As I drained my bank account and clicked “purchase” on a set of tickets to Rush’s Fifty Something tour stop in Cleveland, an idea blossomed. Since lead singer/bass player Geddy Lee is such a big baseball fan, there’s got to be some way I can tie my favorite band in with my favorite pastime. Then it hit me – which Rush album is each MLB team most like? Granted, Rush hasn’t put out 30 studio albums, but I threw in a couple of live albums to make it work. Let it be known that I am no expert on the band,
nor am I an expert on every MLB team. I simply took my personal thoughts towards each album and each team alongside some critical commentary, and this is what I came up with. They are in reverse order of release date.
R40 – Seattle Mariners
As far as live albums go, this one is pretty widely liked by fans. I believe that to be true of the Mariners as well, assuming you’re not a fan of any other AL West team. Both the album and the team are cohesive units – R40 covering all 40 years of the band’s recording existence, and the Mariners having successful players on the pitching, hitting, and fielding sides of things. There’s something for everyone in this album and in this team.
Clockwork Angels Live – Texas Rangers
I felt that Clockwork Angels Live and R40 were pretty similar, but that the former was missing just a little something that the latter has. It’s almost cohesive, it just misses the mark on a few songs since the entire first half of the show is focused on one album (I know that is the point of the tour, and I personally enjoy it). Like the album, the Texas Rangers found success for a short amount of time in 2023 before they were overshadowed by the Mariners (R40) in the following years.
Clockwork Angels – Los Angeles Dodgers
In the band’s eyes, this album is perfection. It’s what they’d worked almost forty years to produce. It has a story, it has meaning, and it just sounds good. This is where they found the sixth cylinder. In MLB’s eyes (and their fans), the Dodgers are perfection. Contributing to the highest payroll in the sport, stars like Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman have made the Dodgers the most successful team of this decade. And since it was their only studio album released in the 2010s, Clockwork Angels can say the same.
Time Machine – St. Louis Cardinals
I’ll be honest, this one might be a bit of a stretch. I truly just have no connection to the St. Louis Cardinals. However, I feel like they are most like the 2011 Time Machine tour album in that they span almost the entire history of MLB, officially becoming a major league team in 1882. The same can be said of Time Machine, a tour that covered most of the band’s entire history up until just before their final studio album was released.
Snakes & Arrows Live – Milwaukee Brewers
This live album (obviously) is heavy on tracks from Snakes & Arrows, but it also has a surprising amount of deep cuts and underrated tracks. This reminds me of the Milwaukee Brewers in that they rely heavily on their stars like Christian Yelich and Jacob Misiorowski, but they also have a lot of underrated talent like Andrew Vaughn and Trevor Megill that have the potential to contribute in a big way this season.
Snakes & Arrows – New York Mets
This is where Rush almost got it right. They were firing on five cylinders, just missing one piece to make perfection. The Mets are in the same boat. They’ve got most of the pieces, they just haven’t been able to put them together to win a World Series. While they’ve got one of the largest payrolls in MLB, that has resulted in one of the lowest revenues. Snakes & Arrows was Rush’s second worst performing studio album in terms of sales. Both the album and the team are really good, they just aren’t the best.
R30 – Detroit Tigers
This is another personal choice simply because I don’t really listen to this album all that much. It’s by far the live album that I listen to the least. Now I’m not saying I don’t watch the Tigers much, I’m pretty much forced to, but I certainly don’t want to watch them often. Between the way certain hitters are a thorn in the Guardians’ side and facing one of the best pitchers of the decade, I’ll go ahead and skip this one most days like I do R30.
Feedback – San Francisco Giants
All I can say about this album is that they tried. It’s an album full of covers of songs that made Rush who they are, and I appreciate them wanting to show respect to those artists. However, not many others feel that way judging by the fact that it was one of their worst-selling releases. That’s not to say people don’t like the Giants or that they don’t sell seats, however, they’ve also not been able to find much success lately. They had one good season in 2021, but have been third or worse in the division since. Much like Feedback, though, I really appreciate this team and find them to be the National League team I keep tabs on most.
Rush in Rio – Arizona Diamondbacks
This one might be a stretch, but it might make sense if I explain it enough… The concert that was recorded and filmed for Rush in Rio was one of their most widely attended shows. Over 40,000 people gathered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the third show of the band’s first appearance in the country. The Brazilian fans had waited almost 30 years to see the band, and they really showed up for it. This is quite similar to how baseball fans in Arizona had to wait years and years for a professional baseball team. When they finally got one, they showed up just like the Brazilian Rush fans. The inaugural season for the Diamondbacks in 1998 was the ninth most attended season for any MLB team, bringing in 3,610,290 fans.
Vapor Trails – Los Angeles Angels
Vapor Trails was Rush’s first studio release after drummer Neil Peart’s tragic losses of his daughter and wife just 10 months apart. It follows Neil’s journey of finding himself again and finding the strength to return to music after such tragedy. I think this album would really resonate with Angels fans and players who were devastated by the loss of pitcher Tyler Skaggs. Skaggs was one of my favorite non-Guardians players, and it was truly difficult for me to watch Angels games after losing him. However, it made the team stronger and brought them together, resulting in a combined no-hitter just days after. “Nothing can stop you now.”
