List of Major League Baseball mascots

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This is a list of current and former Major League Baseball mascots, sorted alphabetically.

The tradition of the Major League Baseball mascot began with Mr. Met, introduced for the New York Mets when Shea Stadium opened in 1964. Although some mascots came and went over time, the popularity of mascots skyrocketed when The San Diego Chicken started independently making appearances at San Diego Padres games in 1977. Philadelphia Phillies management felt they needed a mascot similar to the Chicken, so they debuted the Phillie Phanatic in 1978.

Today, all but four major league teams have mascots. Two of them, Mr. Met and Phillie Phanatic, have been inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame. Several others have been nominated since the Hall's creation in 2005.

Contents 1 Current Mascots 1.1 Ace 1.2 Bernie Brewer 1.3 Billy the Marlin 1.4 The Bird 1.5 Captain Jolly Roger 1.6 D. Baxter the Bobcat 1.7 Dinger 1.8 Fredbird 1.9 Gapper 1.10 Homer 1.11 Junction Jack 1.12 Lefty and Righty 1.13 Lou Seal 1.14 Mariner Moose 1.15 Mr. Met 1.16 Mr. Redlegs 1.17 Paws 1.18 Phillie Phanatic 1.19 Pirate Parrot 1.20 Rangers Captain 1.21 Rally 1.22 Raymond 1.23 Screech 1.24 Slider 1.25 Sluggerrrr 1.26 Southpaw 1.27 Stomper 1.28 Swinging Friar 1.29 T.C. Bear 1.30 Wally the Green Monster 2 Former Mascots 2.1 BJ Birdie 2.2 Bonnie Brewer 2.3 Charlie-O 2.4 Chief Noc-A-Homa 2.5 Crazy Crab 2.6 Dandy 2.7 General Admission 2.8 Lady Met 2.9 Mr. Red 2.10 Orbit 2.11 Ribbie and Roobarb 3 Teams without a mascot 4 Gallery 5 References

[edit] Current Mascots

[edit] Ace

Ace is the official mascot of the Toronto Blue Jays. He, along with his female counterpart, "Diamond" replaced former mascot BJ Birdie before the 2002 season as a mascot duo. Like his predecessor, Ace resembles a large Blue Jay. He's always hatching up plans to foil the other team. Look for Ace in his dugout at Rogers Centre during home games.

In 2004, Ace became the sole mascot of the team after Diamond was removed by the Blue Jays prior to the start of the season.

[edit] Bernie Brewer

Main article: Bernie Brewer

Bernie Brewer is the official mascot for the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Bernie Brewer character became the team's mascot in 1973, appearing as a cheerful man with a big mustache. A beer-barreled chalet was built for him inside the stadium where he led the crowd cheering. Following each home run and every victory by the Brewers, he would slide down and plunge himself into a huge beer mug in celebration. He was joined by a companion Bonnie Brewer, who would playfully swat at the backside of the opposing team's third base coach with a broom as the field crew swept the base paths. Bernie Brewer was a fixture at Brewers home games until 1984, when the Brewers re-built the bleachers, replacing the chalet with a sound tower and sending Bernie into retirement. By popular demand, Bernie Brewer came out of his retirement in 1993, when the fans voted for his return. Bernie was brought back not as just a mustachioed man in lederhosen, but a full-body costume of a man, including large foam head. The chalet was then rebuilt (it had been in storage on the third base side under the box seats) above the left-center field bleachers.

At Miller Park, the current home of the Milwaukee Brewers, Bernie Brewer has his own "dugout" atop the bleachers behind left field, where he continues to lead the cheering at every home game. Currently he slides down a plastic yellow slide, no longer into a vat a beer but onto a platform, when a Brewer hits a home run.

