THE BALLPARK — One of the grim realities of professional sports is the lack of loyalty. Even the most beloved players can be blindsided by trades. In the worst cases, pro players learn about such trades from Twitter or Facebook because their bosses didn't even have the decency to let them know about the decision.

So, you can imagine how meaningful it was for a baseball player like Victor Robles, of the Washington Nationals, to meet a friend who absolutely refused to leave his side (or hat, if we're being specific).

The action started in the eighth inning of the Nat's game against the Phillies Monday when a massive mantis landed on Robles' hat as he sat in the dugout. That's not so strange, you might be thinking, bugs land on humans every day.

Well, this wasn't your typical insect encounter. The praying mantis not only stayed on Robles' hat for the rest of the inning but accompanied him out onto the field for the start of the ninth. Perched up there like a little coach, it watched the game and seemed to be giving suggestions like the rat in "Ratatouille."

At some point, the mantis actually decided to get closer to the action and crawled onto the brim of Robles' hat. Some players might've been startled by the sight of two green claws coming down from their hat, but Robles seemed to embrace the moment. As you can see in this video, he even began to interact with the mantis and give it signals so that it could better follow the flow of the game.

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