Different Stages – Miami Marlins
Similarly to Vapor Trails, Different Stages was Rush’s first piece of work released after the tragedies. Peart was not heavily involved in this live release, but allowed Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson to put in the work for it. The album was dedicated to the memory of Peart’s daughter and wife. This theme of working hard in the face of tragedy really made me think of the Marlins. They went through the devastating loss of pitcher José Fernández in 2016, and had to go right back to playing baseball. Much like the Angels, they were made stronger by this tragedy and won the first game they played after his death. This included an extremely emotional home run by Dee Strange-Gordon, his first of the season, that came right after he paid tribute to his friend at home plate. Both the home run and the album were emotional tributes to lost friends.
Test for Echo – Chicago White Sox
Widely known as the worst Rush album among fans, this one just wasn’t successful. It is among their worst selling albums, and people honestly just like to forget it exists (except for me, I love this album). The same can be said of the poor Chicago White Sox, the consistent fifth place team in the AL Central. They even broke the record for most losses in the Modern Era in 2024 with 121… Granted, they’ve had quite a busy offseason, and I’m excited to see if they can actually perform this season, but I’m about as confident in that as I am in seeing any Test for Echo songs on the upcoming tour.
Counterparts – Atlanta Braves
Counterparts is widely known as Rush’s heaviest album. That immediately made me think of the Atlanta Braves because of the numerous “heavy hitters” they have, both on the hitting and pitching side. Hitters like Ronald Acuña Jr. (.524 career SLG) and Matt Olson (.508 career SLG) headline the offensive lineup while pitchers like Chris Sale (94.8 mph fastball) and Spencer Strider (95.5 mph fastball) are the stars of the rotation. A notable theme of this album is “doing the right thing” which is something that is constantly surrounding the Braves. Letting go of the long-outdated “chop” in the stands would be doing the right thing, something the team and fans could learn from a 90’s rock album.
Roll the Bones – Minnesota Twins
This one was hard for me because I adore this album. I do not adore the Minnesota Twins. As a matter of fact, I really don’t like the Minnesota Twins. The connection I’m making here is that a lot of die-hard fans did not like Roll the Bones when it was released. The “rap” in the title song turned many fans away, but some eventually learned to enjoy the album. While I can’t say I’ve learned to enjoy the Twins, I can certainly understand the draw behind some of their players such as Joe Ryan or Byron Buxton. They seem like good people who really enjoy playing for their city.
Presto – Toronto Blue Jays
I knew I had to choose wisely for this team, because it is Geddy Lee’s favorite team and the reason he is such a devout baseball fan. I’m not 100% confident that other Rush fans will agree here, but Presto is special to me in a way that I felt deserved this spot. To me, it’s the definition of a hidden gem. This album was almost successful, just like the Blue Jays have been in recent years. It has a lot of upbeat songs, reminding me of the fun the Jays have in the dugout. Additionally, the album art is just as adorable as this team.
A Show of Hands – Chicago Cubs
This one pains me to write. This is my favorite live album, but I’m sure you all know that the Cubs are one of my least favorite baseball teams. So how does this make sense? Well, it has to do with the live aspect. I have attended two games at Wrigley Field, and it is by far my favorite live game experience outside of Cleveland. The stadium is just as beautiful as people say, and other than some minor heckling for my Guardians gear, I felt very comfortable there. I’d be just as happy to sit in the left field bleachers and watch a game here as I would be to sit on my couch and watch this concert film.
Hold Your Fire – Boston Red Sox
Hold Your Fire is, to me, a consistently good album. I never don’t want to listen to it. The Boston Red Sox are just as consistent, sitting around or above .500 in recent seasons. While those “around .500” seasons resulted in fourth or fifth place, it is because they are stuck in one of the most competitive divisions in MLB. Now, this album is often ranked near the bottom of fans’ tier-lists because of a few bad apples like Tai Shan. The same could be said of the Red Sox who are often brought down by their bad apples (cough Jarren Duran and Aroldis Chapman cough). However, there are also some real stars on this album (Lock and Key and Time Stand Still), just like how there is in Boston (Roman Anthony and Connelly Early).
Power Windows – Colorado Rockies
I had a hard time picking this one because, like most of the other albums on here, I love Power Windows while a lot of other fans don’t. Some say it sticks out like a sore thumb as the band began their transition into a synth-heavy era. While I don’t agree with that, I can compare it to the Colorado Rockies who most definitely do stick out like a sore thumb. Consistently last in the AL West, the Rockies just can’t seem to put a cohesive product on the field behind their few stars. Many would say that was true of Power Windows, as you won’t see this album at the top of anybody’s favorites list.
Grace Under Pressure – San Diego Padres
This is much more of a personal choice, as I believe this is the Rush album that had the most to live up to. It was the band’s first release after my favorite album, and while I wasn’t there to worry about how it would sound prior to its release, I do presently think that it lived up to the hype (that I put on it). I also think that the Padres have a lot to live up to since they have a lot of big names and are always so close to winning the division. However, there’s always the #1 (Dodgers) standing in the way. However much I love this album, it will never be my #1.
