Before the start of the 2009 season, Torii Hunter was consumed with an arduous chore: finding the perfect song to introduce him for his at bats at Angel Stadium.
"It's like research," he later explained. "Google all day. iTunes all day. Man, it took all of spring training [that year] to find a song. Then I was just listening to it in the car one day and was like, 'Wow, rewind that.'"
Hunter had his eureka moment when the lyrics of Lil' Wayne's "Dinnertime" came across the radio:
They say I couldn't play baseball at all
And now everyday of my life I ball.
Hunter knew he had his at-bat song, one that he has used off and on for the past two seasons.
"When you're looking for a walk-up song, you try to pick something that's dear to your heart," Hunter said.
That's the veteran outfielder's take and it's a common one shared by a host of ballplayers. But the walk-up song is also an essential part of a player's brand and, along with this batting stance, a chance for personal expression. Thus, the music played when a home players walks to the plate can be an explanation of self, audition for support, anticipation of the moment, exhibition of beats, proclamation of faith or fodder for pranks.
Ah, yes, the pranks. Take this one, courtesy of the Rangers' Michael Young, who comes out to Beastie Boys songs "Sure shot" and "Sabotage." While playing for Class A Hagertown in a 1998 game at Cape Fear, N.C. Young recounts an amusing incident in which the girlfriend of an opponent wanted to give her boyfriend a nice surprise and had the player's intro song switched -- to Boyz 2 Men's "End of the Road."
"I think it was the end of the road after that," Young said. "When he found out, I think he kicked her to the curb.
"Guys were laughing about it for the whole series."
The origin of the intro song as theater is believed by many to be rooted in the early 1970s when the Yankees played "Pomp and Circumstance" upon closer Sparky Lyle's entrance into games. And it accelerated in the 1989 movie Major League when Charlie Sheen's character. Rick Vaughn, a fictional closer for the Indians, ran onto the field to the raucous "Wild Thing."
Some players are already preparing for the 2011 season. Earlier this month Blue Jays rookie catcher J.P. Arencibia took to Twitter seeking advice, asking, "Walk out music.... hip hop or old school rock n roll??" Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval was asked by a follower what his song would be, and he replied that he wasn't sure yet but it "will be a surprise."
More attention surrounds these songs than ever before -- the Internet is full of message boards listing and critiquing players' choices -- and as of June 2010 even historic Wrigley Field now plays requested songs for Cubs hitters, breaking the long-standing tradition of using organ music to introduce each batter.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/w ... index.html
It's getting slow around here so I thought I would ask.
What should be the At Bat music for some of the Jays? and if you played what would you pick for yourself?
