What do Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and a teeny tiny orange rescue kitten have in common?
Well theyโre all iconic pitchers whoโve made their mark in the Atlanta Braves organization, of course.
The weeks-old kitten โ appropriately named ChipPurr Jones after another Braves Hall-of-Famer โ โthrew outโ the ceremonial first pitch Sept. 15 for the clubโs Triple-A affiliate, the Gwinnett Stripers.
And the little guy delivered some heat …by trotting alongside the ball to home plate.
To no oneโs surprise, ChipPurr has since gone viral, with one post about the incredible outing amassing more than 109,000 likes as of the afternoon of Sept. 19.
ChipPurrโs handler Tricia Wurmstein, whoโs also the Stripersโ manager of marketing tells TODAY.com that sheโs proud of his performance on the mound.
โHonestly, it went so much better than I anticipated,โ Wurmstein says, laughing. โHe was ready for the moment.โ
Videos of the miraculous moment show the kitten following a treat from the mound all the way to home plate as Ozzy Osbourneโs โCrazy Trainโ blares on the speakers.
Though thereโs a ball in his periphery, he doesnโt interact with it at all. Itโs really there for vibes.
ChipPurrโs pitching appearance was part of the teamโs โPurr in the Parkโ night, which also included a pet supply donation drive, benefitting area rescue shelters. Fans were permitted to bring their beloved cats to the stadium for the occasion as well.
Like all pitchers, ChipPurr put in the work to make sure he delivered. Wurmstein helped him out with practice by incorporating treats into his โbullpen sessions.โ
At first, she says, she positioned herself at home plate while he was on the mound in an attempt to see if he would run to her. But when she called out to ChipPurr, his trot was interrupted by the changing texture beneath him, she says. He wasnโt really feeling the pivot from dirt to grass.
โSo I was like, โMaybe I can try and lead him with the treat, so he can directly see it and smell it right in front of him.โโ Wurmstein recalls.
The rest is history.
Wurmstein says that ChipPurr came into the teamโs orbit when he was spotted on a busy street a few weeks ago near the teamโs home field in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
โOne of our staff members happened to just be driving to work and saw him literally in the middle of the road in traffic,โ Wurmstein explains. โSo he got out of his car, scooped him up, and then brought him.โ
ChipPurr was brought to a suite at the facility for safe keeping, Wurmstein says. And when word got around to her that there was a rescued kitten at work, the cat lover says she was swiftly on her way to meet him.
โI was like, โYep, we will be keeping this cat,โโ says Wurmstein, whoโs been a longtime cat owner herself. โBy โwe,โ I mean me.โ
As the person in charge of the teamโs social media, Wurmstein says she not only began caring for the little guy, but she also introduced him to the teamโs fans online. At one point, the team had an online naming poll for him, which ultimately led to his all-star moniker.
These days, ChipPurr, whoโs estimated to be around six weeks old, lives at the stadium and has a whole apartment there with a ton of toys, including foam baseballs, Wurmstein says.
The proud cat mom adds that sheโs got an eye on him at all hours of the day, even when sheโs not physically at the field. Sheโs installed a camera to capture his movements, she says.
โI live literally three minutes from the stadium, so if anything were to happen, Iโd be right here,โ she says.
After ChipPurr starts his first round of vaccinations in a few days, heโll join Wurmsteinโs other cat for a cozy life at her home, she explains.
โIโll start the integration process with them,โ Wurmstein says of the cats. โAnd now that the seasonโs over on Sunday, itโll be a lot easier for me to … actually watch over them as they interact for the first time in the next couple of weeks.โ
With all the attention from fans across baseball, Wurmstein hopes that his presence can help spread a simple message.
โBe kind to humans and animals alike. Itโs great that we have Chipper now, but it was a really unfortunate circumstance in which we he came into our care,โ Wurmstein says. โI just want to make sure that people are being kind to each other and being kind to animals.โ
Now as for eight-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger and 1995 World Series champ Chipper Jones? He seems pretty impressed with his young protรฉgรฉ.