[edit] Billy the Marlin

Billy the Marlin is the official mascot of the Florida Marlins. Resembling a marlin with limbs, he can be seen at every Marlins home game. He competes in a waterboat race, which is a computer-animated video shown on the screen, during each game. The name, picked by original team owner Wayne Huizenga, is derived from the fact that a marlin is a Billfish, as well as a pun on former player and manager Billy Martin. Huizenga wanted a name that was different from the baseball type names of other mascots (like Slider and Slugger) and one that children could remember more easily. On Mothers Day and Father's Day, Billy is joined by his parents, Bill Sr. and Betty the Marlin. Billy is also seen at games dancing with kids on the field in between innings and making special appearances in the Fan Zone.

On Opening Day of 1997, the year the Marlins won their first World Series Championship, a Navy Seal who was parachuting into Dolphin Stadium (then known as Pro Player Stadium) as Billy, lost the head in mid-air. While the crowd was unaware of the problem, media outlets had been alerted to Billy's parachute entrance. When he didn't arrive, the media ran with the story, getting national attention and leading to ESPN's Dan Patrick's nightly quote, "Bring me the head of Billy the Marlin!"

The original Billy the Marlin was John Routh, who spent 10 years (1993-2002) entertaining Marlins fans. ^[1] A lighthearted retrospective article on Billy was written after the departure of John Routh. Routh had portrayed the University of Miami mascots, Sebastian the Ibis and The Miami Maniac from 1983-1993, and prior to that, Cocky for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks.

[edit] The Bird

The Bird is the official mascot of the Baltimore Orioles. The Bird was "hatched" on April 6, 1979 out of a giant egg at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. The Bird has been made famous in Baltimore from his dances atop the dugouts and his taunting of the visiting team. According to Orioles.com, The Bird's favorite foods are bird seed and the Maryland Crab Cake.

[edit] Captain Jolly Roger

Captain Jolly Roger serves as a mascot for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He is a cartoon version of a pirate, dressed in a captains' outfit. The name was dervied from the flag that is flown by pirates, the Jolly Roger.

[edit] D. Baxter the Bobcat

Baxter the Bobcat is the mascot for the Arizona Diamondbacks. ^[2] He joined the team in 2000. His full name is D. Baxter the Bobcat which is supposed to come from the team's nickname, the D-Backs.

The Diamondbacks picked a bobcat because they played in Bank One Ballpark (now called Chase Field), which was nicknamed "The BOB" to shorten the park name. When it was time for the team to get a mascot, an anthropomorphic snake made no sense to them; but because there are bobcats present in the desert, the team picked D. Baxter because his species had the fan's nickname of the stadium.

[edit] Dinger

Dinger is the official mascot of the Colorado Rockies. A purple triceratops dinosaur, the mascot was based on dinosaur bones that were found during the excavation of Coors Field, the Rockies' current home. Dinger works year-round promoting physical fitness and literacy for thousands of elementary school students in the Rocky Mountain Region. He acts out his own Dinger Story for the kids. He also makes appearances at The Children's Hospital and Denver Health. He makes appearances at Rockies events including the 5K Home Run, Rockies Rookies Kids Fan Club.

[edit] Fredbird

Main article: Fredbird

Fredbird is the official mascot for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is an anthropomorphic cardinal wearing the team's uniform. A person dressed up as Fredbird can often be found entertaining young children during baseball games at Busch Stadium. His name is derived from "Redbird", a synonym for the cardinal bird and for the Cardinals themselves.

Fredbird was introduced in 1979 by the Cardinals, then owned by Anheuser-Busch, to entertain younger fans at the games. He quickly became popular with fans for his dancing, habit of "beaking" the heads of supporters, and for throwing t-shirts into the stands. In later years, he has been joined by "Team Fredbird", a group of young women employed by the club who help him with his t-shirt toss and occasionally in other duties. He is one of baseball's best-known mascots,^{[citation needed]} and he makes hundreds of appearances year-round in the St. Louis area.

