Brock Holt only was in Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays for a few innings, but the Boston Red Sox utility man managed to get Fenway Park singing during his brief appearance.
Holt entered the series finale in the seventh inning as a replacement for Xander Bogaerts, who was forced to exit the contest after sustaining an ankle injury. Holt only got up to the plate once after filling in for Bogaerts, and while he didn’t get on base, he provided loads of excitement due to his walk-up music.
While most players opt for modern, top-40 style tunes, Holt went with a far more unique choice: Whitney Houston’s smash hit, “I Will Always Love You.” Aside from getting the Red Sox faithful on their feet, Holt believes the music actually helped spark Boston’s wild rally that lifted it to an 8-7 comeback win.
“Yeah I think that’s kind of what got us going in that inning. Whitney,” Holt said, per The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey. “No I just wanted something that kind of everyone could relate to, so I just said, ‘Why not Whitney?’ I was a little nervous there for it to play in the situation that we were in. I think they might have turned the volume up because I feel like it was a lot louder than everyone else’s walk-up song. I think I saw (Rays pitcher Matt) Andriese actually laugh on the mound. But the crowd seemed to love it, so I don’t know if I’m going to have to keep that or what because it’s kind of obnoxious, I think. But it was pretty cool in that moment.”
Holt might not have much time to decide about his walk-up music going forward, as his playing time could be elevated now that Bogaerts has been placed on the 10-day disabled list.
