So far this postseason, every time Dodger fans heard “Dance It Rocky” play over the speakers, it meant two things were coming: Pitcher Roki Sasaki was about to throw some ferocious splitters in relief, and a Dodgers victory was probably just a few outs away.
Sasaki's exit music has taken on a life of its own, in part because of the unique culture shock in Los Angeles that has a sensational Japanese pitcher embracing a Latin club hit while dominating the postseason. It has helped cement Sasaki's appeal among the Dodgers' Latino faithful and given the song a huge global boost as the Dodgers prepare for the start of the World Series today.
Here's a primer on how Sasaki found his advertising theme and how he became the big hit in Los Angeles this fall.
So, who wrote “Báilalo Rocky”?
The version of the song that Sasaki comes out with is by Dj Roderick and Dj José González and vocalist Ariadne Arana (there is another popular version by Arana, the Dominican MC Yoan Retro and GMBeats Degranalo).
The song is a super infectious, singable dembow-house number, and its Spanish hook – “Dance it, Rocky! / Ta, ta, ta, ta / Suéltale, suéltale” – is an invitation for a guy to dance and let loose. But here, it is aimed at young phenom Sasaki to torment hitters when he comes out in relief. The way Arana delivers the hook makes it sound like he's singing right into the Dodgers' Roki.
That's a left field pick for a 23-year-old Japanese pitcher in his first year in Los Angeles. How did Sasaki find out?
Veteran Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas told him about the song during spring training this year, where it became a favorite in the dugout. (The entire dugout has been known to hit the railing when the track is turned on.) Sasaki started using it in April, before a four-month recovery from an impingement in his right shoulder.
The theme song “was actually MiggyRo's idea,” Sasaki told Japanese-language press last week. “I'm very happy that the fans are enjoying it.”
There's a delicious incongruity about the unassuming, focused young Japanese pitcher approaching a lascivious Latin club. But as Sasaki has bounced back from an injury-plagued midseason to become the Dodgers' reliever in the postseason, “it's been special,” Rojas told reporters last week. “I feel like it suits him very well.”
For his part, Arana loves the song's new life as a Dodgers hit song. “The Dodgers are my team,” he said.
Has Sasaki's blessing boosted the track?
Definitely. The song was already popular in Latin music circles and has become a cover and reference material for Latin artists such as corridos tumbados. singer Tito Doble P and Lomiiel. Even other athletes, such as Spanish soccer superstar Lamine Yamal, have I got on the track as a meme.. It has racked up tens of millions in streams on Spotify and YouTube, where nearly every comment is now Sasaki-related.
But naturally, the only place you can really hear it is under a Cotton candy sky in Elysian Park.
Has it helped Sasaki's pitching?
In September, Sasaki was pitching for triple-A Oklahoma City and seemed unlikely to earn a spot on Los Angeles' roster anytime soon. Yet two months later, after clutch saves and astonishing speed against the Reds, Phillies and Brewers en route to the World Series, he is having “one of the all-time best outings out of the pen that I can remember,” as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called it.
Sasaki isn't the only Dodger with an unexpected Latin outing: last year's World Series hero Freddie Freeman takes the plate to Dayvi and Víctor Cárdenas' “Baila Conmigo” (with Kelly Ruiz).
But if the Dodgers take home the title thanks to Sasaki's key saves, Rojas expects a full edition of “Báilalo Roki.” “I think it deserves a video and the lights go out and everything,” Rojas told MLB.com. “I think that's the next step for him.”
