This week we will prove once again that no one combines excitement and entertainment like these guys. Dodgers made the most important deal of the winter in baseball.
They acquired Timmy Trumpet.
In real life, he is an Australian impresario who, surprisingly, plays the trumpet. But in the exciting world of baseball, the ninth inning is the game's most popular soundtrack.
Timmy Trumpet performs the frighteningly inspiring solo from “Narco” that accompanies closer Edwin Diaz from the bullpen to the mound. During the seven seasons that Diaz played for the New York Mets, it was the coolest entrance song in the major leagues, creating the most intimidating scene in any stadium.
And now it's moving closer to Dodger Stadium, as the Dodgers and Diaz agreed this week to three-year contract worth $69 million this will include Timmy Trumpet pissing off visiting teams who must be wondering if the Dodgers really have to buy everything?
Wasn't it enough for them to sign the best pitcher in baseball? They also needed to create the best ninth inning atmosphere in baseball?
Yes they do it, and yes they did it, and if you haven't seen the duo of Edwin Diaz and Timmy Trumpet, Google it once and you will be hooked.
After his signing, Dodgers fan social media was filled with trumpet emojis. Even the venerable Dieter Rühle posted a video of himself playing a trumpet solo on the keyboard.
In the pantheon of Dodgers walk-on and walk-on songs, this song immediately rises to the top of the playlist, firmly ingrained in the hearts of fans who have come to associate the short musical snippets with the enduring heroism of their players.
From the late, great organist Nancy Bea Hefley playing “Master of the house” for Orel Hershiser… to Kenley Jansen rousing the crowd with the words “California Love“…there is a rich Dodgers history that can be recognized through the music that accompanies them.
This team is no different, with several songs achieving cult status simply due to the superb craftsmanship emanating from their chords.
The top nine songs by one person, in order of impact.
1. “Narcos” for Edwin Diaz
It's already best Dodgers song and he hasn't even shown up yet. Trust me.
Diaz drafted him in 2018 while playing for the Seattle Mariners. When it became his breakout season, in which he made 57 saves, his wife advised him to keep it. After being traded to the Mets, he became so dedicated to the song that he even asked for it to be played in an empty Citi Field during the 2020 pandemic season.
In subsequent seasons, the scene went viral, as evidenced by Timmy Trumpet's actual performance last summer. Expect the Dodgers to invite Mr. Trouba to Chavez Ravine, perhaps even for the opener. Like so much else they have staged over these successive championship seasons, it will be an event.
2. “We Are Young” by Clayton Kershaw
The pitcher is retired, but song still deserves honorable celebration.
Quick question: Has any Dodgers opening anthem been around as long as this one? Dodgers fans have grown children who are the same age as this song.
Another quick question: When you heard this song for the last time in the final months of last season, did you suddenly find yourself in tears?
The perfect anthem for the perfect pitcher.
3. “Bailalo Rocky” for Rocky Sasaki.
It's not really a song this is singing, Bailaloroki, Bailaloroki, Bailaloroki where “Rocky” sounds like “Rocky”.
He was selected for the famous “Sasaki” by Miguel Rojas in spring training, and by the time the child pitcher returned from the disabled list to save playoff games, fans were chanting and dancing to him like few holiday songs in Chavez Ravine history.
“You can see it in Dodger. Stadium… this “It was amazing,” Rojas told reporters before the World Series. “So much dancing in the stands in left-center field… I hope everyone starts dancing to that song when Rocky takes the field.”
4. Feel Good for Shohei Ohtani
Thank you Michael Bublé for singing what everyone is thinking about every time Ohtani steps up to the plate.
And thank you, Mamiko Tanaka, for making this happen.
“The Dodgers coach was kind enough to introduce me to Shohei, and I told him, 'Why did you choose my song?' Bublé explained in an interview with The Today Show. “And very quickly he just turned to his wife… and it was his wife who chose it.”
Bublé added, “I'll take it!”
He and about 4 million other people.
5. “Dance with Me” by Freddie Freeman
It played before Freeman's game-winning grand slam in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series.
It was played before Freeman's game-winning home run in the 18th inning of Game 3 of this year's World Series.
The horn solo at the start of this catchy tune has come to symbolize for Dodgers fans the two words that now bounce to its beat.
Greatness is coming.
6. “Mother's Milk” for Kike Hernandez
Just like Hernandez's contributions to the Dodgers, this melody saving the best for last.
The last 30 seconds of the song sound like “Kike, Kike, Kike” over and over again.
It's weird, but it's also about as effective as, say, a double fly ball to end a World Series game.
7. Song Rotation for Mookie Betts
Betts chose a varied playlist, but his selections are included here because he boasts one tune that is unparalleled in baseball history.
He steps up to the plate to the accompaniment of an unreleased song written by Snoop Dogg especially for him.
8. “Amen” to Max Muncy
chorus of this country song Accompanying Mansi to the plate appropriately begins with the words: “Someone pray for me…”
Given all his injury problems during his eight-year career with the Dodgers, fans heeded that call.
Considering he holds the Dodgers record with 16 postseason hits, those prayers have been answered.
9. “Squabble Up” for Will Smith
His current Kendrick Lamar song that's cool, but Smith made this list in honor of a previous song that endeared him to Dodgers fans as that rare player who could laugh at himself.
This Will Smith once approached the theme from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
