I Need To Talk About The Dodgers’ Curious Twin Peaks Connection

Any Twin Peaks fans out there who also caught the World Series this year? If you were watching — or, more accurately, listening to— the Los Angeles Dodgers’ games closely, you might’ve heard the unmistakable, dreamy bassline of Angelo Badalamenti’s Twin Peaks theme floating through Dodger Stadium.

The man behind the organ responsible for the live soundtrack is Dieter Ruehle — the Dodgers’ full-time stadium organist since 2016 (and the L.A. Kings’ since 1989). Ruehle has built a cult following for his clever, situational “musical puns,” weaving pop culture references into the soundtrack of every at-bat. One of them being his use of the Twin Peaks theme, which fans first started noticing back in 2018.

When asked about it in a TikTok for the L.A. Times, Ruehle confirmed:

I play the Twin Peaks song when the count is two balls, two strikes, and two outs.

In baseball speak, that’s a “2-2 count”, twin twos, twin outs… you see where this is going. Badalamenti was a lifelong New York Yankees fan — so while he might not have cheered for the Dodgers, there’s no doubt he’d have appreciated his music echoing through America’s pastime.

Ruehle’s playlists are a running commentary in themselves. When a batter draws a walk, you might hear The Bangles’ “Walk Like an Egyptian” or Dire Straits’ “Walk of Life.” When the scoreboard reads 3-1-1, he’ll drop a song by the band 311. When Mookie Betts (who wears #50) makes a highlight play, he cues up the Hawaii Five-O theme. Dieter plays the Gilligan’s Island theme if the game goes three hours because the lyrics talk about “a three-hour tour,” or “I 2 I” (pronounced ‘eye to eye’) from The Goofy Movie when the scoreboard reads 1-2-1.

Since the stadium organist takes requests, here’s your shot to pitch him one: which songs from David Lynch’s soundtracks belong on the diamond? “In Heaven” for that final walk-off home run? Bowie’s “I’m Deranged” for a wild, chaotic inning?

What would you add to the playlist?