Dan Firova cannot recall exactly when the trend caught on, all he knows is that it did. Whenever a runner is in scoring position, the Washington Nationals’ bullpen coach waves his right hand and yells, “Big hit, big hit!”
It is a habit the 59-year-old picked up at one point along the 19 years he spent managing in the Mexican League and he carried it to his first major-league coaching job. One day, Firova noticed the Nationals’ relief pitchers doing the same in a key situation. They waved their right hand and held up three fingers to match Firova, who had his pinky finger amputated as a freshman in high school after an accident while cleaning a bandsaw in the wood shop.