The dog days of summer arrived at Nationals Park. Bruce, a 21-month-old golden retriever, fetched a bat during a ceremony before the Washington Nationals’ game against the Miami Marlins as part of a Pups in the Park promotion.

The Washington Nationals used their bark at the park promotion to call up Bruce the Bat Dog from Triple-A Rochester.

The former Silver Slugger Award winner played for seven teams in a 12-year career — including the Mets, Phillies, and Nationals — before retiring Sunday.

He's not in Chase Utley's HBP league yet by any means. Still, Kemp says, “It’s kind of just always been about getting on base," and he does not shy away from it.

Players rocking the All-Star uniform during the All-Star Game been a major sticking point among MLB fans in previous years, as they made clear they longed for the days when players would rock their own team's jerseys. Calls for that stylistic change did not go unnoticed by MLB's front office, prompting the change implented this year.

The Washington Nationals haven’t reached the playoffs since winning the World Series in 2019, getting stuck in a prolonged rebuild.