Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
What would you hear as SB Nation writers stepped up to the plate?
As the MLB season gets underway, it’s time we acknowledged one of the coolest things about the sport: walkup songs. A short clip of any song on Earth tells you so much about the personality of the player and what music they enjoy. So much that college baseball programs such as LSU publish their players walkout songs, so everyone can enjoy them.
Well, it’s time that we here at SB Nation let readers know what we’re choosing for our walkout songs, in honor of the MLB season starting today. Every song on here is great and perfect so you have no choice but to respect it.
JP Acosta: “Kick Back,” by Kenshi Yonezu
As the resident anime fan, I wanted to choose a walkout song from an anime that I really like, Chainsaw Man. Their first opening is catchy enough to not be associated with the show, but notable enough so if people who are anime fans recognize it, they know the vibes. Plus the song ROCKS. Easy win.
Jared Mueller: “Regulate,” by Warren G and Nate Dogg
Regulate has been my pregame song since I was in high school when the song came out. You can do the math at how old I am now but it is still my pregame song before softball games, pickup basketball or rounds of golf. As a walkup song, nothing would beat hearing “Regulators!!!! Mount up!” as I start to the plate.
Bernd Buchmasser: “Symphony No. 9,” by Antonín Dvořák
You probably don’t need to be the smartest person on the planet to conclude that I’m not a top-notch athlete. I’m a writer at a sports blog for a reason.
Given that I need to find any advantage possible considering a general lack of talent at baseball (or any other sport), why not use a massively badass song as a walkout tune? A little intimidation can go a long way, you see. So, come on down, Antonín Dvořák, you take the wheel.
Mark Schofield: “Is it Over Now? (Taylor’s Version)” by Taylor Swift
One of the more endearing walkup song choices in recent memory comes from the Washington D.C. area and according to some propelled the Nationals to a World Series. During the 2019 season Gerardo Parra switched to “Baby Shark” as his walkup song midseason, as it was loved by his two-year-old daughter.
Parra immediately went on a hot streak, the Nationals won 16 of 20 to turn their season around, and a legend was born.
Thankfully my children are past the “Baby Shark” stage, but my daughter and I have bonded in recent years over a shared appreciation for Taylor Swift. We’ve watched documentaries together, discussed our favorite songs, and yes there is likely a concert in my near future. Spared from “Baby Shark,” I turn to Swift.
James Dator: “Take Five” by The Dave Brubeck Quartet
I guarantee you’ve heard this song even if you didn’t know its name, or who performed it. Take Five isn’t my favorite jazz song, but it’s by far the best for walkup music. The idea of striding to the plate to a song this cool, knowing you’re about to put in work is just brilliant. I’m a big fan of the idea of having a song that doesn’t convey bravado or bad-assery, then belting a homer without saying a word is just too magical.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d never get a hit in the major … or the minors, but I’d make a list as having one of the best walk ups ever.
Jeanna Kelley: “I Ain’t No Joke” by Eric B. and Rakim
I’ve never been particularly great at sports and I haven’t played softball since the late 1980s, so picking this classic serves multiple purposes. One, the opening line is one of the best of all time and it’s guaranteed to get you hype: “I used to let the mic smoke, now I slam it when I’m done and make sure it’s broke.”
Two, I’m old and so is this song, which was released in 1987. But we’re both classics.
Three, I am almost certainly going to strike out, so the song choice is a little bit of subterfuge.
Adam Ward: “Cocaine & Crack” by McGruff the Crime Dog
Listen, if I’ve made it to the league, something has gone terribly wrong. My best pitch probably tops out at 50 mph, I have no throw accuracy, questionable speed, and I’m batting maybe .002. Probably the only positive impact I can have is on team morale; I’ll be a dugout jester.
So before I get evaporated by a Luis Castillo slider or somehow disintegrate all of my knee ligaments swinging at a sinker, I’ll make a positive impact by playing a selection from the 1986 masterpiece McGruff’s Smart Kids Album, an anti-drug record voiced by the famous anthropomorphic canine.
Now, if you’ve never had the pleasure of hearing “Inhalants” or the yacht rock brilliance of “Marijuana” and its screaming guitar solo, I implore you to head to YouTube and check this forgotten masterpiece out. If my walk up song can convince just one person in attendance to “just say no” before they burn their brain or make a mess of their m-i-i-i-nd, I’ve made a difference.
