The San Diego Padres had a historic guest throw out the ceremonial first pitch Wednesday at Petco Park. Or maybe pre-historic.
It wasn't an actor, an athlete or a community member; this guest came from about 67 million years ago as a baby Tyrannosaurus waddled its way to the mound. He gave Swinging Friar, the Padres mascot, quite a scare too.
The Padres said the diminutive dinosaur is called “Baby T.” It was in San Diego to promote "Walking With Dinosaurs," which comes to Valley View Casino in late November.
The other burning question we had was does a Tyrannosaurus have what it takes to make it in the big leagues?
Tom Deméré, curator of the paleontology department at the San Diego Natural History Museum, doesn't think so — unless you're looking for someone to eat the opposing team's bullpen.
“A Tyrannosaurus is probably not the best choice for a pitcher, since, as every school-age kid knows, T. rex had really short forelimbs (arms) with only two digits (fingers),” Deméré said.
Instead, Démére thinks a Velociraptor mongoliensis would be a better choice for an MLB franchise, especially if it's a lefty.
“Velociraptor had much longer forelimbs, which would have given him increased speed of the manus (hand) at the end of that long forelimb,” Deméré said.
Give Baby T props though, it did not look like an easy feat.
As far as a designated hitter goes, Deméré would recommend an Ankylosaurus, which would bat with its tail. It might even give Hall of Famer T. Gwynn a run for his money.
"Walking With Dinosaurs" arrives at the Valley View Casino Center on Nov. 26 for eight shows. In the meantime, head over to the San Diego Natural History Museum to check out some of Baby T’s relatives.
