Los Angeles Dodgers celebrations for home runs and hits have varied over the years, and this season has seen two different iterations thanks in large part to Hanser Alberto and Trea Turner taking on the lead.
After a win in May, Alberto explained the shaka sign — or “hang loose” hand motion — stemmed from his time in the Dominican Winter League.
“Switch it up,” Alberto said. “In 2020 in Winter Ball, we were winning the final three games to one, and we lost it. They came from behind, won all three games in a row. So then last year, I went to the team and said, ‘Every time we get a hit, (does hand motion), we switch it up.’
“So I brought it here, and now everybody does switch it up.”
#Dodgers new on base celebration is a reference to a scene from the movie "Wolf of Wall Street". Trea Turner is one of the the originators. pic.twitter.com/Qb0QjVILyX
— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) July 27, 2022
The Dodgers evolved from that to a celebration spearheaded by Turner’s love for “The Wolf of Wall Street” movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. There’s a scene where DiCaprio’s character, “Jordan Belfort,” defiantly decides to remain at his company despite an investigation by the SEC.
DiCaprio’s character gives an impassioned speech that runs nearly 10 minutes long and includes hitting his head with a microphone. Turner purportedly has memorized the speech and on occasion reenacts it for teammates.
The head tapping he and the Dodgers do is their version of Belfort taking a stand.
That drew the ire of San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Jarlin García on Thursday afternoon. He mocked the celebration after striking out Cody Bellinger, and again upon getting James Outman swinging.
While doing the Dodgers’ celebration for a second time, García also pointed at Mookie Betts, and the two exchanged words before being separated by umpires.
Head-tap Dodgers celebration started in 2021
The Dodgers started a head-tap celebration last season, which Zach McKinstry revealed was the brainchild of Betts and Gavin Lux and signified whenever a player throws down a slam dunk on an opponent.
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