SAN FRANCISCO — Someone had the audacity to kick San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler out of a Leon Bridges concert last month.

Kapler likes to attend concerts while the team is on the road. Late last month, with the team in Detroit, he decided to take in Bridges’ soul music at a theater, while at the same time getting some work done by writing lineups for the Giants’ next game. His phone died, so he pulled out an iPad.

“So I’m kind of watching the show and typing on my iPad, like lineups and getting them to players and stuff like that,” he recalled before a game against the Atlanta Braves on Sept. 13. Soon, he was approached by security and accused of filming the concert with the iPad. They didn’t care when he pointed out dozens of people who actually were filming the concert on their cell phones. “It was like, ‘Sir, come with me.’”

Kapler didn’t last into “Texas Sun.”

“They kicked me out at the fourth song into the set,” he said.

By this point, he said, he didn’t care about leaving. The acoustics were poor in the room, and that, along with the ability to see an artist well, are two crucial requirements for Kapler to enjoy a performance. The self-described huge fan of Bon Iver left dissatisfied after seeing him perform in Arizona recently.

“I’m a huge fan of the entire catalog, including experimental electronic stuff, going back to the most folky, more popular stuff as well,” Kapler said. “Bad acoustics ruin a show for me, and the acoustics weren’t great, and there wasn’t great viewing. I like to see an artist’s face. I like to see the energy and emotion come out in a musician.”

Those around the Giants know Kapler as a music aficionado and audiophile. He name-checks the likes of Wu-Tang Clan, remembers that his favorite concert of 1992 was House of Pain, and is more than happy to talk about the latest Turnstile album for its hybrid of pop, electronica and and a hard-edged rock.

Pitcher Logan Webb notes that his manager likes to listen to artists from each city to which the team travels. “In Pittsburgh, he was listening to Mac Miller,” Webb said. The 47-year-old reigning National League Manager of the Year can go equally in-depth on his love of classic West Coast hip-hop and the first two Mötley Crüe albums:

“I think [1981’s] Too Fast for Love is a very under-the-radar great punk record. People think of Mötley Crüe as glam-‘80s. Those things are true, but Too Fast for Love, and to some degree, [1983’s] Shout at the Devil, their second record; they’re kind of punk records.”

He’s also quick to differentiate between his favorite musicians and who he views as great artists who put on a good show. Had the team been in town for Lady Gaga’s show at Oracle Park, he would have loved to see her perform.

“I like music more than I like baseball,” Kapler said matter-of-factly.

Music is everywhere in Major League Baseball, and because its players, coaches and fans come from very different backgrounds, it’s a melting pot of sorts. While hip-hop seems to have more overlap, of the players on both teams we spoke to—the Giants and Braves—country, Latin and Afro-Caribbean music are equally a big deal on planes and in clubhouses. It’s a big part of the in-game entertainment planned by the team, and even the Giants’ grounds crew finds inspiration from music during its pregame work.

“Usually when I’m out mowing, I’ll have the headphones on, blasting Metallica or some type of heavy metal—just having a good time,” said Shane Merriman, who has been a grounds crew member for 12 seasons. Merriman has been to numerous concerts at the ballpark, including Crüe and Def Leppard (twice!) this summer. But his most memorable Oracle Park concert remains Metallica’s “The Night Before” in 2016—put on when the band was not invited to play the Super Bowl halftime show.

In the clubhouses, the mix is much more varied. For the Giants, starting pitchers have control over the stereo, but shortstop and team leader Brandon Crawford is the one who goes about making it happen.

“I have a pretty good idea of what type of music the starting pitchers like,” Crawford said. “For Alex Cobb, it’s country, so I’ll put on a country playlist that I’ll make. Logan Webb, who I’ve played with for several years, we have a certain playlist we put on for him. And sometimes I’ll just mix it up. Carlos Rodón doesn’t really care what kind of music’s on, so we’ll mix it up with rap, a Latin mix, rock, sometimes.”

Crawford said the job is both fun and something he takes seriously.

“I think there needs to be some energy, some atmosphere in the clubhouse that either makes people happy or ready to go play,” he said. “I think it’s important, but I also have fun with it because I enjoy music.”

Webb said his go-to is country and hip-hop. The Rocklin native picks out Vallejo rapper Nef Da Pharaoh and Sacramento’s Mozzy as his favorite NorCal rappers. The 25-year-old’s parents raised him on rock, so he’ll indulge in that as well. Webb pointed out that he saw the Foo Fighters’ last U.S. performance with the late Taylor Hawkins at Innings Festival in Tempe, Arizona, during Spring Training. Webb already has tickets to his next show: country singer-songwriter Cody Johnson in San Diego in October.

