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In the post-Watergate era, when most high school journalists were trying to emulate Woodward and Bernstein, I had a more immediate goal. I just wanted to be as good as Steve Wynn.

Wynn and I were friends and classmates at University High School in West Los Angeles (class of 1977). Neither of us quite gained the acclaim of Marilyn Monroe, who proceeded us by 35 years. But given that Wynn was on "Late Show with David Letterman" last week, it's safe to assume he's the more famous alum between us.

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He started out an aspiring sports writer, turned into one of the most talented, prolific and influential music writers of our generation, and has somewhat come full circle with his new release, The Baseball Project's "Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails."

"It's pretty funny," Wynn said by phone from his home in New York. "I've been making records for 25 years. But it took me going back to sports writing to get on the Letterman show."

There's no reason for this to stop, really. The lines between sports and entertainment blurred a long time ago. I'd hesitate to call the two married, because nobody's quite sure what to make of the relationship Madonna and Alex Rodriguez.

"We're thinking of doing a follow-up album," Wynn said, laughing. "But it would have to be an adult record. We actually wrote a song about Mike Kekich and Fritz Peterson [the Yankees pitchers who famously swapped wives in 1973], but we left it off the album. Madonna and A-Rod could be in there. Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe. There's enough material."

As talented a writer as he was for the Uni High Warrior, it's reasonable to conclude Wynn made the right career decision. His former alternative rock band, the Dream Syndicate (1981-89), had a cult-like following in Los Angeles. He launched a successful solo career. At 48, he's still making music and often tours Europe with his band, the Miracle 3, which includes drummer Linda Pitmon, his wife. He has recorded 25 studio albums, as well as several side projects.

Baseball and singing first intersected for him in 1992. He sang the national anthem before a baseball game in Minnesota in 1992. "That's a tough song," he said. "Plus, there I was on the pitcher's mound, and I'm staring straight at Cal Ripken. He was in front of me and Kirby Puckett behind me."

There's no hiding it. He admits he's "a baseball geek." It figured he would join forces with another longtime fan and rocker, Scott McCaughey (The Minus 5, R.E.M.). Both had been thinking about recording baseball songs. Then a year ago, the two spoke at length at R.E.M.'s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction party and decided to collaborate on a CD.

"We spent the whole night talking statistics and arcane baseball facts," Wynn said. "I think we both realized we planned on doing a record, and neither one of us wanted the other to steal the idea."

This collection is far less "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" than it is Bob Dylan's classic "Catfish," about former pitcher Jim "Catfish" Hunter. ("Used to work on Mr. Finley's farm. / But the old man wouldn't pay. / So he packed his glove and took his arm. / And one day he just ran away.") The band — Wynn, McCaughey, Pitmon and Peter Buck (R.E.M.) — play good music with rich lyrics that tell stories. Subjects include Jackie Robinson, Curt Flood (who paved the way for free agency), Satchel Paige and Fernando Valenzuela (sung in Spanish, juxtaposing the hero worship in Los Angeles with the forced move of thousands of Hispanics in Chavez Ravine 20 years earlier to make room for Dodger Stadium).

Wynn said his favorite song on the CD, though, is "Harvey Haddix," in part because he got an e-mail from the late pitcher?s widow "telling me how much she loved it." In 1959, Haddix pitched a perfect game through 12 innings but lost the perfect game, the no-hitter and the game in the 13th. Wynn manages to work in the names of all 17 pitchers who have thrown perfect games.

Back to the Letterman show: Wynn said it was a thrill – but somewhat anticlimactic.

"I think I was more blown away by the fact I was on 'This Week in Baseball,'" he said.