Orioles GM drinks from ‘Dong Bong’ after clinching playoff spot

Baltimore Orioles GM Mike Elias is out here passing the vibe check.

The Orioles officially clinched a playoff berth on Sunday with the Texas Rangers’ loss to the Cleveland Guardians. Baltimore then went out and beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 in extra innings, making it a real day to celebrate.

Elias decided to do just that by taking a swig from the team’s iconic “Dong Bong” during the postgame festivities in the locker room. As the champagne flooded in around him, Elias let one rip from the “Dong Bong” with the fiery intensity of a man still in college.

Have a look.

ORIOLES GM MIKE ELIAS ON THE DONG BONG 😭 pic.twitter.com/hOI8tVwdHZ

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) September 17, 2023

For reference, the Orioles’ “Dong Bong” tradition began early this season. Even as far back as April, the O’s were drinking from a funnel in the dugout to celebrate home runs. Quickly christened as the “Dong Bong,” the gimmick stuck. Sometimes, it can contain entirely family-friendly beverages such as bottled water. Other times though (such as Elias’ frolic here), that might not exactly be the case.

This is the first playoff berth for the Orioles since 2016. Over that time, the team has suffered through three seasons of 100-plus losses, gone through multiple managers and front office executives, and cleared out almost all of their players on both sides of the field in favor of newer and younger faces.

For Elias, who was just hired before the 2019 season himself, the decision to pivot Baltimore into a full-on rebuild has already paid off within a few short years. Now he can sit back and enjoy his work a bit (complete with sizable rips from the “Dong Bong”).