While most Metallica fans wouldn’t associate their favorite band with baseball, you wouldn’t know it after watching Tuesday’s game at Oracle Park.
The San Francisco Giants hosted their eighth annual Metallica Night, which marked the return of the event after a two-year hiatus. “It’s a tradition that we’ve missed the last two seasons, so we’re really excited for the return of Metallica Night at Oracle Park with our hometown baseball team, the San Francisco Giants,” reads a statement from Metallica that was released before the game. “This year marks the eighth time we’ll take the field for the National Anthem, first pitch, and a few other pre-game shenanigans.”
As promised, Metallica guitarists James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett opened the game with a metal version of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” after which bassist Robert Trujillo announced, “Play ball!”
Drummer Lars Ulrich also got in on the action and announced the starting lineup: