Baseball, MLB

“Take Me Out to the Ball Game” has a feminist twist

FORT WORTH, TX — While here covering the All-Star Weekend, I’ve come to realize how baseball has developed from the basic game of being “America’s Pastime” to becoming the incredible sports business spectacle that is has become. In the middle of all the dizzying events taking place surrounding this baseball heaven weekend I took the time to read an interesting story about the song that we all use to sing during the seventh inning stretch, “Take Me Out To The Ball Game.” I found so interesting that I believe many of our readers would also like to read this tidbit of baseball history.

The Crowd at the Bank in the city of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports

Baseball is known as “America’s Pastime,” a tradition so embedded in U.S. culture that the songwriters who wrote “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” in 1908 did so even though they had never been to a game themselves. The song’s lyrics about snacking on Cracker Jack and rooting for the home team is often sung during the seventh inning stretch at baseball games, but the tune’s lesser-known verses have a surprisingly feminist twist that very few know.

We in Latino Sports like to write more than sports box scores and like to share interesting pieces like the following on a song that millions of fans might still sing but might not know it’s feminist history.