It was Mickey Mantle’s habit to keep his head down after hitting a home run, he said, because “the pitcher already felt bad enough without me showing him up rounding the bases.” But there are rare occasions when it is appropriate to violate the unwritten Baseball Code and show emotion after cracking a long ball. Upon hitting a game-winner, for instance, the batter often bounds down the third-base line into the outstretched arms of excited teammates gathered around home plate. A milestone shot is a moment to savor: No pitcher with a sense of decency is going to retaliate against a guy in his next at-bat if he just knocked his first career round-tripper and pumped his fists on the way to first, or if he raised his arms in joy and savored the big fly a little longer because it was his 300th homer. Even in the heat of the moment, a consequential dinger and an enthusiastic reaction is just fun: Take Jose Bautista’s famous bat flip after putting his team ahead in the late innings of a decisive playoff game last year.

But the last few days have produced a couple of memorable home runs that warranted whatever reaction came to mind. They were more than game-winners, milestone hits, or thrilling ones. They were cathartic and timely. They were, in the sport of ultimate randomness, perfect for the moment.