For all the questions surrounding the Braves coming into, and during, the first week of the 2026 season, one has become more pertinent than most: Why are the players scratching their heads?
When Braves hitters get a hit, they have typically been turning toward the dugout and scratching the tops of their helmets as if their head itches. Where did this celebration come from? Why are the Braves doing it?
Short answer: No one really knows, or at least isn’t willing to explain the full reasoning.
Said shortstop Mauricio Dubón: “I don’t know. These guys have been doing it. I just do it because these guys are doing it. It’s fun, we have a good vibe going on right now.”
Deadpanned catcher Jonah Heim: “Don’t ask me, I can’t get any hits.”
Infielder Kyle Farmer: “On the record? I don’t know.”
And then outfielder Michael Harris II shed a little light. It began in spring training, he said, but why it became the thing it did is still anyone’s guess.
There is photographic evidence of Harris and catcher Drake Baldwin celebrating a base knock with the head scratching celebration from the dugout.
But Harris wasn’t the originator, he said.
“That’s the thing I don’t know who started it, or who got the first hit and did it first,” Harris said. “Yeah, honestly, don’t know. I was getting credit for it, but I don’t know if I deserve credit for it.”
Four games into the season, the Braves have had to scratch the heads a lot, totaling 36 hits — the third-most in the National League. They still celebrate home runs by rounding first and flapping their arms to give a celebratory nod to the bullpen.
As for the head scratching celebration, will it stick?
“We’ll see,” Harris said.
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