Flashback Friday: The Birth of Edwin Encarnacion’s Parrot Walk Home Run Trot

Sometimes, the best traditions are born by accident. Such is the case with Edwin Encarnacion and his famous “chicken wing trot”, walking the parrot, T-Rex arm, “Edwing” or whatever you want to call it.

In honour of Encarnacion’s torrid pace in the month of May, this week’s Flashback Friday looks back at the origin of his famous post-home run celebratory parrot walk.

The very first instance of Edwin walking the parrot happened back in 2012 against the Seattle Mariners. In fact, it came to be by complete accident. Encarnacion’s teammate Jose Bautista explained the origin of the parrot walk during his appearance on MLB Network’s Intentional Talk:


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“I think the way it got started was one day he hit a line drive, one of those ‘you don’t know if it’s going to go or not’, so he was chugging around first and almost fell down.

He was just kind of leaning and kind of just stayed that way, and everybody was like ‘that looked cool, you need to do that again’.”

Here’s the home run in question – a grand slam off Hisashi Iwakuma on April 28, 2012.

Because of the camera angles, it’s difficult to tell whether Encarnacion was close to taking a tumble around first base, but it makes sense that he elevated his right arm to gain some balance as he rounded first base.

In this first instance, it looks like he’s holding up his arm as if he were carrying an old-school boombox.

EE-Wing-1

Over time, it progressed into the home run trot you see today, which most famously resembles “walking the parrot”. It’s best experienced in the original GIF seen around the around coined by Mr. Archi Zuber and Scott Johnson of The Score.

Of course, Bob Mackowycz noted that Encarnacion’s parrot walk is the antithesis to one of baseball’s most infamous home run trots, Jeffrey Leonard’s “one flap down”. I guess that would make Encarnacion’s trot “one flap up”.

Ian Hunter

Ian has been writing about the Toronto Blue Jays since 2007. He enjoyed the tail-end of the Roy Halladay era and vividly remembers the Alex Rodriguez "mine" incident. He'll also retell the story of Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS to his kids for the next 20 years.

27 thoughts on “Flashback Friday: The Birth of Edwin Encarnacion’s Parrot Walk Home Run Trot

  • April 6, 2015 at 8:00 pm
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    It is a stupid "look at me" classless act. Real stars put their head down a take their trot.

    • April 10, 2015 at 4:48 pm
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      Oh come on relax buddy, it's harmless and his teammates enjoy it

      • May 5, 2019 at 2:51 pm
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        Come on guys!! I enjoy watching EE walk his “parrot”. Nothing wrong with that. Don’t like it, don’t watch. Can’t say anything nice plz don’t say anything at all!! He’s on my team so leave the guy alone! I can’t stand reading “hater” comments. Boo on you!

        • June 21, 2019 at 10:41 am
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          I walk my fleshy parrot every morning

        • July 16, 2019 at 12:17 pm
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          Don’t like it, don’t read it. Hypocrite.

    • April 11, 2015 at 1:43 pm
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      Couldn't agree more. Great player? Yes. So act like one and play like you do it all the time and that it's no big deal. If you're in the minors, fine, but this is the big leagues, so act like you belong. Name one other 'homerun' trot we see today?!? … Exactly.

    • August 28, 2015 at 7:42 pm
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      Boo hoo. Do you remember what it was like to have fun that one time?

    • August 30, 2015 at 3:36 am
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      Don't throw BP when EE's at the plate – problem solved.
      Nothing classless about it.

    • September 18, 2015 at 12:15 am
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      You bunch of whiners. It's great that he does it and I hope he never stops. You whiners should go watch 5 year olds play T ball. That's about your speed. Keep it going Eddie.

      • May 5, 2019 at 2:56 pm
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        Touché!! Let EE have his trademark and quit with the putdowns. I love it….keep it up!

      • May 5, 2019 at 2:56 pm
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        Touché!! Let EE have his trademark!!

      • May 5, 2019 at 2:57 pm
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        Thank you, that was well said!!

    • October 14, 2015 at 10:14 pm
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      It is stupid looking. But to each his own.

  • June 10, 2015 at 4:05 am
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    "get off ma lawn"

  • June 15, 2015 at 5:54 pm
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    there was a guy yrs ago who would do it to tell the pitcher " that pitch wasnt sh!t

  • August 25, 2015 at 11:35 pm
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    If you don't enjoy Ed's little "trot" then you are just a jealous hater.

  • August 30, 2015 at 10:21 pm
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    I will never get ball players and hard core ball fans. Get over yourselves & lighten up

  • September 12, 2015 at 12:43 am
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    Couldn't agree more

  • September 12, 2015 at 12:44 am
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    Couldn't agree more

    • October 15, 2015 at 6:55 am
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      Stupid was the Rangers calling review on every play and still getting smoked. I guess the MLB didn't tell Toronto they were supposed to lose.

      Go on Wing, keep walking the Bluejay

  • October 20, 2015 at 12:10 am
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    I'm pretty sure every athlete has their own "thing" when celebrating from the touchdown dance in football, the chest bump in soccer to the one knee fist pump in hockey. Does that make them classless? I think not!!!

  • June 22, 2016 at 6:15 pm
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    It’s “EDWING” his arm up is a chicken “WING”, “EDWING” get it. It is not a perch and has nothing to do with a parrot.

  • Pingback: All of Josh Donaldson AND Edwin Encarnacion’s Home Runs, In Order | 101.5 The Wolf

  • September 30, 2016 at 7:54 pm
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    He ain’t big Papi.

  • Pingback: Teammates give Yankee slugger parrot in recognition of trademark trot after launching milestone homer – FOX

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