Where did Heredia's pink swords come from?
When the Braves picked up their second consecutive walk-off victory over the Dodgers to take a 2-0 series lead in the NLCS, you may have noticed something odd out there on the field. In the center of the celebrations, as the players jumped around and cheered, there was outfielder Guillermo Heredia ... swinging two pink swords in his hands.
The swords are nothing new, though. They first got our attention when Max Fried delivered the Braves a 10th-inning victory against the Marlins on July 4. That day, Heredia came racing out of the dugout in a full sprint, his hands full.
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It was an impressive enough celebration that it even earned the 30-year-old outfielder his own novelty Twitter account.
Heredia was a little too excited to show them off, though. He moved so quickly that first day he nearly ran into Fried as the pitcher ran the bases. It's something he's been careful not to do again.
"Yeah, obviously after I saw the video, I felt a little bad," Heredia said before Tuesday's NLCS Game 3. "I wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize any of the guys on the team or any decision that would go our way. So, needless to say, after I saw that video, I feel like I've been a little more responsible as far as waiting a bit before I charge out there in case I do anything that would overturn any positive outcome for our team or for the guys."
You'll notice that Heredia's teammates even mime a sword chop during games -- something that Joc Pederson had to learn when he first got to the club.
That leaves just one more incredibly pressing question: Where did Heredia even get the idea? As with so much of modern life, it came from lurking on Instagram.
"It was something comical, to be honest. It was a guy that I had been following for a long time on Instagram and he started doing the sword thing, so after a while I just decided to implement that into my routine, as well," Heredia said.
It took some serious work. Heredia went shopping and he couldn't find a pair of plastic swords anywhere. So, Braves clubhouse manager Calvin Minasian found some online and had them shipped to the stadium.
"The first day I took them out to the field, obviously a lot of guys were laughing and everyone was sort of asking, 'What's with the swords?'" Heredia said. "And I just told them, 'Hey, this is part of our celebration now, so kind of get used to it.'"
None of this is a surprise to his Braves teammates and coaches. Heredia is constantly chattering in the dugout and Braves manager Brian Snitker says his attitude is "infectious."
“I’ve never been around anybody who talks like that,” Braves third-base coach Ron Washington added. “It’s forever. It’s not just for an inning. If we’re out here 10 or 11 innings, he’s out here going crazy for 10 or 11 innings. Honestly, he was one of the guys who kept us afloat. He was one of the guys who kept us around. He deserves a ton of credit.”
Should the Braves keep on winning, expect to see Heredia out there cheering with his teammates and swinging his swords. He loves playing for Atlanta and is simply enjoying the moment.
"But for me more, [the sword celebration] is just a way to continue to participate and contribute to the team," Heredia said. "Just because I'm not playing, I'm not physically out there on the field, I find this is way to just kind of just show the team support within my role."