The wild stories of Giants’ superfan Mike Rast

EUGENE, Ore. — Keeping tabs on Giants’ minor-league enthusiast “mustache” Mike Rast during practice, games, or really anytime at all, doesn’t require scanning or squinting.

All one has to do is listen.

“REALLY UMPP” the cacophonous Rast screams at the top of his lungs.

“WHAT WAS THAT,” he shouts at a player he no doubt will talk to pre and post-game.

When asked who I was interviewing multiple Ems’ staffers they all had relatively similar reactions: “Ohhh that guy,” they said with a laugh.

Indeed, Rast — who talks at a self-estimate rate of a million words per minute — is loud.

Growing up, Rast was a nomad of sorts, growing up in Riverside, California as a neighbor of Barry Bonds. He never went to college, was married for nine years but is now on his own, traveling to whatever games he wants — all while shouting as loud as he can.

“I know I’m super loud,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve been kicked out of more games than I can count.”

At the age of 21, Rast set his sights on international seas, going to sporting matches ranging from badminton in Taiwan to horse racing in Egypt. He’s seen it all including “tons” of game seven’s in Northern American sports too.

But it's the MiLB — or the players for that matter — that Rast loves. His brother introduced him to the minors and he’s never looked back.

“People ask me all the time ‘Why do you like the minor leagues?’” Rast said, rather shouted. “Well, I've got shoe boxes full of professional tickets.”

With his voice — and his hyper-quick conversational skills — the 61-year-old found a way to connect with the MiLB players he loves to come watch.

Showing up ten hours early to games — simply to talk with the players — helps too.

“I live in Visalia, three hours from San Jose, I’m not just going to come for the games,” Rast said.

“I love the guys because they have less, they seem more grateful,” he said. “Especially the international guys.”

On the day of this interview, Rast took reliever Julio Rodriguez for a haircut. He’s also staying with Ems’ catcher Onil Perez during his week in Eugene.

“There’s nothing else I can see myself doing,” Rast said of his lifestyle.

He also will likely never see this story — likely due to him losing an estimate of “five phones per year.”

“I’m always on the go,” Rast, who mostly lives off his firefighter pension, said. “I really just come down whenever I want… next time I’m bringing my motorcycle down.”

Yes, if the mustache and “dude bro” slang he commonly uses weren’t enough. Rast drives a motorcycle.

What’s next for “Mustache Mike”? He doesn’t know, but he preaches how much he loves that his life is his own. He makes his own rules, nobody else.

“It's a wild life I live, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”