Bat dog has disastrous minor league baseball debut (but is still a good girl)

It was Lucy May’s big debut as a bat dog for a minor league baseball team.

As the Clearwater Threshers’ official bat dog, Lucy May, a 10-month-old Labrador retriever, was tasked with retrieving bats with her mouth from the field during part of the team’s home game against the Dunedin Blue Jays on Aug. 23.

Before the fourth inning, though, Lucy May got a case of the zoomies and flouted her bat dog duties. Rather than retrieving the bat, she sprinted aimlessly around BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla., before dashing through the visiting team’s dugout. She then ran back onto the field, squatted and took a poo. The crowd erupted in laughter.

After doing her business, and with renewed energy, Lucy May chased the grounds crew.

“We were mortified,” said Andrew Davis, Lucy May’s owner. “It was chaotic. … We were worried we were going to be escorted out of the ballpark that night.”

Davis has extensive experience as a bat dog owner. His older dog, Layla, was the bat dog for the Clearwater Threshers - the Single-A minor league affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies - for six years. Bat dogs typically fill the role of bat kids for part of the game, and bring the bats back to their owner in the dugout. They also serve as unofficial team mascots at home games, and often mingle with fans and pose for photos.

Layla, 13, retired last month, passing the torch to her younger sister.

“It was supposed to be a humble and subtle transfer of bat dog duties from Layla to Lucy May,” said Davis, adding that he had been training Lucy May for the job for several months, and believed she was prepared. “Everyone saw how that story panned out.”

In Layla’s entire career, Davis said, she never had any accidents on the field.

“Using the bathroom before the game is paramount,” he said, noting that Lucy May went potty before the game, so he assumed there would be no issues.

“We thought she was empty when we went in there that night,” Davis said.

While the bathroom blunder was a surprise to Davis, the zoomies were not.

“Like any puppy, she can get easily distracted,” he said.

Shortly after the game, a video of Lucy May’s debut debacle went viral on social media, garnering millions of views. Fans had a field day, and the incident was shared by the popular pooch account WeRateDogs.

“To see everybody’s positive support and the love for Lucy, it was a pleasant surprise,” said Davis. “The story brought a lot of happiness and made people smile. … That dog was out there having the time of her life.”

Lucy May and Layla aren’t the only famed bat dogs out there. For years, the New York Yankees’ Double-A Trenton Thunder team has had a tradition of using bat dogs. Rookie, an 11-year-old golden retriever, is the team’s current bat dog - and the grandson of the team’s very first bat dog, Chase, who started the job in 2000.

The Trenton Thunder bat dogs have inspired other dog owners across the country, including David Lamm, whose 2-year-old rescue golden retriever, Omaha, is the official bat dog for OC Riptide Baseball, a collegiate summer baseball team in Orange County.

“I thought it would be very cool to do it,” said Lamm, who saw a feature story on the Trenton Thunder bat dogs, and became interested in the idea.

Omaha made her debut on June 9, and had a very similar experience to Lucy May.

“We sent her out there to get a bat. She went right by the bat and then she went up to the third base line and popped a squat and went number one,” said Lamm. “Thankfully she didn’t drop the deuce.”

“Much like with Lucy May, it was the biggest cheer heard all night,” he continued. “Fans were extremely encouraging.”

Ripken - an 8-year-old American black lab - is the official bat dog for the Durham Bulls, a minor league team and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.

“The louder they scream, the faster he goes,” said Ripken’s owner, Michael O’Donnell, who runs a dog training company called Sit Means Sit. “He flies down the field.”

Ripken has been a bat dog for five years, and he is also the kicking tee retriever for the North Carolina State University football team. He has amassed a large following on social media, and O’Donnell said his pup revels in the spotlight.

“He loves it,” he said. “You can’t control his tail; it’s always wagging.”

According to O’Donnell, Ripken has never had any Lucy May moments on the field, but he’s happy the comical incident is drawing interest in bat dogs more broadly.

“Any of that attention is good attention,” he said, with the caveat that “I’m glad it wasn’t my dog that did it.”

As for Lucy May, despite her disastrous debut, the Clearwater Threshers said she will be keeping her job.

“We love her, we love her family,” said Dominic Repper, the team’s manager of promotions and game entertainment.

“I would be hard-pressed to tell you a time the crowd was as loud as they were on that night,” he said. “The laughter was infectious, and it was all around the park.”

Repper said he knew going into the game that - given Lucy May’s age and lack of experience - there might be a mishap. He was the one who picked up the poo, but he didn’t mind.

“You want something that people haven’t seen before, and we got it,” he said. “I couldn’t be more pleased with the result, even though it was unscripted and a little embarrassing, perhaps.”

Davis said he feels confident Lucy May will make a comeback. He created a TikTok account to chronicle her improvements.

“People want to see Lucy’s redemption,” he said.