Nationals' latest pregame meet-and-greet was absolutely goated

This story was excerpted from Jessica Camerato’s Nationals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

WASHINGTON -- Lions, tigers and bears, oh my!

But how about baby goats, cows and piglets instead?

When the Nationals hosted Country Night last Friday, they brought pettable (and cuddleable) farm animals to the ballpark thanks to Little Wild Mobile Farm.

You know what this means: "Baseball players holding adorable animals" content incoming.

The Nationals players were greeted by a baby goat named Poppi when they entered the clubhouse Friday afternoon.

Several players exclaimed “Baaaa!” (in goat talk), while a few thought Poppi was a baby cow at first. Abimelec Ortiz gushed, “This is beautiful,” Andrés Chaparro nicknamed the goat “Messi” (get it?), and CJ Abrams chased after her in the hall while she showed off her speed.

After initially being hesitant to hold Poppi, Daylen Lile said, “[Having animals at the ballpark] starts [your game day] off on a pretty cute moment. You can't complain about it because it could light your day up.”

Then, Dylan Crews, Nasim Nuñez and their significant others got the opportunity to have a special meet and greet with the Little Wild Mobile Farm crew.

Growing up in Florida, Crews had a chinchilla named Chili, his sister had guinea pigs and his family had dogs. He and his fiancée now live in Louisiana, where their friends have farm animals that include cows, lambs and turkeys. Crews' fiancée has wanted a mini cow since visiting their friend, so they were excited to see one at the stadium.

“The mini cows [were my favorite],” Crews said. “Those guys were fun. They also had a pig named Bacon. He was cool, too.”

We learned about Nuñez’s childhood pet turtle, George, this season, but he has knowledge of farm animals, too. His girlfriend has a degree in agricultural sciences. She has worked with similar animals in her studies, and he has learned about them from her.

“She and my dad want a farm, so eventually, one day, probably have a farm or something,” Nuñez said.

Nuñez was surprised to see how much milk the baby cows drank. He also discovered how to make farm friends quickly.

The piglet named Bacon took a liking to him and rolled over next to him for some extra attention. The secret? Lots of belly rubs.

“It’s pretty cool,” Nuñez said. “It’s a nice surprise to have when you come to work.”