When Randy Arozarena crossed his arms and posed for the camera to celebrate a big hit in Mexico’s win over the United States at the World Baseball Classic in March, the Tampa Bay Rays star began a trend.
Arozarena’s pose has become a theme in celebrations for Tampa Bay’s Single-A affiliate, the Charleston (South Carolina) RiverDogs — and Chattanooga’s own Cooper Kinney has given himself a chance to get in on the action.
During the RiverDogs’ 13-10 home win against the Augusta GreenJackets on June 4, the Baylor School graduate showed why he was a first-round pick for the Rays in Major League Baseball’s 2021 amateur draft. Kinney’s swing speed helped him throw the bat knob through the zone to put the barrel on the ball, launching a mammoth grand slam that went out of sight beyond the palm trees in right field at Joseph P. Riley Park.
Kinney’s fifth home run of the season was one of his four hits that day — the 20-year-old’s career high in professional baseball — and helped him earn recognition as the Carolina League’s player of the week.
It’s not just the celebration moves by Arozarena and fellow Tampa Bay players that have caught the eyes of Kinney and other prospects in the Rays’ farm system. The Rays were MLB’s first team this year to reach 50 wins, and with a little more than two weeks remaining before the All-Star break, they boast the best record in the majors.