In 2017 the New York Yankees rallied around a thumbs-down celebration. The 2019 team is taking a cue from Brett Gardner’s anger.
If you noticed the New York Yankees making some slightly awkward motions on Sunday, don’t worry. They’re just savages mimicking Brett Gardner’s habit of banging his bat on the dugout roof when he’s pissed off:
This is probably the best baseball clip to surface in the last 50 years so I wouldn’t be shocked if MLB is about to shut down the internet so it doesn’t spread any further pic.twitter.com/9G1JOV268b
— Eric Nathan👍 (@BarstoolNate) July 18, 2019
The 35-year-old also demonstrated that he doesn’t mind taking his emotions out on other teams’ stadiums:
Brett Gardner was ejected from the dugout, and Aaron Boone had to restrain him from the ump 😳
(via @YESNetwork) pic.twitter.com/xYAkZI0AeM
— SI MLB (@si_mlb) August 10, 2019
Eventually, MLB umpires decided they’d had enough of Gardner’s destruction of property. Longtime ump Phil Cuzzi tossed the Bombers’ outfielder specifically for bashing the dugout ceiling on Saturday:
Aaron Boone, Brett Gardner, and CC Sabathia get ejected, a breakdown pic.twitter.com/oaUUv4qIDJ
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) August 17, 2019
By the time Sunday afternoon’s game rolled around, Gardner had learned his lesson. He made it all the way through the game without getting ejected.
However, that didn’t stop him from turning his shame into the latest inside joke in the Bronx. When the Bleacher Creatures chanted Gardner’s name for roll call on Sunday, he turned and pantomimed his now-infamous routine:
https://twitter.com/MaxWildstein/status/1163141601012715521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1163141601012715521&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnypost.com%2F2019%2F08%2F18%2Fyankees-giving-brett-gardners-dugout-antics-new-meaning%2F
Aaron Judge then used the same motion to celebrate a base hit later in the game:
New rally cry? #BangGang #LetBrettGang pic.twitter.com/ZZYIQWqKGI
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) August 18, 2019
In 2017, the Yankees developed a similarly odd celebration. After a Todd Frazier home run against the cross-town rival New York Mets, a video of an Amazin’s fan displaying disapproval with a thumbs-down gesture went viral:
Of Course Thumbs Down Guy Is A Mets Fan https://t.co/VovRyMJggl pic.twitter.com/XkWk5lygwu
— Clem (@TheClemReport) September 16, 2017
As a result, Frazier and the Bombers appropriated the downward-facing thumb for their own uses:
Yankees doing the thumbs down for Todd Frazier because of the thumbs down guy 😂 pic.twitter.com/9V8vPm4Qlq
— Baseball Bros (@BaseballBros) September 15, 2017
The young, underdog 2017 Yankees carried the thumbs-down rallying gesture to within a game of the World Series.
Maybe Bombers bat banging will prove an even more powerful symbol, one that fires up the 2019 World Series Champions. This New York Yankees fan certainly hopes so.
