Love big hits? There’s no better way to get into the swing of things during baseball season than a great playlist of baseball walk-up songs.
Historically, walk-up songs for baseball weren’t a widespread phenomenon until the 1990s. Old-school legends, like Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson, didn’t step up to the plate with music resounding. But modern Major League Baseball players devote plenty of thought to choosing their walk-up or entrance songs, which fans avidly scrutinize.
What Are Your Favorite Baseball Walk-Up Songs?
Welcome to our list of the top 10 baseball walk-up songs of all time. It’s time to celebrate both the musical “home runs” and the MLB stars who used them to get pumped up and set the mood in baseball stadiums.
From country and hip-hop to metal and musicals, there’s something for every taste. And it’s a fun addition to the storylines in baseball movies.
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‘Enter Sandman’ – Metallica
The menacing lead single from Metallica’s Black Album (1991) became pitcher Mariano Rivera’s signature entrance song. This five-time World Series champion made his name as the New York Yankees’ closer. He remains the all-time MLB career saves leader (652).
Metallica singer James Hetfield’s lyrics about a child’s nightmare are right in tune with the nightmare that Rivera presented for opposing batters.
‘Lose Yourself’ – Eminem
Derek Jeter spent his entire 20-year MLB career in Yankee pinstripes, earning a reported $265 million. The storied Hall of Fame shortstop was also money in the bank in terms of picking a variety of baseball walk-up songs.
When Jeter made his first MLB at-bat at Yankee Stadium in 1995, he requested Montell Jordan’s R&B fave This Is How We Do It. Jeter had fun during a 2013 Late Night with Jimmy Fallon appearance, in which The Roots, the house band, came up with some humorous alternative walk-up songs for him.
However, Lose Yourself — the Oscar-winning, Eye of the Tiger-like anthem that drives Eminem’s 2002 film debut in 8 Mile — cemented itself as a classic Jeter choice when it heralded his final at-bat in 2014.
‘Crazy Train’ – Ozzy Osbourne
Just how closely is Chipper Jones identified with Ozzy Osbourne’s adrenalized 1980 debut solo single? In 2018, six years after the Atlanta Braves third baseman retired, the team had a special bobblehead giveaway night. The 20,000 Jones dolls all played Crazy Train — his walk-up song.
The eight-time all-star was also inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018. When the Braves retired his jersey, Jones said: “I haven’t cured cancer or anything. It’s almost embarrassing to be getting all this attention and all the accolades.”
Despite Jones’ modesty, his 468 career home runs mean that he — and his special relationship with Crazy Train — won’t be forgotten any time soon.
‘Your Love’ – The Outfield
Charlie Blackmon is a longtime Colorado Rockies fan favorite, and it’s not just due to the veteran outfielder’s career achievements, such as being the 2017 National League batting champion.
When the impressively bearded “Chuck Nazty” approaches the batter’s box at Coors Field, The Outfield’s Your Love is his walk-up song. And when the chorus from the English pop band’s biggest hit — which was released in — 1985 kicks in, close to 50,000 Rockies fans sing, “Tonight!” It’s always a spine-tingling moment.
‘Here Comes The Boom’ – Nelly
Nelly boasts a slew of #1 hits, from Hot in Herre and Dilemma to Shake Ya Tailfeather and Grillz. While Here Comes The Boom wasn’t a chart-topper for the Texas-born rap star, it has served slugger Randal Grichuk well. Baseball walk-up songs don’t come much more in your face.
Grichuk — whose career includes stints with the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and Colorado Rockies — seemingly took Nelly’s message to heart in 2020-21, putting together a career-long, 12-game hitting streak.
‘Hells Bells’ – AC/DC
Do you remember what you were doing on July 25, 1998? Trevor Hoffman sure does. On that date, the illustrious San Diego Padres closer took the mound to the strains of AC/DC’s Hells Bells for the first time. It’s a moment that’s entered team lore.
The grim-sounding 1980 hard rock number is a posthumous tribute to original AC/DC vocalist Bon Scott. Yet for baseball fans at Petco Park, it enlivened their hopes that the Padres would soon celebrate another win. Hoffman’s 601 career saves rank him second only to Mariano Rivera.
‘God’s Gonna Cut You Down’ – Johnny Cash
Two-time MLB all-star Ryan Pressly won his first World Series in 2022. With God’s Gonna Cut You Down as his walkout song, the Houston Astros relief pitcher claimed his own little slice of the bad-ass 2003 cover version by country legend Johnny Cash.
The song’s ominous message of divine judgement resonates with many MLB pitchers. Joe Beimel, Lance Berkman and Andrew Miller are among the others who used it coming in from the bullpen.
‘Kashmir’ – Led Zeppelin
“I wish we were known more for Kashmir than Stairway to Heaven,” Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant once told Classic Rock Magazine. The Eastern-tinged grandeur of the 1975-released rock epic caught the ear of Philadelphia Phillies slugger Chase Utley. He was following up on a recommendation from his wife’s sister, who is a musician.
The 2008 World Series winner isn’t alone in appreciating this track. Kashmir is a legitimate contender for the title of Best Baseball Walk-Up Song.
‘Narco’ – Blasterjaxx & Timmy Trumpet
Imagine if a 21st-century movie director remade a classic Sergio Leone spaghetti Western, like 1966’s The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (starring Clint Eastwood). Narco could slot seamlessly into the soundtrack.
The hyped-up, Latin-flavored banger — released in 2017 — got a bigger audience when Edwin Díaz, the New York Mets closer, chose it as his walkout song.
In 2022, Timmy Trumpet — an Australian DJ who teamed up with the Netherlands-based duo Blasterjaxx to create Narco — performed the trumpet melody live at a Mets home game.
‘Let It Go’ – Idina Menzel
If you believe female empowerment is a 365-days-a-year affair, this one gets a definite thumbs-up.
Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel’s wife, Ashley, picked Let It Go — the #1 single from the Disney animated film Frozen (2013) — as his walkout song for a Women’s Day celebration at Dodger Stadium in 2022. Kimbrel then went on a hot streak and decided to stick with the unconventional tune. He has since had his ups and downs, but rumor has it that the cold never bothered him anyway.
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