TIFTON — Go out to the ballparks at Tift County High and Tiftarea Academy and listen.

There is the pop of the leather, the sound of ball hitting aluminum, strike calls and Patrick Reed, walking up to the plate at Devil Diamond with Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” playing over the loudspeakers.

Every one of Kyle Kirk’s Tift Blue Devils and Brad Porter’s Tiftarea Panthers has a song to call his own when he hits.

The tradition may seem a new one, but walk-up music in baseball is actually pretty established.

An NBC Washington article from 2012 said Chicago White Sox’ organist Nancy Faust played state songs for players based on hometowns back in the early 1970s. That grew over the years to more specific tunes based on personality traits.

A few players used specific songs during the 1980s-90s, but the current popularity is seemingly traced back to a single player, San Diego Padres’ closer Trevor Hoffman.

Hoffman began strolling out to the mound to the sounds of AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells” in 1998.

Twenty years later, music is so established it would be strange for a player to not have a theme attached to his name.

Both coaches were allowing walk-up songs before they came to their current schools.

Kirk was coaching at Clarke Central in Athens when it began for him. Porter estimates he started the practice in 2008.

“I’m not real picky about it,” said Kirk. “In the past, if they weren’t positive on the chart, I’d take their walk-up music away.” Kirk does not do that now as he sees it as a motivation tool.

“If a kid feels like a song gets him prepared to hit, it gets him in a moment, it flushes his thoughts, we want to do that,” said Porter.

What’s behind the choices for the players? Are there any deep meanings or is it strictly what gets them pumped up?

Pumped up was the case for most.

“It kinda gets you pumped up, it kinda gets you focused,” said Tiftarea’s Grant Hall.

Mason Manning of Tift County uses the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Around the World.”

Like Hall, there isn’t much reason behind the choice.

“I just like the song,” said Manning.

Carter Stewart said his choice described his personality: “laid back and relaxed.” Stewart’s song is Baby Boy Da Prince’s “The Way I Live.” Porter highlighted the portion that plays for his at-bats — “Lil’ Boy still pushin’ big wheels.”

One Tift County player said he used “Refuge” by Finding Favour for its religious message.

“I chose it because I want to show the truth to the world,” he said.

Sometimes, the choices aren’t even that personal.

Take Casen Royal, who comes up to Billy Squier’s “The Stroke.”

The song was playing in the Panthers’ weight room and teammates told him to use it as his walk-up.

“They all said I should do it,” said Royal, “and I didn’t really care.”

Now, the stroke’s the word.

A couple of Tift County players suggested that the choices were out of their hands. Cody Thompson said his father chose “Cherry Pie.” Similarly, Le Bassett’s family told him to go with Bon Jovi’s “Dead or Alive.”

A few seasons ago, Kirk mentioned at the time that a sibling of Jonah Reyes chose The Beatles’ “Come Together” as a walk-up song.

Both Kirk and Porter have rules about what their players can use.

“Nothing explicit,” said Porter.

The athletes seem to have gotten the message. Kirk said he has never had to reject a song. It also helps that before the season begins, Tift’s songs are combined on a CD.

“One of [the players] puts it together on a track and they have the parents listen to it. The parents preview it just to make sure it’s clean.”

Atlanta Braves fans will remember Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” being used for Chipper Jones.

“I think a lot of people remember Chipper doing that one,” said Kirk.

Sure enough, both Tift and Tiftarea have a player using it as his walk-up music. Anthony Brey uses the tune at Tiftarea and Grayson Garner has walked up to the sounds of its instantly recognizable guitar riff.

That seems to be the only song the schools share.

Tiftarea’s players seemingly have more hip hop in their steps to the plate; Tift County’s beats are more 1990s.

There may be a reason behind Tift’s choices. Kirk said he plays songs from the era during batting practice. It’s quite possible, he admitted, that his style has rubbed off.

Considering the geographic location of Tift County, it may seem surprising that country songs aren’t bigger parts of the roster.

Hunter Hartsfield used a country song last year at Tiftarea, but switched.

No real reason, of course.

“I guess there just wasn’t a good country song this year,” he said.

Porter and Kirk were asked to come up with their own choices for walk-up music.

Porter said his song would either be “Headstrong” by Trapt (which is currently being used by Brant Watson at Tift) or Jeremy Camp’s “Take My Life.”

Porter actually does have a meaning behind his choices.

“I follow Christ and I’m very competitive.”

AC/DC’s “For Those About to Rock” would be Kirk’s.

Songs may come and go when one season changes to another, but rarely is there a mid-year change. Porter can only remember Cade Marlowe doing so a few years ago after he heard a Glenwood (Ala.) player using Bob Marley. It worked well for Glenwood, and then for Marlowe to the point that Porter believes he is still using it at West Georgia.

Most walk-up choices are recognizable, but not always because they sound like the old ESPN CD, Jock Jams. What were the strangest songs each coach has heard?

Perhaps surprisingly for Kirk, it was not “The Circle of Life,” from The Lion King. A couple of players used that in recent years at Tift County, including Ryan Ross.

“When I was at Clarke Central, [a player of his] had ‘Party in the U.S.A.’ by Miley Cyrus,” he said.

Greer Howard used an electronic song while with the Panthers, which Porter believes was the oddest he heard.

“Some of the guys, they honestly do that because it’s kind of announcing their presence,” said Porter. “I’m absolutely fine with them having that moment to introduce themselves to the fans, to the crowd, having their own theme music. Like Superman has his.”