Categories: Phillies Beat with Destiny Lugardo

From Black Eyed Peas to Tenacious D, Phillies celebrate big wins with party playlist

Brandon Marsh (left) and Garrett Stubbs (right) celebrate near the Phillies’ dugout in Houston. (Photo by Zac BonDurant/Icon Sportswire)

ATLANTA — Anthems that take on a life of their own are synonymous with playoff runs. “Let it Rock” by Kevin Rudolf & Lil Wayne was one of the biggest hits in October 2008 and you can’t think of that song without reminiscing about the ’08 World Series. “Dreams & Nightmares” by Meek Mill was a rallying cry during the Eagles’ Super Bowl run in 2017-2018.

It’s too early to say the Phillies are on a “run”, but they have had two raucous clubhouse celebrations over the last eight days. Along with the endless supply of Budweiser, the party was fueled by a four-hour long Spotify playlist that has been the backdrop to Phillies wins all season long.

The playlist is available on Spotify for everyone to see on Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs’ personal account. While Stubbs added many of the songs on his own, he says it’s a collaborative playlist. “It’s DJ democracy,” as Matt Viering puts it.

The playlist consists of everything from Black Eyed Peas to Tenacious D. “Dreams & Nightmares” is also on there. Party tunes heavily outnumber slow country ballets.

There’s some structure to the “Phils win” playlist. Four songs usually play after every win: “Love Tonight” by Shouse, “Dixieland Delight” by Alabama, “Dicked Down in Dallas” by Trey Lewis and “Dancing On My Own” by Calum Scott and Tiësto are always on.

“From there, it kind of goes haywire with whatever anybody’s feeling,” Stubbs said.

“Dancing On My Own” was played multiple times in the Phillies clubhouse during the team’s celebration on Saturday. Aaron Nola, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber were among the Phillies players who belted out the lyrics to the chorus as booze was sprayed at all ends of the clubhouse.

“I’m in the corner, watching you kiss her, oh. I’m right over here, why can’t you see me? Oh. And I’m giving it my all. I’m not the guy you’re taking home, ooh. I keep dancing on my own, ah.”

The song has connections to Schwarber’s last club. Former Red Sox catcher Kevin Plawecki used it as a walk-up tune and the Sox blasted it in the clubhouse during their celebrations in 2021.

Is there a deeper meaning to “Dancing On My Own” for the Phillies? Like every other song on the playlist, the answer is no.

“I can’t think of a song on there that has any deeper meaning other than we love listening to this song,” Stubbs said. “It’s a good song. We just love having a good time in the locker room in general. That’s why when somebody has a song that they want on there, it goes on the playlist.”

Being a backup catcher could be hard, especially when you’re playing behind J.T. Realmuto. If he appears in a game this postseason, it means something has gone terribly wrong.

It’s much of the same for Stubbs in the postseason. He’ll do his own scouting reports on every Braves hitter and offer his assistance to Realmuto when needed.

“I love the role that I’m in,” Stubbs said. “I get to watch the best catcher in the league do his thing.”

He’ll also press play after every Phillies victory.

“Winning is probably my favorite thing in the entire world and popping bottles is the number one thing that I enjoy doing,” Stubbs said. “Getting to be in the locker room and popping bottles with a team full of really great guys that you’ve gone through some adversity with — a lot of adversity, it’s good people in there.”