Chase "That Golden Thunder" (2000 – July 8, 2013) was a

Golden Retriever The Golden Retriever is a Scottish breed of retriever dog of medium size. It is characterised by a gentle and affectionate nature and a striking golden coat. It is commonly kept as a pet and is among the most frequently registered breeds ...

who served as " bat dog" and mascot for the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the Doub ...

minor league baseball team.

Life

Chase served as "bat dog" during the first inning at most

home games, retrieving bats and balls and returning them to the Thunder dugout. Contrary to popular belief, his teeth did not leave marks in the equipment, as retrievers are trained to carry birds without puncturing them. Later in the game, Chase usually caught frisbees to win a cash prize for a lucky fan. He also carried balls and waters to the umpires during the game. He did, however, have a golden tooth due to his bat carrying duties. Chase had garnered significant media attention, appearing on FOX, CNN,

YES Network The Yankee Entertainment and Sports Network (YES) is an American pay television regional sports network owned by Yankee Global Enterprises (the largest shareholder with 26%), Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios (which owns 20%), A ...

, UPN9, WNBC4, and even Japanese television. In 2008, Chase sired a litter of pups. One of the pups was trained to be his successor and was named Home Run Derby (or Derby for short) in a fan poll during the offseason. Another of the pups from that litter was named Ollie, and currently serves in a bat dog capacity for the

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. During the team's first seas ...

. Derby sired pups in 2013, with one of them, named "Rookie", being trained to eventually succeed him as a third-generation bat dog. On June 4, 2013, Chase was honored at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

by special invitation of

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

General Manager

Brian Cashman Brian McGuire Cashman (born July 3, 1967) is an American baseball executive for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. He has served as the General manager (baseball), General Manager and Senior Vice President of the Yankees since 1998. D ...

. He was the first canine to be so honored. On July 5, 2013, Chase had a retirement party thrown by the Thunder, complete with a video tribute. The first 2,000 fans received Chase bobbleheads and fans were encouraged to bring their own dogs to the game. On August 11, 2015, Chase's son Derby "narrated" an

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

E:60 feature on the Chase and his family of bat-retrieving dogs.

Death

Chase died on July 8, 2013. He was diagnosed with lymphoma in February and had been suffering from arthritis.

References

{{reflist 2000 animal births 2013 animal deaths Minor League Baseball mascots Individual dogs in the United States

Life

Death

See also

References