Such a good boy: Bruce the Bat Dog gets called up

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – It’s the dream of every ballplayer: getting called up to “The Show.”

It means you’ve made it.

That time has come for one of the Rochester Red Wings’ youngest prospects, who skipper Matthew LeCroy says has “worked his tail off” during training. Now, Bruce the Bat Dog is set to make his professional start on Sept. 5.

WATCH: Bruce gets the nod

His owner (or should we say manager?) is Josh Snyder, who also owned Milo, the club’s first bat dog. After four years of fetching bats and earning belly rubs, Milo died last year following an illness.

When he was still a fluffball, Bruce was named bat dog in December 2023. He had big paws to fill, but LeCroy says he’s done a great job.

Bruce made his first appearance in Rochester in April 2024, trotting out to the pitcher’s mound with a basket in his mouth that held the game ball. Since then, he’s been greeting fans and learning how to retrieve discarded bats. No word on whether his training has included learning to ignore the aroma of Zweigle’s wafting through the stands.

Besides being a big member of the team, Bruce is also a philanthropist. The Bruce Bettering the Community Campaign benefits Honor Flight of Rochester and the Veterans Outreach Center. Every time Bruce retrieves a bat on Sept. 5, Flower City Group will donate $100 to the fund: doubling their usual donation.

And once done fetching bats, Bruce will greet his fans in a “Meet and Pet” session.

Tickets for the game are available at RedWingsBaseball.com or by calling the box office at (585) 454-1001. The first 100 fans through the gates will get a Bruce replica jersey.