Part 1
Annotated Bibliography
Allen, Scott. “How ‘Baby Shark’ Became the Anthem of the Nationals’ 2019 Season and World Series Run.” Washington Post, 21 Oct. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/10/21/how-baby-shark-became-anthem-nationals-season-world-series-run/.
Gerardo Parra’s walk-up song, “Baby Shark,” contributed to the Nationals’ 2019 World Series win. Allen describes how it happened. In June, the Nationals had a losing record and Parra was 0-for-22. Parra picked the song because his 2-year-old liked it. He ended his slump, and Nationals fans enthusiastically embraced the song for the season. Videos show fans going wild; the energy is palpable.
Bateman, Anthony, and John Bale. Sporting Sounds: Relationships between Sport and Music. London, Routledge, 2009.
This book includes chapters on music-in-sport and sport-in-music. They confirm the nexus between the two cultural forms. They discuss theoretical developments, empirical research, case studies, and historical analyses of sporting events and musical compositions. The book addresses various psychological themes, musical genres, and sports (for example, gymnastics in Denmark). However, no chapter addresses music or sport in the United States. The conclusions may generalize to other contexts.
Caple, Jim. “How MLB Walk-Up Music Became a Designated Hit.” ESPN, 28 Aug. 2015, www.espn.com/espn/print?id=13531246#.
Caple addresses the evolution of MLB walk-up songs. He traces the history from 1970, when organists selected songs, to 1993, when team personnel selected songs, to 2015, when players selected songs. He includes player and manager quotations and provides different viewpoints and song examples. Players reveal what they look for in a song. Whether walk-up music affects performance is uncertain. The article does not include developments after 2015.
Clair, Michael. “Here’s How Walk-Up Songs Went from Organ Tunes to a Cultural Sensation Almost Overnight.” MLB, 10 July 2019, www.mlb.com/cut4/the-complete-history-of-the-walk-up-song.
Clair reviews how MLB walk-up songs originated and evolved. Organist Nancy Faust originated the concept in 1970. Clair includes quotations from MLB players, organists, and management. In 1990, Seattle introduced recorded music for players, but only instrumentals with no lyrics, and the soundman, not the players, chose the music. In 1992, the first player requested music, and player selection became commonplace over several years. Today, walk-up songs are a “foundational part of the game.”
Clemmons, Anna Katherine. “How a Johnny Cash Song Became a Hit with MLB Pitchers.” ESPN, 3 Sep. 2015, www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/13572280/how-johnny-cash-version-god-\gonna-cut-became-hit-mlb-pitchers.
Cooper, B. Lee, and Donald E. Walker. “Baseball, Popular Music, and Twentieth-Century American History.” Social Studies, vol. 81, no. 3, 1990, pp. 120-24.
Cooper and Walker outline nine themes in American society that are illustrated by baseball-related popular music. They encourage social studies teachers to incorporate baseball history and popular music into their classrooms. Themes include racial integration, international variety, major world events, and political, social, and psychological commentaries. Five to twenty baseball-related popular recordings appear below each theme. The article briefly identifies the connection between the theme and the music. However, it provides no in-depth analysis.
Elvers, Paul, and Jochen Steffens. “The Sound of Success: Investigating Cognitive and Behavioral Effects of Motivational Music in Sports.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 8, art. 2026, 2017, pp. 1-11, www.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02026. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.
Elvers and Steffens hypothesized that music listening during a ball-throwing task would enhance self-evaluative cognition and improve performance. Experiment participants performed the task with and without motivational music. Music did not influence self-evaluative cognitions or improve performance. The task itself may have overridden positive effects of the music. Music may not enhance performance for tasks involving accuracy and motor coordination rather than endurance. Motivational music may have greater effect before rather than during the task.
Erskine, Chris. “Voice of Dodgers Announcer Vin Scully Is Sweet Music to the Ears.” Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2016, www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/la-sp-vin-scully-erskine-20160404-snap-htmlstory.html.
