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The double point. Salt Bae. Meringue hips.
These are ways Red Sox batters have celebrated big hits with the dugout. And now we can add a simple motion to the list -- the wave.
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SIGN UP HERE Perhaps you've noticed it this season. A Red Sox hitter doubles and then immediately waves to the dugout, where teammates wave back. If you're wondering where it comes from, it actually traces to new outfielder Franchy Cordero.
Allow manager Alex Cora to explain.
"That started with Franchy," he said. "Franchy hit that double against Tampa, off the wall. And he got to second and he waved. He waved to the bench. Teams always do something, right? And I think Enrique (Hernández) saw it and he followed the lead, and it's becoming a thing."
Hitters generally share some motion to the dugout after a big knock, with James Harden's "stirring the pot" celebration from his Rockets days finding its way onto big-league basepaths about five years ago. A couple of years later, we saw Fortnite dances galore. This year's Dodgers have been patting themselves on the head in a move started by infielder Gavin Lux.
The Red Sox have been well-represented in this regard, whether it was Manny Ramirez pointing to the dugout with both hands, Mookie Betts mimicking the sprinkling-over-elbow motion of Salt Bae, who's actually a Turkish chef, or Brock Holt, Xander Bogaerts, and others popping their hips like dancers.
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The wave captures a much more basic exuberance that actually fits these overachieving Red Sox quite well, going hand-in-hand, so to speak, with their laundry cart home run rides.
Cora's all for it.
"It's something cool," he said. "It's camaraderie. You've got to make it fun, and they're having fun with it. They've got the cart in the dugout, and now they're waving at each other. It's a fun group. It's fun to watch, and we enjoy it."
