It was Paul Janish to the rescue when an injured bat (of the winged mammal persuasion) landed on the field during last night's game. He scooped it up in his glove and gave it to the bat boy (of course); it was later released.
Of course, Janish was a Louisville Bat last year. His former team weighed in on Twitter:
And:
Actually, it looked like it was two bats, not one. I suspect it was not an injured bat, but two bats caught in flagrante.
I like bats. One day I'd like to go to Austin, Texas and see the bats that live under the bridge there.
UPDATE: The next game, the organist at Turner Field played "Batman" for Paul Janish. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has this article about his wildlife encounter. He said there were indeed two bats ("intertwined"), and he just wanted to get on with the game, since there had already been a long rain delay.
The trainers did ask him if he was bitten.
For all the nicknames circulating about Paul Janish after he retrieved a live bat from the infield Wednesday night – batman, bat whisperer - and the ensuing video craze, Braves trainers did have a serious question for Janish after the game.
They wanted to know if the bat had bitten him, over concern about rabies. Janish told them it hadn’t, and he didn’t get a shot, but he did ask for symptoms to look out for just in case.
Um...I hope they told him that by the time there are symptoms, it's too late.
The vast majority of bats are not rabid, but most cases of rabies in the U.S. are due to bats (perhaps because their teeth and claws are so small people don't realize they've been bitten or scratched). It's not a good idea to handle them, especially if they are in places they aren't usually seen, or have been caught by a dog or cat.
Labels: Paul Janish
