When a Song Is More Than a Song — Brandon Crawford
It’s been just five days since the season ended, and I’m already in total homebody mode here in Arizona. Jalynne and I took a day trip to the Grand Canyon last Thursday, but mostly we’re just hanging out with the kids — which can take more energy than playing professional baseball. We’ll be moving into a new house in the next month, so that will keep us busy. Otherwise we don’t have a lot of plans for the off-season.
A lot of people have asked me about the walk-up songs I chose for everybody on the last game of the season. If you don’t know what a walk-up song is, it’s the song that plays over the PA system when a player walks up to the plate or, for a pitcher, when he takes the mound. I did the same thing in 2015. (I didn’t do it last year because the stakes were too high in our final game — clinching a playoff spot — so I didn’t want to mess with anyone.)
But before I get to the list and why I chose the songs I did, I want to tell you about my drive to the park that day. Buster and I drove in from the East Bay together and talked a lot about Matt Cain’s final game the day before. We talked about being part of the World Series with him, the perfect game, so many moments. I was happy to make the final out of his career because for the rest of his life, whenever he watches that final out, I’ll be a part of it.
Buster and I talked about how he walked off the field and tipped his cap and how in four years that could be us. Of course, we hope to play longer but you never know. We talked about what it would be like to be lifetime Giants, like Cainer. As much as we wanted to turn the page on this season, we were also thinking that we don’t’ want to hurry any of this. Four more years isn’t much time. It makes you appreciate everything a bit more — the time on the field and, maybe even more, the time in the clubhouse with the guys.
Which brings me to the walk-ups. I keep a list in the Notes app on my phone and keep adding to it throughout the season. I have a pretty good library of music in my head, so if I come with an inside joke or a distinctive feature about a guy, I can usually come up with a good lyric or title.
Buster and Hunter came up with mine. I was not surprised when I walked to the plate and heard Willow Smith singing “Whip My Hair.’’ Perfect.
Here’s the 2017 End-of-Season list:
Johnny Cueto- “Milkshake” by Kelis. Because of his shimmy.
Joe Panik- “Hips Don’t Lie” Shakira (:19) “Theme from New York New York” Frank Sinatra (:16) Buster pointed out to me early in the season how Joe’s move when he runs. And he’s from New York.
Denard Span- “Push It” Salt N Pepa His salt-and-pepper beard. Denard told me he thought “Push It’’ referred to his impending birth of his baby.
Buster Posey- “Hero” Enrique Iglesias (chorus 1:03) “All Star” Smash Mouth (chorus :37) Because everybody loves Buster. He’s Mr Perfect.
Hunter Pence- “Magic” B.O.B “Just Dance” Jamiroquai (:20) Because he plays the “Magic’’cards and his hits are sometimes like magic (hitting the ball three times with one swing!). There is a video of Hunter dancing to “Just Dance’’ dressed like Napoleon Dynamite.
Pablo Sandoval — “Sorry” Justin Bieber (chorus :48) “Panda” Desiigner (:32) He was asking what his music was going to be for a couple of days before the last game. I told him if you have sense of humor you’ll think it’s funny. After his at bat, he came up to me and said, “Really, bro?’’ But he laughed about it.
Nick Hundley- “I Got 5 on it” Luniz “I’ll Be Back’’ The Beatles “I Got 5 On It’’ is kind of lame, I know. So I had to come with something better for his second song. He’s our one free agent with the ability to sign somewhere else, so I picked “I’ll Be Back.’’ I hope he will be.
Gorkys Hernandez- Spider-Man Theme Song A tribute to him climbing the outfield wall to steal a home run.
Jarrett Parker- “Jack Sparrow” The Lonely Island (chorus :55) He looks more like Orlando Bloom but close enough.
Kelby Tomlinson- Dexter Main Theme Song “Boyz-n-the-Hood” NWA We joke that he looks like the serial killer Dexter. And I went the complete opposite of Kelby with NWA, kind of like choosing Spice Girls for Bumgarner.
Mac Williamson- “The Mack” Nevada (:35) Obvious.
Tim Federowicz- “Raise Up” Petey Pablo (chorus :24) The lyrics mention North Carolina, where he’s from.
Orlando Calixte- “Purple Rain” Prince (chorus :49) For rookie dress-up, he looked like Dave Chappelle dressed up like Prince.
Hunter Strickland- “Cash Me Outside” DJ Suede The Remix God A 13-year-old girl made the phrase “Cash me outside’’ famous when she said it to Dr. Phil on and told him it meant she wanted to fight him. I thought about Strickland and Bryce Harper.
Josh Osich- “Moustache” Aintunez ft TeamFourStar Self-explanatory.
Cory Gearrin- “Stay” Zedd & Alessia Cara (start at :46) Cory takes forever on the mound to throw a pitch. The chorus includes the line “take your time.’’
Sam Dyson- “Don’t Cha” Pussycat Dolls He’s all about his cat.
Reyes Moronta- “Panda” Desiigner He looks like Pablo.
Derek Law- “Laying Down the Law” The Law Obvious.
Steven Okert- Spongebob Squarepants Theme Song He’s got that squarish body.
Albert Suarez- “Vamonos” Audio Push I have a unique handshake for almost everyone on the team. But with Suarez we fist-bump and say, Vamonos!
Roberto Gomez- “Turn My Swag On” Soulja Boy This was a tough one because Gomez is so quiet and I didn’t know much about him. Then one day on the bus he was one of the rookies we called to the front to tell us something about themselves (and do something embarrassing like sing or dance). I learned his nickname in winter ball was Swagger Man.
Ty Blach- “Happy” Pharrell Williams Because he is.
Matt Cain- “Like It’s The Last Time” Thomas Rhett I asked Matt if he wanted his song played for his last game on Saturday. He listened to it and said it was perfect. He made sure the DJ played it loud. He listened to it again on his way to the park the following day and said he lost it.
Madison Bumgarner- “Crash and Burn” Savage Garden It never played because Madison didn’t pitch. I don’t think he ever saw it.
Chris Stratton- “Make It Rain” Fat Joe He had so many games that involved rain delays or rainouts.
Jeff Samardzija- Notre Dame Fight Song Obvious.
Matt Moore- “Throw Sum Mo” Rae Sremmurd Obvious
Brandon Belt- “I Need a Doctor” Dr Dre & Eminem He thought it was funny.
Mark Melancon- “Where’d You Go” Fort Minor Hundley came up with this one.
Austin Slater- Saved by the Bell Theme Song A.C. Slater was a character from “Saved by the Bell.’’
I’ll try to check in over the winter. Thanks for sticking with us this season. I know it wasn’t always easy. I can’t tell you how much it meant to all of us.
