Many major leaguers take some time before each season to contemplate and then select a walk-up song to play each time they come to the plate -- the perfect song to get them pumped up and in the mood to hit.
Diamondbacks starting pitcher Ian Kennedy is not among them. He left the decision to someone else: team president and CEO Derrick Hall's 11-year-old daughter, Kylie.
Her pick? Pop/country sensation Taylor Swift's latest hit, "I Knew You Were Trouble."
In a league in which current hip-hop hits and classic rock favorites are the norm, Kennedy's music was bound to turn heads. It caught plenty of fans' attention on Twitter, where Hall confirmed the pick:
Yes, @dbacks ace Ian Kennedy asked my daughter Kylie to pick his at-bat music & she chose @taylorswift13 & her hit I Knew You Were Trouble!
— Derrick Hall (@DHallDbacks) April 2, 2013
Though the song didn't help Kennedy at the plate (he went 0 for 3), it likely isn't going anywhere given Kennedy's performance in the D-backs' 6-2 Opening Day win over the Cardinals. He went seven innings and allowed two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out seven to earn his first Opening Day win in three straight tries.
Kennedy strolled to the batter's box with an equally unconventional tune most of last season -- "What Makes You Beautiful" by English boy band One Direction. No word if that was Kylie's pick, too.
