That’s two World Series wins for the best pitcher of his generation, who is trying to add post-season success to his resume. That has previously eluded him, and seems to be the only jewel missing from his crown. Before this World Series he had a losing record in World Series (1-2) games as well as in all post-season games (11-12).

If you are a baby boomer, there’s a very good chance he was one of your idols in high school or college, and you probably remember him vividly, although he really hasn’t performed in about 50 years, with some brief exceptions for charitable causes.

In my corridor of the freshman dorms, perhaps half of the guys had at least ten of Lehrer’s songs memorized. Since we all came from different parts of the world, our slowly discovered mutual love for Lehrer’s satire was part of our bonding experience, perhaps the largest part. Jocks and nerds, intellectuals and frat boys found that they had Lehrer in common, and that led to some guys forming otherwise unlikely lifetime friendships.

“Lehrer, 92, announced Tuesday via his website that he’s effectively putting everything he ever wrote into the public domain. That means his lyrics and sheet music are available for anyone to use or perform, without having to pay royalties or deal with lawyers.”