AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
If you've been to a Major League Baseball game, you know that batters get to pick the song that plays as they walk up to the plate. Most songs aren't that surprising. These are mostly 20-something guys, and so you've got some going with hip-hop.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ENERGY")
DRAKE: (Rapping) Yeah, I got enemies, got a lot of enemies, got a lot of people trying to drain me of this energy.
CORNISH: Others prefer country.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CRAZY TOWN")
JASON ALDEAN: (Singing) We love it. We hate it. We're all just trying to make it in this crazy town.
CORNISH: You've got your metal-heads.
(SOUNDBITE OF METALLICA SONG, "FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS")
CORNISH: And then there is a certain New York Mets infielder.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE REMBRANDTS SONG, "I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU")
CORNISH: Wilmer Flores has gone '90s.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
THE REMBRANDTS: (Singing) So no one told you life was going to be this way. Your job's a joke. You're broke. Your love life's DOA.
CORNISH: That's the sound of Wilmer Flores heading to the plate in a game earlier this week. And, yes, that is "I'll Be There For You," the theme to the sitcom "Friends" by the Rembrandts. He started calling for it last Sunday, and he's had a hit in every game he's played since. Flores explained that he loves the show and has seen every episode. The native Venezuelan says it helped him learn English since he was a teenager toiling in the minor leagues seven years ago.
Now, if only we had the story behind the new at-bat music for his Mets teammate, Yoenis Cespedes. He recently switched to "The Circle Of Life" from "The Lion King."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CIRCLE OF LIFE")
LEBOHANG MORAKE: (Singing in Zulu).
UNIDENTIFIED CHOIR: (Singing in Zulu).
MORAKE: (Singing in Zulu). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.