Swinging the sword: 1st place Pirates coming up with a celebration for every occasion

Whether they are unsheathing an imaginary sword while rounding the bases, swinging a replica and donning a custom jacket in the dugout after home runs or placing a stuffed Pikachu in a pitcher’s locker, the Pittsburgh Pirates seem to come up with a celebration for every occasion.

And they have had plenty to celebrate.

The first-place Pirates (18-8) have the best record in the National League and sit 10 games above .500 after winning nine of their past 10 games, including a stretch of seven consecutive. It’s not just that they are winning after enduring back-to-back 100-loss seasons but how they are enjoying every moment with expressions of exuberance.

“We want to create the best vibe we can possibly have in the clubhouse and it’s carried amongst us out there on the field,” Pirates pitcher Vince Velasquez said. “We’re making sure what we do in here is for the team, for the boys, but when we go out there, it’s as a team. We’re all playing together and not forgetting what the objective is. We’re doing a good job with having fun and knowing at the same time we’re trying to win. It’s exciting to see a team that people didn’t really expect to have this performance but at the same token, it’s hidden. When you have talents like that and you unlock them, it’s amazing what we can do.”

That was especially true in the 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday at PNC Park, highlighted by successive home runs by Connor Joe and Rodolfo Castro in the sixth inning.

While Joe was wearing the black home run jacket, Pirates broadcaster Joe Block predicted that Castro could try it on for size next. When Castro crushed a Julio Urias fastball 414 feet over the North Side Notch in left-center, Block had his home run call ready to go: “Rodolfo Castro wants to wear the jacket!”

“The sword and the celebration, they’re just part of a bonding of the team and how close we are as teammates,” Castro said through translator Stephen Morales, a Pirates coach. “That’s our way to celebrate, not just home runs but base hits and good plays and everything. It’s part of us when it comes to celebrating good stuff.”

Not only are the Pirates trending in the right direction, but they are following a popular trend in baseball by using props to give props. Some are nickname-appropriate, like the Seattle Mariners using a trident for triumphant moments and the Milwaukee Brewers wearing a foam cheesehead. Others embrace the absurd, such as the Atlanta Braves wearing an oversized hat, the Baltimore Orioles drinking water from a homer hose that resembles a beer bong and the Boston Red Sox pumping inflatable dumbbells for feats of strength.

For the Pirates, it started with a suggestion to starting pitcher Mitch Keller by a fan known as Pirate Queen Banshee, who sits along the third base line near the home dugout dressed in full costume, that swinging a sword would be an appropriate way for the Pirates to celebrate homers. When Keller asked where the Pirates could find a sword, she donated a one that soon became a signature of their dingers in the dugout.

“We’re having fun with it,” Keller said earlier this month. “Hopefully they see it every time now and feel like they’re a part of the team more than they already are. We really rally around the fans that are here and they help us a lot so it’s cool.”

With hardware for the hitters, the pitching staff decided to come up with something of its own. They came up with a creative set of baseballs but it soon disappeared. A few days later, the popular gold-and-black Pokemon character appeared as the replacement.

“Honestly, I have no idea. I don’t know where that started,” Keller said. “It’s a lot harder to lose that thing. Everyone’s doing their own little thing with the sword or Pikachu. It started out as kind of like a joke but it’s become a part of us. The pitcher of the game gets Pikachu, the hitter of the game gets the hitter’s thing and we get the sword involved, too. It’s a fun thing to keep going. Everyone wants to do it.”

The hitter’s thing is a home run jacket, a concept borrowed from the Toronto Blue Jays, who have since retired their blue blazer. Carlos Santana commissioned the custom black blazer with a Pirates logo on the back encircled by the team’s 10 retired numbers, the words “Home Run Jacket” on the left sleeve with a Pirates logo and black-and-gold flag are on the right sleeve and a Roberto Clemente Museum logo inside.

Santana teased Castro during an interview Thursday, shouting in Spanish that Castro better give him credit for the home run jacket that serves as a fashion statement to recognize a flash of power.

“It comes out naturally, but it helps a lot that you have the jacket and the sword,” Castro said. “They’re part of the celebration and they help a lot, just to have something to give us motivation to celebrate.”

What began as goofy gimmicks have become a rallying point for the Pirates and their fans, much the same way the Zoltan sign became one for the 2012 Pirates. To celebrate a double, they flashed their hands to gesture a Z, a reference to the movie “Dude, Where’s My Car?” Soon, shirts featuring the Zoltan gesture became a merchandising hit.

Perhaps Pikachu and the home run jacket or swinging of swords will be next fad at the ballpark. For now, the Pirates are focusing on finding fun ways to celebrate their success, for however long it lasts.

“I think the enthusiasm is contagious,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “That comes when you have a mix of good veteran guys who are able to bring things in like that. When you have a bunch of young players, they may not be as comfortable saying, ‘Hey, we’re gonna have a sword’ or do things like that. But when you have veteran players that come in and say, ‘Hey, this is OK,’ and you have young players, you just see their their youthful enthusiasm. I think they’re enjoying it.”