Never had reason for walkup music

Staff writer

link Kevin Wilson

“Who are these guys?”

“They’re my theme music. Every hero’s got to have some.”

— John Spade and Jack Spade, “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka”

I’m not sure how often that exchange replays in my mind, but I know the answer is, “Not nearly enough.” But I thought of it during a random text message exchange.

“Kev, what’s your walkup music?”

Such a perfect question comes along rarely, so rarely you’re not ready to answer it. For those who aren’t aware, walkup music refers to what music you would have playing if you were a professional baseball player who got to choose a 10-second clip of music when they walked to the plate (or for pitchers, when they come on the mound).

I never really gave my walkup music much thought, because my dreams of playing Major League Baseball were dashed around the time the only hit I got in Little League was a hit by pitch. Your revenge is still coming, Johnny Ledesma of the Townsend Pirates.

Add in the fact that my high school never offered baseball as a sport, and there simply wasn’t a path for me to either college baseball or professional baseball, the two places you have the most realistic shot of needing walkup music.

I won’t say who it was, but there was a catcher for the Eastern New Mexico University baseball team many years ago. He had settled on music from his favorite musician, Eminem. Either the coaching staff or the athletic department intervened because of Eminem’s explicit lyrics. The average ballpalyer would have found something else and moved on. He decided to go the other direction, and for the rest of the season Madonna hits like “Material Girl” and “Papa Don’t Preach” blasted as he stepped into the batter’s box. He ended up playing minor league baseball for a while, but I don’t know if he took Madonna with him.

But back to my walkup music. The music should sound good, and the lyrics should have some connection. David Murphy of the Cleveland Indians has used Building 429’s “Where I Belong” because it shows his faith, and the chorus works perfectly with the acoustics of a 60,000-seat stadium. Former Yankees closer Mariano Rivera chose “Enter Sandman,” perfect because his job was to put the game to bed.

I finally texted my friend back. I settled on Collective Soul’s “Better Now” for its acoustics, and because it’s one of few bands I’ve liked for longer than a decade. I’m sure I’ll text a few more times because I changed my mind and thought of a better song to use.

Come to think of it, Madonna did release a new album last week ... nah.

Kevin Wilson is a columnist for Clovis Media Inc. He can be contacted at 575-763-3431, ext. 318, or by email:

[email protected]