The Cleveland Guardians debuted a "Knight's Helmet" home run celebration for the 2026 season.
Opening Day wasn’t just the mark of a new season for the Cleveland Guardians; it was also the debut of a new celebration for the team.
Chase DeLauter smacked a home run two batters into the game, and after the rookie finished rounding the bases, he walked into the dugout, high-fived his teammates, and then walked up to Austin Hedges, who placed a knight’s helmet on his head.
This helmet is officially the Guardians’ home run celebration for the 2026 season. Although Hedges joked that, “it's just Chase's homer helmet. It's only for Chase because he's the one that hits all the homers.”
Two games into the year, DeLauter has donned the homer helmet three times, while the rest of the team awaits the honor.
Plenty of other teams have had home run celebrations for the last few seasons.
Cleveland’s current opponent, the Seattle Mariners, has a trident that a player earns after hitting a homer. In the past, the Washington Nationals have had a powdered wig, and the Milwaukee Brewers have used a cheesehead.
These celebrations really took over MLB back in 2023, but until now, the Guardians haven’t had one. So, why the change and sudden addition years after the trend began?
It all comes down to Cleveland wanting to be more of an offensive-minded team this season. It’s no secret that the Guardians haven’t had the best lineup over the last few years. In 2025, they ranked No. 29 in baseball with an OPS of .669.
The dugout wants to shift that narrative, though.
“We just decided to make some things up this year,” explained Hedges. “We're just trying to be more offensive. We know that if we're an offensive team, we're a really hard team to beat. and just trying to have some fun with it.
Hedges gives an understandable explanation for implementing a new celebration, but why a knight’s helmet?
The Guardians did a team bonding trip to a medieval restaurant before the season got underway. Tanner Bibee was the one who bought the helmet, and Hedges said the idea kind of happened organically.
The team going to a medieval restaurant is a great story in itself; Kyle Manzardo even bought a sword! It’ll be that much better if the knight’s helmet helps incentivize the Guardians to hit some more home runs in 2026.
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