Will Edwin Encarnación throw the first pitch during Game 1 of the Blue Jays-Mariners series?

A tweet shared by the Toronto Blue Jays has fans wondering if former designated hitter Edwin Encarnación will return to Rogers Centre to throw the first pitch of Game 1 of the AL wild-card series between the Jays and the Seattle Mariners Friday afternoon.

The tweet, posted by the official Toronto Blue Jays Twitter account Friday morning, features a photo of a stuffed parrot with the caption, “Be here early to watch first pitch…fly.”

 

Some fans believe the parrot is a reference to Encarnación, who played for the Jays from 2009 to 2016, and his famous home run celebration, in which he would hold his right arm out while running the bases. It first made an appearance while Encarnación played for the Blue Jays, with fans quickly giving the celebration nicknames such as the “Edwing” or “walking the parrot” on social media. 

It soon became ubiquitous with the player. He continued to perform it while playing for the Cleveland Guardians, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox following his run in Toronto.

Further fueling suspicions, Encarnación posted an Instagram story Friday afternoon of what appears to be the player walking near Bay Street in downtown Toronto.

JAYS TAKE ON MARINERS IN AL WILD-CARD SERIES

Game 1 of the Jays-Mariners series will kick off at 4:07 p.m. Friday, with Alek Manoah set to take the mound for the Jays.

Game 2 will also start at 4:07 p.m. on Saturday. If necessary, Sunday’s game is scheduled for 2:07 p.m.

Whichever team comes out of this weekend victorious will go onto face the American League’s top team, the Houston Astros, in a best-of-five series beginning Oct. 11.