A Day In The Life Of A Mascot

Even though it's a relatively new phenomenon, 21 of the 30 Major League Baseball teams now have their own mascots. The Early Show correspondent Melinda Murphy found out firsthand it's hot, sticky, and sometimes pretty smelly. It is even dangerous inside those costumes you've grown accustomed to seeing at ballparks around the country.

Mascots like the Philly Fanatic are the sideshow at the big show. The San Diego Chicken is the first modern-day Major League Baseball mascot. They're the creatures we love to love, along with their manic offspring.

And then there's another group of mascots. One of them was Murphy, and she was a bit scared because of what happened to the Kansas City's mascot (Sluggerrr), who got hit in a sensitive spot. And then there was Cleveland's Slider, who broke his leg when he crashed into the wall.

A fan dressed as a sausage got whacked with a bat. Recalling the event, Mandy Block says, "I felt a little blow on the back. I fell forward, and I couldn't get up."

It turns out that being a mascot isn't all that warm and fuzzy after all.

"There are a lot of serious aspects to this job," says Bromley Lowe. He was the Baltimore Oriole bird for ten years. Now, he's gone into business for himself, as a sort of furry teacher at schools. Lowe lost part of a finger when his costume got stuck in a door, and he's one of the lucky ones.

Lowe says, "I had a partner who got pushed off the bleacher wall in Camden Yards. He was in a wheelchair for a couple of weeks, and he couldn't perform for a full year." Lowe himself got punched in the face six times by a guy in the stands. But unruly fans are only a smidgen of a mascot's misery. The heat is the hardest part.

"It's almost like a sense of drowning in heat," Lowe says, "You're just so overwhelmed. You're so flushed, and you start seeing spots."

Dr. Ed McFarland says, "Over half of them had some problem with heat illness at some point in their career." The associate professor at Johns Hopkins University conducted a study on mascot injuries.

McFarland explains, "Of the heat illnesses, there were a handful that had to go to the hospital and were pretty sick. Many of them did get muscular skeletal injuries such as fractures or torn ligaments.

No wonder USA Today calls mascoting one of the ten worst jobs in sports. But if it's so dangerous, why do it? That's simple: The kids.

Lou Seal, who is the mascot for the San Francisco Giants explains, "You hear them, 'Slugger, Slugger' posing for pictures, and they're running up and jumping into your arms. That's what it's all about. That's priceless. That's why I do it."

And it's because of the kids that it is important to protect all of the mascots' real identities.

"There's just a certain amount of innocence in thinking that the character is a live cartoon character," Seal says, "I feel it is healthy for kids to hang onto that part of your youth where you just need something to believe in."

Seal is a seven-year veteran, and he says he gets as much from the crowd as he gives.

"The fans start to fill up with screaming and shouting," he says, "The energy level is just intoxicating, and you'll forget that you're sweating and how hard the job is because you just ride off the energy."

It is maybe so, but all that joy doesn't make this any easier.

Seal says, "Ninety seconds has never seemed so long in your life when you're in a costume."

Murphy found out for herself as Air Lou, a blow-up costume that requires a heavy battery pack. Think of it as having a 20-pound bag of flour on your hip. Though Seal makes it look easy climbing all over the stands, it was tough just to walk. And it was even tougher getting in a golf cart. Of course, to be fair, it was Murphy's first time doing it.

Finally, the time for her debut came in front of 39,000 fans, and the heat was getting to her. She was sure she'd fall out, but she didn't. Instead, her team of mascots tossed the visiting team's mascot.

As Stomper the Elephant explains, it's all in good fun.

In other words, the teams are rivals, but not necessarily the mascots.

"We're doing the same job," Stomper says, "And if you have respect for the job that you're doing, if you like the job, and you see another guy enjoying the job, and actually doing some positive things with it, you got to like him."

Walking back into the changing room was the most challenging thing Murphy did as a mascot, but she didn't give up. She suited up again for the 7th inning stretch. This time, she was wearing a camera in her glasses.

Visibility isn't exactly good in a costume, which is why she was thankful for her handler, DC.

DC put her on top of the dugout, and then, suddenly Murphy got it: The cheering crowd, the adoring fans, and that is what being a mascot is all about.

It's truly amazing how these people keep their energy level up while they are performing. The hours can be very long, and the pay really depends on the particular team. Even at the major league level, only a handful of the mascots are making big money. They all seem to love entertaining people, though. So be nice to the mascot the next time you see one at the ballpark.