There’s just something about animals at the ballpark and the subsequent rallies that follow them, isn’t there?
You remember the famous Rally Monkey that was almost single-handedly responsible for the 2002 Angels’ run to the World Series. The Rally Squirrel spurred on the entire Cardinals Nation during a pennant run in 2011.
Now we present to you: Clarise, the Rally Parrot.
Those last vestiges of summer are dwindling, so who wouldn’t want to get down to the ballpark and catch some baseball? Judi Good was one of those folks on Thursday night at Keesler Federal Park, in Biloxi, Miss. She just so happened to bring along her 26-year-old parrot, Clarise, to take in the action as well.
“I just had so many questions,” Biloxi broadcaster Javik Blake told MLB.com postgame. “Because what if it just gets up and takes off? I don't know, it's a bird, man! Then I was like, ‘Well, what if it's like talking trash? What is it doing? What is it saying out there?’ There were many questions that were left unanswered.”
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Things weren’t going so well on the scoreboard for the Brewers' Double-A affiliate against Columbus after the first four frames. The Shuckers trailed, 8-3, and were facing a second consecutive loss. But sometimes the most dynamic rallies can emerge from the most innocuous starts.
After the first two batters struck out to begin the bottom of the fifth, Luis Lara (MIL No. 12), who is nearly 6 years younger than Clarise, drew a walk. Then Matthew Wood slugged a two-run homer. The Shuckers tied the game by going double, walk, single, single after that. But two innings later, when Brewers No. 3 prospect Cooper Pratt (MLB No. 53) mashed his seventh homer of the season, Biloxi was leading by the eventual final score, 14-8.
Sure, you could give the team's tenacious bats credit. But just maybe something else was at play, like the bird with clawed feet and a curved beak that was squawking them on.
As the night unfolded, viewers sent the Biloxi broadcast booth photos of them watching the contest at home with their own parrots. Meanwhile, Clarise, the belle of the ballpark, was paraded around the concourse to take pictures with kids and curious fans alike, even signing her business card with a peck of the beak.
It wasn’t just Biloxi tapping into the Rally Parrot vibes either. The Braves affiliate showed good sportsmanship and a great sense of humor after push came to shove:
The lineage between parrots and baseball hasn’t been extensive. Edwin Encarnación famously toted one during home run celebrations through his big league career and the Pittsburgh Pirates’ mascot is technically a parrot, albeit one without the ability of flight.
But Minor League Baseball is the place where teams, fans and everyone involved with a club can lean into these kind of things that make the game so special.
The next logical step once you find a mythical, surefire rally starter has got to be: When is it coming back? Fortunately, Clarise has already booked her ticket to return -- Sept. 6 on the club's Margaritaville Night. Fans of Jimmy Buffett, who warbles that erstwhile ditty are, after all, known as Parrot Heads.
The Southern League playoffs also loom in September after the Shuckers clinched the first-half South Division crown.
“Shoot, if we score 14 [runs] again and have a wild 11-run comeback, then yeah, we're gonna make sure that thing gets down here,” Blake said.
Biloxi’s logo may be an oyster, but shucks if they haven’t found an unofficial mascot down the stretch in 2025.