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Here's every Texas Rangers player's walk-up song for the 2023 season -- and the DJ behind the music

We got the full list of Texas Rangers walk-up songs -- and we spoke with the guy who plays them.
Credit: AP
The Texas Rangers starting lineup, including Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Nathaniel Lowem Adolis Garcia, and Josh Jung, stands for the national anthem before an opening day baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, March 30, 2023, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers opened the 2023 season with a 4-2 homestand, buoyed by an improved starting rotation, a near-flawless bullpen and a manager who knows a thing or two about winning baseball games.

They also have a new DJ.

Yes, Globe Life Field has a DJ. 

This year, the man behind the music is Chris Statzer, known as DJ CStatz.

Statzer is taking over the reigns from Michael "Grubes" Gruber, who is now producing "The Downbeat" afternoon drive show on 97.1 FM "The Freak."

Statzer is no stranger to Globe Life Field, or the Rangers. He's worked non-Rangers events at the ballpark, and he grew up going to games at the Ballpark in Arlington.

He was also the in-stadium music director for the Frisco Roughriders, the Rangers' Double-A affiliate. Statzer had worked for the Roughriders entertainment crew before going to college. When he came back home, he knew he wanted to be part of the club again.

"I've always loved the captivation of a crowd," Statzer said. "Music can drive the emotion and tell a story within a game."

During Rangers games, Statzer plays almost any music a fan will hear, from pregame tracks – upbeat for Rangers batting patting practice, slow and drawn out for their opponent – to the players' walk-up songs to the post-victory "I Like Texas," by Pat Green. In all, he'll play 180-200 tracks on gameday.

Statzer sits in a booth near the press box level, while he 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.

"The vibe, for me, is to have that traditional ballpark sound while also having the fun of a minor league game," Statzer said.

Credit: Sam Hodde

Statzer and Morgan also had to figure out a new wrinkle to the game this year: The pitch clock.

The 15-second clock for each pitch has sped up the game drastically, reducing games by a half-hour in some cases. It's also made Statzer and Morgan tinker their coordination. Part of the new rules is a 30-second timer between batters. So when one out is made, the clock starts for the new batter.

Major League Baseball requires walk-up songs to be cut off by the 12-second mark on the clock or when the back foot of the batter enters the batter's box. 

Before the timer, the plan would be for Morgan to announce a player's name and the music director would begin playing the walk-up song as Morgan says the first syllable of the player's last name.

Now Statzer has sped things up slightly, starting the song as Morgan begins to announce the player's name.

And yes, the players very much pay attention to their songs.

Clubhouse staffers relay the players' song choices, including the exact moment the player wants to hear, to Statzer, who cuts the audio and keeps an updated spreadsheet of each player's song.

Some players, like Josh Jung or Adolis Garcia, will linger momentarily outside of the batter's box, as more of their song plays. Others, like Corey Seager, head straight to the box.

And some players will switch their songs throughout the season. When Statzer gets word from the clubhouse, he'll update his spreadsheet and cut the audio.

Here's the current list, as it stands on April 7:

So without further adieu, here's the list (as it stands on April 7):





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