Why Phillies utilityman Edmundo Sosa finally changed his walk-up song to ‘Love Sosa’

About a week ago, Edmundo Sosa decided he was finally ready for a change. During his time with the Phillies, the utility infielder had been walking up to a song called “Desahogo” by Panamanian rapper Akim. But since he was acquired from the Cardinals at the trade deadline last season, his teammates had been pressing him to change his song to “Love Sosa” by Chief Keef.

This wasn’t a novel suggestion. Sosa’s former teammates on the Cardinals had asked him to walk up to “Love Sosa,” too. But Sosa was always hesitant because of the language. The original version of “Love Sosa” isn’t exactly appropriate for kids — and Sosa has a 2-year-old daughter, Naya.

Last month, Josh Harrison, who was designated for assignment by the Phillies on Aug. 1, approached Sosa with an idea. Why not use the clean version? That way, he could hear his name while walking up, but with the curse words scrubbed out.

Sosa finally was on board.

“Everyone was saying, ‘Why don’t you change it, why don’t you change it,’ but I was worried about the language,” Sosa said in Spanish. “I saw some fans talking about it online, too. The guys were always asking me ‘Why don’t you use that song? It has your name in it.’ And I always said no because it had bad words in it.

“When I realized there was a clean version, I said, ‘This is the moment to change it.’”

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Sosa first used in it a game about a week ago. His teammates were ecstatic. Brandon Marsh, specifically, had been lobbying Sosa to use the song for months.

“Marsh kept telling me, it’s a really good song,” Sosa said.

“I was telling him to change it,” Marsh said. “I was like, it’s going to get the people going. I love rap. I like Chief Keef, too. I think it’s fitting. Sosa? Sosa? Can’t go wrong. He hit that ball about 8,000 feet foul last night, so we’re going to keep it going.”

Sosa has been happy with the response from fans. He says he’ll stick with it for a while.

“If they’re happy, I’m happy,” he said. “I just like it because it says Sosa.”

On Friday, the Media Little League team broke up a no-hitter against Washington D.C. to punch a ticket to the Little League World Series. Trevor Skowronek hit a two-run home run on an 0-2 count in the bottom of the seventh inning. Garrett Stubbs watched a video of it after the fact and said it took him back to when he played Little League.

“I remember when I was in Little League doing the All-Star stuff, the excitement of being with my friends and going on road trips and stuff,” he said. “Just seeing the excitement of the kids and knowing they’re going to be able to be on TV, hanging out with some Phillies players, it kind of brings me back to when I was that age. I’m excited for them.”

The Phillies will be in Williamsport next weekend to play the Nationals for the Little League Classic.

“Maybe they’re taking after the Phils,” Stubbs said. “I’ll have to ask them if they’re taking some of their come-from-behind stats from the Phillies.”

Said manager Rob Thomson: “I love it. It shows their grit and toughness.”

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The Phillies will hold their 2023 Wall of Fame induction ceremony at 5:40 p.m. on Saturday. They will induct two members posthumously: former general manager John Quinn and former team president Ruly Carpenter. Scott Rolen, who also is a 2023 inductee, will be honored Sept. 22. Quinn was Phillies general manager from 1959-72 and drafted Mike Schmidt and traded for Steve Carlton. Carpenter was named president in 1972 and oversaw a sustained period of Phillies success under his leadership. While Carpenter was at the helm, the Phillies won three straight NL East titles and their first World Series championship in 1980.

Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper were back in the Phillies lineup on Saturday afternoon. Schwarber fouled a ball of his foot on Friday night and exited the game early. Harper was out of the lineup on Friday because of back spasms. Harper will DH on Saturday because Thomson doesn’t want him bending over to field ground balls. … Marsh (left knee contusion) is progressing well in his recovery. Thomson said Marsh did all baseball activities on Saturday. He hit in the cage and did some throwing and running in the outfield.