Pirates Put Cone to Use on Latest Home Run
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have used their traffic cone as a rallying call this season and aren't afraid to get creative with it.
Pirates designated hitter Marcell Ozuna hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning, capping a six-run inning that made it 6-0 to the Pirates over the Philadelphia Phillies in the series opener at PNC Park on May 15.
Ozuna crushed a 93.3 mph four-seam fastball that Phillies right-handed starting pitcher Aaron Nola threw over the middle of the plate, sending it 109.5 mph off the bat and 438 feet over the center field wall.
That home run landed in the Pirates bullpen and right-handed relief pitcher Yohan Ramírez picked up the traffic cone nearby turned it upside down and caught the ball in the cone.
Can't get over this 😭 https://t.co/yO0jqCOMAf pic.twitter.com/FcfixAo1zn
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 15, 2026
Pirates Rallying Around Cone in 2026
The Pirates have had the cone as their rallying call for almost all of 2026 and use it whenever something good happens.
The origin started when Fanatics started selling a Pirates shirt with the slogan, "Hoist the Cone."
Pirates fans were perplexed when they saw it, perhaps a mistake with "Hoist the Colors,", which is a popular term Pirates used to raise their flag when preparing for battle.
There was also the "The Pittsburgh Cone", which PNC Park offered fans during the 2019 season as one of the promotional foods for the season and that Fanatics was also selling another shirt that has the Pittsburgh Cone on it.
Pirates fans still took to it and made many jokes about it, finding random traffic cones or other cones they could find and hoisting them.
The team started using it when Pirates outfielder Jake Mangum brought a traffic cone into the clubhouse and then Pirates assistant clubhouse manager Nick Cook put a Pirates "P" sticker on it prior to their game vs. the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on March 30.
The Pirates would go on and win that game 8-3 and then did the same the following day, with outfielder Billy Cook hoisting the cone constantly throughout the game in the dugout.
Pirates fans then started buying into the trend, bringing traffic cones of all sizes to PNC Park, wearing traffic cone hats and even dressing up in cone costumes at the games.
The cone also goes well with the welder's mask the Pirates use after every home run, a nod to the region's steel industry and blue-collar history.
It's now a phemoneon wherever the Pirates go and the fans bring them along, even risking getting them taken from security at other ball parks.
As long as the Pirates keep playing the way they have, the fans will keep bringing in cones for the forseeable future.
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.