Have you heard? Baseball is having a bit of a moment.
Game time is down, stolen bases are up and even the occasional pitch clock violation is amusing. Players seem to be having a grand old time with it all, especially after the incredible World Baseball Classic tournament.
Take the Cincinnati Reds, for example. They’re going full Ragnar Lothbrok this year, with a Viking helmet and cape for players who’ve gone yard. Never mind that a historical Viking helmet wouldn’t have horns (’cause your enemies could grab onto them and wrench your neck around) — it looks awesome.
It’s only appropriate, then, to highlight the incredible variety of celebratory props players are using to hype up their teammates. Here are some of our favorites.
World Baseball Classic hero Masataka Yoshida‘s nickname is Macho Man, and his teammates are leaning into it, getting golden inflatable dumbbells to lift after hitting home runs. The team used to have sluggers take a ride in a cart after getting back to the dugout, but it looks like this tradition has supplanted that one.
Toronto’s home run jacket was a big part of their team culture over the past few seasons. Now, however, they’ve retired it, intending to focus more on winning games than celebrating home runs. That hasn’t stopped Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from putting it on — at least in spirit.
You knew it was coming — folks in Wisconsin love cheese, and the Brewers are respecting the great Cheesehead tradition by rocking one of their own.
This one’s a bit strange — the Angels wore a sun hat with a Warriors logo on it when mashing some dingers against the Oakland Athletics. NBC Sports says it’s just a placeholder for something much bigger coming down the line. In later games, the logo was replaced with a standard Angels icon. Stay tuned.