The night that Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta notched his 20th win of the season, manager Joe Maddon transformed Wrigley Field from the Friendly Confines to a pet-friendly stadium.
Maddon teamed up with the Columbus Zoo to bring a cornucopia of animals to the park for the families of the players. But it appears the Cubs team had as good of a time as anyone.
It's zoo day at Wrigley pic.twitter.com/NWxaXKJXtH
— Anthony Rizzo (@ARizzo44) September 22, 2015
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) September 22, 2015
The Cubs skipper built a reputation as a manager with a love for animals and some of his new team members encouraged him to bring animals to stadium. Maddon said he brought the animals for the kids — including the youngsters on the team.
Travis [Wood] was putting a lot of pressure on me for not having a lot of animals in the clubhouse this year, said Maddon, who had a snake brought into the clubhouse when he was manager of the Tampa Bay Rays. You bring them for the kids but the grown-ups are equally impressed.
Although the sloth and snow leopard were among a favorite with the kids, Maddon had quite the connection with a pink flamingo. In fact, his goal is to have a bar named after the bird.
