Angel Pagan didn’t know why there was a pretty sizable crowd hanging out around his locker, waiting to talk to him. He asked, “What did I do?”
I wasn’t really sure either, but I stuck around anyway since Pagan has a 20-game hitting streak going, he was the star of a couple *interesting* plays in the outfield, and he’s always good for a quote or 50. He even called the entire pitching staff “lions” after calling Madison Bumgarner a “lion” on Saturday.
But Scott Ostler asked Pagan about spearfishing, and Pagan obliged with almost two minutes of talk about his favorite off-season hobby, which he talked about in the feature he wrote for the Chronicle after the game:
Pagan lifts in the offseason, too, and also goes spear-fishing near his home in Puerto Rico. He free-dives, without scuba gear, and believes it helps his cardio. Most impressive catches: A 40-pound snapper, a 10-pound lobster and a five-pound octopus. He does the spearing, his wife does the cooking.
“That’s my hobby, baby, the way I like to relax,” Pagan said.
If you’re reading this you might be thinking it sounds like fun, this spearfishing thing. Wouldn’t it’d be great to just swim around in tropical waters, catching fresh seafood? Then there’s the bonus that comes when someone asks you what you’re carrying around, and you can say, “Oh this? This is my SPEARGUN.”
But beware … of the barracuda! Pagan had a quick answer when asked what’s the scariest thing he’s seen while spearfishing.
“Big barracudas. Barracudas is the most intimidating animal in the water. You’ll see one and they say, ‘just don’t panic,’ but it’s tough not to. When you see them with that mean face, you have to panic, you go away as fast as possible.”
