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Jeff PassanESPN
WHEN MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS Members of the deceased died in September 2021. Baltimore Orioles The creative content team resolved to honor Omar Little, the actor who brought to life the iconic character of “The Wire”, a Baltimore-set TV show. After the Orioles traded closer in August, Jorge Lopez The Minnesota TwinsThe opportunity presented itself.
Lopez was replaced by Lopez. Felix BautistaThe Mountain is a 6-foot-8 and 280-pound leviathan who was nicknamed “The Mountain”. Bautista, a right-handed rookie at 27 years old, had embarrassed hitters for four months with his fastball, which regularly exceeded 100 mph, and split-fingered fastball, that dived as if it wanted a hole in dirt. He was equipped with all the tools to dominate the ninth. One thing was missing.
Bautista’s stature and skill would not allow him to simply open Camden Yards’ bullpen door and walk 350 feet to the mound. He would need the help of the crowd. Bautista was the ideal avatar for Omar, a beacon of justice and deliverer of pain.
Omar was a Baltimore street urchin who whistled the tune of “The Farmer in the Dell”, a nursery rhyme that was comically at odds with his mission to rob drug dealers. It took only six notes to make the streets clear and for bystanders to start screaming: “Omar comein’!” Bautista was a source of similar terror, particularly because of his splitter that induces misses in 54.5% on the swings batters take.
Bautista laughed, “It’s fascinating because even though hitters are aware that it’s coming,” Bautista stated. “So, just like I tell everyone, that pitch is my lethal weapon.”
Soon after the deadline, content team had a pitch: What if Omar’s whistle played through the Camden Yards speakers as he entered? Even better, what if the tune of Omar’s whistle was followed by the haunting music from “O Fortuna,” a medieval poem set to music composed by Carl Orff. O Fortuna, Latin for “Oh fate,” is a fitting lament for the hitters who will be facing Bautista. The stadium lights would accompany them, flashing in a mesmerizing manner. This spectacle would bring about the doom Bautista had in mind for opposing batters.
It was a passion for him. Bautista grew up in Dominican Republic and saw Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”, the opening of Mariano Rivera’s greatest baseball closer. Bautista marvelled at “Narco,” a trumpet-heavy theme that was adopted by the Red Sox. New York Mets Get closer Edwin Diaz, evolving into a full-scale production.
Bautista explained, “Having my very own is something special and something that I treasure.” “Man, it’s just something I love to see the lights flashing.”
The closer is the star in a game that heavily relies on relief pitching. More than 41% of the innings pitched this season were from the bullpen. His mere presence is enough to guarantee victory. The last three outs of any game are a show and the closer is the showman. What showman is complete without a grand entrance.
TWENTY-FOUR YEARS before Félix Bautista introduced “O Fortuna” to the baseball world, another colossal man used it for his appearance on the grandest stage of them all. He stood behind the curtain and 12 men dressed in druid costumes walked two-by-2 down a ramp. The music stopped. The crowd erupted. A bell rang, and the familiar sound of it all was heard. Bong A sign of the future
The Undertaker walked out and presented an elaborate version his signature Wrestlemania XIV walkout. He entered the ring stone-faced and eternally serious, arguably the greatest character in professional wrestling and an unrivaled master at the entrance.
The Undertaker said that “most people don’t realize that entrances are part of the match.” It really is. It sets the stage for everything you do in the ring, and all that’s to come from there. That’s it! Bong It was time to go.
Wrestlers are the only person who understands the power and impact of a great entrance to sports. It’s the key for stardom. The formula has been followed by nearly every wrestler of all time, from Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair to Stone Cold Steve Austin through John Cena to Brock Lesnar. The memorable entrance can really boost a career.
“Everything about the Undertaker made perfect logic,” he stated. “The music fit the character. This is the main element. I am the one who will bring down those people standing around that ring. This was the mentality behind the Bong. The music was a bleak, dark and depressing sound. “You knew exactly what was going to happen.”
