Trenton Thunder bat dog prepares for ‘Rookie’ season (Video)

As the 2015 season approaches, it’s not just the players who are kicking their preparation into high gear. Every living being that has an assigned role in baseball is working to shake off the rust, sharpen his or her skills, and in some cases get acclimated with a new team or in a new role.

That includes but is not limited to managers, coaches, scouts and team executives. It also covers broadcasters and the production and camera crews who bring these games to us nearly every day for seven months. And yes, stadium personnel, from ushers to clubhouse manages, ball boys and girls and even the bat dogs, are all focused on the long season ahead as well.

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Everybody has a renewed focus and… wait, did we really just indicate that there are bat-retrieving dogs training too?

Yes, we absolutely did, because yes, apparently they do.

Or at least that’s how things work with the Trenton Thunder. As you might recall, the New York Yankees’ Double-A affiliate has employed a bat dog since 2002, when the world famous Chase made his debut. After Chase retired in 2013 and later died at age 13, his son, Derby, took over the family business. Now, it’s Derby’s son Rookie who is readying to take over, and we have video proof that he’s raring to go.

Take a look, courtesy of the Times of Trenton: 

Rookie’s not ready for prime time just yet, but he’s picking up the new gig pretty fast. By opening day, we’re guessing he’ll look like a seasoned pro.

“You can see how much he loves that bat. It’s his little pacifier now,” [trainer Shelly Leibowitz] said, watching as Rookie circled the training room with his tail wagging. “This is the day in the life of Rookie, and he’s real happy doing it.”

Rookie was not available for comment, but by reading his body language we’re inclined to believe that he loves retrieving items, and therefore loves his job.

For what it’s worth, when Rookie does debut, he’ll become the first known third-generation bat dog in baseball. A pretty cool distinction, because there haven’t been too many third-generation anything’s in baseball history, In fact, in the history of MLB, there have only been five third-generation families, beginning with the Boones (Ray, Bob, Aaron and Bret) and ending with the Schofield/Werths, who joined the club when Jayson Werth debuted in 2002. He’s the grandson of Ducky Schofield and nephew of Dick Schofield.

There are other instances such as the three generations of Runges who have umpired in MLB and the Carays in the broadcasting booth. Overall, though, it’s rare territory, and it’s a difficult legacy to live up to. We certainly wish Rookie the best.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813