The Los Angeles Dodgers do “that dance” after hits as a fun team‑bonding celebration that grew into a superstition and a signature look for the club.

Origins of the Dodgers dance

  • The modern Dodgers hit dance really took off in 2023, when a viral clip showed Freddie Freeman dancing during an Usher performance at the Dodgers Foundation Blue Diamond Gala.
  • Teammates loved the goofy arm‑waving, shimmying move and decided to bring it onto the field as their new extra‑base‑hit celebration.

What the dance actually is

  • After most hits, Dodgers players do a quick shimmy or hip‑driven move as they reach the base, often lifting their arms and locking their hips.
  • Infielders like Miguel Rojas have explained that the “hip lock” comes from strength‑training drills the team does every day, which players then turned into a celebratory move.

Why they keep doing it

  • The dance is meant to keep the long baseball season loose and fun, helping players feel connected instead of isolated in such a individual, one‑on‑one sport.
  • Over time it has become a superstition and a team identity marker: once a celebration is associated with big hits and winning (including their recent World Series runs), players are very reluctant to stop doing it.

How it changes by type of hit

  • For singles, players usually do a simple hip lock with their own little flair.
  • For doubles and many big extra‑base hits, they lean into the “Freddie Freeman dance,” a looser arm‑flail shimmy inspired directly by his gala moves.
  • On home runs, especially when passing the third‑base‑side dugout, stars like Shohei Ohtani use a modified version of the Freddie dance as they look back toward their teammates.

A bit of fan and forum lore

  • Some fans on forums joke that parts of the move resemble anime “fusion dance” poses, and others point out how different players put their own cultural or stylistic spin on the hips and hands.
  • But underneath all the memes and complaints from opposing fans, it’s really just a clubhouse in‑joke turned on‑field ritual: a way for the Dodgers to show personality and unity every time they get on base.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.