http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/10/pirates ... ittsburgh/Pirates closer joins Pearl Jam on stage in PittsburghPirates closer Jason Grilli joined Pearl Jam on stage at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh on Friday with a message to Pirates fans.
“Next year is our (expletive) year!” Grilli shouted to the crowd. “I love you guys! I love Pittsburgh!”
Oddly, a baseball player’s appearance on stage with Pearl Jam wasn’t even the biggest Pearl Jam/baseball crossover news of the day, as Billboard reported Friday that the band members — and baseball fans — agreed to a licensing deal with FOX to use Pearl Jam music during the upcoming World Series broadcasts. Peal Jam manager Kelly Curtis said the decision was easy:
“We consider licensing requests using the same criteria we do for everything else: Do we like it? Would the fans like it? Does it provide a different forum for fans to hear the music? Is it something we can get behind? The band loves baseball, so this one was a no-brainer.”Like many players around the league, Grilli uses a Pearl Jam song for his entrance music. Lead singer Eddie Vedder is a lifelong Cubs fan who frequently makes appearances at big-league parks. No word on if Grilli sang on stage, but given his exuberant shouting on the following Vine, it seems safe to hope that he didn’t.