A Lost Tradition I Wish Would Come Back

I miss the great Jonathan Schwartz' "Salute to Baseball," an hour-long tribute he used to do every Super Bowl Sunday on his WNYC New York radio program.

Jonathan's a huge Red Sox fan who was born in New York, and has been a fixture on New York radio for nearly 40 years. At about noon on this day, he would stop playing music on his show and play clips from ordinary baseball games, some Red Sox highlights (and a few lowlights on occasion) and a few baseball songs.

It was a real treat and I can remember as a youngster listening to it with my parents on our kitchen radio. It was a great alternative from the non-stop hype machine that is the Super Bowl.

In 2008, Jonathan ended the tradition, as he felt the "Salute to Baseball" "interfered with the music" they played on WNYC. That was such a shame.

I wish he'd bring it back one of these Super Bowl Sundays. Heck, no one plays a "Salute to Football" during the World Series!

Let me conclude with a great quote from Mr. Schwartz (via The Joy of Sox):

"I firmly believe that the most extraordinary human game is professional baseball, that it is a 12-month endeavor, and it deeply occupies the mind and heart even when not being played."

Amen to that.