The Baltimore Orioles have a new way to celebrate home runs — chugging water out of a beer bong.
This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in.After first baseman Ryan Mountcastle hit a dinger in the first inning of the team's game against the Oakland Athletics on Monday, he was greeted in the dugout with a funnel and a tube and an invitation to chug.
He obliged.
—Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) April 10, 2023The "homer hose," as the Orioles are attempting to brand it, is the brain child of pitchers Cole Irvin and Keegan Akin, according to MLB.com. Irvin brought the funnel and tube; Akin helped apply some black and orange tape to give it the Orioles' colors; and presto, a new home run celebration was born.
"I love it. We're just huge proponents of staying hydrated," said catcher Adley Rutschman, who got his first hit from the homer hose two innings after Mountcastle's chug.
While the Baltimore roster is insisting on the "homer hose" title, there have been a few other monikers offered since the funnel made its debut.
TV broadcaster Ben McDonald called it the "hydration station," while the team's radio broadcaster Melanie Newman went with "slug it and chug it."
—Melanie Newman (@MelanieLynneN) April 11, 2023There is one name the Orioles fans have taken on, which the team is now trying to avoid: the dong bong.
—AJ Gersh (@AJGershTV) April 11, 2023—Daniel (@minutemandan) April 11, 2023"We want to make sure that it's rebranded a little bit. It's a homer hose, not a, uh, a dong bong," starting pitcher Kyle Gibson told The Baltimore Sun after the game.
"So it's a homer hose, just like as a kid, you go out back, you take a drink from the water hose after you play outside playing Wiffle ball. So we've got to turn the water faucet on celebration when you hit a single. We've got a sprinkler when you hit an extra-base hit, and then it's a homer hose when you hit a homer, just so we know that we get that straight."
Gibson was referring to the Orioles other celebrations for base hits. After a single, players will turn to the dugout and do a little faucet twist.
—Orioles on MASN (@masnOrioles) April 7, 2023Doubles and triples get a sprinkler, and now, home runs get the dong bong homer hose.
Team manager Brandon Hyde was not aware of the funnel before its debut, but doesn't seem to mind it for now.
"I want guys to be loose," Hyde said, per MLB.com. "I like celebration stuff. I think it brings teams together. If the guys like it, then I'm all for it."
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