Erskine describes the musicality of Vin Scully’s voice. Scully’s voice is an orchestra that serenades listeners. USC music professor Sampson says Scully’s play-by-play calls include rhythm and dynamics – all the traits of irresistible music. He likens Scully’s rhythm and melodic contour to swing songs. Superimposing Scully’s voice over a boogie-woogie piano tune demonstrates the musicality. They do not analyze any other announcer’s voice.
Euchner, Charles. “Stadium Symphonies.” National Baseball Hall of Fame, www.baseballhall.org/discover/short-stops/stadium-symphonies#:~:text=From%20the%20first%20pitch%20until,the%20action%20on%20the%20field. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.
Euchner surveys the evolution of music at MLB stadiums. He highlights the spirit of solidarity a song creates, such as “God Bless America” after 9/11 and “Sweet Caroline” after the Boston bombings. Stadium music began with sheet music and group singing, then progressed to brass bands. In 1940, stadiums hired organists, and later DJs and soundmen. Today, nearly every player has his own song. Some teams have songs.
Gabrielsson, Alf. Strong Experiences with Music: Music Is Much More than Just Music. Oxford University Press, 2011.
Given, Karen. “Ballparks and Organ Music – A Match Made in Chicago.” WBUR, 30 Apr. 2016, www.wbur.org/onlyagame/2016/04/30/organ-mlb-history.
Kaskowitz, Sheryl. God Bless America: The Surprising History of an Iconic Song. Oxford University Press, 2013.
Kaskowitz presents the history of the origin, uses, and meanings of “God Bless America.” She explores the song’s role in secular communal singing as civic participation. She uses “historical ethnomusicology” research methods. She details the song’s composition in 1918 and premiere performance in 1938. She discusses its reception, uses, and shifting meanings preceding WWII and after 9/11, and its recent use in baseball. The book is comprehensive and objective.
Laukka, Petri, and Lina Quick. “Emotional and Motivational Uses of Music in Sports and Exercise: A Questionnaire Study among Athletes.” Psychology of Music, vol. 41, no. 2, 2013, pp. 198–215, www.doi.org/10.1177/0305735611422507. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.
This study investigates motivational music in sports. Swedish athletes responded to a questionnaire. Participants prefer uptempo or energetic music, before the event, that they select themselves. The most common motive is to pump-up. Musical aspects like beat and tempo evoke emotion. Retrospective self-reports may be biased, and only individual (not team) sports were included.
Long, Jonathan, and Karl Spracklen. “Music and Sport: Exploring the Intersections.” Sport in Society, vol. 24, no. 1, 2021, pp. 1–7, www.doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2020.1839237. Accessed 13 Feb. 2024.
Margulis, Elizabeth Hellmuth. The Psychology of Music: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2018.
Menapace, Brendan. “What I Learned from Studying Every MLB Player’s Walk-Up Song.” Esquire, 19 July 2023, www.esquire.com/sports/a43636122/best-baseball-walk-up-songs/.
Menapace surveys 2023 MLB walk-up songs. Some players selected classic rock amp-up songs. Others selected songs alluding to player names or team cities. Some selected “problematic” artists with controversial views. The most-chosen artist was Bad Bunny. Walk-up songs should amp-up both player and crowd, and can reveal something about the player personally.
Strasberg, Andy, Bob Thompson, and Tim Wiles. Baseball’s Greatest Hit: The Story of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” Hal Leonard, 2008.
Terry, Peter C., et al. “Effects of Music in Exercise and Sport: A Meta-Analytic Review.” Psychological Bulletin, vol. 146, no. 2, 2020, pp. 91–117, www.doi.org/10.1037/bul0000216. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.
Terry analyzes 139 studies regarding effects of music before or during exercise and sport. Generally, music enhances positive affect, physiological efficiency, and physical performance. It reduces perceived exertion. Studies included various non-competitive and competitive activities. Therefore, generalized applications are difficult. Effects depend on many musical, personal, and situational variables.
