The Orioles’ 2017 season is now in full swing and, much like you, I am thrilled about the Birds’ hot start. While there are many topics that require further analysis at this point in the season (e.g., slumping sluggers, Gausman’s ERA, upcoming roster moves, etc.), I have chosen to write this post about a far less publicized matter: music. More specifically, I’m referring to the 2017 Orioles’ walk-up songs and entrance music, which is a topic that I think gets far too little attention from the Birdland fanbase.

Having recently discovered the “Player Music” page on the Orioles’ website, I spent a considerable amount of time analyzing our beloved roster’s song selections. Should I have spent my time on more productive endeavors like my job or DIY household projects? Probably… but, where’s the fun in that? Besides, if Gary Thorne can have his “Hitting the Books” segment on MASN, then I see no reason why I can’t have my own “Hitting the Tunes” post on Eutaw Street Report!

First, I took it upon myself to create the below playlist on Spotify and I even tracked down a few entrance songs that aren’t listed on the site. For example, the Orioles website doesn’t list Hyun-Soo Kim’s entrance song of “BANG BANG BANG” by “BigBang” – perhaps this is all part of the vast conspiracy to minimalize Kim’s role on the team, but let’s save that topic for another day. In any event, you can find the full playlist here and the complete song list at the bottom of this post (I welcome any suggested edits/updates from the Birdland fanbase).

Next, I did a little data analysis to assess the most common music genres represented by the team. As you will see from the below chart, the Orioles love their hip-hop! Following rap, the most popular genres are rock/alternative (not surprising), Christian rock (very surprising) and country music (not my cup of tea, but I get it). Other genres represented include pop music and Latin music, as well as K-Pop (I bet you can guess who chose that one).

Finally, I jotted down a few observations about the team’s music selections. I’m by no means a professional music critic, but I generally think that I have advanced knowledge and refined tastes when it comes to the music world. As such, I have crafted the following lists to rank the “Top 5” and “Bottom 5” entrance songs of your 2017 Baltimore Orioles. So (in the words of Gary Thorne) without further “adieu, adieu”, I present you with my thoughts:

 

The Bottom 5: C’mon Bro!

5). Alec Asher: “Devastated” by Joey Bada$ and “White Iverson” by Post Malone

My problem here isn’t so much the song selection (although they are both very “meh” choices in my opinion), but more so the fact that Asher actually had the cojones to select TWO songs. I think we’ve all been impressed with how Asher has pitched thus far this season, but the fact remains that the guy didn’t make the opening day roster. Besides, prior to being traded to the Orioles he only had 12 MLB appearances – not exactly the amount of MLB service time that warrants two songs.

For reference, the only other players who have multiple entrance songs on the Orioles roster are: Caleb Joseph (questionable), J.J. Hardy, Jonathan Schoop, Chris Davis, Manny Machado, and Adam Jones. So for now, I suggest that Asher selects just one song and we can revisit this topic at the end of the season to see whether he’s earned the right to have a second.

4). Caleb Joseph: “At the Cross” by Chris Tomlin and “Duck Blind” by Bone Collector

I’m perfectly OK with Caleb Joseph’s second song choice, “Duck Blind.” After all, the guy is still “hunting” for his first RBI since the 2015 season! However, I take more of an issue with “At the Cross” by Chris Tomlin. This slow-build Christian rock ballad is a pretty lame excuse for a walk-up song. While it would be a perfectly acceptable song for a Christian youth group retreat, it’s not exactly the song that would get fans amped up when played over the loudspeakers at OPACY. I’ll revisit this topic later on (below), but I couldn’t help but recall one of the great quotes from the movie Bull Durham when I heard this song

Nuke Laloosh’s Father: “Let’s have a quick word of prayer”
Annie Savoy: “Oh, let’s not.”

(Full Sound Bite Here)

3). Dylan Bundy: “Answer to No One” by Colt Ford

When I first read the song title, I thought it may be a good choice. “Answer to No One” is a pretty cool title and it has a very maverick/renegade ring to it. Bundy is the type of pitcher who has a “just give me the damn ball” attitude, so I thought the song choice may be apropos. However, upon listening to the song’s lyrics, I was very unimpressed.

I’ll spare you the details (and I don’t mean to be overly political), but they lyrics to this song are basically a Trump supporter’s wet dream – it’s like Colt Ford wrote this song at an NRA rally while watching FOX News and eating a fried stick of butter. Besides, after doing a little research on Colt Ford (pictured below), I learned that the guy is essentially a poor man’s Kid Rock – just let those words sink-in for a minute.

