Dawn of a New Baseball Season
A new baseball season is upon us, which means spring and warm weather is not far behind. So what does that have to do with a beer locker room celebration? In Toronto, the Blue Jays just so happen to have a new manager this season. Charlie Montoyo, after 18 years as a minor league manager and four as a major league coach with the Tampa Rays, was named Toronto’s manager.
After an opening day extra inning loss to the
Detroit Tigers, Montoyo and the Jays took game two of the series with a 6-0
victory. Not many would look at a win on day two of the major league season as
a reason for celebration. But afterwards, Montoyo sat in a laundry hamper in
the team’s showers, while his players doused him with beer.
“He needed a cold one,” starting pitcher Matt
Shoemaker said, “He got about 50, 60 cold ones all at the same time. It was
awesome.”
First MLB Win for a Manager
It was the first major league win for the
longtime minor league manager, and it definitely meant a lot to him. His
players saw it as a reason for celebration and determined a beer shower was
appropriate. Montoyo obviously had no problem with it and later appeared at his
post game press conference soggy and smelling like alcohol.
No one would deny what this meant to Montoyo
after years of struggling just to get to this point. But it does, however, make
you think about locker room celebrations in sports and how alcohol plays a
part. You see it in all professional sports when a team reaches what they
consider a milestone.
Another Way to Celebrate
Some sports more than others take every
opportunity to celebrate. Take baseball for example. On the way to a World
Series title, a team can have as many as four opportunities for celebrating.
Step one is to win their Division title. That gets them a berth in the playoffs
where they play the Divisional series round. Should they advance, they play in
the American or National League Championship series. Winning that series will
send them to the World Series where another celebration may await.
A Drink from Lord Stanley’s Mug
That’s a total of four opportunities for
locker room celebrations, and team’s now take advantage of every one. And it’s
not just baseball that enjoys a good celebration. In hockey, its long been a
tradition for players to drink alcohol out of the Stanley Cup during their
locker room celebrations.
Ovechkin’s Summer Shenanagins
Which makes people wonder where did this
tradition get started. Well, that’s a little bit tougher to pinpoint. Teams
have always celebrated championships, and back in the day it was beer that was
typically available in locker rooms. So it goes to figure that beer showers
were in place well before modern champagne baths. As early as the mid-1950’s,
the Brooklyn Dodgers were shown pouring beer on each other, but nowhere near as
wild as today’s celebration.
In fact, champagne was reserved at that time
for the post-game dinner and reception and was used primarily for sipping and
toasting. Actually, keeping the bubbly on ice for the winning team goes back as
far as the 1940’s and 1950’s, but the drink was served mainly for celebratory
toasts. It wasn’t until the 1960’s when the drink was splashed around the
Pittsburgh Pirates clubhouse after their 1960 championship. The Yankees,
Dodgers and Cardinals followed suit in subsequent years.
Now: Like an Orchestra!
But the celebrations have become much more
orchestrated in recent years, and the league’s have gone as far as to set
guidelines for post-game celebrations. Limiting the amount of champagne bottles
to two per player and only allowing a certain brand of beer, are a couple of
those guidelines. Also, they have dictated that non-alcoholic beverages be made
available for those who choose not to drink.
They’ve also pushed to keep the alcohol and
the celebration within the clubhouse walls and not allow it onto the field. But
teams routinely flirt with the rules and players have taken to the field to
interface with excited fans, spraying them with the bubbly.
It has now become routine that these post-game
celebrations will take place after a big win. Clubhouses are fitted with
plastic to protect the area, and the alcohol, both beer and champagne, are laid
out ahead of the team entering the room. In addition, goggles are available to
protect the eyes from burning and from flying corks, and also provide an added
flare to the festivities.
The Media Get Involved Too!
And not just players get involved in the
action. Reporters, cameramen and even team executives are not immune from
getting doused and become an active part of the celebration. All of this adds
to the fun of the moment and most non-players have no problem with it.
Some would question the message teams are sending to fans that it is always alcohol that is used in these celebrations. However, in the majority of cases, more of the alcohol is sprayed on teammates than is consumed, and players look at is as more of a tradition than anything. In fact, adding the beer or champagne to the celebration is a way to make it seem extra special.
Who can forget Kawaski?
Although leagues have tried to regulate it in
the past, beer has been a pretty common fixture in professional clubhouses for
quite some time. And with champagne, the evolution from celebrating by sipping
a glass of the bubbly to spraying it, has simply evolved over time.
Gender-Exclusive Trend?
Women’s professional locker rooms have also
joined the celebration. WNBA champions in recent years have also used champagne
after winning the championship in much the same manner as their male
counterparts.
The bottom line is that winning a championship
or reaching a key milestone is a major accomplishment. Players and teams want
the celebration to be special, and use the alcohol as a way to make it that
way. So the next time you see a locker room celebration, I’m pretty sure you’ll
know just what to expect.
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