BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox have settled on a new home run celebration, and this one's a little off the wall.
After hitting back-to-back homers in the first inning of the team's home-opening win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, Trevor Story and Wilyer Abreu donned the head of the team's mascot, Wally the Green Monster.
“I promise you I had no idea," Red Sox manager Alex Cora told laughing reporters. "When I went down to go to the dugout, and I walked into the cage and I saw it, and I just closed my eyes, I went, ‘Oh, my God.’
“But it’s all fun,” he said after the 13-9 victory gave the Red Sox three wins in a row. “We’re in the entertainment business, and people like it. So if they want to do it, they have the green light.”
Home run celebrations have become more common in baseball as the sport sheds its staid image and becomes more welcoming to bat flips and other demonstrations of personality that would have earned their predecessors a fastball in the gut.
The 2021 Red Sox celebrated home runs by taking a ride through the dugout in a laundry cart; other teams have celebrated with trinkets like bejeweled necklaces, wigs or showy hats. (Other sports have their own version, like the Miami Hurricanes' since discarded “turnover chain.” )
This year, the Red Sox are going with the green, furry head like the one worn by Wally, the Green Monster, who was named after Fenway Park's famous left field wall and has been the team mascot since 1997. The Red Sox posted a video on Friday showing outfielder Jarren Duran receiving the trinket from Wally and his sister, Tessie.
(The head is much smaller than the ones worn by the mascots, and appears to be a motorcycle helmet covered in green fur.)
“I think Jarren went out of his way to make that up, and it looks pretty good,” Story said. “It barely fits on our head. But I’ll slam on my head no matter what. It’s a fun thing. And hopefully we can wear it a lot this year.”
Boston hit two homers in the home opener on Friday, both in the first inning as it jumped to a 5-0 lead. They had 16 hits in all, opening a seven-run lead before holding on to win 13-9.
“It was great to have a have it come out on the first day that we had it,” said new Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman. “So, hopefully many more of those, I guess.”
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Boston Red Sox's Wilyer Abreu (52) wears a mascot head in the dugout after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
Boston Red Sox's Trevor Story wears a mascot head in the dugout after hitting a home run in the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