[edit] Gapper

Gapper is the current mascot for the Cincinnati Reds. He was first introduced as the furry companion to Mr. Red, the long-time mascot in the winter of 2002 as the franchise was preparing to move to their new home, Great American Ballpark. The mascot was created by David Raymond's Raymond Entertainment Group, the founder being the man inside the Phillie Phanatic costume from 1978 to 1993. A young fan won two season tickets for submitting the winning name.

[edit] Homer

Homer is the mascot of the Atlanta Braves. He has a baseball shaped head, and looks a little like Mr. Met. Before having the baseball head however, Homer was the personifacation of the old "Screaming Warrior" logo the Braves used before dropping it in 1988 due to political correctness.

Homer's full name is Homer the Brave. This is meant to sound like "home of the brave", the last words of the National Anthem.

[edit] Junction Jack

Junction Jack has been the mascot character for the Houston Astros since March 2000. He is a 7-foot (2.13 meter) tall rabbit dressed as a railroad engineer. Other characters include Junction Julie and Junction Jesse. He will walk around Minute Maid Park greet visitors, shake hands, and pose for pictures.

Outside of the stadium he will generally attend Astros-related promotional events, as well as charities.

Junction Jack replaced Orbit when the team moved from the Astrodome to Minute Maid Park. The new stadium was originally called "The Ballpark at Union Station" because it was built on the site of the historic railway station in downtown Houston. In keeping with this new theme for the Astros, Orbit was replaced by the engineer. The character was designed by Logan Goodson and named by Duone Byars, both former Astros employees.

[edit] Lefty and Righty

Lefty and Righty are the alternate mascot characters for the Boston Red Sox joining Wally the Green Monster. They are seen on large outings with Wally such as the 2007 World Series Parade as well as weekend afternoon games at Fenway Park.

[edit] Lou Seal

Lou Seal is the official mascot of the San Francisco Giants. "Born" on July 25, 1996, Luigi Francisco Seal has been a regular part of the Giants baseball home games and events around San Francisco, and the United States. The name is a play on the name "Lucille." Todd Schwenk, an Oakland Athletics Fan, named the mascot in a KNBR Sports Radio phone-in contest. Schwenk named Lou for the Seals always hanging out on the wharfs at Fisherman's Wharf. It also refers to the San Francisco Seals, the baseball club which was a mainstay of the Pacific Coast League from 1903 until 1957.

[edit] Mariner Moose

Main article: Mariner Moose

The Mariner Moose is the mascot of the Seattle Mariners. In 1990, a contest for children 14 and under was held to select a mascot, after 2500 entries the club chose the "Mariner Moose" The Moose made his debut on April 13, 1990 dancing on the field at the Kingdome.

During the 1995 American League Division Series between the M's and the New York Yankees, the Moose gained national attention when he broke his ankle crashing into the outfield wall at the Kingdome while being towed on inline skates behind an ATV in the outfield. Roller blading behind an ATV would continue to be a fan favorite until 1999, when the team moved to Safeco Field and a natural grass playing surface. Since then, the Moose has become quite adept at driving his own ATV around Safeco Field's warning track while performing various tricks and having water coolers emptied on him by bullpen pitchers. The Moose makes several hundred appearances in the community each year in addition to Mariners home games, at everything from hospitals to wedding receptions. The Mariner Moose was featured on the ballot for the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2006 and 2007.

[edit] Mr. Met

Main article: Mr. Met

Mr. Met is the official mascot of the New York Mets. He is a baseball-headed humanoid being who wears a Mets cap and uniform. He can be seen at Shea Stadium during Mets home games, has appeared in several commercials as part of ESPN's This is SportsCenter campaign, and was selected in 2007 into the Mascot Hall of Fame.

[edit] Mr. Redlegs

Mr. Redlegs is a mascot of the Cincinnati Reds. He was reintroduced in 2007 to play a supporting role, along with Mr. Red. Mr. Redlegs appeared as a patch on the Reds' uniforms for two seasons in the 1950s. In 2008, Mr. Redlegs gained national notoriety by falling off of an ATV during pre-game antics. This caused the large, baseball-shaped head to fall off of the Mr. Redlegs costume, exposing the head of the person inside the costume.

