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by **DieHardCubbie** » Sat Jul 12, 2003 3:35 am

A feel good story...

A.P wrote:Fick rescues kitten at Shea

Associated Press

New York -- Robert Fick was focused on a kitten rather than hittin'.

As Atlanta took the field for batting practice Tuesday night, Fick saw something furry playing in the grass in front of the dugout. A tiny gray cat had been discovered in a camera bay next to the Braves' bench, caught up in a tangle of wires and debris, and several people were figuring out what to do with her.

"She barely had her eyes open and she kept falling over when we found her," said Keith DeSantis, a cameraman for the MSG Network. "She was probably only a couple of days old, at most."

She was one lucky cat, too, once Fick took notice of the commotion before the Braves' game against the New York Mets.

"I was wondering what it was," Fick said.

The first baseman came from behind the batting cage, got down on his knees and began petting the kitten. His mitt was much bigger than the feline, which could barely roll over.

"I thought it was someone's pet. It was playing with a bat," Fick said after the Braves' 5-3 win. "When they said it didn't belong to anybody, I said I'd take it."

And he quickly came up with a name. Found at Shea Stadium, the kitty will be called Shea.

Fick and his wife, Jennifer, have a couple of cats. The Braves head to Chicago after leaving town this week, but Fick said his wife was going home and would take the kitten.

While Fick jogged onto the field for pregame practice, a cardboard box was brought for the kitten. Some paper strips were put in the bottom of the box to let her nestle -- she fell asleep right away.

A clubhouse attendant then took the box and put it inside the Braves' locker room before the game.

"I've just got a soft spot for animals," Fick said.