New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz has legitimately become one of the most popular players in baseball this week, and it’s all because of a song.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you probably haven’t spent much time on Twitter. Don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. Here is everything you need to know about “Narco” by Blasterjaxx and Timmy Trumpet — which is the epic song Diaz uses as he trots to the pitcher’s mound at Citi Field.
As we recently wrote, Diaz’s tremendous bullpen entrance is exactly what the MLB needs right now. The recent video of the closer coming into the game for the Mets at Citi Field on Sunday went viral, and a couple recently used it as the walk-out song at their wedding to honor Diaz.
The recent hype for Diaz got us thinking: Where does this rank among the best entrances for relief pitchers in MLB history? How does it stack up with “Hells Bells” for Trevor Hoffman and “Enter Sandman” for Mariano Rivera?
Note that songs were excluded if it wasn’t from an actual MLB pitcher (so no “Wild Thing” from the “Major League” movie) or if there was no video that I could find (no “Bad To The Bone” for Dennis Eckersley or Goose Gossage).
Otherwise, this is how I rank the best walkout songs in baseball history:
12
Jeurys Familia, “Danza Kuduro” by Don Omar
A few years before Diaz took over as the closer for the team, a different Mets pitcher was at the top of the entrance music leaderboard.
Jeurys Familia was an MLB All-Star and the MLB’s leader in saves in 2016. He also had fans clapping with “Danza Kuduro” at Citi Field in Queens and it was beautiful.
11
Joel Zumaya, “Voodoo Child” by Jimi Hendrix
Joel Zumaya originally requested “B.Y.O.B.” by System of a Down, but the team declined due to profane language. Zumaya decided on Hendrix, though later changed his mind and opted for “Raining Blood” by Slayer.
But the fans wanted Hendrix back, and Zumaya should be glad he listened. It became a classic for the flamethrowing reliever.
10
Grant Balfour, "One" by Metallica
Watch how hard the fans are going in the crowd and Oakland and tell me you’re not pumped up. The way things are going with their attendance, the A’s deserve to get this hyped again.
9
Koji Uehara, “Sandstorm” by Darude
The theme Sandstorm of Koji Uehara pic.twitter.com/6W561qVLdK
— きりたんぽ@野球確率おじさん (@kyonritapo) March 23, 2018
You may not recognize the name, but “Sandstorm” by Finnish DJ Darude is a wildly popular song in the sports world.
Former Red Sox reliever Koji Uehara made the song his entrance music, and that decision proved to be influential. When he was still pitching in Japan, current Red Sox reliever Hirokazu Sawamura changed his entrance music to “Sandstorm” after watching Uehara in the 2013 World Series.
8
Brian Wilson, “Jump Around” by House of Pain
For a distinct moment in time, former Giants closer Brian Wilson had the sports world in a frenzy with his “Fear The Beard” campaign.
Although he originally chose Disturbed’s “Indestructible” as his walkout music, part of his eventual persona included the switch to “Jump Around” by House of Pain as his entrance music.
While many might associate that song with Wisconsin football, it was also briefly iconic for the Giants in the MLB.
7
Hansel Robles, “Rest in Peace (Undertaker)" by WWE/Jim Johnston
This is the best entrance in professional sports. pic.twitter.com/8ItESctF0g
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) April 25, 2019
Hansel Robles was never the most dominant pitcher in baseball, but he had the most memorable entrance video of all MLB relievers. Using the same song wrestling fans heard when WWE’s The Undertaker came into the ring, Robles may have also had the creepiest entrance music.
Tim Brown wrote about what it was like to watch (via Yahoo):
“The video materializes above Angel Stadium, love story B-roll splashing across 23,000 square feet of canvas, pulsing through eight million LED lights, a riderless white horse frolics, rose petals waft, a real live person in a rubber horse mask stares from three levels up, behind home plate. The music plays. Bong-bong. Here comes Hansel.
A lot’s going on.
Like the image of the black hole.
Like plumes of smoke.
Like streaks of lightning.
Like the horse mask puckering and unpuckering, some poor soul pulling breaths as though through an aquarium filter. Which is subtle, because there’s also a black cape over the person-horse’s shoulders, and a staff in its right hand, and another horse’s head on the end of the staff, all of which tend to draw attention from the person-horse’s gasps for oxygen.”