[edit] Paws

Paws is the mascot of the Detroit Tigers. He is a Tiger, representing the Tigers.

[edit] Phillie Phanatic

Main article: Phillie Phanatic

Phillie Phanatic is the offcial mascot of the Philadelphia Phillies. He is a fat furry green creature with a cylindrical beak containing a tongue that sticks out. He was created by Harrison/Erickson of New York City, who thought that the team needed a mascot similar to The San Diego Chicken. The character is named for the fanatical fans of the team after an incident during the third game of the 1977 National League Championship Series played at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium, in which fans drove Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Burt Hooton into losing his composure (he was removed from the game, but the Dodgers went on to win the game, and ultimately, the series). Another reason he was created, according to current owner and former team vice president Bill Giles was to bring more families to The Vet, as some of the more inebriated fans were involved in various fights when the team was doing well or poorly. He can be seen riding around on an ATV at home games.

[edit] Pirate Parrot

The Pirate Parrot is the mascot of the Pittsburgh Pirates, debuting in 1979. He is a large green parrot who wears a Pirates jersey and cap. The character of a parrot was derived from the classic story Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, most notably the one owned by Long John Silver named "Captain Flint".

[edit] Rangers Captain

Rangers Captain is the mascot for the Texas Rangers. Introduced in 2005, he is a palomino-style horse, dressed in the team's uniform. He wears the uniform number "72" in honor of 1972, the year the Rangers relocated to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

The mascot also has multiple uniforms - to match each of the variants the team has. Rangers Captain's chosen uniform for the game matches the uniform choice made by the team for that particular game.

[edit] Rally

Rally is one of the Atlanta Braves mascots. He is a bear-like mascot and looks like Wally The Green Monster.

[edit] Raymond

Raymond is the official mascot of the Tampa Bay Rays. ^[3] Raymond is a furry blue creature wearing a large pair of sneakers and a backwards baseball cap, completed with a Rays jersey. He is described officially as a "seadog", though his appearance mildly resembles a very furry manatee. Raymond was awarded an honorable mention in the GameOps.com Best Mascot contest for 2006.^[4]

[edit] Screech

Screech is the mascot of the Washington Nationals. He is a bald eagle who wears the home cap and jersey of the team. He was "hatched" on April 17, 2005 at the "Kids Opening Day" promotion at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. A nine-year-old fourth grade student in Washington, Glenda Gutierrez, designed the mascot and won a contest sponsored by the team, explaining that it was "strong and eats almost everything."

[edit] Slider

Slider is the mascot for the Cleveland Indians. He is a large, furry purplish pink creature. He has a large yellow nose and shaggy yellow eyebrows.^[5] He was best known for an injury during the 1995 American League Championship Series when he fell almost twelve feet during a game, and broke his leg in the process.

[edit] Sluggerrrr

Sluggerrrr is the mascot of the Kansas City Royals. He is a lion-like figure, wearing a crown (the word slugger also refers to a powerful batter with a high percentage of extra base hits)

[edit] Southpaw

Southpaw is the mascot of the Chicago White Sox. His name is a reference to a left-hand pitcher and is also a reference to Chicago's South Side, where the team plays.

[edit] Stomper

Stomper is the mascot of the Oakland Athletics. An elephant adorned with an A's uniform of the number 00. Before each game, he rides around the field in a little red car while the song Jungle Boogie by Kool and the Gang is played. During games, he entertains the fans.

The use of an elephant to symbolize the Athletics dates from the early years of the franchise, when a group of Philadelphia businessmen headed by industrialist Benjamin Shibe became the team's first owners. When asked to comment, John McGraw, manager of the New York Giants of the rival National League said something to the effect that "Shibe had bought himself a white elephant." In response, A's manager (and future owner) Connie Mack selected the elephant as the team symbol and mascot. From time to time the elephant has appeared on the Athletic uniform, including 1988 to present.

