OMAHA, NE (WBTW) There are certain things that go along with baseball. The sights of the freshly cut grass, the smell of a hot dog and the sound of an organ.
Jerry Pawlak is the man playing that instrument at the College World Series. He says he’s proud to be a part of keeping the classic baseball sound alive.
“I’m supposed to be a part of the nostalgia,” Pawlak said.
His fingers on the keys produce famliar melodies and chords.
“I never thought in my life I’d be a baseball organist,” Pawlak said of his assignment at the CWS.
When the College World Series moved to TD Ameritrade Park the organist from Rosenblatt Stadium decided to retire
“I was asked to go to the audition and got the job right away,” Pawlak said.
Jerry’s been playing keyboard since he was six years old.
“It was always taken for granted in my family that you were going to play a musical instrument,” Pawlak said.
Add the 30 years of experience playing in Chicago lounges and he was a natural fit for the job. He fills any break in the action with tunes from days gone by. It’s a repertoire in the thousands of throwback memories keeping the traditional sound of a classic baseball game.
“I play most everything from memory, I’ve been doing this a long time,” Pawlak said.
