The world is changing.

For years, Major League Baseball players have been selecting the songs that play when they walk up to the plate.  They often reflect his personality or include a tongue-in-cheek nod to something about him, like Jayson Werth‘s choice of “Werewolves of London.”

On Friday though, I heard a song I was not ready to experience in that context.  The speakers at Nationals Park boomed Bryce Harper’s name, then music from Miley Cyrus.  Someone on Twitter pointed out that Harper used a Justin Bieber song earlier this season, so this shouldn’t be a shocking development.  And given that he’s also about a month older than Miley, it makes sense that he would have songs from a different generation of artists than say Adam LaRoche.

Still, it caught me off guard, which brings up something I think would be a genius move for a hitter.  Pitchers are so used to hearing certain songs that it becomes just like listening to a favorite radio station that has a certain playlist day after day.  But what if a batter dropped something truly off the wall and broke the pitcher’s concentration just a bit.  Wouldn’t that be an advantage?

Imagine you’re on the mound, you’re psyched up to throw to Harper, and all of a sudden this song starts blaring:

How could that not break your concentration?  If Harper picked it, he would know it was coming, and would have the focus edge.  Plus, since he’s someone who changes up his music all the time, the pitchers could never guess what he’s bringing next.

The first player to use the My Little Pony song as their walk-up music gets my eternal praise.  Unless of course they play for the Phillies.  I can’t support that.