If you watched Thursday night's Marlins-Giants game at Oracle Park and were asked to come up with one takeaway, it might have been that Aaron Sanchez looked great and the Giants bullpen didn't allow a hit through four innings of relief work. It might have been that Mike Yastrzemski knocked in a run on a double, which is a good sign considering the very slow start (.186/.269/.371 through 19 games) that he's had.
But in all likelihood, in a somewhat uneventful 3-0 contest, the thing you probably remember most is the interesting furry fan that appeared in the stands.
Rabbits and baseball are two of the more joyful things in life, but they don't often combine. There's Rabbit Maranville, the Hall of Fame shortstop who played from 1912 to 1935 and racked up over 2,500 hits. There's "Baseball Bugs," which is one of the most hilarious cartoon shorts you can find and, in my humble opinion, is a much better sports-related Bugs Bunny appearance than "Space Jam." But outside of that, nothing really comes to mind right off the bat.
But at Oracle Park on Thursday, that all changed. Alex, a therapy bunny, joined owners Kei Kato and Josh Row and was believed to be the first fan of its kind in attendance at the stadium, according to Giants spokeswoman Staci Slaughter (via Janie McCauley of AP News). And everyone loved Alex, including Giants CEO Larry Baer, meaning it might become a more regular trend.
Official scorer David Feldman even acknowledged the bunny's presence after the adorable fan had captured the attention of others, announcing "tonight's attendance, 4,580, not including the rabbit."
Where could he go next? Perhaps just across the way to another Bay Area team.
"The bunny is welcome!" Warriors spokesman Raymond Ridder said. "If he's fast, we'll put him in the game to run the fast break!!"
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