In 1997, the A's created a new character and called him Stomper. Stomper has performed at several Major League Baseball All-Star Games, and has appeared in a Public Service Announcement against chewing tobacco.

[edit] Swinging Friar

The Swinging Friar is the mascot of the San Diego Padres.

The Swinging Friar has been a mascot with the team as early as 1958, when the Padres were still a member of the Pacific Coast League, a minor league baseball organization. He was named after Spanish missionaries settled by Franciscan friars, who were prominent figures when the city of San Diego was founded centuries ago. The Padres joined Major League Baseball in 1969 and kept the popular mascot. He was even on the team emblem until 1984. Wanting a more "professional" image, the owners introduced a more corporate logo. In 1996, he was brought back as a sleeve patch for the club's blue alternate jerseys, and though the team has changed its logo and colors since then, the Friar remains there to this day.

The Swinging Friar is a cartoon-like character, pudgy, balding and always smiling. He is dressed as a friar — with a tonsure, sandals, a dark hooded cloak, and a rope around the waist. He swings a baseball bat; but reportedly, in some years he swings left-handed, in other years he swings right-handed, he may be ambidextrous, or even a switch hitter.

Originally, The Swinging Friar was represented at the ballpark as a real man wearing a friar outfit. Since his return, the character has been a full mascot costume.

[edit] T.C. Bear

T.C. Bear is the mascot for the Minnesota Twins. He was first introduced to Minnesota on April 3, 2000. T.C. is loosely modeled after the Hamm's Beer Bear, a mascot used in advertisements for Hamm's Brewery, an early sponsor for the Twins. The "T.C." stands for the "Twin Cities", Minneapolis and St. Paul. ^[6]

[edit] Wally the Green Monster

Main article: Wally the Green Monster

Wally the Green Monster is the official mascot for the Boston Red Sox. His name is derived from the Green Monster nickname of the 37-foot wall in left field at Fenway Park. Wally debuted in 1997 to the chagrin of many older Red Sox fans. Although he was a hit with children, the older fans did not immediately adopt him as part of the franchise.

According to the Red Sox promotions department, Wally was a huge Red Sox fan who decided to move inside the left field wall of Fenway Park since it "eats up" hits that would easily be home runs at other parks in 1947. Apparently, he was very shy and lived the life of a hermit for 50 years. On the 50th anniversary of the Green Monster in 1997, he came out of the manual scoreboard and has been interacting with players and fans ever since.^[7] Thanks to former Red Sox second baseman and current broadcaster Jerry Remy, those older fans have adored him.

[edit] Former Mascots

This is a list of former Major League Baseball mascots. Some of these mascots may still be used, but is not considered an "official" mascot.

[edit] BJ Birdie

BJ Birdie served as the semi-unofficial mascot for the Toronto Blue Jays from the early 1980s until 2003.

[edit] Bonnie Brewer

Bonnie Brewer is a former official mascot for the Milwaukee Brewers, appearing at Milwaukee County Stadium from 1973 to 1979. Bonnie was portrayed as a young blonde woman in a gold blouse and short blue lederhosen, wearing a baseball cap and frequently carrying a blue-and-gold broom which she would use to sweep the bases.

Bonnie was first introduced as the female companion to the Brewers' mascot Bernie Brewer. Bernie and Bonnie were created by then-team vice president Dick Hackett as part of an effort to create a lively atmosphere at County Stadium, which also included hiring organist Frank Charles to play a Wurlitzer during the games. As Hackett remembers it, Bernie and Bonnie were added over the objections of team owner Bud Selig.

Bonnie was noted mainly for her colorful antics during the seventh-inning stretch. As the grounds crew swept the infield, Bonnie wielded her signature broom, sweeping off each base in turn. After sweeping third base, she would playfully swat the opposing team's third-base coach on the backside with her broom, following it up with a kiss on his cheek.

