MLB Moments (Taylor’s Version)

With Taylor Swift releasing Red (Taylor’s Version) last week, I got the idea to combine two of my favorite things into a blog. If you have a niche for pop-culture and baseball, this is for you (super niche). Below is a list of 13 songs from Taylor’s album matched to an MLB player or moment.

“Red” - Mookie Betts Trade

“Remembering him comes in flashbacks and echoes, Tell myself it’s time now, gotta let go but moving on from him is impossible when I still see it all in my head, in burninig red.” These lyrics alone exactly descirbe how Red Sox fans feel seeing Mookie Betts in a Dodgers uniform. Even more so when he makes highlight reel offensively or defensively almost every game. Red Sox fans simply just watch and reminisce and remember all the amazing moments Betts had in a Red Sox uniform as he helped them win a World Series Championship in 2018.

“22” - Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Fernando Tatis Jr.

“I don’t know about you, but I am feeling 22” - Vlad Jr & Tatis Jr. sometime this year probably. These two 22-year olds are not only the best young players in the game but are considered to be in the top players in the league. Both are MVP finalists this year as Guerrero finished tied for the most homeruns in the AL this year (48) along with Tatis Jr. leading the NL in homeruns (42). These two are becoming some of the main faces of baseball and I think we all cannot wait to watch them dominate in this league for years to come.

“Come Back, Be Here” - Juan Soto at the 2021 Trade Deadline

“Come back, be here” speaks volumes to how Juan Soto was probably feeling when a good portion of his teammates were traded at the deadline this season. The young Nationals superstar is being looked at as the face of the franchise as the Nationals are looking to re-build their team. Within 30 hours of each other, Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Jon Lester, Brad Hand, Yan Gomes, Daniel Hudson, and Josh Harrison were all traded from the Nationals. Soto later told the media, “It was weird… It’s crazy how everything changed… I always say I will be a rookie forever, but now everybody is looking at me like I’m the role model.” During the playoffs, Soto was seen in the stands supporting Scherzer and Turner on the field in Dodger uniforms.

“The Moment I Knew” - Aroldis Chapman giving up the Jose Altuve homerun in the 2019 ALCS

“And it was like slow motion” - Adoldis Chapman probably as Jose Altuve hit a 2-run homerun off him to send the Houston Astros to the World Series in 2019. Chapman who was caught on camera smiling when it happened, later described that he just “couldn’t believe it.” That was the moment he knew the Yankees again were not going to make the World Series.

“State of Grace” - Jacob deGrom and Mets fans

“And I never saw you coming, and I’ll never be the same” Jacob DeGrom, a back-to-back Cy-Young award winner was never supposed to be the player he is today. He was a shortstop when he started at college and did not make his major league debut until he was 26. deGrom also was never ranked higher than number 10 prospect in the Mets system. So far in his career he has gone 77-53 with a 2.50 ERA and has 1,505 strikeouts in only 1261.2 innings pitched.

“Begin Again” - Alex Cora being re-hired as Red Sox manager in 2021

“But on a Wednesday in a cafe, I watched it begin again” So it was actually on a Friday and on Twitter where I watched Alex Cora begin again as a Red Sox manager. In 2018 Cora was hired to be the Red Sox manager and led the team to win 108 games and their 4th World Series title since 2004. Though once it came out that Cora was one of the coaches involved in the 2017 Astros cheating scandal, he and the team agreed to mutually part ways in the beginning of 2020. After serving his year-long suspension, the team re-hired him last off-season. In 2020 the Red Sox finished in last place in the AL East, but in just a year, Cora managed this Red Sox team all the way to the ALCS, just two wins shy of making the World Series.

“I Almost Do” - New York Yankees in the playoffs for the last decade

“Everytime I don’t, I almost do” - This lyric is symbolic of the Yankees and their lack of playoff success in the past decade. Each year after consistently being one of the teams with the highest payroll in baseball and always signing the latest super-star, the Yankees always fall short when it matters the most. They have not won a World Series since 2009 but have made the playoffs 9 times in the past 11 seasons since then. Of those 9 playoff appearances, none of them have been in the World Series.

“Everything Has Changed” - Breaking the Curse of the Bambino

The Red Sox went on to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series and swept them for their first championship title in 86 years since 1918. They “Reversed the Curse” as fans like to say. The “Curse of the Bambino” was a superstitious curse placed on the Red Sox in 1919 after they traded Babe Ruth, “The Great Bambino” to the New York Yankees. The Red Sox owner at the time was really into Broadway. He sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000 and used the proceeds from the trade to finance a Broadway musical. The Red Sox won five World Series with Ruth and didn’t win again until 2004. Sox fans waited a whole life time for the curse to be broken and since 2004, the Sox went on to win in 2007, 2013, and 2018.

“Stay, Stay, Stay” - Freddie Freeman

“Stay, Stay, Stay, I’ve been loving you for quite some time, time, time” - Atlanta Braves fans this off-season to Freddie Freeman. Freeman is a fan-favorite not only to Braves fans, but also to fans of baseball. The Braves drafted him when he was just 17 years old and he made his major league debut with them at just 20 years old in 2010. The first baseman just won his first World Series as he led the Braves to their first championship since 1995. Freeman is a free agent this off-season, and Braves fans are hoping that their homegrown player will remain with the team for years to come.

“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” - Noah Syndergaard

New York Mets ace, Noah Syndergaard pitched for the first time in two years this late September. Syndergaard underwent Tommy John surgery in March of 2020 and fully missed the last two seasons of baseball. Though heading into free agency this off-season, Syndergaard made it clear that he did not want to leave the Mets organization. He can be quoted by saying, “I’m fairly confident that we will reach an agreement and I’ll be pitching here next year… New York has a special place in my heart.” Though just today, it was announced that he signed a 1-year, $21 million dollar deal with the Los Angeles Angles after denying the New York Mets qualifying offer of $18.4 million.

“I Knew You Were Trouble” - Mike Trout

“I knew you were trouble when you walked in”- says every pitcher ever when Mike Trout comes up the plate. Though, an injury sat Trout for most of 2021, until proven otherwise, he remains one of the best players in the game. In his career he is hitting .305/.419/.583 with 305 homeruns and 816 RBIs.

“Treacherous” - 2021 Phillies Bullpen

“This slope is treacherous, this path is reckless” Treacherous can be defined as being guilty or involving betrayal… basically in baseball terms this feeling can be equivalent to a blown save. The 2021 Phillies bullpen gets this song as they tied a MLB record in 2021 with 34 blown saves.

“All Too Well - 10 Minute Version”

In honor of this song, just stream Red (Taylor’s Version)