MLB is experiencing an epidemic of guys being dudes. At ballparks all across the US, groups consisting of mostly young men are joining in on the “Tarps Off” trend that is loud, goofy, infectious and new to the baseball world.
Joining in on the fun is simple: Go to the section where the party is happening, take off your shirt and start twirling it above your head.
Soccer-like chants or singing usually follow — injecting a jolt of energy for a sport that is occasionally chided for its lack of energy inside the stadium.
Photo: AP
After getting its start in St Louis, Missouri, on Friday last week, it has spread across the league to places like Detroit, Michigan; Tampa Bay, Florida; Philadelphia; Seattle; and Anaheim, California.
Chad Bitzer — who has been going to Seattle Mariners games for about 13 years — was among the shirtless fans.
His reasoning was simple: “Cause everyone else was taking it off. Why not?”
Photo: AFP
“It’s fresh. It’s a beautiful night. Take it off,” Bitzer said. “Great northwest night. We live for the summers. We live for the good weather.”
His team lost on Tuesday, beaten 2-1 by the Chicago White Sox.
Ground zero for the shirtless outbreak was in St Louis on Friday last week, when a club baseball team affiliated with Stephen F. Austin State University was in Alton, Illinois, for the National Club Baseball Division II World Series. The Cardinals offered tickets to the team and 17 players attended.
That group started the fun, dozens of others joined and suddenly their were a couple of hundred fans creating a ruckus in right field that helped propel the Cardinals to a 5-4 victory in 11 innings over the Kansas City Royals.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol loved the energy so much that he bought tickets for the shirtless revelers for Saturday’s game and they returned.
“It’s hard not to have fun when the fans are like that,” Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn said on Friday. “We’ve got the best fans in the world, but it seems like the younger generation makes it more like a college atmosphere.”
Even the Cardinals’ mascot Fredbird joined in on the fun.
Now it might be the start of a tradition — more shirtless fans cheered for the Cardinals in Tuesday’s game against the Pirates. It certainly seems to be a boost for the club’s homefield advantage: Ivan Herrera hit a three-run homer to lift the Cardinals to a 9-6 win in 10 innings.
A similar outbreak of shirtless fans broke out at a Tampa Bay Rays game on Monday and again on Tuesday, when they beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-1.
Another small group celebrated at Citizens Bank Park as the Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 in the rain.
Angels fans celebrated with a mix of joy and irritation, chanting for owner Arte Moreno to sell the team.
They lost 14-6 loss against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday.
MLB certainly will not complain about the recent attention. Attendance is up at big-league stadiums so far this season, averaging about 1,000 more fans per game than a year ago through Monday’s contests.
If the trend continues, MLB could average 30,000 fans per game for the first time since 2016.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, it was:
‧ Cubs 2, Brewers 5
‧ Diamondbacks 5, Giants 3
‧ Marlins 4, Braves 8
‧ Nationals 9, Mets 6
‧ Padres 4, Dodgers 5
‧ Rockies 0, Rangers 10
‧ Royals 1, Red Sox 7
‧ Tigers 3, Guardians 4
‧ Twins 1, Astros 2
‧ Yankees 5, Blue Jays 4
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