Sarge was back in his hometown of Chicago as the Phillies took on the Cubs in the friendly confines tonight. And for the second time in as many years, he brought his grandson Denver up to the booth and belted out the seventh inning stretch classic, “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” in front of a sold out Wrigley Field.

Needless to say, it was a rousing success, and Denver might be the cutest friggin’ kid I have ever seen.

Watch:

Also see: “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” as performed by Sarge Matthews | The Fightins

Here it is, Sarge fans.

Finally, the most stylish broadcaster in the business — in a duet with his grandson Denver — performed “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” within the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. Of course, he didn’t let down the Phillies fans. Instead of singing the expected “root, root, root for the Cubbies”, he let the crowd say it. He didn’t go with the requisite, “Now, go score some runs!” either, he just told the Cubs fans he loved them. so, even though he spent the last three years of his illustrious career and was on the coaching staff with Chicago, he definitely stayed loyal to his current home, Philadelphia.

Phillies radio broadcaster Larry Anderson couldn’t help but get his digs in at the Sarge,

“Larry Andersen said they’re dipping low in the barrel if they’re asking me to do it. I’ll be OK. I know the words and I’ll be fine.”

Well I’d say he was more than OK.  In his best baritone voice, here’s a fedora’d Sarge bringing down the house during the 7th inning stretch. Ah one, ah two, ah three:

‘Sarge’ enjoys his moment at Wrigley | Phillies.com

Read more »

Are you holding onto your Borsalino’s, Sarge fans?

Good. Because this Thursday night, when the Cubs and Phillies kick off their all-important 4-game series at Wrigley, everyone’s favorite colorman will be singing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” during the 7th inning stretch. Incredible, right?

Sure, the whole idea of performing this song at The Friendly Confines is to root for the Cubbies, but being that he resides in Chicago and used to play for the North Siders means he gets a temporary one-day pass. Just make sure you’re in front of your TV after the Phillies bat in the 7th inning — I guarantee it’ll be fantastic. And if you somehow miss it, rest assured: I’ll have the video up by Friday morning.

Below, you will find a clip of Sarge and Scott Franzke from WPHT 1210 last night where Sarge announces his new gig and exclaims, “The worst you are, the better they like it.” Below that is a tremendous photo from the 7th Annual Gary Maddux BBQ Challenge, apropos of nothing.

Audio: Sarge talks about singing at Wrigley

(A tip of the fedora to jstudent over at Philly Edge for the heads-up)

Odds are, if you watched more than 1 inning of baseball during the first half of the season, you saw the nauseating Baby Ruth ad campaign promoting their dumb “Take Me Out To The Ballgame 100th Anniversary” contest. In case you haven’t — real quick — fans were encouraged to submit their own version of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” and the winner would sing it during the 7th inning stretch at the All-Star Game. And I think they got a lifetime supply of Baby Ruth or something.

Anyway, they made an entire TV show out of the process with the equally-irksome ESPN. It featured the fan submissions plus renditions by actual major leaguers. The last two NL MVP’s, Ryan Howard & Jimmy Rollins, had the displeasure of judging the player versions. But at they very end, obviously disappointed with everyone else’s output, RyHo and Young James put their own twist on the classic song…

You know they had to do a remix, right?

Enjoy the vocal stylings of Ryan Howard with Jimmy Rollins playing the part of the lunchroom table drum machine.

• Lynniemac on Which One is More Likely?
• Lynniemac on Playoff Diary: Nearly Bartmanesque
• RJ on Playoff Diary: Nearly Bartmanesque
• Gonzo on Which One is More Likely?
• Negro Grande on Which One is More Likely?