Mascot Race At Atlanta Braves Game Gets Heated
While the bench clearing brawl between the Anaheim Angels and Seattle Mariners over the weekend has been dominating the sports headlines, there was another incident that also deserves our attention and scrutiny. But what happened at last Friday night’s (6/24) game between the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers did not involve baseball players. This is a mascot story.
If you’ve ever been to a Major or Minor League baseball game, you’ve seen a mascot race. Depending on where you are, the mascots usually reflect the local scene in some way. For example, the Pittsburgh Pirates have a pierogy race between innings because Pittsburghers love pierogies. The Milwaukee Brewers feature their famous racing sausages. Even our hometown Charlotte Knights have their own version with the Royalty Racers: King Mecklenburg, Queen Charlotte, Jerry the Jester, and Good Knight Charlie.
Down in Atlanta, the Braves’ mascot races are sponsored by The Home Depot so they feature tools. However, the race at last Friday’s game looked more like WWE SmackDown. As the Home Depot bucket and power drill pulled ahead of the pack, the Braves’ official mascot, Blooper, decided the bucket deserved to win and took out the power drill in spectacular fashion.
I’ve watched the video below a few times and have decided that Blooper and the bucket were in cahoots. Notice how the bucket picks up Blooper’s hat after the tackle and carries across the finish line. Is it possible that money was involved? Does the current explosion of sports gambling include mascot races? Major League Baseball may want to investigate.
The Braves mascot @BlooperBraves just ENDED one of the tools in the tool race @Starting9 @Barstool_ATL https://t.co/uhyU5V8r64
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) June 25, 2022