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Pirates pitcher Trevor Williams heads back to the mound after giving up a single to Athletics second baseman Jurickson Profar in the first inning Saturday, May 4, 2019, at PNC Park.
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Trevor Williams is pitching a perfect game on Twitter

Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

Trevor Williams is pitching a perfect game on Twitter

No Pirate keeps it more real on social media than Trevor Williams.

His Twitter feed is about as stream-of-consciousness as any professional athlete’s, though he usually only comments on life’s inanities. For example, he has been updating a thread ranking various foods ranging from vegan cheese to marshmallow peeps since January.

He has also developed a habit of tweeting a classic #RaiseIt message accompanied by a GIF after every Pirates win. Here are a few examples of his best work.

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Williams says there’s a method to his social-media madness.

Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers hits a single in the fifth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Miller Park on June 27, 2019, in Milwaukee, Wis.
Joshua Axelrod
Brewers' Christian Yelich hits boats in Allegheny during HR Derby practice

“It’s just a celebratory post-game thing,” he said this week. “I try to find the right GIF for something that day. Like, if Joe [Musgrove] had a big game, I’d try to find something with Joe. Whoever had a good game, I try to go with that. If not, it’s just random.”

If all else fails, Williams’ fallback is usually a “SpongeBob SquarePants” GIF.

“If there’s not something specific to a player, the fail-safe is cartoons,” Williams explained.

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According to fellow Pirates pitchers, who interact with him almost every day, Williams’ Twitter presence doesn’t do his real-life sense of humor justice.

“He’s a really weird dude,” Steven Brault said. “What he does on social media isn’t even representative of how weird he actually is in real life ... He’s a pretty funny guy, more goofy than funny.”

Musgrove agreed with his teammate’s assessment of Williams’ natural inclination for keeping it light.

“He’s just got a different sense of humor and personality than most guys,” Musgrove said. “It’s usually dry, raw comedy, or one-liners here and there to keep you laughing. He’s always good around the clubhouse, keeping everyone loose. And the tweets!”

Pirates pitcher Steven Brault pitches against the Braves in the first inning June 4, 2019, at PNC Park.  Brault left his start Friday early because of an apparent injury.
Jason Mackey
Left shoulder discomfort cuts Brault's start short

Williams and Brault are good buddies, having roomed together during a few spring trainings. Brault said that at this point, he knows all of Williams’ jokes, mostly because he keeps recycling the same ones.

One of Williams’ favorites involves the 1998 Steven Spielberg war epic “Saving Private Ryan.”

“When somebody brings up a movie, and it could be about anything, like, ‘What’s the movie where the girl falls in love with the guy?’ He’ll always go, ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ and walk away,” Brault said, summing up Williams’ idea of a joke.

In addition to ensuring there’s never a dull moment in the Pirates’ locker room, Williams has also proven unafraid to offer the occasional pop culture hot take via Twitter.

“He’s very opinionated and very strong-willed,” Brault said. “There’s nothing wrong with that. But yeah, he makes sure his opinions are heard.”

Musgrove appreciates that Williams tends to clown about “just irrelevant stuff that’ll make everyone laugh.” As much as Musgrove respects Williams’ Twitter game, he doesn’t plan on attempting to emulate it.

“I’m not up to date like Trevor is,” he said.

Joshua Axelrod: jaxelrod@post-gazette.com and Twitter @jaxel222

First Published: July 5, 2019, 1:30 p.m.

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Pirates pitcher Trevor Williams heads back to the mound after giving up a single to Athletics second baseman Jurickson Profar in the first inning Saturday, May 4, 2019, at PNC Park.  (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
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