Wilson’s appearance odd, but welcome

Unexpected. A bit uncomfortable. And definitely strange.

Yes, Brian Wilson was back at AT&T Park on Tuesday. He was the odd choice to throw out the ceremonial first pitch for the Giants’ home opener. He ran in from center field in full uniform, complete with the orange cleats that earned him a fine in 2010 when he was the team’s closer.

“It kind of felt like my debut,” he said afterward. “I was concerned if I was going to pass out on my way out there.”

Speaking later to reporters, he wore a floral cap, a shirt with the words LETTUCE ROMAINE CALM and carried a grocery bag full of bananas and celery.

When asked what he was doing these days, he said, “Eating raw food and hanging out.”

The crowd reaction was decidedly ambivalent for the man who closed the team’s first World Series title in San Francisco by striking out Texas’ Nelson Cruz — who now is with Tuesday’s opponent, the Mariners.

Maybe people didn’t recognize Wilson without the beard, which he said he shaved off last year. Or maybe the yard was filled with fans who hopped on the bandwagon after Wilson departed, and the sight of No. 38 and the sound of “Jump Around” by House of Pain meant nothing.

Or maybe some have an unpleasant memory of his last significant moment at AT&T when Wilson, then in a Dodgers uniform, bizarrely confronted CEO Larry Baer, who was in his front-row seats, about how he received his World Series ring.

“I guess what people saw was like some argument. It wasn’t,” Wilson said. “Just a convo between me and him. I guess it looked intimidating because I had a beard.”

Um, that is fake news, especially if you go back and watch the video and listen to what others said about the interaction in 2013.

But the crowd’s biggest source of confusion might have been because Wilson appeared during a loud ovation for the kings of the franchise, Willie Mays and Willie McCovey. As the team launched its 60th anniversary season, its most beloved ambassadors were being cheered, when someone who wasn’t nearly their equal appeared.

But Wilson is back in the fold.

“I just felt like I needed a home,” he said. “Come back to the good vibes.” Ann Killion is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: akillion@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @annkillion