‘What their flair is.’ How walk-up music has transformed baseball and defined its players

Sacramento River Cats left-handed pitcher Joey Marciano walks up to bat and “We’ll be Fine” by Drake plays throughout the baseball stadium. This is his walk-up song, one he feels gives him confidence.

“I just love the bass and like the meaning behind the song and you know the lyrics, what he’s talking about,” Marciano said. “I feel like it really relates to me and it sounds good on the mound, it gets me going.”

For Marciano, 28, the song and lyrics define his career up to this point as an “underdog” continuously trying prove himself. Throughout Marciano’s career, he’s always preferred Drake – an artist he listens to just about every day. In past seasons, his walk-up songs were “Free Smoke” or “Nonstop” but this year he chose to walk up to “We’ll Be Fine” from Drake’s Grammy Award-winning album, “Take Care.”

The opening lyrics in the song state, “...never thoughts of suicide, I’m too alive. But I still treat it like it’s do or die. Even though dying isn’t in the plans, but neither was making it and here I am.”

It doesn’t play long enough to hit the lyric, “should we make this one a double?” but, for a baseball player, that would work, too. Walk-up songs define players. They not only use them for inspiration, but wear them as style statements fans can recognize. Often, you hear the song, you know who’s walking to the plate. They are the soundtrack to baseball fans and the muse of the players and an equivalent of a pre-workout protein – it gives people a spark that they didn’t know they had.

“We’ll be fine,” Marciano said. The song says so.

Base notes, the origin of walk-up songs

Walk-up songs in baseball have been around for more than 50 years. Some songs are upbeat. Other songs are an ode to a player’s heritage. Most of the time, the walk-up selection is just a track from the athlete’s favorite artist.

Music selections were always something that engaged the baseball fans beyond the box score, leaving attendees with a fully-immersed experience attending a game.

Jake Ward is now the communication coordinator for the River Cats (whose next home game is June 28). But he remembers that in his college playing days he would walk out to “Little People” by the Procussions.

If he were to have a song now, he said it would be Metallica – specifically “And Justice for all.”

“Walk up songs have always been a staple,” Ward said. “(They) truly tell you kind of who they are and what the guy is or gives you sort of a peek into what their personal life is like and gives you a little bit of an idea of what their flair is.”

Music at baseball games historically once revolved around the National Anthem before the first pitch, then some organ music, maybe a song selection from a local band playing in the stands between innings, and, in some cases, seventh-inning inning stretch when ballpark attendees maybe come together – usually with the sound of a tone deaf choir – to sing “Take me out to the Ball Game, ” a baseball classic written 115 years ago by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer.

Now, stadiums’ speakers can erupt with all sorts of music, depending on the player’s tastes and stories.

In 1970, organist Nancy Faust first introduced walk-up songs as a member of the Chicago White Sox organization.

When players headed to the plate, she played famous pop and rock songs, one of the first organists to do so. In a 2019 interview with MLB.com, Faust said that she simply “played intro music for whoever was coming up to bat.”

Now, that has morphed into a staple in the game, and has sprinkled down to just about every level.

Bonding high school teammates

Franklin High School’s varsity baseball team slugged its way to a 2023 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division 1 Championship.

From songs such as Mobb Deep’s “Shook Ones,” “How We Do” by the Game featuring 50 Cent and “Big Poppa” by Notorious B.I.G, the team stayed in their bag all season, ready for big moments as the influence of walk-up songs helped them put together a championship run.

Senior Noah Meaux (outfielder) and Derek Pham (infielder) were able to choose their songs for the season, as long as they were clean versions.

Meaux chose “Let’s Get it Started” by the Black Eyed Peas.

“Every time I just step up to the plate I try to just get it started, you know, get a rally going, and keep the train going no matter what, whether it’s leading off the inning or (we have) two outs,” Meaux said.

Pham selected Kodak Black’s “Super Gremlin” as his walk-up song.

Although an uptempo selection, Pham said the song relaxes him and gives him confidence when he’s at the plate.

“Relax your hands and let your mind work,” Pham said. “I go up there, I’m singing my song, I’m looking at the pitcher like ‘I could hit you.’ It’s all in the head. It’s a mind game. It’s like I’m relaxed when I hear music.”

Unlike seniors who can choose their songs, the freshmen have their songs chosen for them – by the seniors.

Freshman Dylan Minnatee hit .329 with 18 RBI and six extra-base hits for the section champs. He earned recognition on the 2023 MaxPreps All-Sac-Joaquin Section baseball team. Minnatee’s walk-up song for the entirety of the season was selected by Pham, his senior teammate.

