It’s summer, which means it’s baseball season and baseball fans are some of the most die-hard of all sports. When it’s getting close to the end of a game, and the score is close — the anxiety on the field is palpable.
It was a tense game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals when suddenly — it was interrupted by one of the last things you’d expect to see at a baseball stadium.
It was the bottom of the sixth inning at Busch Stadium, and the Cardinals had bases loaded; it was their chance to win the game. Everyone was focused on the game.
All of the sudden, a tiny adorable kitten appeared out of nowhere on the field. The crowd erupted in laughter and were shocked to see such a cute surprise appear in the middle of a baseball game.
The randomly appearing kitten gave the center fielder a snuggle then ran toward the stands.
All this cat wanted was a little love from LoCain. Instead, he got escorted off the field. #Royals pic.twitter.com/r2QvHmdaRq
— FOX Sports KC (@FSKansasCity) August 10, 2017
The kitten was adorable but the game needed to go on; someone needed to wrangle the lost and confused cat. A stadium employee decided to try to get the game on track by picking up the kitten, but the little animal wasn’t having that at all.
After a few attempts and tries, the kitten was eventually removed from the field. The interruption, however, must have thrown off the Royal’s pitcher, Peter Moylan, because the next pitch sealed the deal for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals ended up hitting a grand slam after the brief kitty interruption. The kitten has since been dubbed “Rally Cat.”
Adorable cat runs onto field during televised baseball game and does NOT want to leave #RallyCat https://t.co/smxR9kR3IA pic.twitter.com/WI6JUGhi6y
— Mashable (@mashable) August 10, 2017
“Rally Cat” has now become an unofficial good luck charm for the Cardinals and will now forever be associated with their memorable win.
“I’m not a cat person, but I sure like that one,” Mike Matheny, the Cardinals manager, said after the game.
It’s unknown where the cat ended up running off to; reports say that a grounds crew member released the lost cat outside of Gate 3.
“We are hopeful someone will find the cat and contact us so we can properly care for it,” the Cardinals said in a statement released Thursday. “Our grounds crew is working on developing a stray animal protocol to ensure the safety of both crew and animal should this happen again.”
Rally Cat made quite the impression on the entire crowd at the stadium that day and we hope that he’ll be found and returned to his family. If you spot Rally Cat, please contact the Humane Society of Missouri.
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Thanks, #RallyCat: Feline’s field trip sets up St. Louis Cardinals’ grand slam https://t.co/LIXPpwrjDP pic.twitter.com/X7MMx8UvzQ
— CTV News (@CTVNews) August 10, 2017
