Ranking the 10 MLB Team Home Run Celebrations of 2026 Season

From cowboy hats to fur coats to elephant masks, these are the best team home run celebrations of the 2026 MLB season.

Shortstop Jacob Wilson (5) is the man under the elephant mask, part of the Athletics' new home run celebration. | Scott Marshall-Imagn Images

For over a century of baseball, a home run looked something like this: A ball was hit over the fence, and its author jogged quickly around the bases with his head down so as not to show up the pitcher.

Now, home runs are exclamation points, bat flips and fiestas on the base paths. And the party doesn’t stop when home plate is touched. The fun extends to the dugout, where the homering player’s teammates are waiting to revel in the glory of going yard.

While there may be some hand-wringing about celebrating home runs during the sojourn around the bases, I think nearly everyone can agree on one thing: these dugout home run celebrations are enjoyable.

In recent years, the dugout shindigs have gifted us with all sorts of wacky props, costumes, helmets and even oversized hats.

And they get better each year. Here are the best home run celebrations of the 2026 season so far.

10. Red Sox’ Wally mask

The Wally mask, an ode to mascot Wally the Green Monster, has returned to the Red Sox dugout in 2026. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The brain child of Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran, the Wally mask is a shout-out to Boston's mascot, Wally the Green Monster. The celebration debuted last April but was a hit among the Red Sox, so they decided to run it back for 2026.

9. Blue Jays’ homer jacket

The home run jacket has become an essential part of Blue Jays' game day operations. | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Another oldie but goodie is the Blue Jays' home run jacket, which dates back to 2021, when star slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and interpreter Hector Lebron sought to celebrate the multicutural roots in the clubhouse. The phrase on the jacket, La Gente del Barrio, translates to the neighborhood people.

8. Mariners’ trident

The Mariners' home run trident is still going strong in 2026. | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. This is the fourth season the Mariners have hoisted the six-and-a-half foot, nearly 30-pound trident in the dugout after home runs, but the celebration still doesn’t feel old.

The massive trident is a metal replica from the 2018 Aquaman movie, and evidently the Mariners’ then-utility Sam Haggerty spared no expense to purchase it.

Who says money can’t buy happiness?

7. Astros’ cowboy hat

Yordan Alvarez has donned the cowboy hat more than any other Astros player in 2026. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

This ode to Texas from the Astros is simple, yet effective: a blue-and-orange cowboy hat with the Astros logo on the front. To actually purchase the Astros’ cowboy hat? The team’s catcher Christian Vázquez paid $50 for it, according to MLB.com.

To actually use it as a home run celebration? Priceless.

6. Braves’ tomahawk bat

While it’s not quite the short-lived, big hat homer celebration from the 2023 season, the tomahawk bat is still fun.

The tomahawk bat is a red bat with a yellow handle and blue quasi-axe attached to the barrel. Each homering Braves player grabs the two tomahawk bats, which are a nod to both the team’s color and nickname, as he strolls through the dugout after going yard.

5. Mets’ Spider-Man mask

Earlier in the season, the Mets, in an ode to the blue-collar identity of the city they play in, donned a hard hat, complete with a sticker for each player who homered. Evidently, the celebration wasn’t deemed a hit, because the club replaced the celebration with a different ode to New York.

Mets third baseman Bo Bichette, after homering against the Braves during a series this past weekend, slipped on a blue-and-gold Spider-Man mask as he walked through the dugout.

With great power comes great responsibility.

4. Rockies’ faux fur coat

A purple faux fur coat has accompanied every Rockies home run in 2026. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Rockies might not be baseball royalty yet, but they’re celebrating like it in 2026. After every Colorado round-tripper, the homering party gets a majestic, purple faux fur coat tossed over his shoulders upon his return to the dugout.

According toThe Denver Post, Rockies pitching coach Gabe Ribas received the coat from a friend who had discovered it during Mardi Gras. 

And a new home run celebration was born.

3. Athletics' elephant mask

As one of the Athletics' 2026 home run leaders, Nick Kurtz (#16) has frequently worn the elephant mask and chain. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

If the Pirates’ welder’s helmet wins for most accurate representation of a team or city, the A’s elephant mask wins for most bizarre representation of a team or city. After every A’s home run, the player who went yard, upon returning to the dugout, slips on a strange-looking elephant mask and gold chain as a celebration.

The peculiar elephant mask seems to be an ode to the A’s lovable pachyderm mascot Stomper. What itactually is, is a terrifying depiction of an elephant sure to haunt your dreams with its sinister gaze.

In all seriousness, the mask and chain, which features a gold elephant head for a medallion, were both reportedly purchased by A’s pitcher Luis Severino, and come together to represent one of the better celebrations this year.

2. Guardians’ medieval helmet and sword

The origin story of the @CleGuardians home run helmet!

Tanner Bibee bought the helmet on a trip with teammates to Medieval Times during Spring Training ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/cLJTu6yPF1

— MLB (@MLB) June 3, 2026

The Guardians party like it’s the 11th century every time they hit a home run in 2026. The heroic homering Guardian, upon returning to the dugout, dons ye olde knight helmet, which was bought by Cleveland pitcher Tanner Bibee, according to The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Should the Guardians win, the homering player is then “knighted” with a real, blunt sword, purchased by first baseman Kyle Manzardo.

The helmet and sword were inspired by a spring training group outing to Medieval Times in Scottsdale, Ariz. The trip, coordinated by Guardians catcher Austin Hedges, featured players dressed up as knights and wizards.

As a result, the Guardians now have a home run celebration that would make Sir Lancelot proud.

Huzzah!

1. Pirates’ welding helmet

The Pirates' much-improved offense has given Pittsburgh plenty of chances to show off its new home run celebration: the welder's helmet. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Pirates didn’t wait long to introduce the world to their new home run celebration for 2026, as new acquisition Brandon Lowe belted a two-run shot in the top of the first inning on Opening Day vs. the Mets, then received an interesting piece of headgear in the dugout: a welder’s mask.

The Pirates are using a steel mill worker's welding helmet as their home run celebration for this season pic.twitter.com/AAN30UTrQw

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 26, 2026

And it’s not just any welder’s mask, but an actual steelworker’s welder’s mask. According to MLB.com, the mask belonged to a man named Dave Stephenson, who has been employed as an ironworker at an Allegheny County plant for the past 22 years.

“Eventually we thought, ‘OK, what’s more Pittsburgh than a welder’s mask?’ ” Pirates outfielder Ryan O'Hearn said.

Indeed.

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