The next baseball star might not be your typical athlete: she is adorable, fluffy and definitely "pawsome."
Meet Daisy, a 7-week-old puppy who was adopted by Georgia college-league baseball team Savannah Bananas and is now the newest member of the team.
Daisy was spotted by a ticket salesperson at the Greyson Stadium at Savannah, Georgia, alone and crying in the parking lot without a tag, a collar or a microchip.
Jared Orton, president of Savannah Bananas baseball team, and his wife Kelsey decided to adopt the puppy, named her Daisy and made her the team's official "bat dog".
Meet Daisy, the newest addition to the Savannah Bananas staff. #RescueDogs https://t.co/LTTkuE4EF0 pic.twitter.com/py6NewKdHf
— Savannah Bananas (@TheSavBananas) May 10, 2016
"It was just meant to be that we'd have a team dog as part of our staff," Orton said in a statement published in the team's website.
When Daisy was found, staff members tidied her up and searched for her owner for several days. When no one came, Orton took her in. "We took Daisy to the vet and aside from being hungry and dehydrated, she was in pretty good health," Orton said.
"She has to be part of the family now," Orton said. "We thought making her part of the Savannah Bananas family would be pretty fun," added the new pet owner.
Daisy is now a regular in the team's office and enjoys putting on a show. She does a bit of customer service by greeting everyone who comes into the stadium and hanging out with the fans.
Of course, as the team's first bat dog, Daisy pretty much needs to be in shape. She is said to undergo training so she can learn how to fetch baseballs and pick up bats in the field.
"We aren't sure how big she'll get so it's hard to say if she'll be able to pick up a bat or just coach first base," Orton said. "But as she grows, she'll be a fixture at the ballpark."
A lot of minor league teams actually employ bat dogs. They are assigned to retrieve bats and balls and return them to the dugout. The Trenton Thunder's bat dog family is popular among fans and international news.