When historians look back on this week of the 2017 baseball season, it might be known as the week of men getting hit in the groin with baseballs.
On Wednesday, there was a first pitch at the Boston Red Sox game where the ball went off course and hit a bystander in an area no man wants to be hit. On Thursday, the same thing happened, but the circumstances were slightly different.
This baseball-to-groin incident happened during batting practice before the Philadelphia Phillies faced the host San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. The Giants were on the field, and Jim Salisbury, the beat writer for CSN Philly, was standing on the dirt having a conversation with someone. Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford made an errant throw, and it was a bull's-eye in man land.
The throw had such accuracy that if it wasn't an accident, one would have thought it was on purpose. Salisbury stumbled away to recover, and thankfully no permanent damage was done. Crawford sent Salisbury a special gift from his own collection as an olive branch.
Salisbury received one of Crawford's own jock straps, and the shortstop signed it with a message:
"To Jim, My bad!"
It's a thoughtful apology "gift" to be sure. Hopefully it went through the washing machine before Crawford sent it over.
Rally cry
The St. Louis Cardinals are planning a "Welcome Home" ceremony for a cat the team is publicly calling "ours," even though they have not yet been granted custody by St. Louis Feral Cat Outreach, the local organization currently responsible for the feline and the process of finding it a new home.
The cat ran on the field during the team's game against the Royals last week, inspiring a Yadier Molina grand slam that led the creature to be dubbed Rally Cat. The Cardinals then lost the cat after the employee who removed it from the field set it down outside of the ballpark.
A few days later, the cat -- or, at least, one who bore a convincing resemblance -- was found by St. Louis Feral Cat Outreach.
As soon as Rally Cat was taken in by the outreach center, the Cardinals put in a request for adoption. At the time, the center had not made a decision about what to do with the cat.
The Cardinals then started the planning process for kitty adoption in earnest. They are planning a "Welcome Home" ceremony next week, as well as a "Rally Cat Appreciation Day." They have called the cat "ours" in a statement to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
There's one catch. The cat is not yet theirs.
"We've had thousands of inquiries from throughout the region, including many great organizations like the St. Louis Cardinals, in addition to many cat-loving individuals about adopting Rally," the St. Louis Feral Cat Outreach told the Post-Dispatch.
The Cardinals claim they have been told by the center that the cat will be "returned" to them after a mandatory 10-day quarantine period. The center did not confirm this to the Post-Dispatch.
While the center said it hopes the cat would be ready to make its first public appearance at the "Rally Cat Appreciation Day" next month, it did not acknowledge the "Welcome Home" ceremony.
QUIZ
Where did San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford play collegiately?
ANSWER
UCLA
Sports on 08/19/2017