As per tradition, towards the end of the regular season, veterans on baseball’s various clubs haze the rookies by making them dress up and do something a bit embarrassing. That used to include things like making rookies dress up like women and carry pink backpacks, but Major League Baseball banned that practice, so veterans had to get marginally more creative.
The Phillies had their rookies -- including Rhys Hoskins, J.P. Crawford, and Nick Williams -- dress up like characters in Grease and perform “Greased Lightning” at their hotel in Atlanta on Friday night. Not only did the Phils’ vets and other members of the crew get a free show, but so did employees of the hotel and nearby hotel patrons.
Nothing quite like a little choreographed dance to officially welcome you to The Show.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 24, 2017
READ: https://t.co/fmEVOTzgU2 pic.twitter.com/OIsHmW0AfF
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As MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki explains, Hoskins was the inspiration for the gag as he has earned the nickname “Rhys Lightning.” (Rhys, for the uninitiated, rhymes with “Grease.”) Hoskins said, “You always hear about team chemistry. I think stuff like that let’s you get to know guys on a different level, when you’re not at the field. You just become more personable with people. The better relationships you have, there’s a different level of playing for each other. And I think that’s usually a sign of a good team.”
The Twins also had some fun at the rookies’ expense:
The rookies. #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/USifNmbZB9
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) September 24, 2017