Bonnie was discontinued after the 1979 season, although no clear reason has ever been given for her "firing". Bernie Brewer was discontinued as a mascot in 1984, although he was brought back as a costumed mascot in 1993, complete with full-body costume and large foam head. Bonnie Brewer returned as part of the nostalgia-heavy final home stand at County Stadium, September 18-28, 2000.

As of 2008, Bonnie is part of the Brewers' "Retro Fridays" promotions at Miller Park, incorporating the traditional base sweeping as well as dancing with Bernie on Bernie's Dugout during the fans' singing of The Beer Barrel Polka in the seventh inning stretch.

[edit] Charlie-O

Charlie-O the Mule was the mascot used by the Kansas City Athletics and Oakland A's from 1963 to 1976. The mule was named after their colorful owner at that time, Charles O. Finley.

When the A's moved to then heavily Democratic Missouri, where the official state animal is the mule, Warren Hearnes gave a mule to Finley for his barnyard menagerie at Municipal Stadium which also include sheep and goats that scampered up the hill behind right field.^[8] The Municipal Stadium menagerie also included Warpaint, the horse mascot of the Kansas City Chiefs. As questions swirled about whether Finley would be loyal to Missouri, he embraced the mule and removed the elephant from the A's logo and changed the A's colors from blue, red and white to green, gold, and white.

Finley took the sorrel five-foot tall mule around the country, walking him into cocktail parties and hotel lobbies, and on one occasion even into the press room after a large feeding to annoy reporters.

[edit] Chief Noc-A-Homa

Main article: Chief Noc-A-Homa

Chief Noc-A-Homa was the original mascot of the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves from 1950s until 1986. The name was used for the "screaming Indian" sleeve patch worn on Braves jerseys. From at least the early 1960s, while still in Milwaukee County Stadium, until the early 1980s at Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium, this mascot "lived" in a tipi in an unoccupied section of the bleacher seats.

[edit] Crazy Crab

The Crazy Crab was a mascot of the San Francisco Giants for the 1984 season. As opposed to other mascots, Crazy Crab was meant as an "anti-mascot", satirizing on the mascot craze that was going on at the time. Fans were encouraged to boo the mascot (played by actor Wayne Doba) and manager Frank Robinson appeared in a commercial with the crustacean where Robinson was restrained from attacking him. The crab was so hated, players on both the Giants and even the opposition would throw rosin bags and other objects at the mascot. Doba sued the San Diego Padres after two of their players tackled him, causing injuries. The mascot lasted only one year and the Giants would not have another mascot until Lou Seal in 1997. The crab returned for the last game at Candlestick Park that the Giants played in 1999, and a bobblehead was given away with its' likeness in 2008 as the franchise celebrated their fiftieth anniversary in the Bay Area.

[edit] Dandy

Dandy was a short-lived mascot of the New York Yankees. He was a large pinstriped bird that sported a Yankees hat. He had a mustache that gave him an appearance similar to that of former Yankee pitcher Sparky Lyle. His name was a play on the classic American folk song "Yankee Doodle Dandy". He appeared at the start of the 1980 season and was so unpopular that he was quickly cancelled. Dandy was beaten up by fans who didn't want a mascot, and quit, leading to the elimination of the character as the Yankees chose not to replace him.

Along with this experiment, the Yankees briefly had mascots resembling ballpark food (plus Yankees hats on top) during the mid-1990s. Outside of these two occasions, the Yankees have not had an official mascot or cheerleading squad roam the stands or perform on the field, although a squirrel appearing on the field has brought inspiration as a mascot for the team.

