Doc Gooden

[Edgy MD]

 

 The Mountain Goats are an indy folk rock outfit that's been around since the early nineties, perhaps still trying to recover from their meh name.

But in 2019 they released this track about a legendary righthander.  Maybe it was shared back then at the old forum, but I just heard it today, and was moved to share it again.

Somewhat melancholy, but built around a beautiful Spanish guitar lick, it seems to be set during Gooden's American League years, when he was no longer a great starting pitcher, no longer a good starting pitcher, but still a big-league starting pitcher, looking back to the days not too long before when his mere presence was surreal.

You can dig the studio version or the live one, which sounds alright for what seems like an iPhone recording.

 

[Cowtipper]

I'll piggyback off this and note there is also a song called "Piazza, New York Catcher" by Belle & Sebastian. 

 

[Edgy MD]

Worth noting that the song also features a direct LL Cool J reference with "Don't call it a comeback — I've been here for years."

Some background on the song from songwriter John Darnielle:

"Old wizards and old athletes are the same: they were once magic and they were everyone’s hero and they could do anything. […] But they sacrifice their entire bodies to what they do – so do wizards. There are actually three real-world ex-wizards on the record: Doc Gooden, Ozzy Osbourne – who’s my personal totemic wizard – and then there’s the guy on 'Waylon Jennings Live!'"

And elsewhere:

"When you meet wizards in fiction, they’re often declining. Their powers are often fading, their influence over the court is often waning. And popular figures, I mean, you can be into them when they’re famous but, to me, it’s always the stuff the artists do when they’re running of time that is actually very interesting to me, and I consider athletes artists in this sense. That, like, you know, older boxers, looking for the last perfect fight before they collapse, these are exciting fights. You think of the magic in the world, and how time seems limited. That was the kind of thought I was having when I was working."