners and players all want. . . more money

Now, us fans in the bleachers all want a solution
To stop all your whining and complaining on earth
Let's forget about salaries and pay by statistics
For hits, runs and outs, you'll be paid what you're worth
If you hit sixty homers, you'll get you're few million
But if you pitch more balls than strikes you'd better run
Down to apply at the nearest Del Taco
We're tired of big babies who ruin baseball's fun
Let's return our national pastime back to the fans
Give big bucks to the players only when they come through
And like the late Billy Martin and Tommy Lasorda
We'll cheer for real Yankees and bleed Dodger Blue

Goodbye to Ted Williams, Stan Musial and Cy Young
Adios Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron
You won't see Charlie Hustle up on the big sports screen
The owners and players all want. . . more money

The chalk lines are redrawn, the bleachers repainted
The big screen scoreboard is re-hooked to the juice
The parking lot's filled with limos and Mercedes
The owners and players have a temporary truce
Now, we want real heroes our children can look up to
We want fair owners who treat loyal fans right
People who love baseball and the values we stand for
With all of their heart and their soul and their might
If you don't care what happens to our time-honored pastime
Then get the hell out of the way of those of us who do
Like the late Billy Martin and Tommy Lasorda
We want to cheer for real Yankees and bleed Dodger Blue

Goodbye to Vin Scully, Branch Rickey and Bill Veeck
Adios Harry Caray and real baseball, but what the heck?
We won't see Jackie Robinson slide on the big sports screen
The owners and players all want. . . more money
Yeah, the owners and players all want. . . more money. . .
Are there any more real Yankees?
Does anyone bleed Dodger Blue?

Dodger Blue by Richard Aberdeen ©(August 20, 2003)

Dodger Blue is from the book "Uncommon Sense: Voice from the Heart of We The People", by Richard Aberdeen. Copyright © August 20, 2003. May not be used in any way for financial gain without express, written permission from the author. All rights reserved.

When the songwriter (Richard Aberdeen) originally contacted Baseball Almanac he included the following insight, "it (Dodger Blue) was written during the second recent strike a few years back and suggests that in the interest of the fans and the preservation of the game itself, it would perhaps be best to pay players by positive statistics produced, similar to golf and tennis, rather than the current method of very large salaries for players who often are no longer producing nearly as well as they were when their long-term contracts were signed."

What do you think about his idea to "pay players by positive statistics"? Would it work? Is it fair? Share your opinion on Baseball Fever today.

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