I think I’m going to have to start a Ballplayer Pet Hall of Fame. Not for the pets themselves — all pets are Hall of Famers in my book — but for the ballplayers who have the good taste to love cats, which most of you know is my pet of choice.
Matt Duffy is already in there. Mat Latos and his cat, Cat Latos. Greg Bird and Mr. Delicious. Kevin Kiermaier is not an inductee, but there’s going to be a large instructional exhibit about him given his past issues with cats. Kind of a cautionary tale thing.
The latest inductee: Nationals catcher Matt Wieters, who posed with his pet kitty Jalapeño in the Nationals team pet calendar, the proceeds of which go to the Humane Rescue Alliance of Washington, D.C.:
As the Post notes, he’s the only cat guy on there. Which is weird. I mean, yes, I understand the appeal of a good dog (they’re all good dogs, Brent), but you’d think that more ballplayers would like cats given how much easier it is to travel when you have cats. Ten game road trip? Have the neighbor feed the thing, like, twice. No problem.
Oh well. To each his own. But kudos to Wieters for representing Cat Nation. Even if doing so means that Jalapeño now needs months of therapy after being dragged out of its house and driven to the ballpark for a photo shoot. Cats are great, but my God they’re a pain in the butt sometimes.
(thanks to Wes for the heads up)
