If you thought the squirrel epidemic that's currently spreading throughout Major League Baseball was weird, Terry Francona has news for you.
The Rally Squirrel, who visited Progressive Field on Monday night, had the Indians clubhouse buzzing on Tuesday with stories of wildlife encounters on the baseball diamond. Naturally, Tito's tale tops them all.
"I remember it was Super Bowl Sunday in 1996 and I was managing in the Dominican Republic," said Francona. "The first pitch was at 6:15 and I was standing on the top step of the dugout thinking to myself, 'What am I doing here?' "
Francona, who then gazed into the outfield, recalled being in disbelief of what he saw.
"There was a dog and a goat and a chicken in the outfield," said Francona. "I'm thinking, 'I could be watching the Super Bowl.' "
Ahh, yes. The life of a Winter Ball manager.
It's no wonder Francona had no qualms about the Rally Chicken that his team adopted as their mascot prior to last season's playoff run.
"As long as the chicken wasn't drinking beer in the clubhouse," Francona said of Cody the Rally Chicken, "we're good to go."
