Baseball is undoubtedly America’s pastime. 

Every spring in State College, fans flock to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park to enjoy an evening game, a nice sunset, and the occasional 10,000 hot dogs.

But there is one thing that can make the experience even better, paw-some, if you will. Penn State baseball needs a bat dog.

For those unfamiliar with the term, think of your traditional bat boy. After every at-bat, someone will jog over to home plate, and return the bat that was just used to the dugout. It’s a relatively simple task that somewhat resembles a game of fetch.

Dogs were born to perform such a chore. It’s in the DNA of man’s best friend to see a stick, pick it up, and bring it back to its owner. So why don’t the Nittany Lions adopt a furry friend of their own?

Having a bat dog is not a new concept. In fact, UNC has a golden retriever named Remington that acts as a rehabilitative facility dog and medical alert assistance dog, as well as the bat dog. Remington is a common friend among the Tar Heel fanbase and has even amassed nearly 12,000 followers on Instagram. 

Having a dog like Remington at Penn State would encourage more fans to come to the ballpark and would attract a broader age demographic as well. It would make people’s afternoons or evenings to see a puppy running around on the field and ideally interacting with fans postgame.

Other sports teams at Penn State have dogs as well, the women’s hockey team and the women’s tennis team being two. There’s nothing logistically stopping baseball from having the same.

Between dollar dogs and real dogs, Penn State baseball would really benefit from having a puppy in the clubhouse. Canines bring good vibes to all who come in contact, and owning one would make the best summertime sport even better. 

We can even name it Barkley.