Edwin Encarnacion had an unusual visitor waiting for him as he approached the dugout during the ninth inning of the Yankees' 10-7 win on Wednesday.
Encarnacion took Twins' reliever Devin Smeltzer yard for his 30th home run of the season. Nothing changed as he rounded each base to commemorate his 385-foot home run, marking his eighth-straight season with at least 30 home runs.
Then, he ran into Yankees infielder Gleyber Torres, who was holding a stuffed parrot.
Do you think the parrot flew in the team plane or beside the team plane pic.twitter.com/i485NxDxuM
— Cut4 (@Cut4) July 25, 2019The plush animal pays homage to Encarnacion's traditional home run celebration, where he holds up his right arm as if a parrot was sitting upon his forearm. Encarnacion's small gesture has become known as "walking the parrot" among baseball fans.
Torres and teammate Gio Urshela reportedly found and purchased the animal to gift to the Yankees slugger. It's the smallest gesture for Encarnacion, who's been on a torrid pace since he was traded to the Yankees in June.
Since his arrival in the Bronx, Encarnacion has nine home runs and 23 RBI through 28 games.
