The Phils are currently up 1-0 on the Brewers and the stadium folks just had Rick Astley singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” on the jumbotron.

Behold, visual proof from former WIP Marketing Director Cindy Webster:

That is indeed Rick Astley, the same Rick Astley who delivered the 1987 smash hit ‘Never Gonna Give You Up,’ which charted at #1 in 25 countries, Zimbabwe included.

And of course the song led to one of the greatest memes of all time, the Rick Roll, when you’d bait and switch these poor folks with a hyperlink to the Youtube video. Or you’d insert the song into a video and people would have no idea what just hit them. They got Rick Rolled.

Funny thing about this baseball appearance is that Astley is British. They don’t even watch baseball over there, and instead go for cricket, which is incredibly boring. But maybe he’s a closet baseball fan and we never knew?


The Phils also recorded Astley singing the track:

We’re no strangers to love
You know the rules and so do I
A full commitment’s what I’m thinking of
You wouldn’t get this from any other guy

[Pre-Chorus]
I just wanna tell you how I’m feeling
Gotta make you understand

[Chorus]
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you