Tony Brown and Baseball Handshakes
Posted on 04. Sep, 2009 by Corey in All, Dayton Dragons Baseball, General Baseball.
To the fans, media and front office, Dayton Dragons Outfielder Tony Brown is a power hitter, and a nice guy. But to his teammates, Brown is also known as the “King of the Handshakes.” Brown has personalized handshakes with more than half of the 25-man Dragons roster, and almost every member of the coaching and clubhouse staff. If Brown had his way, he would like to get the rest of the team on board with handshakes of their own.
“To me, it is a big team bonding thing,” Brown said. “It helps some of us get focused and ready to play ball.”
For Brown, the proper time to do the handshake is in the pre-game, following the team stretch. He says it’s their way of saying “good luck.” Usually, all the players huddle around one another and perform their specialized shakes together. Some players have them with other teammates besides Brown and remembering them can get quite tough.
“I have to admit, I have messed up before,” Brown said. “When you have so many of them, something is bound to go wrong.” He went on to say that some of the shakes are pretty long, but it has become a pre-game routine to get them all in.
Some of the handshakes performed are carryovers from last year, when a large group of current Dragons players were in Billings together on the Cincinnati Reds Rookie League team. Brown said that those handshakes are basically the same, with a little added on. “You have to use the personality of the guy when making up a handshake. Sometimes they just develop and don’t need to be created,” Brown said.
Although most of Brown’s handshakes take place with the Dragons hitters, he does have some with the pitchers. “That’s fun to mix them in also.”
Asked to pick a favorite handshake, Brown said Dragons shortstop Miguel Rojas is the one he enjoys the most. He also added that Rojas and Dragons outfielder Byron Wiley are really good at creating and performing team handshakes.
“I see these happen all the time in the Big Leagues,” Brown said. “Big Papi (David Ortiz) and Victor Martinez of the Red Sox have a nice one. I also enjoy Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera of the Yankees.” Most Major League handshakes are performed after the player hits a home run, but for Brown, he enjoys the pre-game more. “It just helps me get ready to play.”
When attending your next Dayton Dragons game, be sure to sneak a peek in left field after team stretch and watch the handshakes happen. It truly is an awesome site.
