Closer Music.
July 1, 2010
If I were a shut-down closer along the lines of Mariano, Eckersley, Hoffman, etc in my prime and had to pick an intimidating song to walk-in and warm-up to, these would be my top 4 choices:
4. When the Levee Breaks – Led Zeppelin
Closer songs have to have a memorable and intimidating opening. The heavy drum beat and bluesy harmonica more than satisfy that need. You can’t help but bob your head and look to see what’s going on when that starts playing. Plus I love this song, so it would be my choice if I was the closer.
3. Duel of the Fates – John Williams (opening through 0:17, then jump to 0:59)
The epic masterpiece from Star Wars: Phantom Menace sends chills up my spine! The opening a capella chords just scream “Showdown!” and the slow build after that caps with the choir coming back in at the same intensity level. Imagine standing on deck watching a dude jog in confidently with this blaring through the speakers.
2. God’s Gonna Cut You Down – Johnny Cash
Ok, yes, relief pitcher Joe Beimel already uses this. So what?! It’s prefect! Like “Levee” this songs starts out with a heavy, heavy beat. Then, in comes Johnny. His words echoe the sentiment, “Better not mess with this man, or his God.” The lyrics really say it best, from pitcher to hitter: “You can run on for a long time, run on for a long time. Sooner or later, God’ll cut ya down.”
1. O Fortuna – Carl Orff
One of the most parodied epic masterpieces of all-time, and what’s that saying? “Imitation is the greatest for of flattery.” In this case, it is definitely warranted. Once again, the choir opens up at full blast accompanied by some ominous strings and beastly tympani drums. The second this sound hit the speakers, the whole stadium would be paying attention. And then the music drops off and builds slowly, as if to allow the pitcher to warm-up while the tension builds. The song builds, the closer warms, the batter knows his end is near. As the song reaches it’s climax, the tympani return, and the man in the on-deck circle can just feel that the pitcher is warm and ready to send him back to the dugout! Plus that final chord? With the trumpets?? Perfect time to look at the ump and say, “Yeah, I’m good now, batter-up.”
Any other suggestions???
Also regarding baseball and songs: the Rockies play the song Green Onions by Booker T and the MG’s (from the movie The Sandlot. The part where the team from across town challenges the sandlot boys to a game. You know, “You play ball like a girl!”) as the crowd leaves after a loss, but I always wanted to hear that when we won!! That or the swing song played during that actual game. I don’t know the name of it. It is also from the ending credits. Great stuff.
