According to Giants spokeswoman Staci Slaughter, a bunny has never been in the stands of Oracle Park during its 22-year history.
Wearing a dark bow tie with orange crabs to demonstrate the San Francisco Giants’ colors, a 4.5-month old bunny named Alex stole the hearts of fans at the game and fans watching on television. He became an instant Twitter sensation.
Alex was escorted to the game by his owners Kei Kato and Josh Row. Alex earned significant screen time during the early innings because it is not every day that you see a therapy bunny at a ball game.
Alex has been an important and very loved companion for the 32-year-old Kato. Kato lost her brewery restaurant during the pandemic and Alex has helped fill the void. The bunny helps her deal with stress and the financial uncertainty of not having her main source of income. Not to mention, losing a restaurant can be quite unsettling. Alex helps Kato cope with the loss of her business.
“I lost it all because of COVID, so I’ve been really stressed a lot,” Kato said. “We support local. I was a local. He’s well trained, too.”
Although this was the first time that a rabbit was at Oracle Park, this was not Alex’s first sporting event. The bunny has attended a NASCAR event, and Kato hopes to bring Alex to see Stephen Curry and the Warriors play before the season ends.
“The bunny is welcome! If he’s fast, we’ll put him in the game to run the fast break!!” Warriors spokesman Raymond Ridder said.
The Giants did go on to defeat the Marlins 3-0. Perhaps Alex brought the team good luck.
