Hoist the Cone: Pirates embrace new dugout celebration despite the mystery behind it
By Raquel Ciampi
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PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (WTAE) — The Pittsburgh Pirates seem to have started a new tradition in their dugout, “hoisting the cone.”
Pitching ace Paul Skenes talked about the trend on the Pat McAfee Show Thursday after it was seen during their last game against the Reds.
“Well the life of the cone — (it) has been used a lot recently, so gotta keep that going. Uh, I don’t know. There’s probably going to be a number of people who hoist the cone this year. Cruz wore it a couple times. He looked like he was at Hogwarts. I don’t know the story on the cone,” Skenes said.
While Skenes may not know the story of the cone, it appears to track back to a shirt the licensed sports gear company Fanatics was selling.
Pittsburgh Clothing Co. spotted the “Hoist the Cone” shirt and shared the image on X, asking a question that has now infiltrated the minds of many Pirates fans, “What the heck does “Hoist the Cone” mean”
Was it a misprint? Was it supposed to read Hoist the Colors? Or was it a reference to the Pittsburgh Cone from 2019 — a waffle cone special filled with everything a yinzer needs: kielbasa, pierogi, Swiss cheese and more. No one appears to know.
What we do know is Skenes believes the cone that was spotted in the team’s dugout was picked up by one of his teammates on the side of the road in Cincinnati earlier this week.
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