ARLINGTON, Texas — One clear takeaway from the Texas Rangers' epic 2023 World Series title run is that music can indeed be a magical thing.
Look no farther than just how integrated Creed's music became in that team's lore during the stretch for proof.
Perhaps no one understands this better than the man behind the music at Globe Life Field. Chris Statzer, professionally known as DJ CStatz, is now entering his second year as the DJ for the Texas Rangers after having previously worked in the same capacity as the in-stadium music director for the Frisco Roughriders, the Rangers' Double-A affiliate.
As Statzer told us when we interviewed him at the start of the 2023 season when he was fresh to his role, he takes his role quite seriously.
"Music can drive the emotion and tell a story within a game," he said.
During Rangers games, Statzer plays almost any music a fan will hear, curing up everything from pregame tracks (upbeat tracks for Rangers batting practices, slow and drawn-out music for their opponent) and players' walk-up songs to, yes, even stadium-wide Creed singalongs.
As the action unfurls on the field below, Statzer sits in a booth near the press box level and communicates via video to longtime public address announcer Chuck Morgan, who is perched closer to the field. Statzer and Morgan, along with the rest of the club's production crew, work in tandem to create a ballpark experience for Rangers fans.
He also collaborates with the Rangers' players themselves on the songs player when they're walking up to the plate of the pitchers' mound. Players relay through clubhouse staffers the songs they want to hear -- even the parts, down to the exact timecode -- to Statzer, who cuts the audio and keeps an updated spreadsheet of each player's song selection, which can often change throughout the season.
Heading into his second year on the job, Statzer says he's hyped to keep providing the soundtrack for a winning team.
"I’m excited to be back for my second season with the team -- and as freaking defending champs," he said. "After winning something like that, you know that all eyes are going to be on every aspect. So [fans can] certainly expect some brand new sights and sounds as we head into this season!"
Statzer was also kind enough to share with WFAA every player on the team's confirmed walk-up song selections heading into the 2024 MLB season -- that he's confirmed ahead of the season opener, anyway.
Check it out below.
Every Texas Rangers player's 2024 walkup song:
Position players:
- Marcus Semien: KB & Brandon Lake -- "Graves"
- Leody Taveras: Juan Luis Guerra -- "Las Avispas"
- Corey Seager: Nate Smith -- "Bulletproof"
- Josh Jung: Red Hot Chili Peppers -- "Can't Stop"
- Josh Smith: Scarface -- "Girl You Know (feat. Trey Songz)"
- Andrew Knizner: Foreigner -- "Juke Box Hero"
- Ezequiel Duran: Daddy Yankee -- "Con Calma"
- Jared Walsh: Pete Rock & InI -- "Grown Man Sport"
- Jonah Heim: Russell Dickerson -- "Home Sweet"
- Nathaniel Lowe: Led Zeppelin --"Stairway to Heaven"
- Evan Carter: Coolio -- "Fantastic Voyage"
- Wyatt Langford: Molly Hatchet -- "Flirtin' With Disaster"
- Adolis Garcia: Lecrae -- "Spread the Opps"
Pitchers:
- Nathan Eovaldi: Gary Clark Jr. -- "Come Together"
- Jon Gray: White Zombie -- "Thunderkiss '65"
- Jose LeClerc: Brandon Lake -- "Count 'Em"
- Dane Dunning: Motley Crue -- "Kickstart My Heart"
- David Robertson: Lynyrd Skynyrd -- "Sweet Home Alabama"
- Kirby Yates: Bob Marley -- "Could You Be Loved"
- Brock Burke: Eminem -- "When The Music Stops"
- Yerry Rodriguez: Don Omar -- "La Copa"
- Cody Bradford: Forrest Frank -- "No Longer Bound (feat. Hulvey)"
- Josh Sborz: Ghost -- "Cirice"
- Jake Latz: Endor -- "Pump It Up"