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Puppy retrieves bat for minor league baseball team (Video)

ByBryan Rose|
May 2, 2013; Toronto, ON, Canada; A bat and a baseball and a batting glove on the turf field during batting practice before the Toronto Blue Jays game against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre. The Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
May 2, 2013; Toronto, ON, Canada; A bat and a baseball and a batting glove on the turf field during batting practice before the Toronto Blue Jays game against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre. The Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Minor League baseball (and hockey) teams need to be on their toes when it comes to marketing gimmicks.

One of the most well known ‘gimmicks’ is that of the Trenton Thunder who for years have employed a Golden Retrievers to bring the bats of players back to the dugout.

Current ‘bat dog’ Derby has perfected the art of bat retrieval, but he recently had puppies and the team is apparently starting to groom the young ones for their eventual role.

The team uploaded a video of ‘Rookie’ – the newest pup to pick up the art of bat retrieval and needless to say, the results are as cute as expected.

Here are a few photos of the puppy hanging around the locker room (and at home).

The bat ‘Rookie’ was given to retrieve was obviously a ‘mini’ version as he can’t handle a full-sized 40 ounce piece of lumber right now, but he certainly seems to be enjoying himself.

H/T Busted Coverage

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