Where to even start.
A couple years ago, an adorable stray dog arrived at Maryvale Baseball Park, and was subsequently “adopted” by the team as something of an unofficial mascot. The dog was named Hank, after Hank Aaron, and became part of the team’s promotional machine. In the midst of a rebuild, the Brewers probably needed the positive attention.
But the attention turned negative this week, as a Brewers blog deconstructed what it believed was the evidence of a massive fraud and coverup: the current “Hank” is not the original Hank. Admittedly, the current version of Hank doesn’t look very much like the original dog that arrived two years ago.
A silly Internet conspiracy theory? Probably. But the thing got enough attention that the Brewers today held a press conference to offer proof of Hank’s identity.
The proof came in the form of a notarized – yes, notarized – letter from a veterinarian confirming that the dog that arrived two years ago, and had a chip implanted, is the same as the dog that is now paraded around as part of the Brewers’ organization:
Here it is, the un-smoking gun. Proof of Hank the Dog's true identity. #HankTheDog #Brewers #DogPressConference pic.twitter.com/QcgerhyrD6
— Jimmy Carlton (@jimmycarlton88) March 4, 2016
ICYMI: There is only one Hank, The #BallparkPup: https://t.co/dYcTKysBVY pic.twitter.com/OVFRgg6nct
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) March 4, 2016
The Internet may now turn to its next vigilante mission: Why is it called the “foul” pole if balls that strike it are fair?
UPDATE: You know what? In case the tongue-in-cheek nature of this story is not clear enough, this tweet is worth sharing:
https://twitter.com/justinbopp/status/705832964857294853