Every playoff team's best celebration, dance

For the 12 postseason-bound teams, there’s been plenty to celebrate down the stretch. But throughout the season -- before playoff spots were even clinched -- these teams were already displaying distinctive ways to mark special moments. From choreographed routines to quiet gestures to quirky dugout traditions and beyond, here are the celebrations that fans will have a chance to see on the big stage from each team.

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Blue Jays
The Home Run Jacket has become a staple in Toronto going back to last season. When a Blue Jays player homers, they’re typically met at the top of the dugout steps by a teammate to help them slide it on, with the words “La Gente Del Barrio” across the back, meaning “The people of the neighborhood.” The jacket is also covered in names of countries that represent the Blue Jays’ diverse roster and staff. Every once in a while, the jacket is even awarded to a standout pitching performance.

Rays
Former Rays outfielder Brett Phillips used to greet his teammates in front of the dugout to remove their helmets after home runs, a responsibility that Wander Franco mostly assumed after Phillips was traded. This summer, Tampa Bay started a celebratory post-homer “tunnel,” with the hitter running through a line of his teammates from one end of the dugout to the other. Shane McClanahan came up with the idea during a game while sitting alongside Corey Kluber, and the stoic Kluber’s relatively enthusiastic agreement -- “I like that” -- convinced McClanahan to make it happen.

Yankees
The Yankees’ most meaningful celebration happens behind closed doors, where an important contributor to each victory is presented with a wrestling-style championship belt, then urged to make a speech to teammates and coaches. The ritual has been a clubhouse staple since 2017. The belt then resides in that player’s locker until the next victory, when the previous recipient (with input from other teammates) is allowed to choose his successor. Reliever Zack Britton started a similar trend with an authentic FDNY firefighter’s helmet late in 2022, which has been passed among the relievers. But the standard among position players and starting pitchers is still the gold-plated “Player of the Game” belt, which was created at Brett Gardner’s suggestion.

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Guardians
You may see some individual Guardians players doing their own celebrations -- like Oscar Gonzalez pulling up for a jump shot around second base or Josh Naylor rocking a baby as he approaches third -- but there’s one reaction that’s required on the team. When a home run ball is launched, everyone in the Guardians’ dugout can be seen either against the railing or even on the dirt, signaling for the home run hitter to bend down and put his hand just a foot off the ground as he rounds third. There’s certainly a reason behind this tradition, but the team is adamant to keep that purpose a secret. Whatever it is, it appears to fuel the dugout every time.

Astros
In the years following the Astros’ World Series championship in 2017, the club operated with the swagger of a champion. There was Tony Kemp’s hugs for homers and Josh Reddick’s wrestling belt that went to the player of the game. But the most popular dugout celebration was the camera stare, which started with Alex Bregman staring into a TV camera following a home run. Soon, the whole team was staring into the camera. Things changed following the sign-stealing scandal. The Astros kept their emotions more in check, though they still manage to let loose. Bregman may extend his arm out to imitate an intentional walk sign if he gets a hit. A high-five line capped by a shower of bubblegum might be the celebration on another day. More recently, two players will pose with their backs to each other after hitting back-to-back homers. Even with no team-wide celebration, the Astros know how to have fun.

Mariners
There’s no formal name for the dancing circle, other than the simplistic description that the Mariners gather in a circle, embrace in one massive hug and dance by moving to their right while sticking one foot out after the other on the playing surface after each victory. There’s no rhyme or reason to it, other than that they didn’t begin this celebration until after veteran slugger Carlos Santana arrived in a June 27 trade and encouraged his new teammates to play more loosely and celebrate all victories, small and big. It’s been a players-only celebration all year, but after the club ended the drought and clinched a playoff berth, all coaches, athletic trainers and support staff took part.

Braves
Though it looks a little like “The Chop” the celebratory motion you see Braves players making after recording a big hit, it is more like a slash. How did it develop? Backup outfielder Guillermo Heredia saw a social media influencer creating videos with swords and decided to get a couple plastic ones. Heredia’s pink swords became recognized throughout the baseball world during last year’s postseason. The pink swords influenced the creation of the “Slash” or “Sword Chop,” which will be seen again this October.

Mets
Do something great, earn a hug from Buck Showalter. That’s how it’s gone recently for the Mets, who lined up for individual hugs following their playoff clinch in Milwaukee in September. A week later, when Eduardo Escobar drove home all five runs in a key Mets victory, he returned the favor by wrapping Showalter in a bear hug and kissing him on the neck. There is no more wholesome way to celebrate a win.

Phillies
The Phillies donned a “home run hat” in 2021, and they discussed coming up with something new in 2022. But something new never happened, so the Phillies celebrate home runs with various fist bumps, hand shakes and gestures.

“You hope that those things come up organically,” Rhys Hoskins said earlier this season. “You don’t want it to feel forced. Nothing’s really come up. If it comes up at some point, great. We’ll try to hit some more homers.”

Cardinals
When the Cardinals hit an offensive slump in July, several players and manager Oliver Marmol talked repeatedly about the team needing to “grind out at bats.” Somehow, that phrase morphed into the act of grinding pepper by twisting fists in opposite directions. Often, Cardinals players will celebrate big hits or home runs by making the pepper grinder motion back toward teammates in the dugout. Playful outfielder Lars Nootbaar was a big proponent of the “pepper grinder” celebration, and he was even given a pepper grinder as a birthday gift earlier in the season. For a lengthy stretch in August and September, the Cardinals kept that gifted pepper grinder in the dugout and used it to celebrate big moments, like Albert Pujols’ game-winning home run at Wrigley.

Dodgers
The Dodgers have had a couple different celebrations this season, but the one that has stuck was Trea Turner’s “The Wolf” celebration. Turner -- inspired by a scene from the movie “The Wolf of Wall Street” in which Leonardo DiCaprio hits his head with a microphone as he rallies the troops -- began to tap his head with his fist, and it spread throughout the roster.

Padres
On a whim, Joe Musgrove ordered a gold Polaroid Now+ and a few boxes of Color 600 film. The camera made its dugout debut for a game against the Marlins in May. And when Manny Machado homered, Musgrove snapped a photo of him posing -- and a new tradition was born. Every home run or big play gets a polaroid, typically snapped by one of the team’s starting pitchers at the far end of the dugout. Those photos adorn the wall connecting the home clubhouse to the dugout at Petco Park (with Musgrove’s intention to eventually auction them for charity).