Celebrating the Parrot! When Encarnacion shattered an entire city
Happy birthday Edwin Encarnacion!
The former Blue Jays slugger turns 42 today.
The man they called EE and Edwing almost never became a Blue Jay. After he did, his stint with the team almost ended before he found greatness.
Encarnacion, then a third baseman, was first acquired by the Blue Jays in 2009. Scott Rolen was manning the hot corner in Toronto, but wanted to finish his career closer to home. So, former GM J.P. shipped him to Cincinnati for Josh Roenicke, Zach Stewart and EE. Initially Ricciardi only wanted the pitchers but was forced to take on the parrot after the Reds said they wouldn't do the deal.
In 2010, he was actually sent to Triple A and then found himself claimed off of waivers by the Oakland A's. Fortunately for Blue Bird Nation, the A's soon non-tendered him and he he re-signed with the Blue Jays
The rest, as they say, is history.
After being moved off of third base, EE catapulted into a Jays legend, forming an incredible duo with fellow bash brother and franchise icon Jose Bautista for the next half-decade.
His signature parrot walk home run began in 2012, and soon became the stuff of myths, memes, and legends. Outfielder Ezequiel Carrera even brought out a stuffed parrot when Edwin walked off against the Baltimore Orioles in that legendary 2016 Wild Card game.
Later on, when Edwin was playing for New York, the Yankees kept the parrot stuffy in the dugout, a feral, avian mascot with Jobu-like mythical qualities, that even got a cast put on it when Edwin suffered an arm injury.
Today, Encarnacion is enjoying a new role as special advisor and Spring Training coach for the Blue Jays.
Maybe he'll be hitting coach one day.
Squawk! The Parrot lives.
