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Tampa Bay player's home run ignored by teammates, so he throws own party

Don't ever tell Tampa Bay Rays rookie Richie Shaffer he can't celebrate his first major league home run.
/ Source: TODAY

You could say that Tampa Bay Rays baseball player Richie Shaffer recently scored a home run on and off the field.

There are many baseball superstitions, but the one that tells players to completely ignore a newcomer's first major league home run has to be one of the silliest. Shaffer knew about this tradition, and decided he wasn't having any of it.

So when the rookie hit a homer in Tuesday's game against the Chicago White Sox, Shaffer knew what kind of response he'd get in the dugout ... and threw a celebration for himself anyway.

In the video, which was posted by reporter Steve Kinsella on Twitter, the 24-year-old walked into the dugout all smiles. His teammates folded into a huddle that effectively turned their backs on him, but he was unconcerned as he offered up high-fives to imaginary friends and even gave a wink and a grin to an invisible supporter.

Later, he posted a picture taken with some of his much more vocal supporters: family and friends, writing, "The past 3 days have been incredible! Even more so because my family was there to share it with me!"

That is definitely the winning move, in our book.

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