All that said, if Bundy keeps pitching the way he’s been pitching recently, any song he chooses will be perfectly fine by me!

2). Mike Wright: “Hide Away” by Daya

Really, Mike? Of all the songs out there, this was the song you chose?? While I understand that this generic pop tune may be somewhat catchy, it has absolutely no place on a baseball field – unless, of course, that baseball field is inhabited entirely by teenage girls. Just read to the synopsis of the song’s lyrics from Genius.com: “In this bouncy track, Daya bemoans the lack of standards when it comes to her male dating pool, and wishes for a man who actually respects her.” I don’t know about you, but that description doesn’t exactly sound like Major League starting rotation material to me.

Personally, I think this song is so lame that it could actually hinder a pitcher’s development – if Wright doesn’t change this song selection, he may be “hiding away” in Norfolk for a while.

[Related: Let’s Choose New Walk-Up Music for the O’s]

1). Chris Davis: “Gravity Lies” and “The Moment We Come Alive” by Red

We all know that Chris Davis is a badass. The guy mashes homers, has muscles that rival the Incredible Hulk, and plays first base at a Gold Glove-caliber level – don’t forget about his philanthropy to the University of Maryland Children’s Hospital either. All of these factors are why I was so disappointed by Davis’ selection of not one, but two lame Christian rock songs for his entrance music.

Sure, “Gravity Lies” has a decent opening guitar riff, and “The Moment We Come Alive” is an apropos song title for a power bat, but I simply expected more from our beloved Crush. A native Texan, I was expecting Davis to choose a mean classic rock track like ZZ Top’s “La Grange”, or even an out-of-the-box selection like Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” (to boost his OBP) or “Get Rhythm” (to find his timing in the batter’s box). While I completely respect the fact that Davis is deeply religious, I just think he should leave all the Christian rock music for his time away from OPACY. After all, if Major League taught us anything, it’s that ol’ JC sometimes has trouble with the curve…

 

The Top 5: We Salute You!

5). Hyun-Soo Kim: “Bang Bang Bang” by BigBang

While I don’t understand a single lyric in this song, I love the fact that one of our players has a K-Pop song as his entrance music… And not just any K-Pop song. HSK went big and selected the smash hit “Bang Bang Bang” by BigBang. According to Wikipedia (don’t judge me), the song peaked at #1 on the South Korean Billboard charts, was a certified gold record in Japan and won “Song of the Year” at the 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards. Is the song borderline terrible and the music video extraordinarily weird? Yes, but that’s beyond the point! That video has more than 226 million hits on YouTube and, regardless of whether I like the song or not, we should applaud HSK for adding some Gochukaru (Korean for hot pepper flakes) spice to an otherwise bland array of song selections from our Orioles.

By the way, I have another bone to pick… Why doesn’t the PA announcer play the “Na Na Na” song at OPACY after HSK hits home runs? I think we should use this opportunity to revisit just how amazing that song is:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/embed/DJ8oaKyT4kE[/youtube]

4). Adam Jones: “California Love” by 2pac ft. Dr. Dre, “Bout That Life” by Meek Mill and “Lose My Mind” by Young Jeezy

I don’t particularly care for “Bout That Life” or “Lose My Mind,” but the reason why our “Cap10” ranks so highly is the timeless classic of “California Love.” This song has been a mainstay at OPACY since Adam Jones got traded to the O’s, and it’s a song that just oozes with swagger. Plus, you’ve gotta respect a player who reps his hometown – Jones is a San Diego native and beyond that, he always tends to mash when he plays on the west coast. After all, California DOES “know how to Party” and @simplyAJ10 is always leading the charge on that front (see below).

3). Welington Castillo: “Para Ti” by Juan Luis Guerra

Similar to HSK’s K-Pop selection, I love the fact that Castillo chose an international hit as his walk-up song to give the OPACY loudspeakers some Latin flare. Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra’s 2004 “Para Ti” (for you) album took home two awards at the 2005 Billboard Music Awards and, beyond that, the song just puts me in a very chipper mood every time I hear it! I’m sure this fun track keeps Castillo loose as he walks to the plate, and it may be one of the reasons why he’s off to a strong offensive start with his new team (currently hitting .311 as of April 28^th).

2). Brad Brach: “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC

All-star reliever Brad Brach made an all-star selection with AC/DC’s rock anthem “Thunderstruck.” This song is a quintessential pitcher’s song, and it’s hard not to get pumped up every time it comes on the speakers. While this was in the running for the top spot of my list, I docked it points for originality.

