Turn Up The Radio!
- Grant DeVivo
- Aug 8, 2024
- 5 min read
Five songs to listen to before a Baltimore Orioles Minor League game
It’s gameday, and I have the windows down on my car as I cruise down the highway on my way to an Orioles Minor League game. Music blares out my car, but not just any music. These particular tunes that I play before the game get me in the mood for gameday, mostly because they are familiar tunes that I recognize from past games. They bring back core memories of some “good ol’ times” at the park, and/or they are just “must listen to” selections as I venture out to a game.
If you are looking for some new pregame music, here are five tunes that resonate with me that you might either hear at an Orioles Minor League game or may consider playing on your way to one.
This big beat classic, which also appears on my treadmill playlist, has nothing to do with the Bowie Baysox at all. For some reason, it speaks Bowie Baysox to me. I would frequently hear Fatboy Slim's hit song prior to a Baysox game in 2022. The players would stretch and throw as Fatboy Slim’s 1999 classic is played. After I heard it for the first time, it stuck with me. It is a perfect hype song. I needed to download this song onto my pregame setlist.
The introduction gets louder after each measure. The beat box rhythm combined with the amazing construction of techno-sound effects and strings make for an exciting instrumental piece, one where I want to jump up-and-down and dance, or in thise case throw on the spikes and take the field with the Baysox. All you need are the words “right here, right now” to describe the situation: it is time for Baysox baseball, it is time to win “right here, right now.”
Alright, alright. I know you get it by now.
This one is a Baysox classic for me, yet the song itself has nothing to do with the Baysox. I’m looking forward to pulling this one out on my way to Baysox Opening Day next Friday.
I was at my first Baysox game of the 2023 season, and the moment that Billy Cook stepped up to the plate, his walk-up song is played. It took me no time at all to realize that his walk-up song was “Shoot To Thrill,” one of the top hits off AC/DC’s hit album Back In Black.
Now, I am a huge AC/DC fan and after the game, I made sure I let Billy know that he had the best walk-up song on the team. He’s got Angus Young’s lead note ringing out as his brother, the late Malcom Young, joins in with the rest of the rhythm section consisting of bassist Cliff Williams and the groove machine Phil Rudd on drums. Lead singer Brian Johnson soon enters singing “shoot to thrill, play to kill.”
If there is one band that I rely on to get me in the gameday mood, it’s AC/DC. Their infectious rock and roll sound, the sound that comes off in songs like “Back In Black,” “Highway To Hell,” and “Whole Lotta Rosie,” they manage to separate themselves from their competition in the music industry. There is something about AC/DC’s music that makes for top quality pregame hype music, and I’ll always listen to “Shoot To Thrill” before each Baysox game just for Billy.
I would either be settling in my seat with my food in hand, or I would be trying to collect autographs from the Keys right before the game. As soon as the Keys’ public address announcer began announcing the evening’s starting lineups, the iconic synth intro would play across the delayed amps at Harry Grove Stadium. Several measures later, the piano enters into the main riff with the chords of F, C, and B. The all-too familiar masterpiece plays out as names like Manny Machado, LJ Hoes, Tyler Townsend, and Tucker Nathans are introduced to the crowd. I always knew what time it was when The Who's “Baba O’Reilly” came on. Years later, I can visualize everything that occurred at a Keys game when that song played. Man, I miss those days.
Oh, and one other thing. It is not called Teenage Wasteland. I learned how upset people get when you call it Teenage Wasteland. Call it “Baba O’Reilly” please. 😉
“Now batting for the Baysox, shortstop, number 4, Gunnar Henderson!”
Then, Mick Mars comes in making the famous car sound effect on his guitar, leading into the song that defines Motley Crue, “Kickstart My Heart.” This was Henderson’s walk-up song in Bowie, and it remained his walk-up song until 2023 when he changed it to the fan-involving “The Sweet Escape” by Gwen Stefani. In a funny interaction with my friend, there was a light-hearted battle of who the bigger Motley Crue fan was. It ended with Henderson signing her baseball with the inscription “Kickstart My Heart.”
At least Henderson has a good Plan B because I still miss hearing “Kickstart My Heart” as his walk-up song. It’s fast, it’s mean, and it’s an electrifying rock classic that every professional baseball stadium should have on their playlist somewhere. Like AC/DC, Motley Crue is full of great rock classics that could be pulled out at anytime during or before a game as a crowd-energizer. Songs like “Dr. Feel Good” and “Looks That Kill” would do the trick too, though certainly not as good as “Kickstart My Heart.”
Another AC/DC song…surprised?
Now originally, I was introduced to this song during the Zach Britton days at Camden Yards when he would enter the 9th inning to this song and a light show. Thanks to him, this has become my favorite song of all time. I had been patiently waiting for one of the four affiliates to pull this song out during a game, and Bowie finally did on several occasions before games last season.
This song has the makings of what you’d want and expect in a pregame rock tune. The intro puts chills down my spine. Eventually, the song converts to a double-time beat as the 21-gun salute of canons fires away in the background on Johnson’s command, “fire!” The message is clear: for those about to rock, we salute you. To the players, as you enter the field to compete in the game of baseball, we the fans salute you.
If you’re struggling to find a song to get you in the gameday mood, I highly recommend you listen to this song. You’ll find that it not only does its job in setting the mood for the day’s game, but it’s the rocker’s anthem, one of the greatest rock and roll songs ever written.
Do you have a favorite song or setlist that you listen to before the game? Which songs bring back your favorite gameday memories?? Contact me and share some stories with me! Send song recommendations my way as well! I’m always looking for new songs to add to my pregame playlist!
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