The Braves were told to stop the Big Hat celebration after New Era complained to MLB

As MLB looks to inject more personality into the game and attract new fans, the league has allowed teams use props for home run celebrations. It’s a quirky gimmick that you’d see in college and minor-league games, but honestly, it’s fun to watch how creative MLB teams have gotten with their unique dugout celebrations.

But there’s apparently a limit to that fun, and for MLB, the Atlanta Braves crossed that line when their home run celebration upset corporate sponsor New Era.

For Braves home runs this season, the hitter of the homer has donned a Big Hat while going down a high-five line in the dugout. The celebration formed somewhat organically when a fan gave the hat to A.J. Minter, and the team thought it would be a fun prop for the HR celly.

This @ozzie curtain call while wearing the Big Home Run Hat is our new favorite video on the Internet pic.twitter.com/SBTqlJmDOf

— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) April 12, 2023

Yet, for the past few games, Braves fans have noticed the Home Run Hat’s absence in the dugout despite plenty of Braves home runs. On Wednesday, WSB-TV in Atlanta confirmed that MLB nixed the celebration at the request of New Era, which is the official on-field cap supplier for MLB.

Of course, New Era is a business that pays millions for the MLB cap rights. It doesn’t like seeing a team so enthusiastic about a hat that New Era cannot profit from. That’s the corporate nature of professional sports in this country. But at the same time, New Era has to realize that it isn’t competing with a novelty big hat company that charges $100 for hats and appeared on Shark Tank. It’s petty and draws more attention to the hat than it would have gotten had New Era just allowed the Braves to have their fun.

MLB fans weren’t thrilled with New Era for complaining about the hat either.