Bryce Harper celebrating with J.T. Realmuto

For two years running, the Philadelphia Phillies have made gay baseball fans scream with their Dua Lipa-heavy playlist and post-game rendition of “Dancing on My Own.” Given their back-to-back playoff appearances, it’s not surprising the Phils are leaning into queer-coded anthems again this year… with some new additions, of course!

Gay pop is always changing, just like the seasons.

On Tuesday, the Phillies were blaring one of the early favorites for gay song of the summer at Citizens Bank Park while their opponent, the Texas Rangers, were taking batting practice.

“Good Luck, Babe!”

MLB journalist Michael Baumann reported on the seminal moment via social media. “‘Good Luck, Babe!’ by Chappel [sic] Roan is playing during batting practice at Citizens Bank Park, which I think is the final nail in the coffin for ‘gender,'” he posted.

With more than 2,300 “favorites,” it’s fair to say the baseball universe is on board with the bop.

Unapologetically queer, many of Chappell Roan’s biggest hits (“Pink Pony Club,” “Red Wine Supernova,” “Casual” and “Naked in Manhattan”) had been circulating online for years prior to her debut full-length album last fall, The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess. She’s blown up over the last several months, with a breakout performance at Coachella earlier this year.

Sporting frivolous auburn hair and a wardrobe to match, Roan often sings about queer love. In “Red Wine Supernova” and “Naked in Manhattan,” the Missouri native anticipates her first gay crush. “I was dating a boy then,” she told the LA Times. “I had never even kissed a girl when these songs were written. It was all what I wished my life could be.”

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Now out and living in LA, Roan is in the midst of a new era, and “Good Luck, Babe!” reflects her personal shift. While the hit single is also about queer heartbreak, this time Roan is singing about a closeted girl whom she’s chasing. In the first verse, she acknowledges that her crush won’t recognize their relationship.

You can say that we are nothing, but you know the truth.

In the catchy chorus, Roan wishes her love interest luck… knowing full well that she’s denying fate.

You can kiss a hundred boys in bars
Shoot another shot, try to stop the feeling
You can say it’s just the way you are
Make a new excuse, another stupid reason
Good luck, babe (well, good luck), well, good luck, babe (well, good luck)

We share all of that backstory to say… way to go, Phillies! The perennial World Series contender isn’t just embracing a gay pop favorite.

They’re jamming out to an unabashed queer love song.

The Phillies tickled our gay little ears in 2022, when they adopted “Dancing on My Own” as their victory song. The National League champions bathed themselves in champagne and belted out the dance floor favorite all the way to Game 7 of the World Series.

Since the Phillies ultimately lost the series, they abandoned Robyn’s all-time bop at the start of last season. But when they came through with a big win over the Washington Nationals in early June hitting coach Kevin Long sent out his order: “Play the f****** song!”

What a way to kick off Pride!

The good times continued all the way through the postseason, with an added twist: blue overalls. Nick Castellanos, the Phillies’ smokin’ hot third baseman, led the charge. The All-Star encouraged his teammates to unbutton their stuffy shirts and show some skin all the way through October.

Embracing the mantra of teamwork, the Phillies’ playlist curator is backup catcher Garrett Stubbs, who’s enjoying his third big league season. His publicly available Spotify playlist, “Phils Win,” has nearly 30,000 “likes.”

“Somebody’s gotta do it, and I’d say because my role on the team as far as playing time goes is limited, I just became the guy who came into the locker room after the games to turn on the music,” he told Billboard. “As guys started to like certain songs, I just started to accumulate the ones that everyone liked and put them into a playlist.”

It’s unclear whether Stubbs, or the ballpark DJ, is responsible for Roan’s introduction to the mix. Regardless, the timing was perfect. The Rangers, who heard “Good Luck, Babe!” during batting practice, are the only MLB team that doesn’t host a Pride Night.

This Pride season, may the gay be forced upon them! The Phillies just showed us how.

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