The San Francisco Giants weren’t playing the Cardinals on Saturday but all anyone could talk about was the birds.
Specifically, one bird. A brown pelican that decided to land on the field at Oracle Park during their 5—1 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
During the fifth inning, the pelican landed in the outfield and admired Reds outfielder Will Benson’s pop fly to left field caught by a diving Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos. That’s also when Giants announcer Dave Flemming started to work the pelican’s reaction, or lack thereof, into the broadcast before following its flight out of the stadium shortly after.
The power of the pelican pic.twitter.com/ZDoP1tyiPG
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) May 12, 2024
“Benson hits it toward the pelican. A pop-up, shallow left, and it’s going to be caught by Ramos. Sprinting in, tumbling over, he makes a catch. All the while, the pelican just sitting there unimpressed,” said Flemming. “Here she goes, taking off, flying low right by Tyler Fitzgerald. Up over the bleachers, up over the garden, circling back around, still flying over the field, now up over the left field bleachers by the Coke bottle and turning back.”
“That is the best pelican play-by-play I’ve ever heard in my life,” added broadcasting partner F. P. Santangelo.
“Didn’t know I’d have to be breaking that out today,” responded Flemming.
Did you see that coming on the way to the ball?” asked Santangelo.
“Did not,” said Flemming. “That is unusual.”
Meanwhile, Jason Benetti and Eric Karros were also calling the game for Fox and had some pelican-based commentary of their own.
A brown pelican was the star of the show in the top of the fifth inning of Saturday’s Reds/Giants game.
“That’s not just a bird. That’s a big aaahh bird,” Eric Karros.
“That bird is soaking it all in. Like a home run trot. Bye bye — birdie,” Jason Benetti. pic.twitter.com/oEft5xLsuU
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 12, 2024
“That was a brilliant, brilliant effort and that round of applause you’re hearing is because they put that bird on the video board. It’s a video bird,” Flemming said. “Out here in California, anybody can become a star.”
After discussing what kind of ticket the pelican purchased for the game (“Field pass!” said Karros), they watched the pelican fly off.
“That bird is soaking it all in. Like a home run trot,” said Benetti. “Bye bye — birdie.”
The Giants’ social media team were no dummies and they made sure to incorporate the pelican into their posts as well.
Yes we peli-can pic.twitter.com/uAE5U5EzsF
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) May 12, 2024
