Thoughts on walk up music

I am OK with it if you are playing somewhere that has an PA system as a part of the field; a lot of High Schools have this.

Don't be the team with the huge external speaker hooked up to your phone that you are pulling in a wagon. Meh.

TMD said:

10 years of TB here (midwest) and have never heard walk-up music in a tourny. Hear it a little at some HS games (not ours for whatever reason), but it's not widespread.

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Interesting. Here, at our age level (10U, 12U), it's very common in travel ball. I don't know about HS.

grcsftbll said:

Interesting. Here, at our age level (10U, 12U), it's very common in travel ball. I don't know about HS.

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Curious - is it the team that does the music, or the parents? When we do see it at HS games, it's always part of the home team's PA system, controlled by the announcer or assistant in the press box. 99.99% of the time PA systems and press boxes don't exist at TB tournys. We'll hear music during pregame warmups at tournys (usually a player's phone connected to a portable speaker), but that's about it.

TMD said:

Curious - is it the team that does the music, or the parents? When we do see it at HS games, it's always part of the home team's PA system, controlled by the announcer or assistant in the press box. 99.99% of the time PA systems and press boxes don't exist at TB tournys. We'll hear music during pregame warmups at tournys (usually a player's phone connected to a portable speaker), but that's about it.

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It's not a PA system. Just portable speakers. It's usually a public park with 3+ fields, games going on on all of them at once, music all over the place. Some people hate it but it doesn't bother me. The girls love it and it's supposed to be their deal, I say. Most of the issues are with older, cranky umpires, I've noticed.

grcsftbll said:

Most of the issues are with older, cranky umpires, I've noticed.

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Ha. MANY issues beyond music have their source in older cranky umpires. Back in our 12U/14U days, we've had some tell the girls that they could not do the typical softball cheers during the game.

I could care less but the kids enjoy it, so I have grudgingly moved over to the "it doesn't hurt anything" camp.

We saw a team try to do walk-up music in an all-star tournament last year. Umps stopped it, it was slowing the game down considerably.

At another tournament, the umps weren't fond of the between-inning music, either. (Again, it was slowing everything down because the girls were ready to play and the music was still going).

I don't have a problem with it pre-game, though at least one tournament we played last summer specifically banned speakers.

I don't have a problem with the music as long as it is kept at a low volume, and is respectful of other teams. I have been at tournaments before where teams would plop all of their equipment down on the third base line just outside the dugouts, crank up the music and start warming up....while our games were going on. So we had to listen to their annoying rap/crap while we were trying to watch a game. Very disrespectful. If you can get to a warm up area where it doesn't affect everyone else and it helps your team get warmed up, I have no problem with it.

As far as walk up music, I find it to be unnecessary and annoying. I guess put me into the cranky old guy category.

There's no accounting for some peoples taste...

grcsftbll said:

It's not a PA system. Just portable speakers. It's usually a public park with 3+ fields, games going on on all of them at once, music all over the place. Some people hate it but it doesn't bother me. The girls love it and it's supposed to be their deal, I say. Most of the issues are with older, cranky umpires, I've noticed.

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Most of the issues I have seen in slowing the game down even more in a timed game. I am already not getting enough innings in some games - a few minutes here and there are important. And I am not saying your team does the below, but I have seen these issues with teams and their music.

- If you are not paying 100% attention or timing it right it becomes an issue.
- Also while some teams play appropriate music... others, not so much. And what is appropriate varies from person to person.
- Plus while some teams keep the volume to a level that might be ok, that doesn't happen all the time.
- Plus as many have said - while your team may love it, others hate it - not just old, cranky, umps.
- Plus competing speakers.... seriously. Three teams trying to drown out the other teams music

I don't think a TB tournament is the right place for this format wise. That isn't going to stop the people doing it though.

BTW, my DD walks up to 'Kickstart My Heart" by Mötley Crüe in High School.