Alex Cora confirms hilarious origin of Red Sox’s controversial hit celebration

As the Boston Red Sox continue to climb out of their gross start to the 2026 season, in which Boston defied franchise history by going 2-8 in its first 10 games, there are some positives to hold onto. First of all, the Red Sox have won four of their five games since then, but there's also Wilyer Abreu's hot bat or Roman Anthony's emerging leadership to feel good about.

Fans can also remind themselves of the fact that Boston isn't the only American League East team struggling to begin the season. And if that still doesn't do it, there's always the Red Sox's entertaining (and ever-changing) in-game celebrations to look forward to.

Boston brought back out the Wally head, last year's home run celebration, at a completely random moment during a recent loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, when Willson Contreras hit a ninth-inning homer to cut the lead to 8-6. Before the re-appearance of said Wally head, it was assumed by Red Sox fans that the hip thrust celebration (debuted on Opening Day by Marcelo Mayer) was going to be the primary celly in 2026. It's certainly been the most talked about, even by Alex Cora.

Alex Cora confirms that Roman Anthony is the origin of the Red Sox's hip thrust celebration

When Cora appeared on WEEI on April 7, he all but confirmed that the hip thrust celebration is an homage to an old TikTok video involving a then-teenage Roman Anthony.

"There's a TikTok video somewhere of one of (our) players ... the dance came from there," Cora said.

Red Sox fans had pretty much already connected the dots even before Cora's WEEI appearance, as the TikTok video involving Anthony (see below) was already making rounds on socials, with many speculating that it was the inspiration for the celebration.

Cora also joked on WEEI that the first time he saw the hip thrust celly, he thought about how he'd have to explain it to his sons. The celebration has drawn a mixed reaction, and there's also no guarantee that it will be around forever. Based on the re-emergence of the Wally head, as well as other, outside speculation, the Red Sox clubhouse seems to have a fluid sense of their celebration tactics. Things could change on any given night, and the the celebrations that feel right will stick.

For now, Cora is less interested in the celebration itself and more concerned with managing a team that has plenty to celebrate on a game-to-game basis. It's been slim pickings for an underperforming Red Sox offense so far in that regard, but Boston's bats have seemingly started warming up.