Fair warning to baseball fans who want to make a scene by running onto the field — avoid Giants outfielder Angel Pagan. He will body-slam you like a WWE wrestler.
During Friday night’s Giants-Dodgers game, a couple of fans burst onto the field holding flowers, presumably to hand out to the team. Pagan, however, was having none of it and neither was the crowd. They erupted in loud cheers when Pagan tackled the fan.
That’s a good story, but it was longtime announcer Vin Scully’s play-by-play of the action that makes the story great.
The broadcast didn’t show the streakers as a matter of policy, but it didn’t matter if you had Scully narrating the action. After calling the field invaders “a couple of kids trying to steal the moment, slow down the game, running on the field,” the veteran announcer described the ensuing action.
“They got one of them in right field, and the other one is nailed down by Pagan in left field,” he said, maintaining that even timber that makes you think all is right in the world.
“Oh ho!” he continued, “And the crowd loved that. He went up to do something with Angel Pagan, who immediately grabbed him and slammed him to the ground . . . The crowd really applauding a little law enforcement.”
The broadcast later panned to the umpire who picked a flower up off the ground and Scully, 88, had something to say about that, as well.
“Offering a flower, doesn’t that bring you back to the ’60s and the flower children? Oh what? You don’t remember the ’60s? Okay,” Scully said. “I guess you could say only in San Francisco.”
The Giants went on to win the game, 9-3, to remain a game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL wild-card race.