It was the sight you never thought you'd see: Jay-Z climbing a stage near second base and rapping with Alicia Keys as the Phillies and Yankees prepared for Thursday's Game 2 of the World Series. For a sport that's usually as flexible as a fungo bat and usually stuck in the past with its marketing and musical choices, the on-field performance of Jigga's "Empire State of Mind" seemed like the dawn of a new era.

But how did the man in charge, MLB commissioner Bud Selig, view the streets creeping up on his game? Luckily we were there to capture his reaction with a photo essay and we present it to you below. (OK, we really weren't, but use your imagination.)

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"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Jay-Z and Alicia Keys to Yankee Stadium." 

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"Thank you very much! How's everyone doing tonight?"

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"That doesn't look like Bobby Vinton. Nor Fergie, for that matter." 

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"Yeah I'm out that Brooklyn/Now I'm down in Tribeca/Right next to DeNiro/But I'll be hood forever I'm the new Sinatra/And since I made it here/I can make it anywhere."

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"Did he just say he was the new Sinatra? I thought I requested the old Sinatra." 

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"I used to cop in Harlem/All of my Dominicanos ... Cruising down 8th street/Off-white Lexus/Driving so slow/But it's from Texas!"  

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"How dare he buy a car from someone other than Selig Leasing Company." 

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"... Sitting courtside Knicks and Nets give me high-5/I be spiked out/I could trip a referee/Tell by my attitude that I'm most definitely from ..." 

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"My friend Donald is not impressed. Neither am I." 

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"New York!/Concrete jungle where dreams are made of/There's nothing you can't do ...These streets will make you feel brand new/the lights will inspire you/Let's hear it for New York!"

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"I know what you're thinking, but some of my best friends are ... well, you know."

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"One of my favorite entertainers, too." 

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"...Catch me at the X with OG at a Yankee game/I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can/you should know I bleed Blue, but I ain't a Crip tho ..."

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"Home of the hip hop, yellow cab, gypsy cab, dollar cab/ holla back for foreigners it ain't fitted act like they forgot how to act/ eight million stories out there and they're naked/city it's a pity half of y'all won't make it ..." 

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"I'm sorry, but this isn't for me. I'm just going to read quietly until you're done." 

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"New York!/Concrete jungle where dreams are made of/There's nothing you can't do ...These streets will make you feel brand new/the lights will inspire you ..."

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"Honestly, what kind of person would replace my Hardy Boys novel with a rule book?"

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"... New York! New York! New York!"

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"OK, I'll come clean: You're not the only one 'big pimpin'' around here, Mr. Carter." 

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"Thank you very much, Mr. Selig!" 

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"Yeah, yeah ..." 

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"Go Yankees!" 

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"Where do you think you're going, H.O.V.A.?" 

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"To watch the Yankees even the series up!" 

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Related: 2009 postseason on the Stew, 2009 World Series on the Stew