By Barbara Gregorich
Jack and Larry leave Canada
for Cleveland, where Larry inhales
the scent of every player,
.    twitching his tail and planting
.    his paws on each
.         of them.
Jack shows his teammates
each new trick Larry
.    has learned —
.    jumping as high as Jack’s shoulder,
.         sitting on Jack’s shoulders,
.         balancing on Jack’s head.
On the wooden platform,
waiting for the southbound train,
.         the Naps take turns
.         playing with Larry.
Jack makes sure
each player knows that Larry
.    is not just Jack’s dog,
.         he is the team’s dog, too —
.         the official mascot
.    of the Cleveland Naps.
Jack reminds them that they
are all proud of Larry and of
.         themselves, and he hints
.         that maybe they should study
.    how Larry behaves.
Boarding the train,
Jack flexes his arm
.    and stretches his shoulder,
.    heading for the aches
.           of spring training
.    and the hope
.    that his arm has healed.
Taken from Barbara’s new book, Jack and Larry: Jack Graney and Larry, the Cleveland Baseball Dog. You can get a copy of this story of the only live mascot ever held by a major league team by visiting Barbara’s website or watching for her at this week’s SABR convention in Minneapolis.
