E:60 Story "The Family Business" Selected as One of the Top Three Stories of 2015
January 14, 2016 - Eastern League (EL1)
Trenton Thunder News Release
Trenton Thunder 1B Greg Bird and Bat Dog Derby Pose for an ESPN Camera
(Trenton Thunder, Credit: Dave Schofield)
From December 24-31, ESPN ran its E:60 Top Stories of the year program and "The Family Business," chronicling the three generations of Thunder Bat Dogs, Chase, Derby and Rookie was selected as one of the top three.
The E:60 segment was first broadcast on Tuesday August 11 to a national audience on ESPN.
The story was conceived by ESPN E:60 Producer Matt Rismiller, who spent five full days filming at ARM & HAMMER Park and at the Bat Dogs' training facility, The Green Leaf Pet Resort & Shelly's School For Dogs in Millstone, NJ. The crew was given all-access passes to the ballpark to tell the story of the lives of Chase, Derby & Rookie and the relationships of fathers & sons with the game of baseball.
"The Family Business" was told through the eyes of Derby and narrated by Bob Peterson of PIXAR. The Academy Award Nominated Writer, Director and Voice Actor has been part of many of PIXAR's box office hits, including Mosters, Inc., Finding Nemo, Toy Story 3 and UP! Peterson co-wrote, co-directed and voiced the main character Dug the Dog in UP!
Thunder players Greg Bird, Taylor Dugas and Fred Lewis were each featured in the piece in addition to several front office members.
The Thunder have seen incredible response to "The Family Business" from all over the United States via e-mail, Facebook and Twitter.
Thunder fans will have their next chance to see world-famous Bat Dogs Derby and Rookie in action on Opening Night, Thursday April 7 when the Thunder host the Erie SeaWolves (Detroit Tigers) at 7:00pm. Groups, season tickets, Pic-A-Plans and mini plans for the 2016 season are on sale now at www.TrentonThunder.com or by calling 609-394-3300.
The Thunder, Double-A Affiliate of the New York Yankees, play in the 12 team Eastern League. The Thunder have drawn over 8.8 million fans to ARM & HAMMER Park over 22 years and have won the three major awards that Minor League Baseball teams can win; the Johnson Trophy for the "Nation's Best Franchise" (2005), the Larry MacPhail Trophy for Outstanding Club Promotion (2003) and the Bob Frietas Award for Long-Term Success (1998, given by Baseball America). The team has given back over $5.7 million worth of goods, services and monetary donations through Trenton Thunder Charities, under the Grand Slam We Care Foundation umbrella. The Thunder can be found online at trentonthunder.com, facebook.com/trentonthunder, twitter.com/trentonthunder and on youtube.com/AATrentonThunder.
Images from this story
 Trenton Thunder 1B Greg Bird and Bat Dog Derby Pose for an ESPN Camera (Dave Schofield) |
Eastern League Stories from January 14, 2016
- E:60 Story "The Family Business" Selected as One of the Top Three Stories of 2015 - Trenton Thunder
- Carlos Febles Named Sea Dogs Manager - Portland Sea Dogs
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