While Major League Baseball isn't guilty of playing music while the game was actually being played, one of the key experiences of attending a game for me has always been the music. Each player is allowed to select a song that accompanies them out onto the field whenever they come to bat or walk in from the bullpen.
Earlier today, ESPN posted a list of the at-bat songs for all of the teams of the American League. No matter which team is coming to bat, it appears that you can always expect a mix of classic rock, hip hop and a good helping of latin music.
At any given game, there’s a good chance you’ll hear Usher’s Yeah!, since an unfortunate number of players seem to like to have Lil’ Jon shouting while they step into the batter’s box.
Eschewing the macho music preferred by everyone else in the league, Hideki Matsui will occasionally warm up to the strains of The Beatles' Daytripper or Get Back. I guess his selection of The Who’s Who Are You is a little more in tune with the classic rock preferred by a subset of the league’s players, but I have to imagine that his rather pop-oriented picks have to be the source of some derision.
The strangest musical selection of all has to be David Dellucci’s pick: Rather than striding out to a power chord or a bombastic hip hop track, Dellucci enters to the opening strains of The Godfather Waltz, which is better known to most people as the theme to the Godfather films. Even so, I don’t think hearing The Godfather Waltz at a Rangers game would be as jarring to me as the time I heard a Jawbox song at a Capitols game, or when I hear Fugazi’s Waiting Room at a Redskins game.
Posted by Drew at August 3, 2004 08:59 PMHow about Minor Threat's Good Guys (Don't Wear White) at a Keys game? Now THAT's what I call family entertainment.
Posted by: cindy at August 4, 2004 04:07 PMHeh, that's pretty cool.
Posted by: Drew at August 5, 2004 09:46 AM