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Yesterday LSU dropped the best press release of the year: the walk-out songs for the baseball team.
This is a fun little tradition, one we openly embrace. It allows the players to flash some personality in their own way and it allows us a way to connect to them.
In the past we’ve participated in the fun by ranking the walk-out songs, because that’s the knee jerk reflex when it comes to this type of thing. We’re going to do the same this year, but with a twist: by using science.
The choices are based on four categories and scored on a scale of 1-5 for a maximum of 20 points. The categories scored are Fit, Novelty, Quality, and Association.
Fit is how much that song, well, fits the player and how well it translates to the mood in a game. An example of a perfect five in this category would be Matty Ott using Lil Flip’s Game Over or Aaron Nola using Regulate.
Novelty is how off the beaten path or funny a selection is, because that counts for something. This awards props for selecting a deep cut or something hilarious. An example of a five is Zac Person using We Don’t Have To Take Our Clothes Off when he comes in to close or Josh Smith using Pony as a freshman, or it can also be Trey Dawson (boy that’s a name) busting out a tropical house remix of Biggie Smalls’ Old Thing Back.
Quality is how the good the song is, independent of any other variables. This is hard to score a perfect five in, because what is a perfect song anyway? But it only feels right that we give a nod to great music tastes in 18-21 year olds.
Association is the toughest grade on the board. When I hear this song, how quickly do I think of you (and vice versa). Essentially, it is a multiplier for commitment because time and repetition is the only way to score high. Pretty much only returning players using the same song score higher than a 1. That might sound biased, but it means a lot. When Braves fans hear Crazy Train, they think Chipper Jones. When Yankees fans hear Enter Sandman, that means Mariano Rivera. In recent memory, no LSU player has kept the same song for four years in a row, but we have had a number of three year guys that would have scored fives if they came back for one more year: Alex Lange and Call On Me, Tyler Moore and Bailamos, Michael Papierski and The Buzz, Raph Rhymes and Teach Me How To Dougie.
Now that you’re filled in on the juicy deets, here’s how I scored them:
LSU Walk-Out Songs, By The Numbers
| Player | Song | Artist(s) | Fit | Novelty | Quality | Association | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Song | Artist(s) | Fit | Novelty | Quality | Association | TOTAL |
| Antoine Duplantis | My Type | Saint Motel | 5 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 5 | 17.9 |
| Zack Hess | Black Eyes | Bradley Cooper | 5 | 3 | 4.5 | 1.3 | 13.8 |
| Eric Walker | Disciples | Tame Impala | 4.7 | 3 | 4.7 | 1.3 | 13.7 |
| Brandt Broussard | Space Jam | Quad City DJ's | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4 | 1.3 | 13.6 |
| Chase Costello | Juke Box Hero | Foreigner | 4 | 4.6 | 4 | 1 | 13.6 |
| Matthew Beck | Readymade | Red Hot Chili Peppers | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 1 | 13.3 |
| Landon Marceaux | Jambalaya | The Mudbugs | 4.4 | 3.6 | 4 | 1 | 13 |
| Zach Watson | Here Comes The Hotstepper (Heartical Mix) | Ini Komaze | 4 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 1 | 12.8 |
| Caleb Gilbert | Old Man | Neil Young | 2.8 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 1 | 12.8 |
| Cade Beloso | Signed, Sealed, Delivered | Stevie Wonder | 3.8 | 2.6 | 4.6 | 1 | 12 |
