McCovey Cove Dave gets SF Giants to credit Brandon Crawford for splash hit
When SF Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford connected on a three-run homer in the team's 7-4 victory over the Mets on Saturday, the three-time All-Star thought he had a splash hit. He was disappointed to hear after the game that he had not been credited.
But thanks to kayaker Dave Edlund, a.k.a. "McCovey Cove Dave," justice has been restored and Crawford's blast against the New York Mets was reclassified as the Giants 99th regular-season splash hit in Oracle Park history.
McCovey Cove Dave says he's been in the cove for more than 640 Giants games. For comparison, Barry Bonds played 494 games at Oracle Park. Dave claims to have grabbed 48 home run balls in his time on the water, some coming with seemingly miraculous scoops.
He's such a fixture in McCovey Cove, that the Giants have apparently given him the ability to challenge a splash hit call. Just like he's a manager with an instant replay challenge. The difference is that Gabe Kapler gets one challenge per game, and McCovey Cove Dave gets one "contest" every season. Also Kapler wears a jersey and not an orange t-shirt with his own name on it. (Edlund's son even sports a shirt that reads "McCovey Cove Dave's Son.")
Even though it's only April, Dave used his yearly contest on the Crawford home run ball. And who knows more about splash hits than the Kayak King of the Cove?
Now, the Splash Hit counter rightly reads 99, and Crawford has his fourth career splash hit. He is now tied with his teammate LaMonte Wade Jr. for second on the Giants roster. Mike Yastrzemski leads the way with five splash hits, while Joc Pederson has three. Crawford also gained on the All-Time Brandon splash hit list, where he trails Brandon Belt's ten Cove shots. Bonds is the all-time leader with 35.
This puts the Giants one short of the historic 100th Splash Hit, which is sure to inspire a frenzy among the boat-dwellers of the Cove. McCovey Cove Dave has to be the favorite to snag the ball. Unless the Giants bring back BARK - Baseball's Aquatic Retrieval Korps - the squad of Portuguese Water Dogs who dove off "The Good Ship Lollipup" to fetch home run balls from 2000-2002. Yes, they were all very good dogs.
Even though Fox failed in its journalistic mission and declined to use the McCovey Cove cameras, baseball's security cameras confirmed Crawford's hit and the SF Giants changed their ruling. So make sure to add a successful challenge to McCovey Cove Dave's statistics.
