Meet ChipPurr Jones, the Rescue Kitten Who ‘Pitched’ His Way Into Baseball Fans’ Hearts

A tiny rescue kitten is proving you don’t have to be a baseball star to win over a stadium full of fans.

ChipPurr Jones, an orange kitten estimated to be about 6 weeks old, “threw out” the ceremonial first pitch for the Gwinnett Stripers, the Atlanta Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, on September 15, according to a Today story published Saturday, September 19.

The kitten’s trip to the mound came just weeks after he was rescued from the middle of a busy road near the team’s stadium in Lawrenceville, Georgia.

“One of our staff members happened to just be driving to work and saw him literally in the middle of the road in traffic,” Stripers marketing manager Tricia Wurmstein said, per the report. “So he got out of his car, scooped him up, and then brought him.”

According to the outlet, ChipPurr was taken to a suite at the stadium for safekeeping, where Wurmstein, a longtime cat owner, quickly fell for him. “I was like, ‘Yep, we will be keeping this cat,'” she recalled. “By ‘we,’ I mean me.”

The team eventually held an online poll to name its newest addition, with fans choosing ChipPurr Jones — a play on the name of Atlanta Braves legend Chipper Jones, per the report.

ChipPurr got his chance to show off his athletic abilities during the Stripers’ “Purr in the Park” night. The event included a pet supply donation drive benefiting local rescue shelters and allowed fans to bring their cats to the stadium.

For his ceremonial first pitch, ChipPurr followed a treat from the pitcher’s mound toward home plate while Ozzy Osbourne‘s “Crazy Train” played over the stadium speakers, according to the article. A baseball accompanied him on his journey, although the kitten was much more interested in his treat than the ball.

“Honestly, it went so much better than I anticipated,” Wurmstein said, per the outlet. “He was ready for the moment.”

For now, ChipPurr is living at the stadium in his own space filled with toys, including foam baseballs. Wurmstein lives just minutes away and has installed a camera so she can keep an eye on him when she’s not there.

After beginning his vaccinations, ChipPurr is expected to move home with Wurmstein, where she plans to slowly introduce him to her other cat.