Piña flashes claws in Crew's new celebration

May 28th, 2021

It looks like the Brewers are celebrating the 10-year anniversary of “Beast Mode,” but no. When you see them throw up their hands after a hit, à la Prince Fielder, Nyjer Morgan & Co. in 2011, it’s something new.

kind of came up with it,” said Brewers second baseman Kolten Wong. “He was doing it around the clubhouse and making lion or tiger noises when he was doing it. … Manny kind of brought it out of left field and we all kind of just jumped on.”

For the record, because these things are important: It’s a tiger.

There’s even an art project happening in the Brewers clubhouse. That’s something the team didn’t have in 2011, when players started similarly showing their claws in an homage to the animated film Monsters, Inc., which was a favorite of Fielder’s kids.

The Brewers have been flashing their tiger claws since a two-game series against the Royals, part of a stretch in which the team lost 13 of 17 games. But since departing Kansas City, the Brewers have won two of three games at Cincinnati and split a four-game series with the Padres.

“We have more energy right now,” said Milwaukee starter Freddy Peralta. “[Willy] Adames brings more energy to the team. And Piña is always doing something different. He’s trying to keep everybody smiling. Now, he has like a tiger sign, something like that. Everybody is enjoying that during the game. All the positive things work for the team.”