Music Times checks out Opening Day national anthem themes: Country music, up-and-comers, and parents

It's the first week of Major League Baseball, and we've already taken it way too seriously for our roommates to handle. Music has a bigger role in the league than perhaps any other sport: The organ has long lent personality to stadiums such as Fenway, every player selects his own walkup music when coming to bat, and you'd be hard-up to argue that any league places as much emphasis on the "Star-Spangled Banner" than the MLB. Music Times looked at the opening day performances of the national anthem across the league and noticed a few trends this year.

1) B-listers either heading toward or coming from their peaks

This isn't necessarily a trend per se, as it's awfully expensive for low budget teams such as the Miami Marlins ($35.7 million spent on salaries this season, second lowest in the league) to lock down Katy Perry for Opening Day. The Marlins got smart and grabbed KC from KC and The Sunshine Band to man the anthem this year. Fans can't say they haven't heard of him, and Miami probably got a good price. Cincinnati and Arizona took the opposite approach by grabbing talents that could very well be stars in coming years. The Diamondbacks grabbed Angie Miller, the third place finisher on Season 12 of American Idol, while The Reds got Maggie Chapman, a pop musician named by Rolling Stone as "an artist to watch."

2) Country musicians

Baseball, despite the zeal with which it has been taken up by Latin American nations as well as Japan, is the most likely sport to be deemed "inherently American" by politicians and the like. Although the correct answer would be basketball, country musicians flock more to baseball (look at Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line's tour plans this summer), and that was evident on opening day. Matt King did the honors in Oakland, while the Houston Astros (the only team cheaper than the Marlins) nabbed Clay Walker, a performer who's topped the country singles chart six times (albeit the last time was in 1997).

3) Friends and loved ones

The best and potentially most awkward choice for a national anthem vocalist on opening day was made by the Pittsburgh Pirates, who opted for Petrina McCutchen, the mother of reigning National League MVP Andrew McCutchen. Her performance was truly one of the highlights of opening day, but everyone knows how awkward it is to watch your parents do anything in front of crowds. We're sure that Eric Clapton's children hate watching him play guitar, too. He took it in stride and gave her a hug immediately following the performance. Meanwhile, Joseph Attanasio sang the national anthem for the milwaukee Brewers, a team owned by his son Marc. He also proved quite qualified for the role.