July 25 (UPI) -- Edwin Encarnacion's New York Yankees teammates gifted the slugger a plush parrot after he hit his 30th home run of the season against the Minnesota Twins.
The gift paid homage to Encarnacion's token "walking the parrot" home run trot celebration. He received the gift after going deep in the top of the ninth inning during the Yankees' 10-7 win Wednesday at Target Field in Minneapolis.
New York led 9-7 entering the final frame. Encarnacion settled in against Twins relief pitcher Devin Smeltzer to lead off the inning. The Yankees designated hitter took two balls before working a 2-2 count against Smeltzer. He smashed Smeltzer's sixth offering of the exchange over the left center field fence for a 384-foot solo shot. The blast had an exit velocity of 100 mph and left the field in 5.9 seconds, according to Statcast.
Yankees star Gleyber Torres welcomed Encarnacion by handing him the parrot as he entered the dugout after touching home plate.
Encarnacion, 36, is hitting .229 on the season and has 72 RBIs, in addition to his 30 long balls. The Yankees battle the Boston Red Sox at 7:10 p.m. EDT Thursday at Fenway Park in Boston.