This would probably rank even higher and hit even harder if Robles was a more successful reliever.
6
Kenley Jansen, “California Love” by 2Pac and Dr. Dre
Fans will always associate Kenley Jansen with “California Love” by Tupac Shakur.
Jansen, however, entered the game to “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted” (also by Tupac) during his final season in Los Angeles before leaving the Dodgers for the Braves. He now enters the game to “Welcome To Atlanta” by Jermaine Dupri.
But there is nothing quite like listening to Tupac in Southern California, and that song is the regional anthem. The team played the song for him before the game and fans cheered when he returned to Los Angeles earlier this season.
5
Eric Gagné, "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses
Eric Gagné won the National League Cy Young Award as a closer in 2003. He recorded 84 consecutive saves in a row. Are you kidding me?!
I lived in Los Angeles during the early Aughts and when Gagné came in to “Welcome to The Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses at Dodger Stadium, it was Game Over. The energy was electric!
4
Jonathan Papelbon, “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” by The Dropkick Murphy’s
Few things are more powerful than how hard a specific song hits in a certain place. One example is whenever the Dropkick Murphys song “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” is played at Fenway Park.
“I’m Shipping Up To Boston” is the second-best song ever associated with the Red Sox. (I will always love when they became obsessed with “Dancing On My Own” last season.)
My favorite fun fact: Dropkick Murphys’ frontman Ken Casey told Jonathan Papelbon that he was not allowed to use the song in Philadelphia once he left for the Phillies … as if there was any chance Papelbon would want the Boston song played at Citizens Bank Park!
3
Trevor Hoffman, "Hells Bells" by AC/DC
Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman is legendary and “Hells Bells” by AC/DC is his theme music. The first time we heard it associated with Hoffman was in 1998, and we heard it again when he was inducted into the Brewers Wall of Honor just a few years ago.
There is a long history of how that song became Hoffman’s anthem, and the track’s longevity in San Diego during Hoffman’s career is legendary in and of itself. In fact, it even inspired the Yankees to try “Enter Sandman” for Rivera.
2
Edwin Diaz, "Narco" by Blasterjaxx and Timmy Trumpet
Sound 'em. 🎺🎺🎺 pic.twitter.com/wPv2R0GDxt
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 7, 2022
This was a tough choice. I wanted these rankings to reflect historical significance, and Hoffman and Mariano Rivera (more on him in a second!) are the only closers in MLB history to record at least 600 career saves.
Diaz will only soon reach his 200th save in the MLB, so we don’t have history on our side yet. Beyond the fact that the music is unique, which creates an immediate party whenever “Narco” is played at Citi Field, it’s also groundbreaking.
Ultimately, I decided to rank Diaz above Hoffman for a fairly simple reason: the video coverage we have from the broadcasts is stunning. You can learn more about SNY’s John DeMarisco in this Twitter thread, but the footage and the live editing fans are getting from Diaz’s entrances are both breathtaking.
The team has decided not to cut to commercial, which is a huge deal. Thanks to the brilliant work from the folks at SNY, fans at home are getting in on the fun just as much as folks at the stadium. These moments will live beyond the grainy YouTube footage we have for Hoffman and Papelbon. This is cinema-quality stuff for Diaz!
1
Mariano Rivera, "Enter Sandman" by Metallica
The most legendary entrance song in baseball history is “Enter Sandman” by Metallica, but the backstory of how this happened is shocking.
Metallica performed “Enter Sandman” at Yankee Stadium to honor the best closer in baseball, but it wasn’t because Rivera liked it. Rivera didn’t even know the name of the song “for years” and would have picked Christian music if he had a choice (via MLB):
“It’s not part of my identity,” Rivera said. “People identify it [with me], but that’s it. I wouldn’t say that’s my identity. To tell you the truth, I have to do one thing. I go out there and pitch.”
He said he has never been to a Metallica show and that his entrance music should have been something less loud, something that put people to sleep.
Still, I can’t yet rank Diaz’s entrance music above Rivera’s. “Enter Sandman” has too much longevity. When casual fans think about entrance music, they think about Rivera.
But if Diaz continues to have the success he is having right now for a long career, especially if he stays on one team, “Narco” could eventually take over as the most legendary entrance music in baseball history.
