The most nerve-wracking moment for a new player in Giants camp might not take place on the field. At some point, every spring, the newcomers and young players are introduced to the rest of the team, and often times they're asked to provide some form of entertainment. It's not uncommon to hear roars coming from the clubhouse as a young player tries to make his way through a song.
For Tyler Heineman, a non-roster invitee trying to win the job behind Buster Posey, there was never any doubt about what he could do to ingratiate himself to new teammates. At previous stops, clips of Heineman doing magic tricks for teammates made it out onto social media and the internet, so the Giants veterans naturally had some curiosity. Heineman is always happy to bust out his playing cards and tricks.
"It was awesome," he said on this week's Giants Insider Podcast. "I tried to get Johnny Cueto involved in a trick but right when I was doing tricks to some guys I was like, 'Cueto, I want to do one for you,' and he was like 'No, no Papi. Oh no. I'll watch but I'm not getting involved."
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Heineman showed off those skills after talking about baseball and his career on this week's podcast. About 35 minutes into a Zoom call he moved the camera to reveal a setup for card tricks had been there all along. Here's some of what he can do:
Heineman has kept it going since spring training was abruptly cut short, doing tricks for Giants fans on Twitter and interacting with those who are getting to know one of the team's newest players. He said that's something he never takes for granted, and last week he sent out a cool message to Giants fans:
Heineman is mostly self-taught. He learned magic tricks by watching YouTube videos, and at some point, he started picking up moves from a friend he met at a magic store. He also happens to be a switch-hitting catcher with a history of high on-base percentages in the minors and the type of eye Farhan Zaidi, Scott Harris and Gabe Kapler are looking for at the plate. When camp was halted, Heineman was competing with Rob Brantly for the backup catcher job. They're hoping to pick that up again soon. As fun as the tricks are, Heineman would rather be on the field right now.
[RELATED: Why Tyler Heineman passed up Harvard]
San Francisco Giants
"I've gotten asked to be on America's Got Talent and my agent was like, 'You've got to hold off on this, you still have a potential career in baseball,'" he said. "'So let's explore the baseball career and try to stick in the big leagues before you can go to magic.'"
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