Music Heavy Hitters Step to the Plate

Baseball is joining the MTV age.

New ads promoting the sport feature rapper LL Cool J and soul queen Aretha Franklin performing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” in their respective styles. The ads will debut during Sunday night’s ESPN broadcast and be shown on Fox and at ballparks.

“We are concentrating on the younger fans,” said Lee Garfinkel, the chief creative officer of Lowe & Partners/SMS.

Commercials with country/pop singer Mary Chapin Carpenter are scheduled to be filmed this weekend, and baseball is seeking to hire a rock performer, possibly Jon Bon Jovi.

In what looks like a music video, LL Cool J sings with Ken Griffey Jr., Sammy Sosa, Eric Young and Mark Newfield.

Franklin, who sang the national anthem before the 1993 World Series opener, wears a crown and walks under crossed bats with Cecil Fielder.

“Take Me Out to the Ballgame” was written by Albert von Tilzer and Jack Norworth in 1908. LL Cool J added his own lyrics, including: “I’ll steal home base for you; Girl, I’ll even place aside your hands.”

“I’ve been a fan for a million, zillion years,” he said. “Since the Jurassic period.”