Report: Nats bring back Gerardo Parra on non-roster invite originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Get your hands ready, because ‘Baby Shark’ could be working its way back to the Nationals in 2021.
According to The Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes, Gerardo Parra has received a non-roster invite from the Nationals for Spring Training.
Parra spent just part of one season with Washington in 2019, but he’ll forever be a legend and a fan favorite. That is largely due to the movement he created with a viral children’s song known as ‘Baby Shark.’
When Parra joined the Nationals after being designated for assignment by the San Francisco Giants, Washington was below .500 and Parra was in the midst of a major slump.
Then on June 19, Parra decided to change his walk-up song. In a game which very few attended, it created a little energy in the crowd and the dugout. From there, as Parra began to hit and the Nationals began to win, it became something that unified the team all the way to the World Series run.
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During that season, Parra hit a sturdy .250 with eight home runs and 42 RBIs, but his real contribution came in the form of morale. Part of what helped the Nationals shock many in route to a championship was the atmosphere and fun shared between teammates and Parra’s ‘Baby Shark’ was key in that.
Now, the song is something that will forever be linked to that team and Parra.
In 2020 Parra played for the Yomiuri Giants of the NPB. Now in 2021, it appears that he and Washington are trying to see if there is any magic left from 2019.
