North Carolina Sports Fans Mourn The Passing Of Ripken The Bat Dog

The Durham Bulls lost a beloved member of their community on New Year’s Day in Ripken the bat dog.

Ripken, an eight-year-old black lab, died of "complications from a serious, undiagnosed medical condition which he sadly could not recover from." While Ripken was well known for retrieving bats at Bulls games (they are the Triple A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays), he was also an integral part of several athletic programs in the North Carolina Research Triangle area. The dog would retrieve the tee after kickoffs at NC State Wolfpack football games and was part of a ceremonial puck drop at multiple Carolina Hurricanes games in the past. 

He even hung out with Carolina Panthers running back Chubba Hubbard earlier this season.

Ripken was so popular, in fact, that he got his own Topps trading card, Instagram page, and X page.

Unfortunately, he will no longer be able to grace any sports fields in North Carolina area, and that has saddened many sports fans in the Tar Heel State.

NC State posted a statement thanking their furry friend for all the work he did at their events.

The Bulls also posted a beautiful photo of Ripken in action.

While those will certainly tug on your heart strings, this one (also from the Bulls) will almost certainly make you cry.

Yeah, that noise you hear is me sobbing.

Countless other fans posted their heartfelt messages of support for the beloved dog.

RIP to Ripken, a local hero. You will be missed, you good boy.