On Mascots

If it’s really possible to be neutral about mascots, then I pretty much have played the part of Switzerland for most of my life regarding them. The traditional part of me who thinks that baseball games ought to be enjoyed for the game itself has always been a little irritated with promotions between innings, but I often find myself enjoying them— especially the mascots. So, there you have it; I’m conflicted, but I have to tell you, I’m drifting away from traditionalism.

The Omaha Royals have a mascot whose name is Casey. He’s a lion, which I’m sure you can tell from the photo (below) that I snapped of him at the game last night. I’ve been in the press box for several games this season and Casey makes his way up there a couple of times per game. He high- fives everybody as he walks by, including me. How can you resist high- fiving a blue, furry paw? And how can you resist a lion who poses for pictures like this?

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a couple of Kansas City Royals games with some friends—one of whom brought his eight-year-old daughter. She was enamored with Slugerrr (another lion mascot). He came over to her at one point and she couldn’t take her eyes off him. I wanted to get a photo of them together but I wasn’t able to.

Here's a photo I snapped of Slugerrr a couple of years ago. Look at the way kids are drawn to him. How cool is that?

I’m thinking that in twenty years, when my friend’s daughter is 28, she won’t remember a single thing about the two games we took her to, but she’ll remember meeting Slugerrr and maybe she and her husband will take their kids to the ballpark as a result and she’ll tell them that story. Slugerrr will still be Slugerrr. He will not have aged one bit. And he’ll probably bring a smile to the faces of her children too.