Major League Baseball Goes To Bat With Country Music
(Avid baseball fan Jason Aldean sings the National Anthem prior to an Atlanta Braves game)
Summer has arrived! You may look at the calendar and question that statement but if you’re a fan of Major League Baseball, you know exactly what I’m talking about! The boys of summer are back and filling ballparks all across the country with the sounds of cheering fans, the crack of a bat, the beckons of peanut vendors and country music. Country music?! That’s right… some of MLB’s finest have chosen country music to blast out of the loud speakers during their games.
Each position player chooses a song to be played as they walk up to the field for their at-bats, while every pitcher selects a song to be played while they warm-up or head to the mound from the bullpen. Although country music isn’t the only genre selected by ballplayers, it’s certainly a popular choice.
Out of the 30 different MLB teams, the Boston Red Sox seem to have the most amount of country fans in their dugout. The bulk of their pitching staff turns to country while they get ready for the game with Jon Lester and John Lackey both choosing Jason Aldean tunes (“I Use What I Got” & “Crazy Town”.) Josh Beckett forgoes his good friend Aldean in favor of Gary Allan’s “Living Hard” while knuckleballer Tim Wakefield goes with Tim McGraw’s “How Bad Do You Want It?”.
Moving from the American League to the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies are another team made up of some country fans! Being that he’s in the NL, Phillies Pitcher Roy Oswalt has two songs played, one for when he’s preparing to pitch and one when he’s preparing for an at-bat. He chose “My Kinda Party” (Jason Aldean) for his pitching warm-up song and “Whistlin’ Dixie” (Randy Houser) for his at-bat music. Oswalt’s teammate, Nashville native Joe Blanton sticks to his Music City roots when it comes to his music, choosing Brooks & Dunn’s “Hillbilly Deluxe.”
We want to hear from YOU… if you were a big league ballplayer, what would you choose for your at-bat song? Let us know in the comments section of this post!
We’ve done our research and gathered country tunes that are used by players from many different teams in Major League Baseball. [rmore type=”more”]Click the ‘more’ button below to see what country songs and artists you might hear at the ballpark this summer![/rmore]
Cincinnati Reds:
Paul Janish – “Ain’t Going Down till the Sun Comes Up” Garth Brooks
Travis Wood – “You Can’t Hide Redneck” Tracy Lawrence
St. Louis Cardinals:
Matt Holliday – “Chicken Fried” Zac Brown Band
Lance Berkman – “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” Johnny Cash
Colorado Rockies:
Todd Helton: “My Kinda Party” Jason Aldean
Chicago White Sox:
Gordon Beckham – “Chicken Fried” Zac Brown Band
Brent Morel – “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” Jake Owen
Detroit Tigers:
Ryan Raburn – “Hicktown” Jason Aldean
Atlanta Braves:
Jonny Venters – “Crazy Town” Jason Aldean
Milwaukee Brewers:
Mitch Stetter – “Sideways” Dierks Bentley
Pittsburgh Pirates:
Jeff Clement – “Hillbilly Deluxe” Brooks & Dunn
Paul Maholm – “I Use What I Got” Jason Aldean
San Francisco Giants:
Matt Cain – “Hillbilly Deluxe” Brooks & Dunn
Minnesota Twins:
Michael Cuddyer – “The House Rules” Christian Kane & “Am I The Only One” Dierks Bentley
Boston Red Sox:
Jon Lester – “I Use What I Got” Jason Aldean
Josh Beckett – “Living Hard” Gary Allan
John Lackey – “Crazy Town” Jason Aldean
Tim Wakefield – “How Bad Do You Want It?” Tim McGraw
Jarrod Saltalamacchia – “Eight Second Ride” Jake Owen
Philadelphia Phillies:
Roy Oswalt – “Whistling Dixie” Randy Houser (at-bat)
Roy Oswalt – “My Kinda Party” Jason Aldean (pitching warm-up)
Joe Blanton – “Hillbilly Deluxe” Brooks & Dunn
Texas Rangers
Mitch Moreland – “Homeboy” Eric Church
Seattle Mariners
Justin Smoak – “Homeboy” Eric Church & “Backwoods” Justin Moore
