Drake’s music is riddled with basketball imagery. Steph Curry, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan—Aubrey has referenced so many NBA players, both household names and obscure bench players alike, that it’s hard to keep count. The admiration is mutual, too; LeBron James and Curry are just two of the many superstars who have shown love for the Canadian hip-hop star.
Sports and music are so synonymous, after all.
It turns out Drake’s appeal extends to the baseball diamond, too. According to research conducted by Baseball Prospectus, 13 MLB players will use Drizzy’s music as a walk-up or warm-up song this year. That puts him at No. 1 among all musicians, with country star Jason Aldean and Pitbull (seriously?!) tying for second at 11.
The walk-up (for the batter) and warm-up (pitcher) music is a brief opportunity for each player to express a bit of personality. Baseball Prospectus studied 790 song selections, and rap was the most popular genre, garnering 284 selections (35.95 percent), with rock (13.16 percent) and Reggae (12.53 percent) coming in second and third, respectively.
Drake does not have the most popular rap song, however. That distinction belongs to Kevin Gates for “I Don’t Get Tired,” which four players will use this year.
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[via CBS Sports]