The best walkouts have a common trait, regardless of their sport. The first note is easily recognizable and triggers emotions in fans, including fear and elation. It is essential to have some form of communal element. These are great entrance songs that are easy to remember, irresistible, and can be hummed.
Sometimes the blueprint for a successful entrance can help elevate a career. Rivera was a great pitcher before “Sandman” rang out at Yankee Stadium on July 16, 1999. Rivera was able to go beyond the limits of what a reliever can do. It didn’t matter that Rivera’s career ERA was half-point lower at home than at Yankee Stadium. The song gave birth to the character. Rivera wasn’t content to be the “Sandman.” He became the Sandman.
“He’s going for those three last outs and the other team goes into sleep,” he said. The Undertaker stated. To be a closer, you must have exceptional talent. It must also resonate. It creates that mystique. It challenges you. I know it was when the batters heard it begin, as they watched him sprint out of the bullpen to listen to ‘Sandman’ by Metallica. Are you going to get the stuff? Take a shot? Keep this alive?”
BEFORE 1972: ORGANISTS At stadiums, relief pitchers are often greeted with music upon their arrival at games. However, the fully formed entrance wasn’t possible until 2005, when a bizarre tradition was merged with a new idea to create what we see every night in stadiums.
The ’72 season was about a month away. Yankees Traded for Sparky Lyle. A left-handed reliever who saved 69 games in the first five years with him, Boston. Lyle was promoted to closer in New York. At home games, Lyle was driven from the bullpen by a Datsun sedan with a Yankees logo pinstriped. He quickly rushed to the mound, throwing his warm-up jacket at the batboy.
Lyle resisted the idea of Marty Appel, a young Yankees executive who wanted to add “Pomp and Circumstance” to Lyle’s arrival. This is the regal theme that graduations all over the world are based on. It was excessive for such an inflexible position. He was afraid that his close friends would play games and see him cough up a lead.
Lyle agreed to the request and performed the song for two more years. He then struggled for a stretch in 1974, and finally won the act. He didn’t realize that 50 years later, he would still be talking about it. That he’d made “Pomp and Circumstance” for a whole generation of Yankees fans into a song that was suitable for all types of caps and not just gowns.
Lyle replied, “I didn’t want this song.” Marty Appel told me that he loved the song and he would not stop playing it.
Lyle would eventually appreciate the work he had done. As the elaborate entrance became a staple of wrestling in the 1980s, Randy Poffo, a former minor-league outfielder, adopted “Pomp and Circumstance” as his theme song.
In the meantime, closers weren’t just failed starters anymore, they were stars in themselves. Bullpen specializing was the norm and the days of two- or three-inning relievers gave way to one inning specialists. The ninth — the three final outs — was reserved for one person only, and their grandiloquence was best represented by their entrances.
Goose Gossage was a true “Bad to Bone” and Dennis Eckersley was likewise. The Bong AC/DC’s “Hells Bells”, which was released at the beginning, was a proven winner. San Diego Padres Trevor Hoffman, the grandfather behind the cinematic entrance, is closer. Rivera was baseball peanut butter jelly. Lyle stated that “That man made that song a reality.” “If you are going to pick a single song, you better be able back it up.” Eric Gagne was the one who chose “Welcome To the Jungle”. DodgersPerfectly locks down closer. Jonathan Papelbon’s “Shipping Up To Boston” entailed singing, chanting, and hum, while Kenley Jansen took it local with “California Love.”
Yet, over the years, the novelty of an individual entrance has diminished. Jansen was the last person to get something memorable. Los Angeles Angels Hansel Robles was closer in 2019 — it was the use by the Undertaker of music to relieve a reliever whom the Mets had previously cut the previous year.
The next big thing was already here, and nobody knew it. The only thing baseball needed to showcase the potential of closer’s arrival was a competitive New York Mets squad, a mature man named Timmy, imagination.
EARLY IN THE 2018 season, when a 24-year-old Edwin Díaz would establish himself as the most dominant reliever in baseball, the Seattle Mariners He was given a pitch similar to that of Bautista by the Orioles. He deserved a proper entrance and the Orioles had some ideas. The song was performed by Steve Aoki while the other by Party Favor. Neither stood out to Díaz. But what about the third? This worked.
