MLB.com

By Mark Newman / MLB.com

Jack McKeon will appear on "The Late Show with David Letterman" tonight. (Kathy Willens/AP)

McKeon's appearance on CBS' Late Show with David Letterman was pushed back from Tuesday to tonight because of last-minute rescheduling caused by the arrival of Harry Joseph Letterman. The talk-show host signed off on Tuesday's show by saying, "Jack McKeon from your World Series champion Florida Marlins will be here (Wednesday)," and then he closed by saying, "Good night, Harry."

While baseball fans wait, here is MLB.com's Top 10 list of Why Jack McKeon Is Going On Letterman (cue Paul Shaffer's music):

10. He heard that Dave was handing out cigars.

9. The Late Show debuted on CBS in the summer of 1993, just like the Marlins.

8. Plans to tell Dave he needs three days' rest.

7. Has pictures of his own kids to show Dave, such as Dontrelle, Josh and Miguel.

6. Wanted to see if Radio City Music Hall still looks like it did a long, long time ago when he grew up in the New York area.

5. With no Game 7 at Yankee Stadium, he still had one more night in New York left in him.

4. Heard that there was a big elf also scheduled on the Wednesday show, but committed before finding out it was Will Ferrell instead of new free agent Pudge Rodriguez.

3. Someone told him that Letterman once received the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award, and he figured they could talk Reds baseball.

2. There was a break in the South Florida parade schedule.

1. They both shocked the world.

McKeon waited until the age of 72 to celebrate his first world championship and Letterman waited until the age of 56 to celebrate the arrival of his first child, so waiting one more day to see them together is not the biggest thing in the world. Regis Philbin's appearance on the show had been scheduled for Monday night, but when Letterman skipped that taping to be with his girlfriend for their 11:58 p.m. ET delivery that night, Philbin was moved to Tuesday and McKeon to Wednesday.

At this time last year, appearing on Letterman was probably the last thing McKeon could have imagined. He took over the Marlins during the first half of the season and managed them through a frantic National League Wild Card race, through upsets of the Giants and Cubs, and then through a stunning six-game series against the heavily favored Yankees. McKeon was as entertaining in postseason interviews as he was prescient in his moves, so tonight's appearance on the 11:30 ET show will be worth the wait.

Now there is a new pop star and a new pop on the late-night talk show circuit. Letterman announced on Tuesday's show that he and girlfriend Regina Lasko had named their baby Harry Joseph, after his father, and that the baby weighed 9 pounds 11 ounces at birth. Obviously still in a baseball state of mind, Letterman said:

"I'll have to teach him how to lay a bunt."

McKeon can tell him exactly how Juan Pierre does it.

Mark Newman is a writer for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.