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As Ramón Urías rounded first base on his go-ahead double in the Orioles’ home opener Friday, a collection of water bottles went bottoms up in Baltimore’s dugout. But when Urías got to second and didn’t break into dance, that liquid had nowhere to go.
In its earliest days, the Orioles’ latest celebration remains a work in progress, but it’s become an immediate source of joy when it works effectively. A season after binoculars acknowledged hits and a chain celebrated home runs, doubles are now met with a classic dance move and a whole lot of water.
“It’s, like, a human fountain show,” catcher Adley Rutschman said.
If executed properly, the routine is straightforward: After an Oriole reaches second on a double, he turns toward the dugout and performs “the sprinkler,” putting one hand on his head while elevating his other arm in front of him and moving it side to side. In response, his teammates in the dugout provide the water, spraying it from their mouths after taking a gulp on his run to second.
It’s the result of a series of inspirations. Seeking an act for the team’s spring training talent show, Rutschman saw TikTok videos of coordinated sprayers, with intense instrumental music overlayed. With Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Stowers, Terrin Vavra and Colton Cowser joining Rutschman, a group of young talent that teammates deemed “Fountain Financial” watched several of the videos and “put some our own spins on it,” Vavra said. Henderson said they worked on their routine for about three days, with Vavra estimating it was closer to a week.
“We practiced more than we’d like to admit,” Vavra said. “We put in some hours, sprayed a lot of water, but ultimately, it worked to our favor.”
The mid-March performance drew a “standing ovation,” Stowers said. Left-hander John Means was captivated.
“It was unbelievable,” Means said with a wide smile. “It was the best talent show I’ve seen in years. It was perfectly coordinated, perfectly choreographed. And it definitely got everybody on their feet clapping at the end.”
The team was already looking for new celebrations for the upcoming season, and Means decided to integrate the young players’ performance. As other teammates bought into Means’ suggestion, he discovered a problem: He is the team’s worst sprayer.
“I can’t do it through my lips,” Means said. “I have to do it through my teeth, and it looks bad.
“I can’t keep a consistent stream.”
Efforts to practice resulted in Means getting water all over himself, but he hopes he’ll get more chances while he’s around the team before heading to Florida to continue his rehabilitation from elbow surgery. Rutschman, the team’s originator for the concept, also struggles, though he’s improved mightily from the talent show group’s initial efforts.
“He’s definitely the weakest link of the streams,” Vavra said, describing Henderson as “our strongest stream.” Henderson has yet to show off his talents from the Orioles’ dugout, instead eliciting a mist himself with a double and dance Friday. Ryan Mountcastle showcased his moves Wednesday.
“The season’s really long, so being able to just have little things like that just to make you smile, make things a little bit easier is really, really nice to have,” Henderson said.
Some teammates are still getting used to it. Even with his tiebreaking double, Urías prompted teammates’ hands to be thrown in the air because he didn’t do the sprinkler and allow them to properly perform their portion.
But there’s hope for plenty of doubles to come that will help commit the new celebration to memory.
“Ultimately,” Vavra said, “if someone’s spraying water, someone’s doing the sprinkler, that’s good for the Orioles.”
