The story of how the Red Sox' hitters start their party: 'It's a scene'

It was about 9:30 p.m. Thursday night the Red Sox were able to celebrate their latest conquest, walking into Fenway Park's home clubhouse the owners of a decisive 7-0 win over the A's.

But, as any of the hitters will tell you, the true party started just more than three hours before.

That was when Connor Wong - the owner of one of the Sox' three homers in the series finale - strolled into the batting cage just behind the home team's dugout. As is usually the case when the catcher is in the starting lineup, he is first up to take his cuts. And in the case of the Red Sox' hitters and their coaches, that means he is the party-starter.

"It's a scene," Red Sox hitting coach Pete Fatse told WEEI.com.

The "scene" is a product of a play list on Fatse's phone titled "That Dog". It's a list of 29 songs that immediately get surfaced as the Red Sox' hitters start filtering in. As Fatse explained, it's anything but background music. The expectation by all involved is that it will be loud.

The Red Sox' hitters have all come to understand that as much focus as there might be on scouting reports and swing-plane, setting the tone via DJ Pete is equally as important.

The hitting coach explains ...

"Before every game part of what pumps the boys is we have a play list we rock downstairs and as guys trickle in they have their songs that we play to get them going," said Fatse. "We have certain play lists that line up with certain guys. It starts with ‘Straight out of Compton’ and goes to ‘The Game’ and then will feature anything from ‘Mr. Brightsides’ to ‘Bad Bunny’. It certainly gets the boys going."

And, much like hitting, there is an art to the execution.

"It depends on what song comes on. It depends on who is hitting, as well," the hitting coach added. "Part of the mood is that you’re trying to get guys pumped up and ready to play. The other part is that it keeps guys loose. There are different songs for different purposes. You also have to be decent at filtering it out. I catch a lot of flack sometimes when I play the wrong song so I have to make adjustments on the fly. But it’s to get the boys going. Underneath, it’s all fair game."

Fatse's musical acumen could first be found during his initial spring training, when speakers were placed outside at Fenway South in order to pump music across the various fields the Red Sox' hitters were taking batting practice.

It was part of the job Fatse initially had no idea was part of the equation, but has now been weaved into the fabric of how the Sox' hitters do their thing.

"When I got the job in 2020 one of the first things I was asked was if I was a good DJ, if I had a good play list. I had no idea what they were talking about," he remembered. "And then I met the boys and I got a chance to learn what Mitch Moreland wanted to listen to, the country music, and some of the house music that was going on. At the time we were separated in multiple cages, so I had to learn how to DJ pretty quick."

There is singing. There is dancing. And, of course, there is hitting.

So, who is the headliner when it comes to helping the vibes reach their peak level? Wong might go first, but it all builds up to one song and one guy.

"Mo Bamba" (by Sheck Wes). Rafaela Devers. Electric," Fatse said with a smile. "He just gets locked in. I can’t even explain it. It comes on and immediately it gets him going. I save it for when he gets on the cage."

And the volume?

"Oh, it's loud," Fatse added. "VERY loud."