Signals – Cleveland Guardians
This one is too easy. My favorite Rush album is Signals, my favorite baseball team is the Cleveland Guardians. This album has one of the band’s most successful songs, Subdivisions, but also has some amazing underrated masterpieces like my all-time favorite, Losing It. This is just like how the Guardians have one of MLB’s most successful players, José Ramírez, but also have a lot of underrated stars like Steven Kwan and Gavin Williams. Both the album and the team have been quite successful, yet somehow have never become mainstream. Which is a good thing – I want to keep them both to myself.
Exit… Stage Left – Baltimore Orioles
This is Rush’s most iconic and successful live album. This made me think of the Baltimore Orioles, specifically Camden Yards. One of the most iconic fields in baseball, this is the number one place I want to see a baseball game live.
Moving Pictures – New York Yankees
Rush’s most commercially successful album, Moving Pictures has sold over five million copies in the United States. The album brought in five platinum certifications and is the band’s most award-winning release. It only makes sense that this album would be the 27-time world champion New York Yankees. While they may not currently be the most successful team in baseball, it’s going to be a long time before anyone even comes close to matching their 27 rings. I don’t think another Rush album will ever top Moving Pictures’ figures, as the second-place figure is a whopping 2.2 million sales behind.
Permanent Waves – Philadelphia Phillies
This is another consistently good album, much like the Phillies who have been consistently good in recent years. Permanent Waves was one of the band’s best-selling albums, and that success can be mirrored by the Phils as well. They’ve won the AL East the last two seasons and haven’t fared worse than third since 2019. In my humble opinion, this album has no skips, and I think the same can be said of the Phillies. When .263/.371/.324 hitter Justin Crawford is your nine hitter, things can’t be so bad in the one-through-eight spots.
Hemispheres – Oakland Athletics
This album and team both tell quite the story. Hemispheres opens with an 18-minute epic about conflict and resolution in a mythological universe. While the story of the Oakland Athletics isn’t that exciting, it is most definitely a rich and storied history. Neither this album nor this team have ever been mainstream popular, those who love them really love them. That was proven when fans showed up and sold out the final game at the Oakland Coliseum in 2024. There’s no clear path as to where the Athletics’ story will go next, but it’s very interesting to be living through their first chapters.
A Farewell to Kings – Kansas City Royals
This one sort of wrote itself. Kings… Royals… It just makes sense, but it does go a bit deeper than that. This album is extremely underrated and is very far ahead of its time. Much like the Royals, this album has a few standouts that you’ve probably heard of before (Xanadu / Bobby Witt Jr.), but also has some hidden gems that even fans of the band may not have even heard of (Madrigal / Lucas Erceg).
All the World’s A Stage – Pittsburgh Pirates
Rush has released a lot of live albums and live versions of songs, but All the World’s A Stage was their first. I wanted to connect this album to the team that was broadcast on television first, but both of their spots were already taken. However, this lined up pretty well as the Pittsburgh Pirates were the first team to be broadcast on radio. This was the first time that Rush fans could hear their favorite band perform live without actually being there, and the first time that Pittsburgh Pirates fans could listen to their team play ball without actually being there.
2112 – Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are consistently known as one of the most progressive teams in baseball when it comes to scouting. Rush as a whole is one of the most progressive rock bands of all time, but this album in particular is one of the most iconic prog rock albums of all time. Both 2112 and the Rays had broken the mold with 20-minute songs and strategizing a draft like no other team ever had, and they’ve both found success because of it. 2112 is Rush’s second-highest selling album with 3.3 million copies in the U.S., and the Tampa Bay Rays are consistently at the top of MLB with their number of top 100 prospects.
Caress of Steel – Houston Astros
Caress of Steel is widely known as one of the most hated Rush albums. After their initial success with their first two albums, Caress set the band backwards. What MLB team has been more hated in recent years than the Houston Astros? They found success in 2017 and 2022 with World Series wins, but it’s been completely overshadowed by their cheating scandal. However, it gets to a point where you have to move on. The Astros are consistently winning the AL West or coming in second, and they’re almost certainly not still cheating to do so. I think it’s also time to move on from the Caress of Steel hate. While a 12-minute epic about a dark sorcerer isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, it’s still a damn good rock song.
Fly By Night – Washington Nationals
Perhaps the most notable transformation an MLB team has seen, the Montréal Expos became the Washington Nationals on November 22, 2004. Fly By Night was also a notable transition for Rush. No longer were they the school-dance-playing rock band with John Rutsey, they were now the progressive, kimono-wearing band we know today with Neil Peart. Much like the Expos moved on from their old image, the band moved on from their mainstream-rock image and began playing what they wanted to play.
Rush – Cincinnati Reds
This one feels obvious in more ways than one. Rush’s self-titled album was their first official release, and the Cincinnati Red Stockings were the first professional baseball team. Both the album and the team marked the beginning of two of my favorite things in this world. They both look quite different now than they did when they started – Rush’s first drummer (and their image as a whole) was replaced by Peart after this album, and MLB now has 29 more teams and a wealth of new rules. Oh, and the album was originally released with a red font.
