WASHINGTON -- The Nationals made an addition to their “ruffster” on Saturday.
Bruce the Bat Dog was called up from Triple-A Rochester to make his Major League debut in a pregame bat retrieval ceremony at Nationals Park.
A very good boy, Bruce worked during the Red Wings’ game on Friday and traveled to the nation’s capital that night for the Nats’ 1:05 p.m. matinee the next day, a 4-3 loss to the Marlins.
“Look at this dog and try not to smile, right?” Josh Snyder, Bruce’s owner, said. “He's great and he's goofy. I think he's the perfect candidate for the Red Wings and now the Nationals.”
Bruce has become a fan favorite in Rochester and on the internet. He has over 5,000 followers on Instagram (bruceisbatdog) and the “official callup” video with Red Wings manager Matthew LeCroy went viral. Bruce’s highly anticipated day was even commemorated with an MLB debut patch and a special trading card by Topps.
“[The last week has been] crazy,” Snyder said. “The social media, everything like that seems like it's just seriously blown up.”
Bruce joined the Red Wings last Sept. 5, following the passing of longtime Red Wings bat dog, Milo. Bruce has made four starts in Rochester and posted a 1.000 retrieving average.
“The Red Wings wanted to keep Milo's legacy going,” Snyder said. “I got Bruce and was able to keep that legacy going [by] doing good throughout the community and bringing people together, which is the most important thing to us.”
Snyder, who previously worked for a dog training company, recognized similar traits in Bruce as Milo. He saw that as a puppy, Bruce was able to stay focused on him amid distractions -- a key trait especially at a crowded ballpark. Bruce received high scouting grades and did well in the Bat Dogcast analytics.
“I bring this tool that's called a flirt pole -- it’s basically a stick with a rope and a little tug toy on the end,” Snyder said. “I assess how much they're able to latch onto it, how much they're able to follow that toy. All the other puppies were running around the yard like crazy, as you can imagine. The amount of attention that he would keep on me, that was something obviously that I looked for when I was playing with him. So that's kind of how I assessed his drive, if you will, and it seemed to turn out really well here.”
In the spirit of bringing people together, Bruce’s debut was part of Pups in the Park, from which all dog ticket proceeds benefit the Humane Rescue Alliance. While Bruce was on the field, there were adoptable puppies on-site in the concourse from Wolf Trap Animal Rescue.
Less than two years old, Bruce already has left his pawprint in baseball.
“It does not matter what is on the scoreboard,” Snyder said. “It could be 11 or 12 to nothing. Bruce runs out there and the crowd goes electric. It doesn't matter if it's a first inning or fifth inning. The crowd just goes crazy when he runs out there.”