Reviving the Art of Heckling in Baseball
In recent times, sports fans have garnered some negative associations, largely due to numerous fighting videos and crude behaviors shared on social media. Yet, one influencer is on a mission to bring back the playful spirit of heckling.
Enter Trevor Gilmore, also known as Trev Schirp online. He identifies as a “professional heckler” and has gained attention in Major League Baseball (MLB) bleachers by reimagining the way fans engage with players.
Gilmore adopts a lighthearted approach, which seems well-suited to the current era that values mental health awareness and portrays a more sponsor-friendly image.
“People used to say some pretty awful things about players’ families, but that kind of thing just doesn’t work anymore,” Gilmore explained. “Heckling is part of baseball’s history, so I’m trying to keep it fun. We can do this differently—maybe even make players laugh a little while pointing out their mistakes.”
His unique persona emerged a few years ago when he and a friend, Jazz, began filming content related to Trev Schirp during a Reno Aces game, impressed by the local fans.
“The heckling I saw wasn’t creative; it was more about being personal,” he remarked. “It was just a lot of ‘you suck’ stuff, so I figured I could come up with a better way to do this.”
With support from Jazz and producer Cody, Gilmore rolled out his social media presence in late 2022, but it wasn’t until May 2023 that he really began to gain traction. One of his viral moments included him yelling, “Hey Kevin [Kiermaier], I heard you ate a Kit Kat next to you, and you’re on fire!”
Since then, he’s exploded in popularity, amassing over a million followers on TikTok and Instagram, all while traveling to various games each weekend.
Fans now flock to the bleachers where he performs, often recognizing him from a distance.
Even the teams are noticing his impact. Gilmore has signed a ticket deal with his “home” team, the San Francisco Giants, and he’s traveled across the country to heckle players at different ballparks. Minor league teams also seem eager to connect with him.
Players have felt his presence directly, with Jackson Merrill of the Padres recalling, “He was like, ‘I’m always three putts.’ So, in the first month of this offseason, I shaved all green three times—something I never would have done. He got into my head.”
Gilmore keeps a running list of about 1,000 lines, some light-hearted, some a bit sharper, and he prepares roughly a dozen jokes to use during games, gauging the crowd’s reactions.
Fan favorites include playful jabs that can get laughs from people of all ages, like “You must have socks on your bed” or “You must have trash in your friend’s car.” He occasionally throws in movie quotes or song lyrics for an extra punch.
He’s even branched out to other sports, bringing his heckling style to minor league hockey games and NASCAR races, but baseball remains his mainstay, where heckling across the field has become an enduring tradition.
“I’m trying to bring back fun, excitement, and entertainment to baseball because I think it’s a dying sport,” Gilmore concluded. “People might say, ‘I don’t like baseball, but I’m going to the game just to see this in person.’
