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Baseball season is long. A 162-game schedule is a grind for both players and fans. You have to find a way to keep things interesting over the course of six months, and a few MLB fan bases have certainly found a way to do that this season.
Sections of fans are going "tarps off," taking off their shirts, waving them around and attempting to rally their team from the stands.
It's no surprise that the trend began in mid-May rather than early April. As passionate as some fans might be, you won't find many who want to go shirtless in 50-degree weather. With temperatures rising and summer approaching, you could see more and more shirtless fans at MLB stadiums.
What started the trend? Here's what you need to know.
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Why are baseball fans going shirtless?
While going shirtless on a hot day isn't a bad move, the weather isn't the primary reason some fans are leaning into the "tarps off" trend. Baseball fans will do anything to spark a rally, from rally cap superstitions to the Nationals' "Baby Shark" trend in 2019, and "tarps off" is the latest iteration of a superstition aimed at firing up a team.
The trend began in an effort by fans to rally the Cardinals to a walk-off win. Had St. Louis not come through, the trend might have ended right there. Instead, a walk-off victory over the Royals left fans feeling more emboldened than ever.
Here are more details on the trend and its origin.
What is 'tarps off'?
Everyone loves when the tarp comes off the field after a rain delay, but that isn't what "tarps off" refers to. Instead, "tarps off" is all about the trend of MLB fans removing their shirts and waving them around in an attempt to rally their team.
The key element of "tarps off" is that it isn't an individual exercise. Shirtless fans gather together in a section, or multiple sections, and wave their shirts around much the way fans would wave a rally towel in the postseason.
One more requirement is to get loud. The trend doesn't have the same effect if everyone waves their shirts around in silence. Fans gather together, take off their shirts, wave them around and make noise, all in an attempt to bring some energy and rally their team.
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Who started 'tarps off trend'?
In baseball, the trend began at Busch Stadium when shirtless Cardinals fans banded together in a pair of sections in hopes of willing their team to a walk-off win on May 15. A Stephen F. Austin University club baseball team is credited with starting the trend, and fans from across the stadium joined in after noticing the fun.
Happening now at Busch Stadium. Several sections of shirtless men. Rooting for a walkoff. #stlcards pic.twitter.com/6fPD1LychB
— Aaron Belz (@belzpoems) May 16, 2026The Cardinals won on an 11th inning walk-off single by Yohel Pozo, so the team naturally leaned into the trend. St. Louis hosted the Stephen F. Austin club baseball team on Tuesday, letting a shirtless member of the team throw out the first pitch, and the Cardinals announced a day later that a designated section of the right field bleachers would become a "dedicated high-energy fan section."
Want to join the movement? 🚫👕
Starting tonight, the upper right field bleachers at Busch Stadium will become a dedicated high-energy fan section, inspired by the Tarps Off atmosphere fans have brought to the ballpark.
Any fan in the ballpark, regardless of seat location, can… pic.twitter.com/wW2jPMNLkD
The trend didn't exactly start in baseball, though. It truly began in college football in 2025, when one Oklahoma State was dared to go to an empty section of the stadium and take off his shirt. More fans started joining him, and the "tarps off" trend became a theme, often at sparsely attended games hosted by bad teams. Oklahoma State went 1-11 in 2025 and had already fired coach Mike Gundy by the time the trend started.
How the Oklahoma State shirtless fan frenzy all started 😂
How can you not love College Football?!
(Via: abbymariiie/X, callistaperigo/X) pic.twitter.com/Yc1FWN6vQn
Fans at Wisconsin, UCLA, Virginia Tech and more soon joined in on the fun at their own home games.
MLB's version of the trend starting with the Cardinals is a break from the idea that it has to be limited to bad teams. St. Louis was seven games over .500 when the shirts first came off on May 15, and fans of the MLB-leading Rays joined in on the trend to prove any fan base can get involved.
MORE: Don Mattingly makes MLB history not seen since 1880
Other fan bases that have done 'tarps off'
Rays
The Rays aren't necessarily known for an intimidating crowd, but as they surge to the best record in baseball, some fans are getting invested:
TARPS OFF RAYS UP pic.twitter.com/iFgXRG7sc0
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 20, 2026Mariners
Mariners fans brought the energy with three sections of shirtless fans on May 19:
There's now three nearly full sections of shirtless fans in Seattle. pic.twitter.com/YoJ0FHV18y
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) May 20, 2026Tigers
A small but mighty group of shirtless fans banded together at Comerica Park in Detroit.
A group of shirtless individuals has rallied together at Comerica Park in the upper deck!! Oh no😂 #DNMW pic.twitter.com/tRAqVYQTGw
— Kara Wolfbauer (@karawolfbauer) May 20, 2026Angels
Angels fans don't have quite as much to celebrate, but they did get a walk-off win out of this effort despite being no-hit into the ninth inning.
My first ever time at Angel Stadium and the Angels are currently getting no hit by the A’s (bases loaded now) while shirtless fans have taken over an entire section behind left field waving shirts around chanting “Sell the Team” while another section has been trying to get the… pic.twitter.com/7zBP9VgEpw
— Rodney Admit One 🎟️ (@RodneyAdmitOne) May 19, 2026
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