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Last year, the Orioles used a simple setup. There was a funnel, a hose and duct tape to attach it all to create the homer hose.
On Monday, the Orioles unveiled something far more complex: a “homer hydration station” with a metal stand and multiple hoses and nozzles for drinking water to celebrate a home run. Gone are the days of simplicity; here is the future.
The water-themed celebrations of last year were a hit, with a sprinkler motion at second and the homer hose in the dugout. They inspired Mr. Splash, who sprays a section in the Camden Yards outfield with water when Baltimore records an extra-base hit or run.
But Baltimore experimented this season in search of the right celebration methods. They brought out the revving of the engine, which included handlebars to pop after homers. That didn’t stick, and the sprinkler returned last week against the Boston Red Sox.
After Ryan O’Hearn’s third-inning homer Monday night, however, the Orioles took their celebration to new heights. Gone was the homer hose. Cameras for Mid-Atlantic Sports Network captured O’Hearn drinking from the newly coined hydration station.
“I think a lot of guys, the consensus was, ‘Don’t try to fix something that’s not broke,’” said catcher James McCann, who added that it was a team effort to think of and acquire the new homer hydration station. “What we started the year with just ended up being a placeholder and this has taken last year’s celebration to another level.”
The multiple nozzles come in handy for when multiple men are on base for a homer. In the fifth, when Cedric Mullins squeaked a two-run homer down the right-field line with Jordan Westburg on, both went to the contraption for a swig.
“I like the new one we got. It gets everyone involved,” O’Hearn said. “I’m personally happy all of our water celebrations are back. They’re a hit.”
It appears to be a six-person beer bong known as the Bongzilla, available on Amazon for $89.99, that the Orioles have repurposed for a much healthier mission of staying hydrated. Last year, right-hander Kyle Gibson ensured there would be no misinterpretation of the homer hose.
“It’s the homer hose, not a dong bong,” Gibson clarified. “It’s a homer hose, just like as a kid, you take a drink from the water hose after you play outside, playing whiffle ball.”
This new version serves the same purpose. It’s just a bit more high tech.
“We found the one that said ‘teamwork,’ and that was the one that speaks to the Orioles,” McCann said. “It wasn’t just one guy. It was a team decision.”
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Andy Kostka is an Orioles beat writer for The Baltimore Banner. He previously covered the Orioles for The Baltimore Sun. Kostka graduated from the University of Maryland and grew up in Rockville.
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