Jake Peavy became one of my favorite Giants the moment he strode to the mound to pitch his first inning. The words I would use to describe him are “hacked off.” He’s always shaking his head and muttering — to himself, to the umpire, to the ball — with veins throbbing in concert on his forehead and neck.

He looks like a 79-year-old trapped in a 33-year-old’s body. Except he’s one of those kickass 79-year-olds with old man strength, who still gets a wide berth on the sidewalk. Peavy is reminiscent of an older brother from an S.E. Hinton novel. Thrust into a position of responsibility before his time. Weight of the world on his shoulders, dealt a bad hand. Winning some, maybe losing a few more this year, but never giving up the fight. It’s hard not to wonder, “What’s going through that guy’s head right now?”

Turns out it’s a Townes Van Zandt song.

I woke up at 5:23 this a.m. and saw a tweet from KNBR’s Kate T. Scott, with a link to Peavy playing “Pancho and Lefty” in a stairwell with Giants third base coach and bluegrass musician Tim Flannery.

It’s part of Flannery’s “Songs from the Stairwell” series where he plays music, often in hotels on the road, presumably late at night. Flannery tours with Tim Flannery and Lunatic Fringe, and has played many benefits for Bryan Stow since the Giants fan was seriously injured in 2011 at Dodgers Stadium.

This video rockets Peavy into my Top 10 Bay Area athletes of all time, placing him in Paul Hofer/Clifford Ray/Kenny Stabler territory.

I love that he picked a Townes Van Zandt song, and credited the author. (The song is arguably better known for the Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard and Emmylou Harris covers.) I love that he’s playing a song taught to him in his teens by his grandpa. (Looking at Peavy, just imagine what a badass his grandfather must be.) And the strength of his voice blew me away. Before watching the video, I had no idea about this.

Two more things:

1. I hope this locks Peavy in to a Hardly Strictly Bluegrass spot.

2. If they’re taking requests, it would be cool to hear Peavy and Flannery play Townes Van Zandt’s “Colorado Girl” next. “Pilgrim” by Steve Earle? “Hands on the Wheel” by Willie Nelson? “Ghost Riders in the Sky?” I can imagine Peavy nailing a Social Distortion cover as well. There’s still a lot of baseball left this season. Hopefully Flannery and Peavy will be playing together on stairwells weeks into October.

PETER HARTLAUB is the pop culture critic at the San Francisco Chronicle and founder/editor of The Big Event. He takes requests. Contact him at phartlaub@sfchronicle.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/peterhartlaub. Follow The Big Event on Facebook.