ST. LOUIS — As if Ryan Helsley wasn't already intimidating enough to opposing batters, his new entrance theme is sure to ratchet up the heat on the visiting team.
The Cardinals debuted a new entrance for their closer on Tuesday night, complete with AC/DC's "Hells Bells" blaring in the background and a darkened stadium lit up with just bright red flames on the videoboards.
"It gave me the chills. That was awesome. I didn't really know where I was going as I was running out to the field, but that was sweet," Cardinals infielder Nolan Gorman told Bally Sports Midwest reporter Jim Hayes on the field after the game.
The entrance is befitted for the aptly-named Helsley, who has been a terror on opposing teams in 2022.
Helsley holds a minuscule 0.98 ERA in 45 games for the Cardinals this season, notching 14 saves and striking out 81 batters in just 55 and a third innings. Helsley was also a first-time All-Star in 2022, dominating in his inning of work in Los Angeles and hitting 103 miles per hour on the radar gun twice.
So far this season, only Jhoan Duran of the Twins, Andres Munoz of the Mariners and Emmanuel Clase of the Guardians have a higher average fastball velocity than Helsley.
Of course, Helsley isn't the first dominant closer to use "Hells Bells" as an entry song. Padres Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman famously used the AC/DC rocker to enter games throughout his career.