Overview
- Pat Murphy, during a pregame Apple TV interview Friday before the rainout in Kansas City, pulled a live reptile from his pocket that fans identified as a Sulcata tortoise named Bobby Jr.
- Tricia Whitaker said American Airlines bars reptiles, so the tortoise stayed with the Brewers and now sits under a heat lamp in the visiting clubhouse as the team looks for a suitable home.
- The club says the tortoise will not travel this season, reflecting the practical limits teams face with animal care on the road.
- Players fed the tortoise vegetables in the clubhouse as staff noted Sulcatas are land animals that can live about 70 years and grow to roughly 100 pounds.
- MLB.com reported a Royals clubhouse staffer bought the animal at a nearby exotic pet store with cash from Murphy, and the bit follows last year’s viral “pocket pancakes” that became a Sunday concession item.