Twins

Picking out Walk-Up Songs for the 2019 Minnesota Twins

Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

One of my favorite parts of the beginning of the season is seeing what players use for their walk-up music. Sometimes it’s symbolic — like Joe Mauer using Prince’s “Seven” for his first at-bat of every home game after the music legend passed away early in the 2016 season.

Sometimes it’s just a song they truly enjoy, like Mauer using T.I.’s “What You Know” from back in his breakout season of 2006.

Sometimes it doesn’t mean anything at all, like Robbie Grossman using songs from Imagine Dragons which were handpicked for him by someone else.

We thought we’d throw our hand into the ring and help the guys pick out some songs to open their seasons with.

(Surgeon General’s warning: these songs and their meanings are not to be associated with the player specifically)

Catcher Jason Castro

Castro seems to like the dubstep-y techno kind of vibe, so how about this, starting at 0:50:

Previous: “The Buzz (feat. Big K.R.I.T., Mataya and Young Tapz)” – Hermitude, “Keep Their Heads Ringin'” – Dr. Dre, “Down the Road” – C2C, “Willy Wonka (feat. Offset)” – Macklemore

Catcher Mitch Garver

It sort of feels like Garver likes more of a chill vibe with some cool lyrics. I have just the thing. This one’s just a gut feeling based on the previous songs he’s used:

Previous: “Cut A Rug (feat. Big K.R.I.T., STS)” – Stalley, “Shining Star” – Earth, Wind & Fire

Unicorn Willians Astudillo

I mean, come on:

But if we go a little more seriously, we don’t have a lot to base our selection for Astudillo on. Astudillo keeps things loose in the dugout with his dancing, so how about this song from Ozuna?

First baseman C.J. Cron

Since Cron is new to the team it’s a little more guesswork than others, but it seems like he likes things with a little bounce. How about some Aesop Rock:

Previous: “That’s What I Like” – Bruno Mars, “The Way I Live” – Baby Boy Da Prince

First baseman Tyler Austin

In the short time he’s been with the Twins, Austin seems to like kind of funky hip-hop songs with prominent sounds very early after the play button is hit.

How about this:

Previous: “No Diggity” – Blackstreet, “E.I.” – Nelly, “Taste (feat. Offset)” – Tyga

Second baseman Jonathan Schoop

Poking around a bit, it seems like Schoop likes a lot of modern rap and hip-hop music. This one just kind of works out perfectly (start around 0:47):

Previous: “Butterfly Effect” – Travis Scott

Shortstop Jorge Polanco

Strangely enough, I feel like we don’t know a ton about Polanco’s specific music choices. This song starts out with a strong beat and I think it could really work:

Third baseman Miguel Sano

We won’t get to see this one for a month or so, but I think Sano should steal from his buddy Eddie Rosario and go with a little something from Bad Bunny (starting at 0:12):

Previous: “RaputinĀ (feat. Liro Shaq, La Manta, La Sabiduria)” – El Alfa, “Klok Con Klok” – Ceky Viciny

Infielder Ehire Adrianza

I feel like this is the perfect song for Adrianza, but instead of starting out at the top, it might need to start about three or four seconds in to make sure the beat hits before the stadium music director has to fade out:

Previous: “X (feat. J Balvin)” – Nicky Jam

Utility man Marwin Gonzalez

Gonzalez seems to gravitate toward Latin music, and there’s no shortage of new songs on the charts that have the kind of tempo that makes for a good walk-up. Start this one up at about 0:34:

Previous: “Chillax (feat. Ky-Mani Marley)” – Farruko, “Bonita (feat. Jowell & Randy)” – J Balvin

Left fielder Eddie Rosario

If we’ve learned one thing about Mr. Rosario in the past few years, it’s that he’s a big fan of Bad Bunny. This is the opening track on the latest album released by Bad Bunny, and it really, really feels like it’d work (starting around 0:22):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKDwf2QkJgQ

Previous: “Chambea” – Bad Bunny, “Me Acostumbre (feat. Bad Bunny) – Arcangel, “Quien Tu Eres” – Bad Bunny

Center fielder Byron Buxton

This is one of the few where we won’t recommend any sort of a change from what he’s used in the past. And quite frankly, how do you improve on perfection?

Previous: “Return of the Mack” – Mark Morrison

Right fielder Max Kepler

Kepler seems to kind of enjoy the low-key stuff like Garver does, so how about something from Frank Ocean:

Previous: “Doin’ Time” – Sublime, “How Did I Get Here” – ODESZA, “Yosemite” by Travis Scott

Outfielder Jake Cave

I’m not totally sure how Mr. Cave feels about RTJ, but there’s no doubt he likes hip-hop and this song at 14-15 seconds would get fans up out of their seats:

Previous: “Water (feat. Chedda Bang)” – Method Man

Designated hitter Nelson Cruz

Cruz has alternated between some Latin flavor and some English-speaking hits, but I think the instrumental version of “Power” by Kanye West would be a good way to introduce himself to this market. The instrumental version has a really great guitar riff before the main beat hits:

Previous: “Knock it Out” – Glasses Malone, “Solado” – Juan Luis Guerra

Bonus

For Nick Gordon, I feel like Lupe Fiasco’s “Manilla” would work.

The Twins also need to bring back “Right Now” by Van Halen to run onto the field with:

…and maybe mix in a few of these for homers in addition to Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” for old time’s sake:

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