This story was excerpted from Zachary Silver’s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Brandon Hyde walked into his clubhouse after last Sunday’s win over the Red Sox in Williamsport, Pa. There he found Jorge Mateo, whose eighth-inning bases-clearing double powered the Orioles to victory, sporting a bright orange wrestling championship belt. It was his first time seeing that accolade exactly, but not nearly his first time catching the Orioles injecting their clubhouse with good vibes.
“I love all that kind of stuff,” Hyde said. “Anything you can do right now to keep it loose, keep it light, celebrate wins, congratulate each other -- I love all that stuff.”
Robinson Chirinos and Rougned Odor -- the Orioles’ prescribed vibe kings -- have been the proprietors of most of these traditions. They’ve all marked different phases of the excitement that’s built around Baltimore all season -- all different methods in captivating both themselves and the city.
Here’s a little backstory to each tradition, a primer to the vibes emanating from Oriole Magic:
Championship belt
Use: Doled out to the MVP of a win
The newest trend; this one is doled out to a player the Orioles select as their postgame MVP. Take, for instance, this past week. After collecting a five-out save on Tuesday, Félix Bautista was sporting the belt above his locker -- and then posing with it postgame. On Thursday, it went to Anthony Santander, who rapped a first-inning home run and then collected the walk-off hit in the 11th. Celebratory belts aren’t nearly unique to the Orioles, but now they have their own.
Home Run Chain
Use: Anytime a home run is hit
Easily the Orioles’ most viral tradition of the bunch, this one is thanks in part to a popular fan known now only as “Fired Up Guy.” During a May win over Boston, "Fired Up Guy" handed the orange chain with a foam “O’s” at the bottom to Logan Sanders, son of first-base coach Anthony Sanders, in the dugout. Quickly thereafter, it became the Orioles’ go-to method of celebrating a home run. Now, it’s held together mostly by duct tape and zip ties, but the excitement rages on -- and replicas are available to purchase in team stores across the ballpark.
Goggles celebration
Use: Anytime a player collects a base hit
Perhaps the Orioles’ most long-standing tradition of the season, this one harkens back to the “Call of Duty” video game. Spending countless hours playing the game together during Spring Training, virtual bonding turned on-field. Each time a player collects a hit, they turn to the dugout and pantomime goggles, representing one of the in-game call signs. Important to note here: This is just for hits, not walks. And home runs? You already know what those get.
'The Wire' walk-out whistle
Use: Anytime Bautista enters at Camden Yards
Another new one, and an homage to Omar Little’s famed “Farmer in the Dell” whistle from “The Wire,” the Orioles now black out all jumbotrons at Camden Yards when the bullpen door opens for Bautista. The new closer enters to a light show, igniting the crowd, and providing one key message: Félix comin’.