Baby Shark is leaving the diamond and joining the Nationals front office.
After 12 seasons in the MLB, veteran Gerardo Parra is hanging up his cleats and joining the Nationals front office as an Assitant to the GM. In the bottom of the second inning of the Nats’ Sunday game against the Angels, Dan Kolko made the announcement.
Gerardo Parra is retiring from baseball and joining the Nationals’ front office as a special assistant, according to @masnKolko on the MASN broadcast.
— Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) May 8, 2022
Parra attempted to break camp with the Nationals this Spring, but after not making the team, he chose to not report to AAA. A journeyman, he spent parts of 12 seasons with the Diamondbacks, Brewers, Orioles, Rockies, Giants, and Nationals. He slashed .275/.322/.403, with 90 homers, 532 RBIs, and an OPS of .725.
He spent the majority of his career with Arizona (six seasons), but will always be remembered for his time in D.C. DFAed by the Giants on May 3 during the 2019 season, he quickly signed a one-year deal with the Nats six days later.
Despite the roster being littered with talent, the Nats were in a terrible slump, and by May 23 they were 19-31. Parra brought an infusion of veteran leadership and helped transform the Nats clubhouse. He quickly gelled with his new teammates and was instrumental alongside a few of his teammates in introducing the song “Calma” to the Nats clubhouse. The song became a hit amongst the players and was played whenever the team would win.
On the field, Parra made his walk up-song “Baby Shark” — surprisingly becoming loved by the fans. Whenever he came up to bat, the home crowd would go wild, standing up and greeting him with the shark dance.
Shortly after Parra joined the Nats, they started to turn their season around and became the hottest team in baseball. They went on to win the World Series, going 5-0 in elimination games. In 89 games with the Nats that year, he slashed .250/.300/.447, with eight homers, 42 RBIs, and an OPS of .747. The Nationals’ insane 2019 turnaround will always be partially credited to the off-the-field help of Parra.