MILWAUKEE — Down two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning with the bases loaded, the Cardinals were looking for a chance to seize the lead on Aug. 9, 2017. Kansas City Royals pitcher Peter Moylan threw a ball outside, and catcher Yadier Molina was ahead of the count 1-0.
Molina, while stepping back into the batter's box, pointed his bat to the outfield. His bat followed the steps of a critter, a fast little guy, speeding in between the Kansas City outfielders. It was a cat — a small, feisty kitten — and he was evading every chance of being a guilty escapee. That was, until a Busch Stadium groundskeeper grabbed a hold of him near the warning track, running back to the stands with the kitten in hand — and bite marks, too.
Amid the laughs from both the Royals and the Cardinals players, the fans and the broadcasting teams, the game continued on. Moylan sets up his pitch once more. But before either pitcher or batter checked to see where the ball landed with the crack of the bat, the Cardinals lead 8-5 with a line drive grand slam to left field.
Instantaneously, the proclaimed 'Rally Cat' became a Cardinals legend. Now, six months later, the cat behind the magic of the Cardinals' August winning streak has received a bobblehead of his own.
Milwaukee-based National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum announced Wednesday that the Rally Cat bobblehead has gone on sale for a limited time. The bobbleheads, which are individually numbered to only 360, sale for $40 through their official website. Each order has a flat rate shipping charge of $8.
"As soon as we heard about the [Rally Cat] we knew it would make for a fun bobblehead," said Phil Sklar, co-founder and CEO of the National Hall of Fame and Museum in a statement. "Were familiar with the celebrity sports animals with Hank here in Milwaukee, and we wanted to give fans to have their very own Rally Cat, albeit in bobblehead form."
Each Rally Cat bobblehead was produced exclusively for the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum.