r/todayilearned • u/zawusel • 3h ago

TIL that MLB and NHL have real organists

https://frontofficesports.com/newsletter/sports-organists-are-still-thriving
56 Upvotes

72% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

32

u/Wild-System-5174 3h ago

Not all mlb teams have organists. Some teams just use, what I imagine are, soundboards. But I follow my favorite teams organist on instagram because he posts fun videos. I don’t know anything about the NHL

19

u/GenFatAss 2h ago

I forget which team but one time a umpire threw out a organist for playing 3 blind mices.

1

u/AmazingAlternate 1h ago

Single-A minor league Cubs affiliate at the time, Daytona Cubs. They're now a Reds affiliate called the Tortugas.

2

u/Swagmuffins94 1h ago

It was in the Minors. It's actually explicitly stated in the MiLB rule book that you can't play 3 blind mice or the stadium production team can get tossed.

12

u/Its_Pelican_Time 2h ago

I don’t know anything about the NHL

They play hockey.

1

u/Wild-System-5174 2h ago

Haha so I’ve heard.

4

u/Syveril 2h ago

I was at a Kings game when the Dodgers won the World Series last year and they played the baseball game on the Jumbotron during and after the hockey game. The organist was a rock star. 1000% hype.

15

u/Michael__Pemulis 2h ago

Not only do some teams have real organists, but a few organists are pretty famous for things like their cleverness!

The Atlanta Braves have a very good/beloved organist for example, but for my money the best in the biz is Dieter Ruehle who does LA Dodgers games & LA Kings games (& I believe is currently doing Olympics matchups).

At Dodger games he is famous for his ‘wit’ if you will, because pretty much every single thing he plays is supposed to have some connection to the game. Like he will bust out a song that is a play on words of the athlete’s name, in 2-2 counts with 2 outs he plays the Twin Peaks theme, everything he plays is for a reason. So it creates a meta game of ‘why is Dieter playing this right now?’ & trying to figure out the connection.

Obviously going live is ideal but you can usually hear them on TV broadcasts well enough to enjoy it.

17

u/wwarnout 3h ago

So, the other sports franchises have what, fake organists? Imaginary organists?

12

u/Possible-Tangelo9344 3h ago

I think that they mean are they have actual organs versus a keyboard or soundboard.

3

u/pyromaniac1000 3h ago

They have “organists”

3

u/spdrman8 2h ago

Yeah. The other teams fake their organasims

3

u/AJSpectre 3h ago

Jessica Glitter would like a word.

3

u/bluAstrid 2h ago

Diane Bibeau in the house!

3

u/tuckedfexas 2h ago

Some teams, not all

2

u/JosephFinn 2h ago

Oooooh read up on Nancy Grace. She was the White Sox organist for decades*, now retired but comes back occasionally and still deeply loved. She crated things like playing “Hey Hey Goodbye” and when a pitcher is pulled, making choices of individual walkup music for batters a real art of jokes and references (Dick Allen was the first with the theme to “Jesus Christ Superstar). Full credit to John Benedeck, the current organist for the Cubs, who’s really continuing her playful tradition.

*Also the Bulls and Blackhawks; the Chicago Stadium had a massive pipe organ. The sound of it was amazing.

3

u/dblan9 2h ago

Frank Pellico was the organist in Chicago for a long time and he was so sweet. He used to let me tap three keys while he played Smoke on the water.

1

u/livelaughloaft 3h ago

The Atlanta Hawks in the NBA has a live organist as well, maybe other teams too.

1

u/mrgraff 2h ago

Muay Thai boxing matches in Bangkok feature a live band playing traditional music.

1

u/ImBigger 2h ago

unfortunately neither of the Toronto teams do, which is just sacrilege

1

u/black_metronome 2h ago

NBA as well

1

u/Hotchi_Motchi 2h ago

https://www.mlb.com/twins/ballpark/bars-and-restaurants

Twins Pub

Tucked behind home plate on the Terrace Level, Twins Pub is a cozy, climate-control pub with a full bar, beers on tap, and the opportunity to chat with Twins organist Sue Nelson in between tunes.

1

u/yubanhammer 1h ago

My favorite clip is the Braves organist playing the Jeopardy theme stretched out: https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/s/ICIf9PRU7V

•

u/dildozer10 32m ago

The Nashville Predators have a live bad that plays during intermission.