By: Ashley Conley
Something unusual happened at the Miami Marlins game on Tuesday; a feline somehow made its way onto the field during play and totally stole the show!
A cat intrusion on #NationalPetDay? How purrr-fect. 🐱
🎥: https://t.co/njxsxShFnD#LetsPlay pic.twitter.com/oawbDp48OU
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) April 12, 2017
The pretty blue kitty perched itself underneath an outfield wall in an effort to hide from right fielder Giancarlo Stanton before it took off for the Marlins Home Run sculpture, that it eventually reached after climbing up a video board fence. Those on social media were in complete awe of Rally Cat’s Spider-Man-like abilities and promptly fell in love with the furry showstopper.
Petition to make the @Marlins‘ #RallyCat their official pet for the season in honor of #NationalPetDay 🐱⚾️
— Monica Carolina (@MoniMarlin44) April 12, 2017
It’s a cat. How did a cat get in Marlins Park? Idk but I like it
— Kelsey Wingert (@KelsWingert) April 12, 2017
soo apparently #RallyCat was rescued and then ran off into the night!? what a champ. stay safe my furry friend, stay safe.
— carly agro (@SNCarlyAgro) April 12, 2017
The Marlins social media team made the cat’s appearance even more entertaining by tweeting out a pole asking fans to choose a new name for “Rally Cat”, which quickly came about as a hashtag on Twitter. The options, which mirrored the names of some of the franchise’s prominent athletes, were:
J.T. Realmeowto (J. T. Realmuto – Catcher)
Don Cattingly (Don Mattingly – First Basemen, Coach and Manager)
Kyle BarraClaw (Kyle Barraclough – Pitcher)
Nick Kittengren (Nick Wittgren – Pitcher)
Don Cattingly, not surprisingly, won with 45% of the votes. After getting its 20 minutes of fame, Rally Cat was rescued safely by Marlins Park staff. However, it didn’t hang around long. *cue the tears*
Update: Upon being rescued safely, #RallyCat’s elusiveness persisted, and it again ran away – this time into the night. Rally on, #RallyCat! pic.twitter.com/ZbkgDpdbjr
— Marlins Park (@MarlinsPark) April 12, 2017
Glad to report that the Marlins rally cat is alive and well. Though he may have used up 5 or 6 lives tonight.
— Will Manso (@WillManso) April 12, 2017
#RallyCat, you will be missed. I hope you found/find an amazing, baseball-loving home!
Cover Image: @NickAlvarezFSF/Twitter
Ashley Conley is a senior journalism student at WVU. She aspires to become a writer or reporter in the sports industry upon graduation. You can follow her on Twitter @ashleyconleyyy.
