What Haze Been Seen Cannot Be Unseen
It was rookie hazing day today at Turner Field – probably a good idea to lighten the mood on the way to Washington, as the punchless Barves bats (this group can’t be the “Braves”, right?) got smothered once again by a pitcher nobody’s really heard of before. Hmmm…. it was also “Bark in the Park” day. Wonder if there’s a connection?
So: you’ve heard of the Running of the Bulls. Well, this is the Hazing of the Rookies. It’s an annual event on all of major league clubs, and Freddie Freeman warned us all this morning that Today Was The Day.
"Freddie Freeman @FreddieFreeman5 Come see your favorite Atlanta brave rookies all dressed up after the game today! Come by our buses to see them!Yep “@mrcoachU: @FreddieFreeman5 Does this include @BulldogBeing?” [Evan Gattis]"
The format of the festivities is usually something like this: just before a road trip, some suitable… er, attire… is selected for the rookies to don. They are required to wear this… ensemble… from the stadium, and often through the airport. Can’t say exactly how far this crew had to go, but let’s just say that it won’t take them too long to get through the security checkpoints given the photos that have been tweeted by the Braves staff and players.
Oh…. you want to see the pics?
Don’t say I didn’t warn you:
This one is… I guess… the “official” team photo, as tweeted by the team’s twitter account.
Simmons described this as the ‘worst selfie ever’ in a tweet.
No Andrelton Simmons is not a rookie, but I am wondering if he somehow missed this event last year while on the disabled list. Then again, it appears Kris Medlen decreed his inclusion:
"Tom Hart @tom_hart The commish has spoken RT @KrisMedlen54: @tom_hart @Erin2610 everyone with less than 1 year before the season started"
Speaking of Tom Hart, though… somehow he always comes up in the right place/right time:
I admit not being sure if I’m more shocked by the visuals (the first 3, that is) or the fact that there are so many rookies having to take part :P. Either way, it’s…. disturbing.
On to Washington… quickly, please.