The song: “Boy’s a Liar, part two” by Pink Pantheress and Ice Spice.

Minnatee was asked to rate how much he disliked his song on a scale of one to 10, 10 being he hated it.

He jokingly rated the selection a “nine.”

“I dyed my hair and they said I look like Ice Spice,” Minnatee said. “When I walk into the box and I hear that song, it just makes me start laughing. It gets me more comfortable in the box.”

If it were his choice, he would have chosen a song by Kanye West or “Magic Stick” by 50 Cent.

Now that the season is over, Minnatee can’t wait to choose and change his song for next season.

Sheldon High School softball standout, shortstop Sakora Harvell finished her senior year at Sheldon High School batting .468, with 33 RBIs and seven home runs. She earned recognition for her stellar season joining the 2023 MaxPreps All-Sac-Joaquin Section softball team.

Harvell had not one, but two songs that helped her get into the groove all season long to produce such accolades.

During her last high school season, she would toggle between Lil Uzi Vert’s “20 min” and “Superhero” by Metro Boomin’ featuring Future as walk-up songs.

“I picked those songs just because I’ve always liked them and I pick songs that have good beats and they’re fun and will just motivate me and keep me pumped up before my at bat,” Harvell said.

The songs keep the team loose and having fun, she said.

When a fun song comes on, the players in the dugout are dancing, yet they remain engaged in the game.

Harvell plans to attend Loyola Marymount University on a full scholarship for softball. She’s looking forward to setting a new walk-up song for her first season of college ball.

How music becomes key

Despite the popularity of walk-up songs, not all high schools participate.

Ethan Yamaguchi came to the Sacramento region from Konawaena High School in Kealakekua, Hawaii, where there were no hype songs, nor walk-up music.

He heard just the natural sounds of a baseball game, the team and crowd cheering.

Yamaguchi enrolled at Sierra College in Rocklin and found his first taste of what it’s like to have a walk-up song.

“I feel like it’s so different, especially from Hawaii, baseball there compared to here is so different, especially on the level of competition,” Yamaguchi said. “I feel like you need a walk-up song to kind of hype yourself up and be able to play.”

He decided to choose “I Get The Bag” by Gucci Mane featuring Migos for his first walk-up song.

He chose it because of the beat and because the title is motivating.

“I feel like it would just hype me up like when I’m ready to walk up,” he said. “It just helps, it locks you in.”

Minor and major chords, minor and major leagues

River Cats outfielder Mike Gigliotti makes his way from the dugout to the on-deck circle to the plate, and his song allows him to enter another realm.

He feeds off of the crowd with his song choice “What’s Up” by 4 Non Blondes.

Gigliotti said it’s a “crowd pleaser” and that’s one of the reasons why he chose it.

“It gets everybody singing along, it should be a good time,” Gigliotti said.

“The feeling of walking up and you got thousands of people, like a big, big crowd on a Friday night night or whatever,” he said. “I’ll get in the box and they’ll stop playing my song but the crowd continues to sing it. They’ll be singing (even when my) bat is over. It’s pretty cool.”

His other song – a Christian song – stems from his faith in God.

The song “Crowns and Thorns (Oceans)” by KB speaks to Gigliotti in a different way that clears his mind and allows his faith in God to be the source that powers his swing.

He first heard the song during a teammates’ walk-up years ago and decided to adopt the song as his own walk-up anthem.

“It’s about our faith and everything,” Gigliotti said. “Everybody’s at a different point with their relationship with God and I’m working on mine. So I figured why not choose something to glorify him, and come out and have a song to honor him.”

Most athletes have their pregame music jam sessions that relaxes them, for others it gets them in a competitive mindset.

For Sacramento River Cats’ right handed pitcher Drew Strotman, 26, the music does both.

On game days he starts with something light such as country, easy rock or chill electronic music to save his energy and stay cool, calm and relaxed leading up to the game.

About an hour or so before the first pitch he switches gears to something upbeat. And when it’s his turn to bat,he hears “Intoxicated” by Martin Solveig and GTA. It gets Strotman and his team going.

It’s an EDM-style song that he’s used since he was a player at Saint Mary’s College, as it helped him make big plays to lead his team then to the playoffs.

“That’s just kind of my energetic vibe. I don’t need specific words or anything. I just need a good beat,” Strotman said. “I like how it changes beats a couple of times. It’s kind of pump up, pump down. It gets me every time.”

Strotman said you get to see players’ personalities or experience their cultures through walk-up songs. The best part though, he said, is the crowd engagement.

“It’s pop culture into baseball,” he said.