| Riggs Threadgill | I Love a Rainy Night | Eddie Rabbit | 3 | 5 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 12 |
| Clay Moffitt | Waiting for the Thunder | Blackberry Smoke | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 1 | 11.9 |
| Rye Gunter | Renegade | Styx | 4 | 2.5 | 4.2 | 0.5 | 11.2 |
| Drew Bianco | Let's Groove | Earth, Wind & Fire | 4 | 1.4 | 4.6 | 1 | 11 |
| Cole Henry | Voodoo Child | Jimi Hendrix | 4.5 | 1 | 5 | 0.5 | 11 |
| Jaden Hill | No Smoke (Clean) | NBA Youngboy | 4.4 | 2 | 3.7 | 0.8 | 10.9 |
| Devin Fontenot | All Of The Lights (Clean) | Kanye West | 3.7 | 1.5 | 4.5 | 1 | 10.7 |
| Easton McMurray | California Love (Clean) | 2Pac | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0.5 | 10.5 |
| Nick Storz | Hyperreal | Flume | 3 | 2 | 3.2 | 2 | 10.2 |
| Gavin Dugas | The Stroke | Billy Squier | 3.2 | 3 | 3.2 | 0.7 | 10.1 |
| Will Ripoll | Can't Hold Me Down | GRiZ ft. Tash Neal | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 |
| Giovanni DiGiacomo | Three Little Birds | Bob Marley | 2.7 | 1.8 | 4.4 | 1 | 9.9 |
| Todd Peterson | Can't Stop | Red Hot Chili Peppers | 3.4 | 1 | 4.7 | 0.5 | 9.6 |
| CJ Willis | In God I Trust | Kevin Gates | 3.3 | 2 | 3.3 | 1 | 9.6 |
| Trent Vietmeier | Pour Some Sugar On Me | Def Leppard | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 1 | 9.1 |
| Brock Mathis | Crazy (Clean) | Lil Boosie | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 1 | 9 |
| Josh Smith | Welcome Back | Mase | 4.5 | 0.5 | 3.3 | 0.5 | 8.8 |
| Braden Doughty | Rainy Days (Clean) | Boogie | 2 | 3 | 2.6 | 1 | 8.6 |
| Hal Hughes | Devil Eyes | Hippie Sabotage | 3.2 | 2 | 2.2 | 1 | 8.4 |
| Ma'Khail Hilliard | Run In Here (Clean) | NBA Youngboy | 3.3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8.3 |
| Daniel Cabrera | I Like It (Clean) | Cardi B, Bad Bunny, J Balvin | 3 | 1 | 3.5 | 0.7 | 8.2 |
| Saul Garza | God's Gonna Cut You Down | Johnny Cash | 1 | 1 | 4.4 | 0.5 | 6.9 |
| Aaron George | Seven Nation Army | The White Stripes | 2 | 0.1 | 4.1 | 0.1 | 6.3 |
| AJ Labas | It's About to Get Good | Cold Creek Country | 1.4 | 1 | 0.4 | 2 | 4.8 |
| Chris Reid | My House (Clean) | Flo Rida | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Average | 10.39714 |
Some superlatives:
Best Choice: Zack Hess: Black Eyes | Bradley Cooper
The Opening Day starter will take the mound and throw out the first pitch with the dirty and raw opener from A Star Is Born. It suits his on-field personality well and it’s...just a badass cut that translates well to the game situation.
Best Freshman Impact: Riggs Threadgill: I Love A Rainy Night | Eddie Rabbit
I’m still not sure “Riggs Threadgill” is a real name for a real person, but him/it walks away with the best novelty cut. I made a joke in the summer about how nobody knows a single line from that song that isn’t “WELL I LOOOOVE A RAINY NIGHT”, and since this list was released I listened to this song about four times. I still don’t know a single line outside of that. This song is an optical illusion and will definitely get the crowd singing along.
Best Taste: Eric Walker: Disciples | Tame Impala.
This is the most subjective award, but I was actually shocked to see a Tame Impala song picked, let alone one that wasn’t really one of the “hits”. It’s a bop.
Pavlov Award: Antoine Duplantis: My Type | Saint Motel
Four years, three positions, one song. I have a special connection to this, but will forever link Twonnie to the song and vice versa.
Clap...clap...clap...CLAP CLAP.
Below is a handy dandy Spotify playlist of every song and some Box standards with a little lagniappe, perfect for your tailgate playlists or to listen to while you sit in Friday Baton
Rouge traffic.