It was called “Narco.” Blasterjaxx, a Dutch duo known as house music, had released the song six months prior. As much as Díaz liked the beat, something else about the song caught his attention: the 43 toots laid over it by an Australian who calls himself Timmy Trumpet.
In the same way the Undertaker felt his theme music told the story of his character — a preemptive dirge for what he planned to inflict — “Narco” (implication of the song’s name aside) was Díaz distilled: upbeat, intense, relentless, fun. Much as Mariners fans appreciated the two together, only a handful of videos from Díaz’s 2018 entrance exist on YouTube. None have even reached 50,000 views.
After his 2018 offseason trade to the Mets, he dropped “Narco”. Fresh start, fresh song. After a mess of a first season in New York, Díaz’s wife, Nashaly, suggested he summon the trumpets once more. In 2020, “Narco” was back as did the dominance in 2018.
But, the Mets continue to stink in 2020 and 2021. Finally, this season, their newfound eminence has put added emphasis on the ninth inning, and Díaz has risen to the occasion. He has struck out 107 hitters in 56⅔ innings. His ERA stands at 1.43.
In the meantime, fans have responded with greater enthusiasm to the trumpeting. Recognizing the phenomenon, SNY, which broadcasts Mets games, started to experiment with Díaz’s entrances. Rather than go to commercial, the broadcast would follow Díaz winding his way through the bullpen and onto the field as “Narco” hit. It was beautiful, cinematic, and closer to 2.0. It quickly went viral and prompted the Mets to bring Timmy Trumpet to Queens for a live performance before a Díaz save against the Dodgers.
The Undertaker explained that the music is almost party-like. “Most guys want that tough-guy thing. This was more of celebration. It’s a wonderful thing, man.
“There’s someone who isn’t a fan of baseball who can see it now. It’s a win. Major League Baseball has won.
Admittedly, not every closer can be Edwin Díaz. When he becomes free agency this winter, he could be the first $100 million reliever. He is also setting an example for his peers by showing them that the best can be very great — And Very cool.
“At that moment, I’m just locking in to do my job,” Díaz said. “But at the exact same time, I can see the reactions from the fans. It’s as if I’m on another plane when they play that song. It’s like I feel the energy when I walk from my bullpen to the mound. It inspires me to do a better job.
“I can clearly see it. They play my song. [hitters] You know they are in trouble. Because I’m coming in.”
OVER THE WEEKEND, Edwin Díaz was talking with his brother, Alexis, a first-year reliever for the Cincinnati Reds. Alexis is the Reds’ newly-minted closer. He needs the proper entrance. They were discussing ideas for next season.
Edwin said to him, “You have to do something positive.”
The Diaz brothers agreed on something, such as the red-light-bathed program recently adopted by St. Louis Cardinals Get closer Ryan Helsley, or, even better, akin to the entrance of a fellow rookie: Félix Bautista.
Bautista’s debut season could not have been better. When he turned 19, the Marlins had him released at 19. He was already almost out of baseball. He attended the Dominican academy at the Hiroshima Carp in Japan, where he learned to pitch, and quickly grew into his massive frame. Baltimore signed him. Ramon Martinez showed him how to splitter and he was still playing rookie ball at age 23. His kind of guy is rare. He didn’t even throw a full season with 1.71 ERA baseball. He also managed to lock down 14 saves, and position himself to win Rookie of Year votes.
Bautista stated that it was one of the most thrilling moments in any game to be there in the ninth innings. Knowing that this is a high-pressure situation, adrenaline surges through my veins. It’s lots of fun and exciting. I enjoy being out there, and being able pitch in moments such as that.
Now he’s on a T-shirt in which his face is atop a body dressed like Omar — trench coat, loose pants, hands in pockets, with two words at the top: FÉLIX COMIN’. Which is true, sure, and goes along nicely with the whole motif, but by now it’s clear that both Félix Bautista and a new era of closer’s entrances aren’t exactly coming. They are already here.