Laura Armstrong of the Toronto Star had a really good feature recently about the worst walk-up music according to Toronto Blue Jays players. This got me thinking about some of the walk-up/mound music that have been used by Vancouver Canadians players over the last few years. The problem with getting old is you have no idea what music the kids are into these days so it stands out when I actually do recognize the odd song that players use.
The best use of walk-up music by a position player was wonderfully executed by 2013 C’s outfielder Chaz Frank. He used “Kickstart My Heart” from Mötley Crüe to start the season, an excellent choice for a leadoff hitter. He then switched things up to Run DMC’s “It’s Tricky” later in the season.
The best use of mound music features a number of contenders. The one longtime fans of the C’s will remember was The Fables’ “Heave Away”, a toe-tapping, hand-clapping Maritime tune that was played when Saint John, New Brunswick native Andrew Case came out of the pen during the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Case told Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province that pleasing the crowd was the goal of his song selection.
Lefty Daniel Lietz, who pitched for the C’s for parts of the last three seasons, entered the game to “Eminence Front” by The Who during the 2015 season. C’s Extra Innings, the official blog from the team in 2015, contains the playlist of that year’s roster as well as an updated version. Other solid selections were Bob Wheatley‘s “We Will Rock You” from Queen and Conor Fisk‘s “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC.
I also loved the use of Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight” by reliever Jackson McClelland last season that always started with the famous drum solo. Though I’m not a huge country music fan, I did like Max Pentecost‘s use of “Where I Come From” from Montgomery Gentry when he was in Vancouver in 2014.
On the flip side, there’s been some questionable tune selections by C’s players. The first that springs to mind is Gunnar Heidt, who had used the cromulent “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins from Top Gun in 2015 before switching to Shania Twain’s “Man, I Feel Like A Woman”. Another “strong contender” for worst song selection was Carl Wise using “Hollaback Girl” from Gwen Stefani in 2015. Derrick Chung decided upon Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” in 2012, another cringeworthy tune.
Everyone has their likes and dislikes when it comes to music. As I’m sure you can tell, I prefer the older stuff and I am that old man who yells at clouds – I admit it! It’ll be interesting to see what the 2017 edition of the Vancouver Canadians comes up with when they get to ready to bat and pitch.
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