Saturday was a big day for San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey, and that was before the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks even started.
It was Patrick Bailey Bobblehead Day at Oracle Park in San Francisco. And according to Giants announcers Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow, your bobblehead day comes with certain responsibilities.
As Bailey took his first at-bat of the day in the bottom of the first, Kuiper and Krukow discussed the expectations on a special day like this.
“Isn’t that the deal, you’re supposed to get at least two hits on your bobblehead day?” asked Krukow.
“Yeah. And one of them is really kinda supposed to leave the ballpark — fair,” said Kuiper.
Perhaps in some kind of psychic Nick Castellanos-esque way, Bailey immediately hit the next pitch for a single, kicking off a hitting display that would blow away the announcers’ expectations.
When he returned to the plate in the bottom of the third, Bailey smacked a double off the end of the bat, driving in a run and answering Krukow’s call for “at least two hits.” But he wasn’t done yet.
In the bottom of the fifth, Bailey’s bobblehead was shown on the NBC Sports Bay Area broadcast right before he blasted a two-run home run into the wharf, answering Kuiper’s demand for one to “leave the ballpark.”
Bailey found himself one triple short of the cycle, which would have been one heck of a way to complete his bobblehead day. While he did send a hit deep into the outfield, it bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double, robbing him of the chance. Still, not shabby.
With their reverse jinx complete, Kuiper and Krukow toyed with the idea that the Giants would name Sunday as “Patrick Bailey Bobblehead Day 2.”
You know, it’s worth a shot…
[NBC Sports Bay Area, AA on X]
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.