Around the Yodel? San Francisco Giants Adding Yahoo! Yodel to Home Runs

This isn’t a pitcher of Guzman because USA Today doesn’t have one, but here’s a cute Panda hat outside of AT&T Park in San Francisco instead. ©H. Darr Beiser-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants announced yesterday at Media Day that they would be playing the Yahoo! Yodel after every home run in AT&T Park this season. As you may imagine, Twitter exploded about this after this tweet by Bay Area Sports Guy:

Now, here’s where it got messy. Twitter jumped to conclusions that this yodel might be somehow replacing the Foghorn that currently sounds after a home run. You can see how people would assume that. I mean, a yodel AND a foghorn? Well, apparently playing both sounds is the plan, according to Bryan Srabian, SF Giants Director of Digital Media.

So yes, the Giants are keeping the legendary foghorn. Phew. Thank goodness. It would be awkward to have to change our name. Also, as you can see above, the yodel isn’t exactly new territory for the Giants, as it used to play when the team took the field.

So, here we are. We’re going to hear a Yahoo! Yodel after every home run. I do not know, but I’m going to presume there is some sort of Yahoo! sponsorship behind this. I’m all for the team making money, especially if they are going to find a way to pay Pablo Sandoval. But I’m not convinced on this yodel. Yes, I get it’s not a new thing. I get it’s about adding more sponsorship and money. But the Yahoo! Yodel wasn’t cool when it was new. I mean, it’s a yodel, afterall.

Here’s what I don’t want. I don’t want it taking away from the legend that is the foghorn. As you may or may not know, the foghorn is one of thing things that Giants carried over with them from Candlestick park. Let’s face it, there wasn’t too much good about that dump, but we all love the foghorn.

However, I also have faith in our organization. They appreciate history. The 24 palm trees out front. The 24 foot wall in right field. McCovey Cove. The viewing area on the McCovey waterfront promenade, where you can watch 3 innings for free, is a throwback to when Peter Magown was a kid watching baseball in New York City. The Giants are a team of history and I have faith that whatever they do with the yodel, they’ll do it with class and respect the history and the things Giants’ fans love. I also have faith that if fans still don’t buy it, and turn to booing the yodel, that they’ll change it. Though, it would be awkward to boo after a Giants home run in AT&T Park, seeing as how they are so few and far in between.

So, I was prepared to rip into the Giants about yodel, especially when everyone thought they were replacing the foghorn. But they’re not, and I’ve had a night to sleep on it.

Have faith, Giants faithful. We’re not the Dodgers. Give the yodel a chance. With all the excitement over home runs, the foghorn, and the generalized noise, maybe we won’t even hear that dreadful sound that takes us back to 1996. No one wants to go back to 1996.