Four or five times a night, the buzz at Target Field sounds vaguely like a revival meeting. The music swells, a choir sings in a staccato rhythm — "This is not where I belong," are the somewhat counterintuitive lyrics — and "you know who's up," Byron Buxton said.
Yes, it's Gio Urshela, whose choice of music as he prepares to hit is ear-catchingly unusual in an era of techno-pop walk-up songs. While most players choose up-tempo music with heavy beats in order to get fired up for their at-bat, Urshela chose a distinctive religious song — "Where I Belong" by the Christian rock band Building 429.
"I don't know what it is, but I like it," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "It's very mellow."
Urshela doesn't know much about the North Carolina-based band, either, but he has appreciated their song since 2015, when he heard it whenever Cleveland teammate David Murphy came to the plate. When Murphy was traded at midseason, Urshela made the song his own, and he used it with the Blue Jays and Yankees, too.
He endorses the religious message of the song, Urshela said, and how it makes him optimistic and confident as he comes to the plate. But mostly, he said, "I just like how it sounds."
So do fans, several of whom have reached out on social media to compliment him on his choice. And so do his teammates.
"To me, it's relaxing. Even when I'm sitting and watching, it's very calming, like — hey, Gio's here," Buxton said. "Not necessarily Zen music, but it's uplifting."
Celestino has COVID
Buxton broke his 0-for-30 slump with a head-first slide into first base on Thursday night, and Baldelli said he checked the outfielder's condition after the game.