The Walk Up Songs of Baseball
“Walk up songs are the first thing that you hear when a player steps up to the plate; they are like a first impression. Walk up songs are meant to be reflective of the player and are supposed to hype the player up and get him ready for an at-bat, one of the hardest things in all of sports.”
Walk up songs are the first thing that you hear when a player steps up to the plate; they are like a first impression. Walk up songs are meant to be reflective of the player and are supposed to hype the player up and get him ready for an at-bat, one of the hardest things in all of sports. Walk-up songs are many times reflective of the player’s culture, and that is why we see many Latino players use dembow and spanish music. Walk up songs are more than just a song as some may see it. It’s a way to inspire young people and a way to see more personality from the player – a side that we don’t get to see on the field.
Walkup songs tend to have cool back stories most of the time. One of the coolest stories behind walk up songs was Freddie Freeman’s walkup song “Titi me Pregunto,” by Bad Bunny. The story behind this choice was that Freeman’s son, Charlie, was the one who picked the songs.
Now it’s time to look at Venezuelan Star Ronald Acuna Jr. who was the 2023 MVP, and joined the 40(HR)-70(SB) club being the only player in MLB history to do so. Acuna has been known for loving Dembow and the Dominican culture as he’s even went to practice with Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr and his Dad. That is why the choice of “Fiesta y Calle” by Rochy did not catch anyone by surprise.
The two-way Phenom star from Japan can’t be left out of any conversation. This is because he’s undoubtedly the best player in Baseball when healthy and without a doubt the best all-around player since Babe Ruth, who he is doing even better than. And, the competition Ruth was doing this against is no match for who Ohtani is doing it against. Ohtani's choice was “Can’t Get Enough” By Ghost Machines.
New York Yankees star Aaron Judge just signed a 9 year, 360 million dollar contract in the 2022-2023 offseason. Judge is the idol of many, if not most, New York kids that like the Yankees, and it is no surprise because Judge just broke the American League home run record in 2022 with 62 home runs, a record that was held by Roger Maris for over 60 years. The song Judge chose for this year is “Hello” by Pop Smoke and A-Boogie Wit Da Hoodie. This song fits perfectly because it matches the NYC theme and shows how Judge is the “King” of New York.
When we look at 1 of the most influential players in the MLB even after many controversial topics, Fernando Tatis Jr., who is the son of Fernando Tatis, the only player in MLB history to hit 2 grand slams in the same Inning. Tatis Jr has set a name for himself finishing in the top 5 for NL MVP for 2 straight seasons during 2020 and 2021. Tatis received a 14 year 340 million dollar deal at age of 22. He was later suspended for steroids and could not play in 2022, but last year he came back and did not disappoint. Tatis song for 2023 was “Yandel 150”, by Yandel, Feid.
Now time for the most Iconic walk-up song over the last few years: “Narcos”, by Timmy Trumpet. This is Edwin Diaz’s song and he is a pitcher(closer) for the New York Mets. It became iconic because with this song he was able to win Reliever of the year in 2019 and was able to record 57 saves, and almost broke the all-time record that is holded by Francisco Rodriguez with 62 saves during the 2008 season. This song became even more iconic when Timmy Trumpet performed the song.
Now it’s time to rank the song from worst to best, “Can’t Get Enough” By Ghost Machines in 6(Ohtani). This is because I feel like the song does not have a back story like the others and it is not really a song that is going to hype up a player getting up to bat and in Ohtani case pitch/hit.
In the number 5 spot I would it’s Ronald Acuna Jr. “Fiesta y Calle” by Rochy. Like Ohtani’s, this is a song that does not have a backstory like the other 4 which are ahead. This song is better than Ohtani’s song in my opinion because it can turn a player up before they hit. This is definitely a top 3 song here when we are talking about walking up to it, it’s a song that will definitely scare the pitcher because when you hear a Dembow playing you know most of the time it will be a latin slugger with a lot of power.
Starting off the top 3 song will be “Titi me Pregunto” by Bad Bunny. This was a top song in 2022, and when Freeman picked it because of his son Charlie, it made it even better and it is the reason for it being in the top 3. This song is a great song for a hitter to get hyped as they walk up the plate.
In the #2 spot is “Hello” by Pop Smoke. This song represents Judge because he is known to be the king of NYC, and his walk up song is by Pop Smoke, who was the king of NYC, before his death. This song is in the top 2 because it is a song that will hype up a player and has one of the best backstories.
In top 1 is the easiest choice and it is “Narcos” by Timmy Trumpet. It is not the best because the actual song is good; it is in the #1 spot because of the love and hype it brings to the fans as Edwin Diaz is approaching the mound. This is the song that brings the most fear to hitters because when you hear it you know it is Diaz coming out of the bullpen. There is no other song in the MLB that makes the fan go as crazy as this song and it why it’s in the #1 spot. It is also the only song from this list that the artist went to the stadium and gave a live performance before Diaz got to the mound.