“Thunderstruck” is a phenomenal entrance song, but it’s already widely used throughout Major League Baseball – notably, Mark Melancon also uses this song as his entrance music and Noah Syndergaard recently changed his song to “Thunderstruck” this season too (make sense given his nickname it Thor). Nevertheless, I commend Brach for choosing a Rock ‘N’ Roll classic and if he keeps pitching the way he’s been pitching, then I think he should keep it for the rest of his career!

1). Zach Britton: “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)” by AC/DC

For a Closer to be successful, it is absolutely critical to choose an intimidating entrance song that will blast over the loudspeakers before the ninth inning. Perhaps the most famous Closer entrance song of all time is “Enter Sandman” by Metallica, which was used by Mariano Rivera as he mowed down hitters for years with the Yankees.

However, Mariano’s torch has been passed to a new generation of closers, and Britton hit the nail on the head with his selection of “For Those About to Rock.” The song (and music video) always gets fans/players amped up, and its hard-rocking guitar riffs (and gunshots) are an excellent complement to the deadliest sinker in all of baseball. I can’t say enough good things about this song selection – it’s the perfect entrance song for a pitcher of ZB’s caliber. So for his song choice and for his continued dominance on the mound, WE SALUTE YOU, Mr. Britton and we hope you stay healthy throughout the remainder of the 2017 season!

Well there you have it, folks… I hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts on the Orioles’ entrance music, and I would love to hear your thoughts as well! Feel free to leave a comment, drop me a line at

ra************@ya***.com











or tweet me @RationalOriole.

The complete list of songs is included below and, as always, GO O’s!!!

First Name	Last Name	Song	Artist	Source
Adam	Jones	Bout That Life	Meek Mill	Orioles.com
Adam	Jones	California Love	2pac ft. Dr. Dre	Orioles.com
Adam	Jones	Lose My Mind	Young Jeezy	Orioles.com
Alec	Asher	Devastated	Joey Bada$	Orioles.com
Alec	Asher	White Iverson	Post Malone	Orioles.com
Brad	Brach	Thunderstruck	AC/DC	Orioles.com
Caleb	Joseph	At The Cross	Chris Tomlin	Orioles.com
Caleb	Joseph	Duck Blind	Bone Collector	Orioles.com
Chris	Davis	Gravity Lies	Red	Orioles.com
Chris	Davis	The Moment We Come Alive	Red	Orioles.com
Chris	Tillman	Kick It In The Sticks	Brantley Gilbert	Orioles.com
Craig	Gentry	Christ In Me	Jeremy Camp	Orioles.com
Darren	O’Day	Thickfreakness	The Black Keys	Orioles.com
Dylan	Bundy	Answer To No One	Colt Ford	Orioles.com
Hyun-Soo	Kim	BANG BANG BANG	BIGBANG	@sung_minkim
J.J.	Hardy	Flower	Moby	Orioles.com
J.J.	Hardy	I Love This Life	Locash	Orioles.com
Joey	Rickard	You Can’t Hide And You Can’t Run	Dilated Peoples	Orioles.com
Jonathan	Schoop	Go Get It	T.I.	Orioles.com
Jonathan	Schoop	Walk Through	Rich Homie Quan	Orioles.com
Kevin	Gausman	Do I Wanna Know?	Arctic Monkeys	Billboard.com
Manny	Machado	Born And Raised*	DJ Khaled	Orioles.com
Manny	Machado	Taxi	Pit Bull	Orioles.com
Manny	Machado	Where You From	Trick Daddy	Orioles.com
Mark	Trumbo	Black Honey	Thrice	MLBplatemusic.com
Miguel	Castro	Aqui No Hay Miedo	El Batallon	Orioles.com
Mike	Wright	Hide Away	Daya	Orioles.com
Mychal	Givens	Ready Or Not	Fugees	Orioles.com
Ryan	Flaherty	Money And The Power	Kid Ink	Orioles.com
Seth	Smith	Captured	The Digital Age	Orioles.com
Trey	Mancini	Mo Money Mo Problems	The Notorious B.I.G.	MLBplatemusic.com
Tyler	Wilson	Rock It	Sub Focus	Orioles.com
Ubaldo	Jimenez	Rie Y Llora	Celia Cruz	Orioles.com
Wade	Miley	Backwoods	Justin Moore	Orioles.com
Wellington	Castillo	Para Ti	Juan Luis Guerra	Orioles.com
Zach	Britton	For Those About To Rock	AC/DC	Orioles.com
* Currently not available on Spotify
ǂ Currently unknown: Donnie Hart, Jayson Aquino, Paul Fry and Vidal Nuño as well as other members of the 40-man roster