Stephen Vogt, Giants’ T sign on bases explained

If you have watched the San Francisco Giants during their hot streak over the past few weeks, you may have noticed players making an unusual sign on the base paths after coming up with a big hit. Now we know the origin.

With the Chicago Cubs leading 3-1 over San Francisco in the fifth inning, Mike Yastrzemski singled and drove in a run to cut the lead to 3-2. He then made a “T” sign with his two index fingers toward his team’s dugout.

What's with the #SFGiants making a two-finger T sign (with both index fingers) after getting a big hit? I think both Vogt and Yaz did it tonight. And I don't think they were calling for a timeout. pic.twitter.com/Sc3wlCF6SF

— Mark Camps (@mcamps) July 23, 2019

Catcher Stephen Vogt made the same gesture after one of his big hits, and it turns out he is the reason it started. According to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic, the “T” sign is a reference to Vogt’s popular basketball referee routine.

To answer the question you really want to know, Stephen Vogt started the Giants’ T sign when they get a big hit. It’s a reference to his basketball ref routine. All the young guys love it so much they ran with it.

— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) July 23, 2019

Vogt does a great impersonation of an enthusiastic basketball official. He went through the routine on MLB Network a few years back, and you can see his technical foul call at the beginning of the video below:

That explains that. The Giants came back to beat the Cubs 5-4, improving their record to above .500 for the first time all season. They have also won 16 of their last 19 games, so whatever they’re doing seems to be working.