The World Series has been the backdrop to some of the most historic moments in baseball history. From Willie Mays’ over-the-shoulder catch in 1954 to Kirk Gibson’s walkoff home run in 1988 to the Cubs breaking a 108-year curse in 2016, October has almost always delivered on the drama. Game 3 of the 2019 World Series between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, the first World Series game held in D.C. since 1933, may be added to that list, but for a more obscure reason.
Gerardo Parra came in to pinch hit in the bottom of the sixth inning, and the home crowd of 43,867 broke out in a synchronized shark chomp with “Baby Shark”:
https://twitter.com/Nationals/status/1187927263540645888?s=20
The craze started earlier in the season when Parra, who was in a slump at the time, changed his walkup song to “Baby Shark” in honor of his two-year-old daughter.
The song quickly caught on with Nats fans as they fully embraced it throughout the 2019 season. Some fans have even been attending games in shark costumes.
Mark that “fan dressed as shark” square, Bingoers!! ✅ https://t.co/8rfu1ImiKc
— Nationals Bingo (@BingoBaseball) October 26, 2019
It has become tradition for Nationals fans to do a shark chomp whenever Parra comes up to bat, but they also use it as a celebration whenever a player gets a hit, with some variations. A single is celebrated by pinching two fingers together for Baby Shark. Doubles get the Mommy Shark, a mini shark chomp with the wrists held together. Full chomps, or Daddy Shark, happens after a triple.
🦈🦈🦈
here's a handy "Baby Shark" guide featuring various members of the shark family: pic.twitter.com/AklBTvbocC
— Post Sports (@PostSports) October 26, 2019
Despite the “Baby Shark” craze, the Nationals fell short in their home World Series debut to the Astros 1-4. They will try to get that one back in game four on Saturday at 5:07 p.m.