[edit] General Admission

General Admission (a pun off the unreserved seating section of some ballparks) was a mascot for the Houston Astros. He was created after the renovations of the Astrodome removing the old Home Run Spectacular and scoreboard for additional seating for the Houston Oilers, who were co-tenants at that time. Whenever an Astro hit a home run, the general would shoot off a cannon. He was "retired" after the 1999 season when the franchise moved to Enron Field (later known as Minute Maid Park). The actor who played General Admission would become the engineer of the "Rally Train" that sits above the outfield wall at that park.

[edit] Lady Met

Lady Met, or Mrs. Met, is the female version of Mr. Met, the beloved mascot of the New York Mets. She is a baseball-headed humanoid being, wears an orange skirt and white blouse, and has orange hair in a bob, topped off with a Mets baseball cap.

Lady Met has not appeared at games since the 1970s. However, she did appear with Mr. Met in a 2003 "This is SportsCenter" commercial.

[edit] Mr. Red

Main article: Mr. Red

Mr. Red was the first mascot of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team He was a humanoid figure dressed in a Reds uniform, with an oversized baseball for a head. Mr. Red made his first appearance on a Reds uniform as a sleeve patch in 1955. The patch featured Mr. Red's head, clad in an old-fashioned white pillbox baseball cap with red stripes. The following season, 1956, saw the Reds adopt sleeveless jerseys, and Mr. Red was eliminated from the home uniform. He was moved to the left breast of the road uniform, and remained there for one season before being eliminated entirely. In 1999, the Reds re-designed their uniform and "Mr. Red" was reintroduced as a sleeve patch on the undershirt. A human version of the mascot didn't appear until the early 1980s. The costumed mascot disappeared in the 1980s but was reintroduced in 1997. The humanoid Mr. Red retired in 2007 leaving Gapper and Mr. Redlegs to take his place.

[edit] Orbit

Orbit was the mascot of the Houston Astros while they were in the Astrodome. When the team moved to Minute Maid Park, they adopted a new mascot, Junction Jack. Orbit represented a green space alien with antennae, in keeping with the Space City theme of the city of Houston.

[edit] Ribbie and Roobarb

Ribbie and Roobarb were a pair of mascots used by the Chicago White Sox from 1981 to 1988 at Comiskey Park. After the Sox were sold in 1981 by Bill Veeck to an ownership group headed by Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn, the new owners – who were eager to draw on the 1970s popularity of such mascots as The San Diego Chicken, hired the design firm responsible for creating the Phillie Phanatic to create a new mascot for the Sox.

They debuted the pair of furry mascots in September 1981, but the fans never accepted the two, ridiculing them throughout their tenure with the team – both because of their ludicrous appearance, which had no apparent connection with the team, and also because they were seen as an attempt to eliminate Andy the Clown, who had performed unofficially at Sox games since 1960. "Rhubarb" is longtime baseball slang for a heated on-field argument; Ribbie comes from the acronym RBI, for runs batted in. Often reports will say ribbie instead of RBI to describe it.

“

For most of the 1980s, the patrons at Comiskey Park ... were asked to endure the 'antics' of baseball's least appealing mascots, Ribbie and Roobarb. One looked like the dim-witted son of Oscar the Grouch, the other like a chartreuse anteater with a genetic flaw. [9]

”

After thirteen seasons without a mascot, the Sox had decided to have a new mascot, named Southpaw in 2003.

[edit] Teams without a mascot

The following MLB teams do not currently have a mascot:

• Chicago Cubs
• Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
• New York Yankees
• Los Angeles Dodgers

[edit] Gallery

Due to the number of pictures, not all mascots can be pictured above. Although most mascots are pictured, the rest have been moved here.

Gapper, the offical mascot of the Cincinnati Reds.	The mascot of the Seattle Mariners, the Mariner Moose.	Pirate Parrot, the mascot for the Pittsburgh Pirates.	T.C. Bear, the mascot of the Minnesota Twins.
Raymond, the team mascot of the Tampa Bay Rays.	Wally the Green Monster, mascot for the Boston Red Sox.

[edit] References