RIP Miss Babe Ruth, Greensboro Grasshoppers canine icon
The world of Minor League Baseball lost one of its most beloved individuals this past Friday. Miss Babe Ruth, bat dog for the Greensboro Grasshoppers, passed away four months after receiving a cancer diagnosis. She was 12.
The Grasshoppers — Class A affiliate of the Miami Marlins— estimate that Babe “delivered more than 3,500 baseballs to umpires and retrieved approximately 4,600 baseball bats from Greensboro hitters.” Babe, a black Labrador retriever, made her debut on August 2, 2006 and went on to work 649 games before retiring at the end of the 2015 season. Her popularity helped to further the trend of Minor League teams employing bat dogs, which is now a common practice.
“This is a heart-breaking loss for our organization, our fans, and the Greensboro community,” said Grasshoppers President and General Manager Donald Moore, in a press release announcing Miss Babe Ruth’s death. “Babe has been a fan-favorite for well over a decade at First National Bank Field. We are deeply saddened by her death.”
Upon retiring as bat dog, Babe spent the 2016 and 2017 campaigns as a roving team ambassador. She would greet fans on the concourse during games; it was in this capacity that I met Babe when I visited the Grasshoppers in 2016.
Miss Babe Ruth’s ball bucket, which she used to deliver balls to umpires, was donated to the Baseball Hall of Fame following her retirement and now resides in Cooperstown.
"This bucket is the same bucket she’s used since the day she started as a 9-month-old pup,” said Moore, at the time the donation was announced. “This is her last year, and I thought, ‘You know there’s some history in that thing. It would be kind of cool if Cooperstown would want it.’ So I wrote ’em a letter.”
Babe was preceded in death by her brother, Master Yogi Berra, who succumbed to cancer this past August at the age of 9. Miss Lou Lou Gehrig, niece of both Babe and Yogi, currently serves as the team’s bat dog.
For those looking to honor Babe’s memory, the Grasshoppers have provided the following information:
Memorial contributions can be made to either the Babe and Yogi Scholarship Endowment at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, 1060 William Moore Drive, Raleigh, NC 27607 or to Greensboro Grasshoppers Charities, c/o the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, 330 South Greene Street, Suite 100, Greensboro, NC 27401.
The scholarship at N. C. State is earmarked for Guilford County residents who are Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students at the University. Funds from the Grasshoppers Charities donations will go to establishing permanent memorials of Babe and Yogi at First National Bank Field.
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