Does Mariners closer Edwin Diaz need a new entrance song?
Aug 5, 2016, 12:02 PM
Mariners closer Edwin Diaz, nicknamed Sugar, walks out to Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me." (AP)
(AP)
As much as “Brock and Salk” have enjoyed watching rookie Edwin Diaz close games since taking over the Mariners’ ninth-inning role earlier in the week, there are some questions about his entrance music.
Legendary closers Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman famously entered the ninth inning to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” and AC/DC’s “ Hell’s Bells,” respectively. The 22-year-old Puerto Rican, meanwhile, has come in from the bullpen to Def Leppard’s less daunting “Pour Some Sugar On Me.” It doesn’t quite fit Diaz’s electric stuff, which includes a 101 mph fastball that has helped him reach 50 strikeouts to start his career faster than any pitcher since at least 1893.
Though Diaz is 2 for 2 thus far in save attempts, the Twittersphere has given him mixed reviews for the tune.
“Pour Some Sugar on Me” was released in 1987 – Diaz was born in 1994… walk-up song needs some work (which I am sure he did not select…)
— Marly Rivera ~ ESPN (@MarlyRiveraESPN) August 3, 2016
No idea if Edwin Diaz is a Def Leppard fan, but man, there’s some energy in Safeco when he comes out of bullpen to “Pour Some Sugar On Me.”
— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) August 4, 2016
Mike Salk explained that “Sugar” is Diaz’s nickname – reportedly because of the 2008 sports-drama film “Sugar – but acknowledges the music is a slightly odd choice until that moniker becomes more popularized.
One of their producers, Boy Howdy, offered a few more possibilities.
• The Archies – “Sugar, Sugar”
Salk: “That’s kind of more him, actually. He’s got more flare than he does anger. He’s not an intimidate you, stare you down-type of closer. He’s kind of more foot-loose and fancy-free.
• Maroon 5 – “Sugar”
Salk: “That’s terrible.”
Brock Huard: “That’s horrendous.”
Salk: “Though that would be sort of a different take on being a closer, kind of a party atmosphere whenever he comes out. I could see that, maybe they should go with that.”
What do you think? Leave your walkout recommendations in the comments.
