The time Frelick saved a stray dog
This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy's Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
MILWAUKEE -- Brewers manager Pat Murphy was singing the praises of second-year outfielder Sal Frelick earlier this season when he brought up something you won’t find on any stat sheet: The time Frelick took it upon himself to save a scared stray dog.
With the club hosting what it billed as the first annual “Brewers Pawgeant” on Saturday morning -- a canine cavalcade in which four-legged fans performed tricks and wore costumes to impress a panel of judges that included Christian Yelich, Trevor Megill and Joey Ortiz -- what better time to remember when one of the team’s other dog lovers did a good deed to save a pup in need?
It was at the tail end of Spring Training when Brewers strategy coach Walker McKinven was departing American Family Fields of Phoenix for the day and noticed a small dog hiding under first baseman Jake Bauers’ car. After trying to lure the dog to safety, Frelick happened by and decided to help.
That won’t surprise Brewers fans, who last season met Frelick’s dog, Geno, and learned that the outfielder comes from a family of dog lovers. Sal went back inside, procured some food and found success. The dog came to him.
“The poor little dog was shaking,” Frelick said. “You could tell it wasn’t going to attack anyone. I think it was a puppy because its paws were so big for its body. I was like, ‘I can’t leave this thing.’”
So, Frelick went back inside and gathered some towels to lay across the front seat of his car.
As he drove away, it was obvious the pup was happy.
“He literally went right to sleep,” Frelick said.
Then, the question became, "What now?"
Frelick was up against it because the Brewers were departing the following morning for Queens for their Opening Day game against the Mets, so keeping the dog for a few days while he searched for the owner was not an option. From the animal’s condition, Frelick was skeptical that he’d even find an owner.
So, he started calling shelters. Some didn’t answer. Others said they were full. Frelick took the dog to his apartment and continued making calls. When one said it had space, he drove there only to be turned away again. Then, Frelick drove to four more, and they were either closed for the night or said they couldn’t help.
Out of desperation, Frelick stopped at a police station.
“By some miracle, they were the only police station in the Phoenix area that has access to a shelter,” Frelick said. “So they were able to take it. I hope it’s OK. It wasn’t going to last much longer in the streets.”
It was one small act of kindness, one evening given up to help a living creature in need.
Still, Murphy thinks the story speaks volumes about his young outfielder.
“This is a big story,” Murphy said. “He spent hours with this dog, took it home with him. The kid is really an amazing kid.”
The Brewers have tried all season to do right by their four-legged friends. At both Bark in the Park earlier this year and at Saturday’s “Pawgeant,” the club connected pups up for adoption with new owners.
“We were trying to convince Murph to adopt one of them as a team dog,” Frelick said. “[The dog] could live at the ballpark. Someone would have to take care of him while we’re away, but we can figure that out. We have a soft spot for the doggos.”