“It really depends on my mood,” Webb said of his tastes in music.

In the Giants’ clubhouse, we also caught up with rookie Cole Waites, who would go on to make his debut later that night, loading the bases before getting out of the jam unscathed. The Georgia native listed country stars Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs and Colter Wall, as well as modern rockers Three Days Grace as his favorite artists.

“I’m a country music guy 95 percent of the time, and then before games, getting ready, I’ll listen to some punk rock,” Waites said. Yet, his walk-up song when he entered in relief was Johnny Cash’s “God’s Gonna Cut You Down.”

Waites has never wanted to be in a band; the only instruments he’s ever played were the recorder in elementary school and “some bass” in middle school, yet music is just as important to his life, he said.

On the Braves side, we briefly caught up with super-rookies (and good friends) shortstop Vaughn Grissom and centerfielder Michael Harris II. The duo, whose lockers are side by side both in Atlanta and on the road, bounced comments back and forth. It turns out Grissom’s mom raised him on classic reggae acts like Bob Marley. He’s from Orlando, while Harris is an Atlanta native, so naturally, both are big on Atlanta hip-hop now, with Gunna as their favorite Atlanta rapper. Grissom said he’s into more mainstream artists like Drake, too.

“I have playlists for any kind of genre. I listen to rap, country … I’ve got a Spanish playlist, Afrobeats…” Harris said as Grissom chimed in that the outfielder’s country playlist is top-notch.

Chatting on the field after batting practice, Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson also named country as his favorite go-to, but then expanded on it.

“I’m an Atlanta guy, so Atlanta rap has always been a sweet spot of mine,” he said. “I like Maverick City; they’re a faith-based group out of Atlanta, too. I’ve got a bit of a connection there. I don’t know if ensemble is the right word, but they like to work with a lot of people.”

And Braves coach Walt Weiss, who got his start as a player for the Oakland A’s, was the only one we found who was upfront about not being a country music fan, opting instead for classic and ‘90s rock with acts like Bob Seger, Tom Petty, Led Zeppelin, Rush—” I saw them at Red Rocks”—Atlanta indie rockers Manchester Orchestra and Boulder band Big Head Todd and the Monsters, whom he’s gotten to know pretty well since moving to Denver some years ago.

And most impressively for this New Jersey native: “I’ve seen Springsteen probably 25 or 30 times.”

The Braves beat the Giants 5-1 on this night, which was the organization’s annual Filipino Heritage Night. Pregame entertainment included a folk-dance group, in full regalia, a first pitch thrown out by California Attorney General Rob Bonta (himself of Filipino descent) and the “Star-Spangled Banner” sung by “American Idol” finalist Jordan Segundo.

In between some innings, Bay Area DJ Umami spun songs like Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It” and maybe some Charli XCX. In the middle of the eighth inning, attendees picked N’Sync’s “Bye Bye Bye” for a singalong over 20 other options including Queen, Bruno Mars, Jefferson Starship and Bon Jovi.

To most attendees at the game, these specifics—including all the in-game messaging, lineup announcements, fan cam and contests—likely flew by. But they were scheduled and managed down to the second from the Giants’ production studio third deck of Oracle Park in the team’s “run of show.”

Many of these specifics are planned months in advance, as early as the offseason, while some are determined during each homestand, said Marco Nicola, the team’s senior director of live experience and entertainment.

The studio is located alongside the game TV and radio broadcasters’ boxes. It’s filled from end to end with TV monitors, and as the game approached, it filled up with more than a dozen producers and sound technicians, who, just like the players, have their own pregame meeting.

Many of the first pitches are held for team sponsors, but higher-profile games tend to be reserved for visiting celebrities or notable personalities. Some nights, a Warriors player will get the honor, Nicola said. One high-profile example is the team’s annual Metallica Day, when the band performs the national anthem, and one of the members throws out the first pitch.

Nicola said he expects that tradition to continue for the foreseeable future.

“Metallica and the Giants have had a long-standing relationship that extends beyond just what you see here on Metallica Night, but also a relationship between the Giants Community Fun and Metallica’s [All Within Our Hands] Foundation,” he said. “Them being from the Bay Area, they resonate with our crowd. It’s always a big night for us every year.”

The team is always looking for ways to improve the in-game entertainment for attendees and have them be more hands-on; and that spills over to the music, Nicola added. Whether through giveaways, promotional nights, appearances by musicians or audience interaction via the team’s app, music remains an important part of planning for the fans.

“Instead of them sitting and being passive observers of what’s going on, [we’re] trying to find ways to bring them into the mix,” Nicola said.

Follow editor Roman Gokhman at Twitter.com/RomiTheWriter. Follow photographer Sean Liming at Instagram.com/S.Liming.