Zach Top is a BIG baseball guy.
Zach Top seems to be everywhere these days. Riding the highs of his debut album last year and his highly-successful sophomore effort this year, Ain’t In It For My Health, the Washington native has simply flown through the ranks in country music over the past two years.
Of course, this was highlighted on a national scale the past few months when he not only took home Best New Artist at the CMA Awards in November, which he accepted with a Coors Banquet in hand, but also when he scored his first-career Grammy back in February. In turn, Top became the first-ever winner of the brand-new Best Traditional Country Album category, winning it with Ain’t In It For My Health.
Beyond his status as country music’s “savior,” being one of the hottest stars in the genre and picking up accolade after accolade over the past few years, it’s become more than apparent that Top is a huge sports fan.
Given the fact that he’s from Sunnyside, Washington, the “Use Me” singer has been a life-long Seattle Mariners and Seahawks fan. Obviously, his big moment with the Seahawks came during the NFC Championship this January, when he performed a killer rendition of the national anthem ahead of the Seahawks’ victory over the Los Angeles Rams en route to their second Super Bowl victory.
With that being said, however, his connection to the Mariners might be even more special.
If you recall, last year, Seattle’s catcher, Cal Raleigh, had what can only be described as a generational season behind the plate. Leading the Mariners to just their second playoff appearance in the last 20 years (and getting robbed of MVP by the Yankees’ Aaron Judge), the catcher hit a staggering 60 home runs (65 if you include the playoffs). In turn, he broke the single-season record for most home runs by a catcher and a switch-hitter. Additionally, he set the Mariners’ single-season home run record, passing the legendary Ken Griffey Jr.’s 56.
Though he’s struggled quite a bit this year, it’s hard to ignore the generational year he had in 2025. And his secret to success last year just may have been his walk-up song, none other than Top’s “Bad Luck.”
In a recent appearance on Barstool’s Pardon My Take, the “When You See Me” singer was asked about how he felt about Raleigh using his song during what should have been an MVP season. Obviously, Top loved it.
“It’s the best. He’s the man. So much fun.”
Additionally, Top would explain how special it is to have a star athlete love his music enough to make it their walk-up song, admitting that athletes are still like “superheroes” to him.
“It’s funny now that I got a little bit of notoriety. The entertainment world and the sports world obviously cross-collateralizes plenty. Athletes are still like superheroes to me. It’s wild that guys like that know my music or give a sh*t about it. That’s one of the most fun things.
@pardonmytakeHow sick is it to have an athlete walk out to your song
Beyond Top and Raleigh, it turns out a lot of Mariners are big country music guys. Taking a look at the MLB’s website, pitcher Emerson Hancock walks out to Jason Aldean’s “They Don’t Know,” right fielder Luke Raley walks out to Dylan Marlowe and Dylan Scott’s “Boys Back Home and starting pitcher Bryce Miller might have the best one, using Whiskey Myers’ “Bury My Bones.”
“Bad Luck”
Zach Top 2026 Tour Dates
July 9—West Valley City, UT—Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
July 10—Boise, ID—ExtraMile Arena
July 11—Pendleton, OR—Pendleton Whisky Music Fest
July 15—Saskatoon, SK—SaskTel Centre∆
July 16—Edmonton, AB—Rogers Place∆
July 18—Whitefish, MT—Under the Big Sky Festival
July 23—Minot, ND—North Dakota State Fair
July 25—Cheyenne, WY—Cheyenne Frontier Days 2026
August 6—Toronto, ON—Rogers Stadium~
August 7—Ottawa, ON—Canadian Tire Centre«
August 8—Canandaigua, NY—CMAC«
August 13—Wantagh, NY—Northwell at Jones Beach Theater≈
August 14—Boston, MA—Fenway Park~
August 15—Boston, MA—Fenway Park~
August 20—Pittsburgh, PA—PPG Paints Arena∞
August 21—Allentown, PA—PPL Center
August 22—Bangor, ME—Maine Savings Amphitheater∞
August 27—Dieppe, New Brunswick—YQM Countryfest 2026
August 28—Gilford, NH—BankNH Pavilion∞
September 1—Toronto, ON—Rogers Stadium~
September 11—Lake Tahoe, NV—Lake Tahoe Amphitheatre at Caesars Republic«
September 17—San Diego, CA—Pechanga Arena«
September 18—Anaheim, CA—Honda Center
September 19—Fresno, CA—Boots In The Park
September 25—Corpus Christi, TX—Hillard Center Arena«
September 26—San Antonio, TX—Frost Bank Center«
October 2—Jacksonville, FL—VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
October 3—West Palm Beach, FL—iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
October 8—Des Moines, IA—Casey’s Center≈
October 9—Rosemont, IL—Allstate Arena≈
October 10—St. Paul, MN—Grand Casino Arena≈
October 15—Sioux Falls, SD—Denny Sanford PREMIER Center≈
October 16—Milwaukee, WI—Fiserv Forum≈
October 17—Grand Rapids, MI—Van Andel Arena≈
October 23—Lafayette, LA—CAJUNDOME∆
October 29—Duluth, GA—Gas South Arena∆
October 30—Nashville, TN—Bridgestone Arena∆
≠with special guest Cole Goodwin
«with special guest Wyatt McCubbin
∆with special guest Lukas Nelson
~with Chris Stapleton
≈with special guest Marty Stuart And His Fabulous Superlatives
∞with special guest Marcus King Band
