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Colorado Rockies pitcher Jon Gray loves Yorkies, shelter dogs

By Wesley Coburn

DENVER, COLORADO - APRIL 21: Starting pitcher Jon Gray #5 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates striking out Cesar Hernandez of the Philadelphia Phillies to get out of the top of the fifth inning at Coors Field on April 21, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - APRIL 21: Starting pitcher Jon Gray #5 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates striking out Cesar Hernandez of the Philadelphia Phillies to get out of the top of the fifth inning at Coors Field on April 21, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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Colorado Rockies pitcher Jon Gray loves his Yorkies, and shelter dogs in general.

A macho big-time baseball pitcher should love big, strong breeds, right? Not necessarily. Colorado Rockies pitcher Jon Gray spoke to FanSided’s beat site Rox Pile recently about his love of dogs, specifically shelter dogs and Yorkies.

It started when his wife added a dog named Bentley to the family in 2013.

“My wife brought him home and I didn’t want anything to do with him,” Gray said. “But I fell in love with him on the first day. He was like my little buddy and that’s what got me into Yorkies.”

Bentley has passed away, but the current Yorkie residents of the Gray household include Sophie and Trunks.

Trunks, who came from a rescue in Kansas City, was named after a character from the anime Dragon Ball Z, and has a congenital amputation of one of his front legs, which means its been that way from birth.

“He can’t really use that arm at all. You would never know it. He’s the happiest dog ever. I think he knows he is lucky in a sense because he’s always happy, always smiling. It’s weird. He’s always happy. I love that little guy. He’s the best thing ever.”

He and his wife Jacklyn have volunteered with Planned Pethood in Denver and National Mill Dog Rescue near Colorado Springs.

“She probably loves dogs more than I do,” Gray admitted.

She probably has more time to spend, anyway – he’s busy with his day job.

In his fifth season with the Rockies, Gray has compiled a 2-3 record so far through 2019 with 34 strikeouts through 37 innings, allowing 31 hits with a 3.65 ERA (stats come from Baseball Reference).

At 13-17, Colorado is currently fourth in the National League West, six games behind the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

Gray is a right-hander from Chandler, Oklahoma, who attended the University of Oklahoma before minor league stops in Modesto, Tulsa and Albuquerque.

You can follow the adventures of both Jon and Jacklyn on their respective Instagram pages.

Next. Dog-friendly baseball games to attend in 2019. dark

For more on shelter dogs, see here for why we think they’re so important.

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