‘Hoppers Send Yogi to Extended Spring Training

Posted on by Andy Durham

One year-old Canine to hone skills on the Farm

Greensboro, N.C. – It wasn’t exactly the birthday present he had hoped for, as late yesterday the Greensboro Grasshoppers announced that one-year old Master Yogi Berra will return to Leatherwood Kennels to sharpen his fetching and base-running skills.

“Yogi has worked incredibly hard to perform along side his sister, Miss Babe Ruth, but it is evident that he isn’t quite ready to perform at the level that we had hoped for,’” said Grasshoppers’ Team President, General Manager, and Yogi’s owner, Donald Moore.

“Let’s face it, it’s a far cry from working with your trainer in an empty field and being in front of thousands of fans. We all hope that Yogi will continue to learn. I knew when I looked at him Thursday night that he was the most nervous puppy in baseball. Retrieving a ball and returning it in front of 9,300 fans isn’t as easy as it may look,” Moore continued.

“Our goal is to have Yogi continue to do his in-game promotion, take water to the base umpire, and run the bases along side his big sister post-game. He has one of the best canine trainers in America and I feel like Yogi can return very soon. He spent the entire off-season with Linwood, (Yogi’s trainer Linwood O’Briant) and more instructional time there with him will be a good thing.”

The Grasshoppers begin an eight-game road trip tonight against the Asheville Tourists at 7:05 p.m. They return to NewBridge Bank Park next Tuesday April 21 against the same Asheville team. For ticket information, contact the box office at 336.268.2255 or online at www.gsohoppers.com.

The Grasshoppers have welcomed over 1,715,000 fans to NewBridge Bank Park, drawing over 400,000 fans in each of its first four years at the new downtown ballpark. The team is the proud recipient of both the South Atlantic League’s Club Merit Award and the General Manager of the Year Award for the past four years. They were also the recipients of Baseball America’s prestigious Bob Freitas Award for overall excellence in the 2008 season.

courtesy of Katie Dannemiller and Laura Damico with the Greensboro Grasshoppers and Jim Modlin Yogi’s fitness instructor at Gold’s Gym.