The baseball world is mourning the loss of a floppy-eared friend.
Alex The Great, a Flemish Giant therapy rabbit that threw out the first pitch at a Minor League Baseball game last month, passed away on Monday after suffering complications from cancer treatment. He was 4 years old.
Alex, which was the only certified therapy rabbit in the country and visited hospitals and charity events, was a fixture at Giants games in San Francisco. He attended his first Giants game at 4 months old in April 2021 and made an appearance at Oracle Park this past April.
“We remember him well for his surprise frequent visits to the ballpark,” Giants CEO Larry Baer said in a text message to The Associated Press. “We remember the comfort he brought those who loved him and the joy he brought so many.”
Thirty pounds of fluff and love, Alex had more than 55,000 followers on Instagram. He was rescued from a meat farm in Modesto, Calif., before his adoption by Josh Row and Kei Kato in 2021.
“Let his legend continue,” Kato and Row wrote on Alex’s social media, “he was very loved.”