Ranking the SF Giants' walk-up songs for 2023
Hey! Pspsps. Look over here. Tear your eyes away from the SF Giants’ box scores. Quit your doomscrolling through Twitter. Let’s talk about something way less stressful.
The Giants’ walk-up songs!
Walk-up music has been a part of baseball since 1970: the Chicago White Sox’ organist Nancy Faust started assigning specific songs to players based on certain characteristics. The players started requesting their own songs in the ‘90s, and the rest is history. However, unless the song and player are particularly iconic (think Mariano Rivera and “Enter Sandman” or Edwin Díaz and “Narco”), the song a player wants to announce his presence can be shrouded in mystery.
A tweet from the Giants’ Twitter account on the day of the home opener listed each player’s walk-up song, leaving the mystery and frantic ballpark Shazam-ing behind. Below is a ranking of all those songs.
Before I get started, a few disclaimers: I am NOT an expert. I am just one person with opinions, which means nothing about this list is definitive. Additionally, my personal music taste skews pretty far away from the average male athlete (Spencer Strider is a notable exception). This list is just for fun, which, given how the Giants’ season has started, I desperately need.
I also want to acknowledge this playlist put together by @BayAreaBrennan, which includes all current Giants’ walk-up songs, as well as a favored few from the past.
Enough chatter. Let’s rank!
23. David Villar: “Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin” - Drake
Minus points for a Drake song. Extra minus points because it’s the worst kind of Drake song where he rambles unoriginally about how exclusive his life is. The title is the coolest thing about it. Sorry, David.
22. Brandon Crawford: “Still Here” - Drake
Full disclosure: I have no patience for Drake as a musical artist. The only reason this isn’t ranked lower is the lyric “hittin’ like that 30 on my jersey.” All things considered, it is very impressive that DJ BC Raw is “still here.”
21. Ross Stripling: “Like I Love You” - Justin Timberlake
As RuPaul once said, “Meh.”
20. Anthony DeSclafani: “Gimme Shelter” - The Rolling Stones
A classic Stones track, no doubt. But DeSclafani chooses the intro and first verse of the track to warm up to, which lacks the punch of the chorus or Keith Richards’ solos. It just sounds a little wimpy in a 40,000 seat stadium.
19. Blake Sabol: “Work Out” - J. Cole
Perfectly acceptable walk-up song. If he used the section of the song that interpolates “Straight Up” by Paula Abdul, he would be ranked MUCH higher.
18. Alex Wood: “Revenge” - Joyner Lucas
This sounds like a lot of pump up songs in the post-Kendrick Lamar music landscape. I don’t have a problem with that, but there’s nothing spectacular about this particular track.
17. Scott Alexander: “Who Am I (What’s My Name)?” - Snoop Dogg
This makes an adequate amount of sense as a walk up song. The production is extremely ‘90s, which slightly puts me off but I’m sure will fill others with loads of nostalgia.
16. J.D. Davis: “Lay Low” - Tiesto
The lyrics of this song are pretty nondescript but the sonic landscape of it rules. The choir mixed with the heavy bass sounds epic over big speakers like the ones at Oracle Park.
15. Michael Conforto: “Baby I’m Back” - Baby Bash, Akon
This is a fun pick, and an appropriate one as Conforto plays big league baseball for the first time in a year. The lyric “now I’m back, let me hit it” is totally, one hundred percent about taking at bats! Right?
14. Mitch Haniger: “Come Around” - Slightly Stoopid
Haniger hasn’t played for the Giants yet, but here’s hoping he brings the “spiritual bath of positive party energy” Slightly Stoopid aims to produce, according to their Spotify bio. This is a very NorCal pick, which makes sense!
13. Sean Manaea: “Just the Two of Us (feat. Bill Withers)” - Grover Washington
An undoubtedly groovy song, and definitely not one you’d expect to hear at a baseball game. One possibility: it’s an ode to whoever’s catching Manaea that day, which is equal parts silly and sweet.
12. Taylor Rogers: “The Chain” - Fleetwood Mac
I need to know the backstory of this pick more than any others on this list. It’s a great song on one of the greatest albums of all time, but Rumours has always evoked late 70s divorcees vacuuming their shag carpets rather than a big league relief pitcher toeing the mound.
11. Tyler Rogers: “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” - Cage the Elephant
There’s an understatedness about this song that suits the longer-tenured Rogers well. It’s steady but menacing, much like the prospect of facing a pitcher who can actually throw a pitch that rises.
10. Camilo Doval: “Bailar” - Deorro, Pitbull, Elvis Crespo
This song makes you want to fist pump, which is the ideal reaction to a closer of Doval’s pedigree coming in to save a close game.
9. Wilmer Flores: “I’ll Be There for You” - The Rembrandts
We all know the story by now: Friends helped Flores learn English, and it’s still his favorite TV show. The theme song gets you smiling and clapping, just like Wilmer himself.
8. Bryce Johnson: “Drop It Like It’s Hot” - Snoop Dogg, Pharrell Williams
I would love to know why Johnson picked this specific song. The explanation might be as simple as “it’s a really fun and good song,” which it is.
7. John Brebbia: “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” - Wham!
Brebbia’s sense of humor is well-documented by now, so it makes sense that he would choose a song that’s about as serious as skipping through a field of daisies. My dearest hope is that he sings it to himself as he jogs in from the bullpen, only because that thought makes me laugh.
6. Mike Yastrzemski: “When The Levee Breaks” - Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin is often overly grandiose, but the first 30 seconds of this song make for the perfect announcement of presence. John Bonham’s drums sound like kicking a door down, ideal for a badass stroll to home plate.
5. Logan Webb: “Killa Whale” - Andre Nickatina
Webb automatically gets a top five finish for choosing a Bay Area rapper. He’s been known to have a sense of humor, so it makes sense that, according to Musixmatch, his walk up song’s first recorded lyrics are “(Whale calls.)”
4. Lamonte Wade, Jr.: “Next Time” - Gang Starr
At his best, Wade is simultaneously confident and relaxed at the plate. He doesn’t swing at pitches he knows he can’t hit, but when he does make contact, he can send balls into McCovey Cove. This song captures him perfectly.
3. Thairo Estrada: “Después de la Playa” - Bad Bunny
The horns in this song are basically “El Mechón” 2.0. The way Estrada’s been hitting so far, who doesn’t want to do a little happy dance when he gets in the batter’s box?
2. Sean Hjelle: “Bootylicious” - Destiny’s Child
The question will always stand: is anyone ever truly ready for this jelly, especially when the jelly is six feet eleven inches tall? An exemplary case of “he saw the opportunity, and he took it.”
1. Joc Pederson: “I’m So Humble” - The Lonely Island, Adam Levine
Leave it to Pederson to pick a song by a Bay Area comedy band from a movie satirizing heartthrob pop stars. The most surprising thing is that this is a legitimately great pump up jam. Joc Pederson, Conner4Real stan.
