Dave Edlund has been a beloved member of the San Francisco Giants fan base for a few decades now. But the latest home run snag for “McCovey Cove Dave” is earning him scorn from a different MLB team’s fans and reporters.
Edlund has been at the center of a minor controversy with Atlanta Braves supporters after he didn’t return a ball Braves outfielder Michael Harris II hit into McCovey Cove for a grand slam Wednesday night. According to multiple reporters covering the Braves, Edlund asked for a job with the Giants in exchange for the baseball.
When SFGATE spoke to Edlund on the phone Friday, the 68-year-old denied that he asked for a job. Instead, Edlund told SFGATE he requested a deal from both teams that would allow him to park his vehicle in the Giants’ lot at Pier 30/32 at the discounted rate the team charges employees. With that request denied, he’s keeping the ball — and feeling “kind of bitter.”
“I wish I had never talked to the Braves,” Edlund told SFGATE.
Edlund was one of a few kayakers out on the water in the top of the first inning when Braves player Michael Harris II hit the grand slam to the cove. The ball landed just near Edlund’s kayak, making it a relatively easy and clean retrieval. According to the Giants, it’s the first time a visiting player has hit a grand slam to McCovey Cove and just the fourth grand slam splash hit ever, period. (The other three: Barry Bonds in 2000, Michael Tucker in 2005 and Mike Yastrzemski in 2021.)
But it was also Harris’ first grand slam and splash hit, leading the Braves to attempt to collect the ball from Edlund and offer him a signed baseball and bat in return — a common offer for home run exchanges. But as a lifelong Giants fan, Edlund said he had no interest in the Braves’ memorabilia, so he declined the offer, and the Braves told the media covering their team, leading multiple reporters to chide him on social media Wednesday night.
The parking idea came to him later as an exchange for the ball, Edlund said. The lot at Pier 30/32 is primarily used by Giants employees and media members, who are charged a significantly reduced rate compared with what the public pays — frequently $60 or more for non-season-ticket holders.
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