ST. LOUIS (AP) — This didn’t take long: The St. Louis Cardinals announced a Rally Cat Night promotion for their Sept. 10 game against Pittsburgh.
A cat trotted on the field Wednesday with the Cardinals trailing Kansas City 5-4. After a short delay, Yadier Molina hit a grand slam on the next pitch, and St. Louis went on to an 8-5 win.
“I’m a dog guy, but I like that cat tonight,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said.
The cat was placed outside the ballpark near the end of the game and was picked up by a fan, who intended to take it home. But the feline jumped from her grasp and ran off into a grassy area blocks from the stadium. After a lengthy search, the cat was discovered in downtown St. Louis on Friday.
St. Louis said Saturday that fans will be allowed to purchase a special theme ticket for the Sept. 10 game that will include admission and an exclusive rally cat T-shirt. A portion of each ticket sold will go Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) and the St. Louis Feral Cat Outreach. La Russa managed the Cardinals from 1996-2011, winning a pair of World Series titles.
The Cardinals are currently making arrangements to care for the cat on a long-term basis. St. Louis outfielder Dexter Fowler enjoyed watching the cat ramble around on the field.
“At first I thought it was a rat,” he said.