Baseball pitchers have their own quirks while on the mound. Mark Fidrych famously talked to the baseball and groomed the pitching circle. Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry would go through herky-jerky motions that suggested he might be throwing a spitball.
And Angel Cervantes brings a toy mini dinosaur named Jerry to the mound while he pitches for UCLA.
It must have worked.
For five innings on Sunday, Cervantes held Oregon scoreless, helping No. 1 UCLA defeat Oregon 3-2 in extra innings and win the Big Ten college baseball championship, The Athletic reported.
During Cervantes’ stint, Jerry watched from the back of the mound. The pitcher would pick up the toy after recording a strikeout.
The image — a toy dinosaur grazing on the mound, like a zebra in the Serengeti — was strange enough that the Big Ten network broadcast took notice, highlighting a routine that Angel Cervantes began in high school. pic.twitter.com/FDGqxGN6sL
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) May 27, 2026
It is a ritual the freshman pitcher has followed since he played baseball at Earl Warren High School in Downey, California, according to The Athletic.
“He’s just my little guy that’s just hanging out with me. Sometimes when I look down, I put my hand on my lid, I like to take two breaths and that’s what I’m looking at the whole time. He calms me down,” Cervantes told College Baseball Central in a postgame interview. “I know it might sound, like, childish, but I mean, whatever works for you and that’s what works for me. So he’s going to be here for a long time.”
Cervantes carries the tiny plastic toy to the mound and places him on the dirt, according to The Athletic. When he gets into a pinch and needs to calm down, the pitcher takes two deep breaths and focuses on Jerry.
The mini triceratops was featured during a segment of the Big Ten Network’s broadcast of the game at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, Sports Illustrated reported.
Michella Chester, the game’s dugout reporter, told viewers to “look out for (the changeup) and Jerry.”
Everyone, meet Jerry the dinosaur 🦕
— Big Ten Baseball (@B1Gbaseball) May 24, 2026
Angel Cervantes keeps a mini dinosaur with him during each game, you can sometimes spot Jerry on the mound 👀
📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/VfHnJp8sX6
Cervantes was a second-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2025 but opted to attend UCLA, Sports Illustrated reported.
This season, he has fashioned a 4-1 record with a 3.36 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings, according to the magazine.
UCLA is certainly not extinct in college baseball. The Bruins open play in the Los Angeles Regional of the NCAA tournament on Friday against St. Mary’s of California.
© 2026 Cox Media Group
