The origin of walk-up songs in the MLB stems back to as early as the 1970s when Nancy Faust, a club organist that played for the Chicago White Sox, started playing each player’s home state song when they walked up to the plate. The tradition continued as players and organizations liked the idea to the point where each player got the chance to pick their own walk-up song. Many MLB players pick a song that helps them get locked in or focused for their at bat, while others tend to pick a song based on the message they want the audience to hear.

For the Phillies like every other team in the MLB, each player has their distinct walk-up song that is played when they are walking up to bat. To the fans, it is exciting because it helps bring energy into the stadium. Caden Fisher, a former baseball player as well as a lifelong Phillies fan said, “Walk-up songs help bring everyone in the stadium together which is cool. It also allows the player to lock in which is important.” This sense of “locking in ” when a player’s song is played also can create a disadvantage. Although walk-up songs are all played at each home game, the opposing team’s songs are not played when they are on the road. This could create a disadvantage for Phillies players if they rely on their walk-up song to lock in so the players must find other ways to get ready before an at-bat when they are on the road.

The Phillies’ walk-up songs are definitely of a wide variety. There are some songs that might get your head nodding, while others are definitely a swing and a miss. We decided to take the walk-up songs and rank the top five songs. This is just our opinion, yours may differ from ours. The players with the best walk-up songs, in no particular order, are Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh, Bryson Stott, and Ranger Suarez.

At five, we decided to go with Trea Turner. The newly acquired shortstop plays the song ‘The Scotts’ by Travis Scott. This song made the top five list due to the amazing instrumentals produced by Scott. It gives the stadium a wave of an otherworldly feeling, getting the crowd excited for Turner’s plate appearance. The four spots belong to Ranger Suarez. When he warms up on the mound, his song of choice is ‘Mr. Rager’ by Kid Cudi. The song itself is on the “Mount Rushmore” of hip-hop songs, however, it isn’t a traditional ballpark song and doesn’t give you the baseball feel that you’re looking for while sitting in your seat at the ballpark. The popularity of the song alone is what carried it into our top-five list. On to the third spot, we have Nick Castellanos with the song ‘Hunger on Hillside’ by J. Cole. Similar to the song by Travis Scott, the song by J. Cole has some instrumentals that are bound to get a fan pumped. The reason why this song is “better” than ‘The Scotts’ is simply due to the fact that J. Cole’s vocals are much better than those of Travis Scott. At the two spots is an unexpected player, Brandon Marsh. His song of choice is ‘444+222’ by Lil Uzi Vert. This song will get any fan excited, with the fast beat and voice of Lil Uzi Vert. At most games I’ve been to, the crowd is ecstatic when they hear this song. However, none compare to the song played when Bryson Stott is up to bat: ‘AOK’ by Tai Verdes. This song is upbeat and perfect for those games played in the dog days of summer.

The Phillies overall have a good mix-up of walk-up songs; next time you’re at Citizens Bank Park, keep an ear out for some of the tunes mentioned!