In the top of the third inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ first postseason game of the 2025 season, Cincinnati Reds’ Ke’Bryan Hayes rolled a grounder to Mookie Betts. He delivered the throw to first to record an out. Fittingly, Tennessee’s iconic song, Rocky Top, was played right after.
While on the surface, Betts’ play being celebrated with Rocky Top may seem strange, there is a reason behind it. While he never played at UT, he did sign with the Vols out of high school. Instead, he joined the Boston Red Sox organization as a draft pick.
To make it even more fitting, Hayes, the Reds hitter who got out, was also a commit to Tennessee before going pro instead of making his way to Knoxville.
Hmm, what’s the organist playing after that Mookie Betts play?
— ZehDuck (@ZehDuck) October 1, 2025
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The Dodgers would beat the Reds in the opening wildcard game, 10-5. The best-of-three continues on Wednesday with Los Angeles a win away from moving on.
Betts finished the game 2-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout at the plate. Hayes went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a strikeout.
Tennessee baseball has taken a dramatic step since Betts was committed and signed back in 2010. Tony Vitello has revived the program and led the Vols all the way to their first national title in 2024. UT also made College World Series appearances in 2021 and 2023. In 2022, it won SEC titles, but was eliminated as the No. 1 overall seed in the super regionals.
This past year, Tennessee took a step back from its national title squad, but was still very good. The Vols hosted a regional and won, forcing them to go to Arkansas for the super regional stage. The Razorbacks won at home to finish UT’s season.
