I’m not quite sure when or where exactly it started, but one thing is for sure: The Winnipeg Goldeyes have "Bieber Fever."

Music in the clubhouse goes back, I’m guessing, as far as the invention of the radio. With all the hours upon hours we spend in our clubhouse each day, music helps the time pass just a little bit faster.

On a typical game day at home, I arrive at the stadium around 5 hours before game time. The players generally come around the same time to prepare for their day, and stay another hour or so after games to shower up and eat our dinner spread.

But between early work, batting practice and game time, there is a lot of down time spent in the clubhouse. Some spend the time watching the flat-panel TV near our clubbie’s office, some guys lay out in the training room as they play with their iPhones or iPads. Others play card games, or work out in our weight room, while some just sit in front of their lockers and talk story.

But there is never a day that music is not playing in the clubhouse. With a 3-foot-high stereo contraption with an iPod dock on top, music is a constant in our clubhouse as it is in just about every other minor league clubhouse.

The music is usually picked by the starting pitcher of the day. When our veteran righty Ace Walker pitches, country music is sure to fill the air in the clubhouse. When our lefty Luis Villareal pitches, we are sure to hear Latin music. On days our hard-throwing southpaw Isaac Hess takes the mound, we are sure to hear a playlist that includes a fair amount of reggae.

As you can imagine, with a collection of 22 grown men in our players’ clubhouse, there are disputes from time to time about the musical selection. Those opinions are usually shared viashouts from across the room.

Early in the season, one of our players decided that a popular song by the late West Coast rapper Eazy-E was the one to play after each of our wins. That lasted for a couple of months until we fell upon our cold streak in late July. Considering ballplayers and their superstitions, the postgame playlist came under scrutiny, leaving our players searching for musical inspiration.

Considering we are in first place in our division, and have the second-best overall record in the 14-team American Association, we have enjoyed quite a few wins this year, and we hope to win many more. Picking the right song would be crucial to the mojo of our season.

As I sat in my area of the visitor’s clubhouse in Minnesota last week, minutes before we took the field against the St. Paul Saints, hitting coach Tom Vaeth shouted out, "Hey man, put on some Bieber!"

Sure, Canada has given many gifts to the American music industry — Bryan Adams, Shania Twain, Rush, Celine Dion, Sum 41, Michael Buble, and even Winnipeg’s own Neil Young, to name a few.

So it seemed right to pick a Canadian singer or band since we are one of very few Canadian teams in professional baseball.

And Tom’s suggestion of jamming some Bieber made a lot of sense. Justin Bieber is Canada’s hottest export, and his music is catchy, too. So right then and there, one of the players switched up the iPod and blasted Bieber’s "Baby."

We went out on the field that night and took care of business, recording a vital win over our hottest division rivals. Moments after the final out of our victory, one of our veterans shouted out, "Bieber!!!," and a new tradition was born.

In all my years in baseball, I would never have guessed that there would be a season in which a team I was on would be so crazy about a teenaged pop star. But before and after wins by the Winnipeg Goldeyes, I hear the sounds and see the sights I never thought I’d witness — 22 grown men jamming to "Baby," by Justin Bieber.

Maybe if we make the playoffs we can get him to come and throw out the first pitch. That would give us some pretty good mojo.

Brendan Sagara, a former Leilehua and Hawaii-Hilo pitcher, is a veteran minor league pitching coach in his first year with the Winnipeg Goldeyes.