Jim Moore: Yes, ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ is corny, but if it helps the Mariners, fine

A controversy broke out Monday night at T-Mobile Park, and it had nothing to do with a missed strike or call by an umpire or anything else that happened on the field.

It started in the broadcast control room behind home plate where decisions were made to play John Denver’s classic country song “Take Me Home, Country Roads” seven times during the Mariners-Nationals game.

To be more accurate, it actually started during the Mariners’ last homestand earlier this month when left fielder Jarred Kelenic told broadcast control room producer Tyler Thompson that he wanted to change his walkup song to “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

Jen Mueller of ROOT Sports tweeted that Kelenic “just likes the song” and that it’s a song that everyone likes to sing. Mueller also noted that Kelenic frequently listens to old school country music.

Thompson confirmed as much Tuesday night, saying Kelenic wanted a walk-up song that would get the fans singing and pumped up.

Kelenic got what he was looking for and then some Monday night. Thompson noticed that fans sang louder during his second at-bat in the fifth inning than they did in his first at-bat in the second inning. Thompson told his deejay to play “Country Roads” again if Kelenic got on base, and he did with a walk.

Kelenic was originally ruled out on a stolen base attempt, but when it went to a review, he was called safe, and Thompson asked for “Country Roads” to be belted out again.

And then when Kelenic reached home plate on Mike Ford’s single, Thompson signaled for another rendition of “Country Roads,” feeling like it was highly appropriate.

“You know, ‘Take me home,” Thompson said.

Four innings later, after the Mariners polished off an 8-4 win, Thompson opted to use Kelenic’s walk-up song to celebrate.

“The vibes were so good, I thought, ya know what, it’s gonna be the victory song tonight,” Thompson said.

It sounded like it was a really feel good night at the ballpark, but as is typically the case, musical tastes are all over the place. From what I could gather, it’s not that critics detest “Country Roads,” it’s just that they’re sick of hearing it. And they justifiably contend that it’s a song more commonly associated with West Virginia than a baseball team in Seattle.

Then again, when “Take Me Home, Country Roads” was released in 1971, Bill Danoff was actually driving to a family gathering in Gaithersburg, Md., when he wrote the song, nowhere near West Virginia.

‘I started thinking of me growing up in western New England and going on all these small roads,” he said at the time. “It didn’t have anything to do with Maryland or anyplace (else).”

But because West Virginia found its way into the lyrics, the Mountaineer state adopted it as their own, making it an official state song in 2014. And long before that, since 1972 the West Virginia football team has played “Country Roads” at its games.

This isn’t the first time some fans have been upset about a song at Mariners’ games. For 32 years the team played “Louie, Louie” after “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh-inning stretch. But last year “Louie, Louie” was replaced by Macklemore’s “Can’t Hold Us.”

Associated press sports writer Tim Booth expressed his displeasure with “Country Roads” being played so often Monday night, and former sports talk show host Steve Sandmeyer tweeted: “Standard M’s marketing overkill with oversaturated song…Insufferable.”

But many on social media felt differently. One said: “I was at the game. I had no idea why they kept playing it at the time, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t sing every time.”

Another said: “While it may be overplayed, I enjoy it this way because I am also watching thousands of people enjoy it too.”

And one more responding to Booth: “Play the hell out of it. This team and fan base need some good ol’ stupid fun.”

Thompson noted that the song has proven wildly popular with Mariners’ fans. Last year when fans voted for songs they wanted to hear at the ballpark, “Country Roads” was the most dominant choice. It won eight games in a row, a stretch in which the Mariners went 7-1.

So maybe “Country Roads” will be a good luck charm of sorts for a team that could use one. Maybe it will serve as a spark for a middling team thus far.

Thompson can’t understand the “Country Roads” haters, saying: “A good (portion) of the fans and clubhouse love it. I have a hard time imagining anyone not loving it.”

He pointed out that J.P. Crawford and Eugenio Suarez sing “Country Roads” when they hear it in the dugout. Any coincidence that they both hit home runs Monday night?

Like it or not, you better get used to it because Thompson plans to play the song “strategically” during the second half of the season.

“It certainly seems to give our team something,” Thompson said. “We’ll play it when our team needs a little boost.”

Last year the Mariners got a lift from a benches-clearing brawl in Anaheim and ended a 21-year playoff drought. This year it might come from a galvanizing, polarizing song from the broadcast booth.

Jim Moore has covered Washington’s sports scene from every angle for multiple news outlets. You can find him on Twitter @cougsgo, and on KJR-FM 93.3, where he co-hosts a sports talk show from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays.