Mascot race
Encyclopedia
A mascot race is a promotional sports entertainment
competition of runners dressed in costumes. It is often a between-innings entertainment at baseball games. Usually the racers are mascots related to local culture or the products of a sponsor. The races are fixed, meaning they are for entertainment purposes only.
The best known of this type of race is the Milwaukee Brewers'
Sausage Race
. Introduced in the early nineties , the race currently features bratwurst, Polish sausage, Italian sausage, hot dog, and chorizo characters. The race takes place before the sixth inning of every home game.
The Sausage Race inspired the creation of the Great Pierogi Race in Pittsburgh. A rivalry has developed between the Sausages and the Pierogies, and the two groups compete twice yearly in relay races. The players have also been involved; during a 2003 Sausage Race in Milwaukee during a Brewers-Pittsburgh Pirates
game, Pirates slugger Randall Simon
hit one of the sausages with a baseball bat
, requiring the woman in the costume to receive medical care and a fine to Simon by the Milwaukee police. The incident subsequently became known as "Sausagegate".
Another well known mascot race is the Presidents Race
of the Washington Nationals
. George Washington
, Thomas Jefferson
, Abraham Lincoln
, and Theodore Roosevelt
mascots compete. As a running joke
, Teddy Roosevelt has never won. Like the Milwaukee Sausages, the Presidents also have a rivalry with the Pierogies.
have a race sponsored by PepsiCo
, the owners of the naming rights to Tropicana Field
. Their race is between large bottles of Pepsi
, Aquafina
and Sierra Mist
. Before 2007, these were computer-generated.
The Baltimore Orioles
, the Cleveland Indians
and the Kansas City Royals
have similar races involving hot dogs. The Orioles' race, which has existed since the opening of Camden Yards, is sponsored by Esskay and features hot dogs on the video board with different condiments: Ketchup
, mustard
, and Relish
. The Royals' version features live runners dressed as Heinz
condiments - ketchup, relish and mustard. The live racers made their first appearance during the 2007 season, with the race being limited to the video board prior to this. The Indians also started a live hot dog race in 2007 with the racers being mustard, onion, and ketchup (who wears thick glasses as a nod to the movie Major League
). In late 2007 the ketchup racer started cutting the corner at home base to win the race, and this "cheating" has led to several staged skits by players, mascots, and the grounds crew to slow or trip him up during the race.
Texas Rangers
games feature a live action version of the "Dot Race," in which three dots (Red, Green, and Blue) compete in the middle of the sixth inning. Each fan is given a coupon that has one of the three colors. A coupon with the winning color can be taken to a Texas
store to purchase Ozarka
water (the sponsors of the race). The Oakland Athletics
are celebrating 25 years, in 2010, of their version of the dot race.
The Atlanta Braves
race involves Home Depot's hammer, saw, paint brush, and can racing against each other. Before the 2009 season, the race was seen only on the scoreboard, but it now starts at first base and ends in front of the scoreboard.
The Houston Astros
' race involves Hot Sauce Packets named Fire, Hot, and Mild that race from the right field corner around the outfield and up to the visitor's dugout. This race started in 2010.
The Oakland Athletics
Class A Advance Affiliate the Stockton Ports
has a race that involves three asparaguses: regular, fried, and chocolate.
Triple A Dodgers
affiliate the Albuquerque Isotopes
feature a race with New Mexican food
items as the competitors. They are Red Chile, Green Chile, Taco, and Salsa.
The Lakewood BlueClaws
have two races: the Pork Roll, Egg, and Cheese Race at the end of the second inning and the Eyeball Race in the middle of the sixth.
Sports entertainment
Sports entertainment is a type of spectacle which presents an ostensibly competitive event using a high level of theatrical flourish and extravagant presentation, with the purpose of entertaining an audience...
competition of runners dressed in costumes. It is often a between-innings entertainment at baseball games. Usually the racers are mascots related to local culture or the products of a sponsor. The races are fixed, meaning they are for entertainment purposes only.
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
Sausage Race
Sausage Race
The Sausage Race is a race of sausage mascots held before the bottom of the sixth inning at every home game of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Sausage Race is a promotion for the Klement's Sausage Company, located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, whose sausages are served at Miller Park, the home of the Brewers...
. Introduced in the early nineties , the race currently features bratwurst, Polish sausage, Italian sausage, hot dog, and chorizo characters. The race takes place before the sixth inning of every home game.
The Sausage Race inspired the creation of the Great Pierogi Race in Pittsburgh. A rivalry has developed between the Sausages and the Pierogies, and the two groups compete twice yearly in relay races. The players have also been involved; during a 2003 Sausage Race in Milwaukee during a Brewers-Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
game, Pirates slugger Randall Simon
Randall Simon
Randall Carlito Simon is a professional baseball first baseman. He has played all or part of eight seasons in Major League Baseball and one in Nippon Professional Baseball between 1997 and 2006. Simon's debut season came with the Atlanta Braves in 1997, for whom he played until 1999...
hit one of the sausages with a baseball bat
Baseball bat
A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the game of baseball to hit the ball after the ball is thrown by the pitcher. It is no more than 2.75 inches in diameter at the thickest part and no more than 42 inches in length. It typically weighs no more than 33 ounces , but it...
