KANSAS CITY — David Wright was taking suggestions up until Wednesday morning. Travis d’Arnaud had it narrowed down to four artists. Jerry Blevins was going back to a safe choice and Noah Syndergaard just cannot change.
Steven Matz only changes for special occasions, such as the World Series. Jacob deGrom has other things on his mind and Matt Harvey has a DJ he consults to get his warm-up song right.
Jeurys Familia is getting a customized tune created by Zacarias Ferreira and Curtis Granderson is letting fans vote for his walk-up song.
The Mets return home Friday for their season opener and they need to have their walk-up and warm-up music settled and submitted by the team workout on Thursday. The music only plays for a short time during games, but players see it as a way to relax in a big moment or to get amped up when they need a boost. It needs to fit their personality and their game.
And while a few just go with whatever, most were thinking about it as far back as mid-March.
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There are some rules for Wright, who lets his friends and family make suggestions.
“You want to have a song that doesn’t have curse words, obviously” Wright explained, “or that has a negative connotation — that you know of.”
That is why Wright is probably going to be changing his song this season. Last year, he walked up to Luniz’s ‘I Got 5 On It,’ his nod to the position he plays and the number he wears. Only later, when some people mentioned it to him, did Wright realize it was a drug culture reference.
So he was taking recommendations this spring from his brothers and friends back in Virginia. The only person he was not accepting suggestions from was his wife, Molly.
“Last year, she suggested a country song. I tried it and it put me to sleep,” Wright said with a laugh. “She’s been fired.”
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When he was called up in late July, Michael Conforto was too overwhelmed to think about music. In those cases, the Citi Field stadium entertainment department contacts their minor-league colleagues and use the song the player used there. So in his first major-league at-bat he walked up to “Sunset,” by Kid Ink. A week later, Conforto switched to “The Hills,” by The Weeknd.
Last year, d’Arnaud used Drake’s “0 to 100.” This spring he can’t seem to hit on just the right one.
“When I walked to the plate, I felt really good, felt like something good was going to happen and I was going to do damage,” d’Arnaud said of using the Drake song. “I am looking for something like that.”
For Syndergaard, the song he warms up to is an extension of his personality, or at least his public persona. He has used the theme to Game of Thrones, a nod to a personal favorite and it fits with his Viking-like looks. But the right-hander also has a little dramatic flare. Last October, knowing he would make the Oct. 31 start in the World Series, Syndergaard changed his music to the theme from the movie “Halloween.”
It was subtle, and fans slowly noticed throughout Citi Field as he warmed up for Game 3.
“I like to mix it up sometimes,” Syndergaard said with a coy smile. “You never know.”
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Matz admits he is pretty predictable going with “Call Me the Breeze,” by Lynyrd Skynyrd and then switching to David Crowder Band’s “Lift Your Head Weary Sinner (Chains),” in the playoffs.
“In 2014 I used that in the championship game in Binghamton, so I wanted to go back to that for the World Series last year,” Matz said. “Mostly I will just mix in a few Christian songs here and there, but it’s not that big a deal for me.”
DeGrom, who is waiting for his first son to be born any day, said he would go with “Simple Man,” by Lynyrd Skynyrd “because I’ve used it my whole career.” Why? “I don’t know, but I can’t worry about it now.”
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Harvey also took location into consideration for his warm-up song.
“New York-centric songs and New York-based artists,” he said. “I have a friend who is a DJ. We go over some songs, he makes some mixes for me. I want it to be New York-themed though.”
D’Arnaud left Kansas City after the first two games there with headphones around his neck. The deadline was looming and he had “10 to 12,” songs to try out before deciding.
It may not be the most important thing this season, but it sets a tone at the start.
When asked what the leader was heading into the workout, d’Arnaud smiled, winked and said we’d just have to wait until Friday.
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