ST. LOUIS _ He's the guy who plays "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" at the ballgame, and Thursday was supposed to be the first ballgame at Busch. But no one is supposed to go out.
So, Dwayne Hilton, the Busch Stadium organist, played the song during his live Facebook concert on Tuesday night. The video still is available on the Lacefield Music page. Hearing the song was a surprisingly emotional experience. It sounded both poppy and poignant because, seemingly simultaneously, the song elicited joy and sadness. Guess that's why organ music works at a carnival and a funeral.
"You know, it's kind of weird," Hilton said by phone. "It's not in front of 46,000 fans on opening day. It was at an empty store, but there's still an audience out there and I think it helps remind people that baseball is about the most normal thing in America, and just hearing that sound and me play the organ, I think people got a kick out of it. There were a lot of 'likes,' a lot of people viewing it. A little taste of the sound of the ballpark, right there in your living room."
