Why The Guardians Won't Do Home Run Celebrations

The Cleveland Guardians are one of the few teams in MLB that don't have a home run prop.

© Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The Seattle Mariners have a trident they hold up in the air. The Los Angeles Angels share a Samurai Warrior helmet for those who earn it. The Washington Nationals wear a powdered wig for whoever hits a ball over the fence.

It's a new era in Major League Baseball, one in which it's more acceptable to show emotion and celebrate with your team which is all a great thing for players and fans. With that has come a new wave of home run celebrations unique to each team, city, and region.

Everybody in baseball has one. Well, almost everybody. One of the most notable teams who do not use props after hitting a home run is the Cleveland Guardians and the team gave their reason for it.

Andre Knott of Bally Sports is a sideline reporter for the Guardians and is very close with the team. He mentioned on Saturday night's broadcast in the seventh inning that the players have talked about adding a celebration but have ultimately decided against it.

Their reason according to Knott is that they think it would be silly and a little bit embarrassing to pull out some sort of hat, jacket, or cape when hitting a home run while still being down a handful of runs.

It's a valid reason. The celebrations are fun and can help fuel momentum but the teams that have these types of celebrations have to commit to it. If you only do the celebration when you're up then it comes off tacky and awkward. 

Sep 13, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) hits a two run home run during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports / © Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

Another part of this that Knott did not bring up is that the Guardians aren't a home run-hitting team. Cleveland hit MLB's fewest homers this season by a large margin. They only have 114 home runs this season trailing the Nationals who have hit 137. 

Perhaps the Guardians' minds will change if they start hitting homers at the same rate as the Atlanta Braves. For now, it's probably alright they don't do anything special.