Minnesota Twins flamethrower Jhoan Duran's iconic ninth-inning entrance made its season debut Friday night at Target Field.
Duran, who missed the first month of the 2024 campaign with an oblique injury, had his first opportunity to earn a save at home in the Twins' 5–2 win over the Boston Red Sox.
After Duran threw his final warm-up pitch in the bullpen, the lights at Target Field turned off. Fans in attendance turned on their cell phone lights as flames engulfed every jumbotron and screen at the ballpark. Duran trotted in toward the mound as a club-style song—mixed just for this entrance—blared over the speakers.
Chills.
Here's a clip of Duran's entrance:
The entrance song's special formula? A few dongs from The Undertaker's theme song that fades into lyrics from Pitbull and Daddy Yankee's "Hot" mixed with the beat from "El Incomprendido" by Farruko.
Duran didn't disappoint in his outing either, striking out two hitters in a perfect 1-2-3 inning to secure the win and his second save of the season. He threw six pitches over 100 mph and topped out at 102.7 mph—velocity that lives up to his electric entrance.
There are a few goosebump-enducing closer entrances around baseball these days. The New York Mets started this trend with Edwin Diaz walking out to "Narco" by Timmy Trumpet. The San Francisco Giants also unveiled a new entrance for closer Camilo Doval this season.
If Duran's entrance isn't the best in baseball, it's certainly up there.
The Twins and Red Sox will continue their three-game weekend series on Saturday at Target Field.
