These Guys Can Sure Hit That...Note?

Recently I was typing an email in my gmail and I saw a google ad at the top that was selling a Ben Broussard music cd. A Ben Broussard what??

Thats right, Ben Broussard, 1B for the Seattle Mariners, has released an album of songs that he's written while on the road playing professional baseball. Its said to be in the mold of Jack Johnson and Counting Crows and is SURE to be a hit among the Starbucks of America. Pretty smart marketing move on his part playing for Seattle huh? You can listen to a whole bunch of audio clips of the album here on BenBroussard.com, i did and man i wanted to stick an electric screwdriver in my ear. I mean, he does the music that he wants to do well, dont get me wrong, but i tend to listen to music that has a little more distortion and screaming in it.

Seeing all this lead me to a question, how does Ben stack up not amongst other musicians...there really is no way he can do that with as much time as he puts into the baseball (i mean, come on, check out these numbers!), but amongst other baseball players who have thrown their hat out into the world of music? I give Ben's album a resounding grade of "C", about as average as you can get. Here's how the rest stack up:

Bernie Williams - Released one album in 2003 of Latin infused jazz guitar work. By all reviews, this was actually a pretty good album, by a baseball player or not. B+

Bronson Arroyo - Titled his lone album "Covering the Bases" which just should not be done when a baseball player is trying to establish himself as a serious musician. The music here is all cover songs of "alternative" and grunge classics. Not much creativity here, none of the songs sound as good as the real thing and he doesn't bring anything new or amazing to the table. Would rate it lower but Bronson's voice is not that bad, too bad he cannot write his own material. D+

Peter Gammons - Ok, i'm cheating a little here b/c Peter doesn't play baseball, but I had to acknowledge that this man actually ain't half bad. Granted the music he listens to and is influenced by is much better than he, but this guy is a pretty good old time rock n' roller. The music is kinda dated, like Peter, and his voice is a little thin but its a decent effort from a baseball writer. Slight nudge up in points for the whole album being for charity for Theo and Paul Epstein's Foundation to be Named Later. B-

Scott Radinsky - Has been out of baseball since 2001 but has been in bands since the 80s. He was previously in a punk band called Scared Straight which later became Ten Foot Pole which released 4 albums on the highly influential Southern California punk label Epitaph Records. Currently, Radinsky is in a punk band named Pulley , another melodic punk band, and has been making music full time since his departure from the majors. A- (this guy was a musician who played baseball, not the other way around! I would have given the man an A except for the fact that the music he plays is derivative pop punk crap...he's only gotten this high of a rating b/c he's been doing it so long and has actually made a pretty respectable career out of it...lots of people apparently really enjoy his music!)

Jack McDowell - Officially retired in 1999 and has been playing music ever since. His band Stickfigure has released four (i think) albums and is an "alternative" rock band in the vein of the Foo Fighters. Least he thinks so. Currently you can buy a copy of one his albums for $0.01 on Amazon.com. That should tell you all you need to know. D

Yes, Denny Mclain, Tony Conigliaro and Lee Maye have also released albums but for the purposes of this blog post...i felt they released their albums too long ago to review em. So Ben really is right in the middle of the pack when it comes to his fellow ballplayers' music. Look for it at a Starbucks near you...if they decide to back him. Seems like its right up their alley though.

Did I miss any? Are there any other current or recently former pro ball players that have released an album? Let me know!