We live in the era of professional baseball’s Home Run Celebration, a phenomenon known as “Elevate and Celebrate.” Bands around the world have developed their own unique ways of partying in the backyard. There’s the Oriole hydration hose, colloquially called the Dong Bong, which has evolved into a four-person beer bong system for the club where you can sip holiday water and/or Gatorade. The sailors have a nice trident. The Reds had a Viking helmet. The Blue Jays have the Home Run Jacket, a fun blue jacket. Padres take Polaroid photos. And, perhaps most stupidly, the Red Sox home run hitter dons a immense furry helmet depicting the team’s mascot, the green monster Wally.
The World Baseball Classic is just getting started, and the triennial global competition brings with it a recent round of home run celebrations. One of them comes from Italy, who, in true Italian style, celebrate their own moon photos with a different kind of photo. What we mean here is a glass of espresso.
This isn’t the first time the Italian team has been caught drinking sprits. In 2023, during a match against Chinese Taipei, the Italians were seen with a Nespresso machine in the dugout and a full range of sweeteners. And now espresso is part of the home ritual. Call it “Level Up and Caffeinate.”
As reported MLB.comThe idea came from Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, who also serves as barista for any homecoming celebrations. And he was certainly busy during Italy’s first match in this year’s WBC league. Playing against Brazil in what was a true clash of coffee titans on both sides of the supply chain, the Italian team hit three home runs en route to an 8-0 victory. Two of them came from left-back Dante Nori, meaning Pasquantino visited him many times. Nori tells MLB he doesn’t like coffee, but he warmed up to it after the second shot.
Italy, however, will need all the assist they can get to get out of the pool game. Although they currently have a 2-0 record, they are tied with the USA and Mexico, who finished second and third, respectively, in the 2023 WBC.
Of course, there is a concern that this will be an over-celebration. Even for the Italian team, whose captain Francisco Cervelli says he drinks coffee “about 20 times a day,” too many home runs – and the espresso celebrations that come with it – can lead to a different kind of outing.
