By virtue of him being the first we celebrate this day in honor of former Dodger outfielder Glenn Burke.
I of course will also note Dusty Baker's participation, but that's more because he was the catalyst naturally responding to the moment. It was Burke who started it all.
Happy high-five day!
As the story goes, on the last day of the 1977 regular season, October 2nd, Glenn Burke reach his palm up to the sky as Dusty Baker returned to the dugout after hitting his 30th home run of the year. This feat by Baker cemented him as one of four players (joining Ron Cey, Steve Garvey and Reggie Smith) on the team to belt 30 or more homers during the same season - a first in Dodgers history. Per Jon Mooallem at ESPN:
Burke, waiting on deck, thrust his hand enthusiastically over his head to greet his friend at the plate. Baker, not knowing what to do, smacked it. "His hand was up in the air, and he was arching way back," says Baker, now 62 and managing the Reds. "So I reached up and hit his hand. It seemed like the thing to do."And with that history was made.
BTW, you can check out a great little doc regarding the moment below, from ESPN:
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