“Trevor Hoffman on How Hell’s Bells Became His Pitching Song.” Fox Sports, 26 July 2017, https://www.foxsports.com/watch/1010553411563.
“Video: Vin Scully Calls Jackie Robinson’s Steals Set to Music.” Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2016, www.latimes.com/86415134-132.html.
Part 2
1) What I Learned.
For WP2, I chose to explore music in baseball. I grew up playing baseball and going to San Diego Padres games, and I am now playing club baseball at USC. I also grew up playing the piano and started singing in high school, and I am now a music minor at USC. These passions, music and baseball, inspired me to research their intersection.
I already knew quite a bit about music in baseball, but my research led to a few surprising discoveries. I didn’t know that players have not always picked their own songs. I learned that organists selected and played the songs beginning in the 1970s, and that team personnel began selecting recordings for players in 1990. Not until the early to mid-1990s did players start choosing their own songs. I wholeheartedly agree that players should select their own songs as a means to express themselves and to connect personally with fans.
I also learned that some research studies suggest that music can improve sports performance. None of the studies were conducted in the baseball domain, where it would be difficult, if not impossible, to prove that a walk-up song improves performance. However, music can create positive energy and good feelings, especially if fans respond enthusiastically, and that might have some ergonomic effect.
I was also surprised to find articles describing the former Los Angeles Dodgers commentator Vin Scully’s voice as “musical,” with cadence, rhythm, intonation, and build like a song. The soundtrack of his play-calling set to music (by a USC professor) is intriguing. I knew Scully was an amazing commentator, but I had certainly never thought of him as “musical.” I further learned that “God Bless America” didn’t make its appearance in baseball stadiums until after 9/11 in 2001, and that Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican reggaeton singer, was the most-chosen artist for MLB walk-up songs in 2023.
2) How My View Has Evolved.
My research has led me to focus on walk-up songs. I find the history of how they originated and evolved fascinating, and I don’t think many people other than older-generation, die-hard baseball fans are aware of the history. I am a die-hard baseball fan, but one born after walk-up songs were firmly entrenched.
Prior to my research, I viewed walk-up songs as a fun aspect of an MLB game, but secondary and tangential to the baseball game itself. That is no longer my view. Walk-up songs are no longer a sideshow; they are part and parcel of the game. Furthermore, I believe that walk-up songs have enhanced the game in several key ways. They have humanized the players and provided an avenue for self-expression. Players share a little bit of their personality through their song choice, and fans and spectators feel more personally connected. Music can pump up and generate a good mindset in both the players and fans and spectators. That, in turn, may lead to enhanced performance at the plate or on the mound by a player or even a whole team. Music can create a great deal of excitement and energy, as evidenced by the Nationals’ “Baby Shark” phenomenon in 2019. In short, walk-up songs add an element of personal connection and excitement that transforms the game from a sports event that appeals mostly to fans, to an entertainment experience that appeals to a wider audience.
Of course, a “Baby Shark” moment will not occur frequently, but the potential for it to occur always exists. I believe it takes a special combination of song characteristics, fan response, individual performance, and fortuity. Will a “Baby Shark” moment occur during the 2024 season? Only time will tell.
My writing on this topic may take a variety of forms. One possibility is an open letter to the general public, but especially directed to non-baseball-fans, to enlighten them on how walk-up songs make MLB games great entertainment. The purpose would be to persuade non-fans to get involved with an MLB team, if not for the baseball, for the fun and musicality. Another possibility is an informational article to educate fans and non-fans alike on how walk-up songs have transformed the game. The purpose would be not to persuade, but to inform and let readers make their own assessment. A third possibility is an article analyzing the musical and situational elements that combine to cause some walk-up songs to catch on and become a sensation. The purpose would be to provide insight into those rare occasions, while recognizing that they only happen spontaneously and cannot be caused or constructed.