Postgame party! Shaq spins, McKenzie sings 'Since U Been Gone'

This story was excerpted from Mandy Bell’s Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CLEVELAND – Triston McKenzie willingly took the microphone from Shaquille O’Neal on stage in front of a large crowd at Progressive Field. O’Neal reached for the buttons on his DJ equipment in front of him, switched the song and looked at McKenzie to start singing along. Except it wasn’t the song McKenzie was expecting.

Suddenly, “Since U Been Gone,” by the great Kelly Clarkson was thumping over the sound system and an NBA legend was staring at McKenzie, waiting for him to showcase his pipes in front of baseball fans.

When Shaq asks you to do something, you don’t question it. You just do it.

With his teammates all around him, McKenzie screamed whatever lyrics he knew into the microphone before O’Neal put his arm around him and jumped with him to the beat of the mashup.

How on Earth did we get here? Let’s rewind a few hours.

The Guardians' clubhouse had a different vibe to it before Saturday’s game against the Blue Jays. There was a giddiness to each player, knowing that O’Neal would be performing as DJ Diesel after the game.

A Guardians jersey sat on the ping pong table in the middle of the room for players to sign to gift O’Neal when he got to the ballpark. Every time a player was told the jersey was for Shaq, their eyes lit up and they excitedly reached for the Sharpie. In exchange, some players hoped he’d sign things for them. Will Brennan seemed to be the most excited, and he found a mini basketball and a baseball that he hoped he could get autographed.

The next few hours were filled with baseball. But after the Guardians defeated the Blue Jays, 6-3, most of the players headed out to the field with their families to watch DJ Diesel put on a postgame performance. Hundreds of fans bought passes to stand on the infield, just in front of the stage that was set up where the grass meets the dirt behind second base.

O’Neal made his dramatic entrance from behind the left-field wall and walked across the outfield to his perch as the fans chanted his name. He started his set and had young Guardians fans join him on stage to dance and take photos.

At first, players and coaches hung by their dugout, watching from afar. But after the kids cleared the stage, O’Neal called for the Guardians to join him. McKenzie, Brennan, Carlos Carrasco, Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin and Ben Lively stood to O’Neal’s right as the DJ asked the crowd, “Can we make it to the World Series this year?”

Everyone erupted, including the players on the platform. O’Neal asked the question two more times to get everyone in the building fired up. Hedges stood beside him, vibing to the music, when Tyler Freeman, Tanner Bibee and Steven Kwan all hopped onto the stage.

Now, with more than one-third of the roster serving as O’Neal’s hype men, DJ Diesel picked up the microphone and announced that he’d be coming back to Progressive Field if the Guardians make it to the World Series this year – free of charge, he added. He asked the crowd to scream for their team. He also asked them to taunt future opponents. He said all the right things to get everyone fired up for whatever was next.

But no one could’ve prepared for this.

It was the highlight of the day. McKenzie was hesitant to sing, but when O’Neal walked over to him and gestured that he should be belting into the microphone, Sunday’s starting pitcher decided to let it out. O’Neal killed the music and the whole ballpark heard McKenzie scream out, “Since you been gone.”

Only every few words came through clearly on the sound system, but no one was making McKenzie more confident to keep singing than Kwan, who was proudly (and this is a drastic understatement) supporting his teammate in this strange endeavor.

The players retreated to their dugout with their families, smiling and laughing. Brennan couldn’t stop repeating, “That was awesome!”