FORGET UNICORNS & ROSES: HOW ABOUT GESTURES & EMOJIS

Source: Sports Illustrated

You've all heard the expression, "it's not all unicorns and rainbows," when referring to the grass being greener on the other side of the fence, right?  What appears to be picture perfect is likely just a facade covering for a dark thunderstorm of a life behind closed doors.  Well, the 2017 Yankees have aired their dirty laundry this season: the injuries, the errors, the pitching mistakes, the bullpen woes...they placed them front and center.

Source: FRANK FRANKLIN II/AP

But even more important than that are the ways the Yankees are showcasing their best moments. They are gesturing to one another, signaling that they are a team, that they are moving ahead and that they are celebrating the great hits, amazing plays and come from behind wins that defined them during the first couple of months of the 2017 Season.

It started with the two finger pointing gesture to the dugout, when a player knocked in run, cleared the bases or simply got on base to start off a rally.  "With these Yankees, while it’s a relatively reserved double-armed salute, it’s still notable given the franchise’s staid tradition. Some players make it look as though they’re casting a spell on their teammates," reported the NY Post in early August.

The YES Network now features a segment in the post-game show that touts the announcers attempting to translate Didi Gregorius's #Startspreadingthenews Tweet of emojis of the latest Yankee win.  "Following each win, when he leaves the field and talks to some of the players, he'll use a hashtag devoted to Starlin Castro, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and others in addition to the impact plays each made during the game," reported MLB.com in June.

The latest gesture is actually "fan-grown."  It happened completely organically when a Met fan attended one of the Rays-Yankees games at Citi Field earlier in the week and expressed his displeasure with a thumb's down gesture when the Yankees Todd Frazier smashed a three-run home run in "his" home ball park.  "So just spur of the moment I came up with idea of just standing up and making the thumbs down gesture," he said. "A simple little thumbs down and all of a sudden it's become so popular. It's like a meme," said 54-year-old Gary Dunaier, the author of the Yankees' current celebratory group gesture.

Source: The Associated Press

2017 hasn't been pretty.  There have been stellar moments like the "All Rise" Aaron Judge home runs, the return of Gary Sanchez, the leadership of Brett Gardner and the birth of a new Yankee ace Luis Severino.  The Yankees shared it all with us, the good and the bad.  They told their story in gestures and let's hope that this carries them to the new start of a new glossary of gestures and emojis in the post season.

--Suzie Pinstripe

BYB Managing Editor
Follow me on Twitter: @suzieprof

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