Over the history of Major League Baseball, there have been plenty of unorthodox pitchers.
However, few have celebrated quite like New York Mets reliever Jefry Yan, whose unique strikeout celebration made its national television debut Wednesday night against the Cleveland Guardians.
Yan’s Viral Celebration
Yan entered out of the bullpen in the sixth inning, making his MLB debut at 29 years old.
Originally signed by the Los Angeles Angels out of the Dominican Republic in 2014, Yan spent years bouncing around the minor leagues before heading to Japan in 2024.
He returned to the United States the following year with the Colorado Rockies‘ Triple-A affiliate before ultimately signing a minor league deal with the Mets in August 2025 and earning a spot on the 40-man roster on July 2.
He received the call-up on Aug. 4 following the trade deadline, which saw the Mets part ways with several pitchers.
Check out Yan’s strikeout celebration:
Yan went on to record a strikeout against his very first batter before allowing back-to-back singles and a walk to load the bases.
After that, he recorded a second punchout and ultimately forced a ground ball to end the inning scoreless.
Yan Explains First Celebration
After the game, Yan explained why he celebrated after his first MLB strikeout.
“I went out there to attack him,” Yan said of his first MLB strikeout. “And once I had him at two strikes, I’m going to throw that slider, and if I freeze him, which is exactly what I did, I celebrated accordingly.”
“If I freeze him, which is exactly what I did, I celebrated accordingly.”
Jefry Yan was asked to rate the execution of his first MLB strikeout celebration: pic.twitter.com/zKG2ihwLKY
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) August 6, 2026
Yan Speaks on Fans Booing Him
The left-hander’s celebration received mixed reviews and wasn’t well received by Guardians fans, who booed him throughout the inning — something that didn’t bother Yan one bit.
“They can do whatever they want,” Yan said. “They’re paying for tickets, so if they want to yell at me or if they want to boo me, they can do whatever they want. I’m in my zone.
Mets’ Jefry Yan Explains Viral Strikeout Celebration After MLB Debut