(above : Propain, image taken from First Things First, Me First)

There are very few recorded instances of professional athletes revealing themselves to have particularly good musical taste ; with Todd Benzinger out of baseball and Bison Dele no longer amongst the living, such ranks are few and far between, and barely bolstered by the Houston Press’ Chris Gray wondering if there’s any relation between the Astros’ on-field woes and craptacular choices for at-bat accompaniment.

Rocks Off consulted the head of our Rap Bureau, Shea Serrano, for an assessment of the ‘Stros’ hip-hop choices, and the results were mixed. Jason Bourgeoise, an outfielder currently on the 15-day disabled list, scored some points for choosing underground Houston rapper Propain’s “Say I Won’t,” although another of his choices, Bun B and T-Pain’s “Trillionaire,” Serrano says, “stinks.”

?T.I., also a favorite of Bourgeoise and first baseman Brett Wallace, is “proper… generally a safe bet for that sort of thing,” Serrano tells us, though Michael Bourne’s choice of Birdman and Lil Wayne’s “Get Your Shine On,” is “forgettable in its predictability.” Shea’s highest marks went to 3B Chris Johnson – Rick Ross’ “Blowin’ Money Fast,” he says, was one of the best songs of 2010: “It seems a good fit for intro music.