, requiring the woman in the costume to receive medical care and a fine to Simon by the Milwaukee police. The incident subsequently became known as "Sausagegate".
Another well known mascot race is the Presidents Race
Presidents Race
The Presidents Race is a promotional event held at every Washington Nationals home game at Nationals Park during the fourth inning...
of the Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
. George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, and Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
mascots compete. As a running joke
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
, Teddy Roosevelt has never won. Like the Milwaukee Sausages, the Presidents also have a rivalry with the Pierogies.
Other races
The Tampa Bay RaysTampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
have a race sponsored by PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
, the owners of the naming rights to Tropicana Field
Tropicana Field
Tropicana Field is a domed stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida, which has been the home of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays since the team's inaugural season in 1998, when they were the Devil Rays. It has also served as the host stadium for the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl, an NCAA-sanctioned college...
. Their race is between large bottles of Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
, Aquafina
Aquafina
Aquafina is a brand of bottled water products produced by PepsiCo, Inc., consisting of both unflavored and flavored water. The Aquafina brand name is also licensed for use on multiple skin care products, including lip balm and wrinkle cream...
and Sierra Mist
Sierra Mist
Sierra Mist is a lemon-lime flavored caffeine-free soft drink, introduced by PepsiCo in 2000 and rolled out nationally in the United States in 2003. PepsiCo owns the rights to the similar 7 Up brand outside the U.S...
. Before 2007, these were computer-generated.
The Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
, the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
and the Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
have similar races involving hot dogs. The Orioles' race, which has existed since the opening of Camden Yards, is sponsored by Esskay and features hot dogs on the video board with different condiments: Ketchup
Ketchup
Ketchup is a sweet-and-tangy condiment typically made from tomatoes, vinegar, sugar or high-fructose corn syrup and an assortment of...
, mustard
Mustard (condiment)
Mustard is a condiment made from the seeds of a mustard plant...
, and Relish
Relish
A relish is a cooked, pickled, or chopped vegetable or fruit food item which is typically used as a condiment.In North America, relish commonly alludes to sweet pickle relish-like sauce that often condiments hot dogs, hamburgers and other types of fast food.-Description and ingredients:The item...
. The Royals' version features live runners dressed as Heinz
H. J. Heinz Company
The H. J. Heinz Company , commonly known as Heinz and famous for its "57 Varieties" slogan and its ketchup, is an American food company with world headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Perhaps best known for its ketchup, the H.J...
condiments - ketchup, relish and mustard. The live racers made their first appearance during the 2007 season, with the race being limited to the video board prior to this. The Indians also started a live hot dog race in 2007 with the racers being mustard, onion, and ketchup (who wears thick glasses as a nod to the movie Major League
Major League (film)
Major League is a 1989 American satire comedy film written and directed by David S. Ward, starring Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, James Gammon, and Corbin Bernsen. Made for US$11 million, Major League grossed nearly US$50 million in domestic release...
). In late 2007 the ketchup racer started cutting the corner at home base to win the race, and this "cheating" has led to several staged skits by players, mascots, and the grounds crew to slow or trip him up during the race.
Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
games feature a live action version of the "Dot Race," in which three dots (Red, Green, and Blue) compete in the middle of the sixth inning. Each fan is given a coupon that has one of the three colors. A coupon with the winning color can be taken to a Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
store to purchase Ozarka
Ozarka
Ozarka is a brand of spring water which is bottled and sold in the South Central United States, including Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, portions of Tennessee, Missouri and Kansas. The Ozarka Spring Water Company was founded in Eureka Springs, Arkansas in 1905, but is now a...
water (the sponsors of the race). The Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
are celebrating 25 years, in 2010, of their version of the dot race.
The Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
race involves Home Depot's hammer, saw, paint brush, and can racing against each other. Before the 2009 season, the race was seen only on the scoreboard, but it now starts at first base and ends in front of the scoreboard.
The Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
' race involves Hot Sauce Packets named Fire, Hot, and Mild that race from the right field corner around the outfield and up to the visitor's dugout. This race started in 2010.
The Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
Class A Advance Affiliate the Stockton Ports
Stockton Ports
The Stockton Ports are a baseball team in Stockton, California. The Ports play in the Northern Division of the Class A – Advanced California League and are a Minor League affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. Their home field is Banner Island Ballpark which seats over 5,000 people and opened in...
has a race that involves three asparaguses: regular, fried, and chocolate.
Triple A Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
affiliate the Albuquerque Isotopes
Albuquerque Isotopes
The Albuquerque Isotopes are a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The team, which plays in the Pacific Coast League, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers...
feature a race with New Mexican food
New Mexican cuisine
New Mexican cuisine is a regional cuisine found in New Mexico, reflecting the regional climate and long history as part of the Native American, Mexican, Spanish and United States cultures. This form of southwest cuisine is most popular in New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and California...
items as the competitors. They are Red Chile, Green Chile, Taco, and Salsa.
The Lakewood BlueClaws
Lakewood BlueClaws
The Lakewood BlueClaws are a minor league baseball team that currently plays in the South Atlantic League, a Class Single-A baseball league. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Park located in Lakewood Township, New Jersey...
have two races: the Pork Roll, Egg, and Cheese Race at the end of the second inning and the Eyeball Race in the middle of the sixth.