A Pet Turtle Named Bronxie Saved The Yankees Season

All Yankee fans know that this season has been an absolute roller coaster. At points, they look like a team filled of All-Stars who can slug their way to the World Series. At other times, they look like a meek, pathetic, lifeless team that couldn't score a run to save their lives. Over the past week though, it's been way more of the former. They've won 6 straight games to catapult themselves into the first Wild Card spot after a sweep at Fenway. And who do we have to thank for all that? No, not Giancarlo Stanton. A turtle named Bronxie. 

ESPN's Sam Borden wrote about the Yankees new lucky charm. Nestor Cortes led a group of players who wanted to adopt a team pet, so they got Bronxie from a local pet store. 

 The turtle's name is Bronxie, an ode to its home borough, and it lives a comfortable life. It wiles away most of its hours in a tank with a piece of tape labeled "Bronxie the Turtle" on it. It is well-fed. At times, it even roams freely, crawling among the white, interlocking-NYs on the blue clubhouse carpet.

There is probably no turtle in the world living a better life than Bronxie right now. And he surely has no idea that he's been the catalyst of the Yankees winning streak, but I think anyone with a brain knows all credit goes to this adorable, little shelled creature. 

"There is a lot of love," Yankees veteran outfielder Brett Gardner told me, adding, "Everyone is also very aware of what's happening lately." Gardner, of course, was referring to New York's performance since Bronxie's adoption: a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers; a three-game sweep of the Red Sox. "Lucky charm, whatever you want to call it; I know a lot of guys believe there's a connection here," Gardner said before Sunday's game. "At the end of it, it would be great if we could go out and get him a little World Series ring."

Welp, I'm sold. Going to Uber over to Hoboken tonight to get the Yankees at +1500 on the Barstool Sportsbook to win the World Series. Every team needs a "thing" for it to be special. It's hard to describe exactly what I'm talking about, but you know it when it happens. In 2009, there were the AJ Burnett pies after walk-off wins. A few years ago, they'd hold up four fingers after every big hit, and no fans knew what it meant but it was clearly an inside joke thing. There was the "fucking savages" rant and the Next Men Up. This year, we've had the cat, the Italian Stallions, and the Andrew Velazquez hometown kid story. 

But Bronxie is different. A lucky pet turtle that the team rallies around to a World Series? You can't make that shit up. Imagine Aaron Judge holding Bronxie up like Simba on a World Series parade float? Or not to get too morbid, but if the turtle suffers some unfortunate death and the Yankees rally around it in like a, "Let's this win for Bronxie" way? Sort of like Caretaker dying in The Longest Yard. Getting goosebumps just thinking about it. 

But the highlight of this article was DJ LeMahieu's relationship with this turtle. 

 Cortes is very much a proud papa, but others, including DJ LeMahieu -- who is said to just enjoy staring at Bronxie -- are involved and engaged caretakers, as well.

God, I love DJ LeMahieu. The man refuses to show any shred of emotion. A cute pet turtle that everyone plays with and DJ is just engaged in a constant staring contest with this reptile. What a visual. We were saying on the last Short Porch how DJ probably didn't even crack a smile on his wedding day and thought the whole "kissing the bride thing" was a too emotional display of PDA for his liking. Never change, DJ. Never change. 

But anyway, the Yankees are now winning the World Series this year and we can thank a pet turtle named Bronxie for that.