How organist Dieter Ruehle became a Dodgers and Kings staple - ESPN

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes isn't sure the team's organist exists.

«I feel like ever since I've been here, you always hear 'Dieter Ruehle,' and it's almost like, I don't know if it's a real person,» Barnes told ESPN. «I feel it's just like a mythical thing or I don't know. It sounds crazy to say but no, they do a great job, he does a great job.»

His teammate, Mookie Betts, is on the same page.

«Yeah exactly,» Betts told ESPN. «I've never seen him.»

Betts couldn't definitively remember if he had met Ruehle. However, he could identify him in another way.

«If you lined him up, I would have no idea what he looks like,» Betts said. «I definitely know his keys.»

Ruehle is, in fact, a real person.

He has been the Dodgers' full-time organist since 2016. He is also the music director and organist for the Los Angeles Kings — in the midst of his 30th season with the franchise and 36th in the NHL. Ruehle's résumé includes playing in six Olympics and a role on Kobe Bryant's podcast for children, «The Punies.»

In a sports landscape more reliant on programmed music, Ruehle, 56, offers a unique, classical spin on sounds that fill rinks and ballparks.

His distinctive style that includes a variety of tracks — at a recent Dodgers game, Ruehle played «El Sonidito» by Hechizeros Band and «Birds of a Feather» by Billie Eilish — has made him into an L.A. sports entertainment staple. There is even an X account called @DieterDecoder built to identify some of the renowned sports organist's tracks.

During a December 2021 Kings game, Ruehle played «Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang» by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg with Snoop in attendance. The rapper gave him a shoutout on the Kings broadcast, calling Ruehle «vicious on the keys.»

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